(Davenport, Iowa) – The U-S Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa reports a Long Beach, California man was sentenced July 21st (2023) to 12 years in federal prison for conspiracy to distribute more than 50 grams of methamphetamine resulting in the death of a victim. According to public court documents, 61-year-old Ray Bustamante conspired with Dr. John Robert Muriello and Eric Hojka, both of Iowa City, and others, to obtain and distribute methamphetamine. An investigation by the United States Postal Inspection Service revealed that since early 2020, Bustamante mailed packages of methamphetamine to people he met online. In March 2021, a parcel, mailed by Bustamante, was intercepted by Postal Inspectors and found to contain approximately 137 grams of “ice” methamphetamine.

In a separate investigation in May 2021, first responders were dispatched to Hojka’s Iowa City apartment for a report of an unconscious victim, who was later pronounced dead. An autopsy revealed the victim ingested methamphetamine which caused his death. It was later determined that the methamphetamine ingested by the victim originated from Bustamante and was sent to Dr. John Robert Muriello and Eric Hojka in Iowa City for distribution.

After his prison term, Bustamante was ordered to serve a five-year term of supervised release. There is no parole in the federal system. This case was investigated by the United States Postal Inspection Service and the Iowa City Police Department.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Legislation passed last Thursday night through the House Financial Services Committee, serves to protect investment saving accounts from politically-motivated investing that reduce returns for Iowans. Iowa 3rd District Republican Representative Zach Nunn says “Inflation and rising costs have made it harder and harder to save for retirement, which is why I pushed for this legislation to maximize Iowans’ retirements savings. Investment decisions should be made to maximize returns, not reward companies for their policies or political views. This legislation ensures profits are driving decisions.” The bill now heads to the House Floor for further discussion and action.

Under current law, investment managers may make investment decisions based on a company’s policies or political views, rather than maximizing returns for the original investor. In fact, just two consulting companies are making these decisions on 97% of the shareholder votes nationwide, and corporations and asset managers accept this advice without even reviewing the recommendations through a method called robo-voting. Often, these two consulting companies have financial or political conflicts of interest that are never disclosed to the original investor. Accounts managed this way see an average of 14% decrease in returns.

The Protecting Retirees’ Savings Act would eliminate these conflicts of interest for financial managers by:

Requiring the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to issue final rules prohibiting the use of robo-voting with respect to votes related to proxy or consent solicitation
Prohibiting institutional investors from outsourcing voting decisions with respect to votes related to proxy
Removing requirements to vote, so no one would be required to cast votes related to proxy
The Protecting Retirees’ Savings Act was passed as part of the Protecting Americans’ Retirement Savings from Politics Act.

(Radio Iowa)- A fire in northwest Iowa last night (Thursday) caused major damage at the site of Rembrandt Enterprises, an egg production facility north of Storm Lake. A total of 14 fire departments from four counties, as well as other agencies, responded to the scene near the town of Rembrandt. The first call was received at 6:18 Thursday evening, and the fire was extinguished a little over three hours later.

Fire crews remained on the scene for the next couple of hours dealing with hot spots and debris. Two facilities were completely destroyed, according to the Buena Vista County Emergency Management Coordinator. There were no injuries. The cause of the fire has not been determined.

City of Storm Lake Facebook page

(Creston, Iowa) – Police in Creston report two people were arrested on separate charges, Thursday. At around 10:15-a.m., 37-year-old Bridget Gabrielle Carroll, of Afton, was arrested in the 300 Block of N. Elm Street, in Creston. She was charged with Possession of Controlled Substance Marijuana 1st Offense. Carroll was taken to Union County Jail, and later posted at $1,000 bond.

And, at around 12:10-p.m., Thursday, 44-year-old Crystal Marie Mack, of Creston, was arrested at Howard and Maple Streets. She was charged with Driving While Revoked. Mack was taken to Union County Jail and later released on a $1,000 bond.

(Audubon, Iowa) – The Rose Theater in Audubon reports an anonymous donor is sponsoring free admission this weekend, for anyone wanting to see the movie “Sound of Freedom.” All weekend show times are included.

The Sound of Freedom is a 2023 American action film starring Jim Caviezel, Mira Sorvino, and Bill Camp. It’s about former government agent Bill Ballard, who embarks on a mission to rescue children from sex traffickers in Colombia.

The plot centers around Ballard’s Operation Underground Railroad, a non-profit, n anti-sex trafficking organization.

The film was released on July 4th.

(Radio Iowa) – New drugs which may help slow the progression of Alzheimer’s disease may soon be available to Iowans. The F-D-A recently approved the drug Leqembi (lah-KEM-bee). Dr. Lynn Rankin, a clinical neurologist at UnityPoint Health in Des Moines, says researchers have waited three decades for a treatment that could impact the progression of Alzheimer’s, but this new treatment can be intensive. Rankin calls Leqembi “a little messy” as it requires an I-V every two weeks, plus M-R-Is multiple times during treatment.

Pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly is seeking F-D-A approval for its experimental Alzheimer’s drug, Donanemab. Rankin says the new drugs may be more of a challenge to distribute in Iowa because the state has a shortage of neurologists. The Iowa chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association estimates there are 66,000 Iowans living with Alzheimer’s or another dementia, and another 98,000 Iowans are their caregivers.

(Corning, Iowa) – The Adams County Sheriff’s Office reports six arrests took place from July 8th through the 22nd.

• On July 22nd: Deputies in Adams County arrested 38-year-old Bihn Duc Nguyen, of Missouri, on a charge of Domestic Abuse Assault. He was being held without bond in the Adams County Jail; 28-year-old Adam Bauman, of Cumberland, was arrested on the 22nd, for Driving While Revoked. His bond was set at $1,000; And, 32-year-old Brandon Sanders, of Pennsylvania, was arrested Saturday (7/22), for Public Intoxication, with bond set at $300.
• On July 12th, Adams County Deputies arrested 47-year-old Shayne Magnuson, of Carbon, for Driving While Suspended. He was released from the scene on a Summons to appear in court.
• On the 8th: 27-year-old Montana Smith, of Bethany, MO., was arrested in Adams County, for Possession of a Controlled Substance/1st offense, and Poss. of Drug Paraphernalia. Her bond was set at $1,300; And, 19-year-old Kale Haffner, of Corning, was arrested at around 1:20-a.m. on July 8th, for OWI/1st offense and Poss. of a Controlled Substance/Marijuana – 1st offense. His bond was set at $2,000.

(Red Oak, Iowa) – Police in Red Oak report the arrest at around 12:30-a.m. Friday (today), of 61-year-old Daniel Mark Kinnersley, from Red Oak. Kinnersley was taken into custody in the 700 block of N. Broadway, and charged with Felony – Burglary in the 3rd Degree. His bond at the Montgomery County Jail, was set at $5,000.

Thursday afternoon, Red Oak Police arrested 44-year-old Wendi Ann Wilkins, of Red Oak, on a Red Oak P-D warrant for Criminal Mischief in the 4th Degree. Wilkins was taken into custody at around 4:35-p.m. in the 200 block of E. Hammond Street, and transported to the Montgomery County Jail, where her bond was set at $1,000.

(Radio Iowa) – Republican presidential candidate Tim Scott says rival Ron DeSantis should be asked to clarify his position on Florida’s new black history curriculum. “As a country founded upon freedom, the greatest deprivation of freedom was slavery,” Scott said. “There was no silver lining in…slavery.” The curriculum includes a line that says slaves developed skills which, in some instances, could be applied for their personal benefit.

Vice President Kamala Harris has said the new curriculum is an attempt to replace history with lies. DeSantis criticized Harris during remarks in Iowa yesterday (Thursday). DeSantis said the curriculum for Florida schools is a 200 page document that has very vivid details about the injustices of slavery. “Anyone that actually read that and listens to Kamala would know that she’s lying,” DeSantis says. “And that particular provision about the skills, that was in spite of slavery, not because of.”

Scott, the first black Republican Senator from the south in more than a century, told reporters in Ankeny last (Thursday) night slavery was about separating families and mutilating humans. “I would hope that every person in our country and certainly running for president would appreciate that and people have bad days, sometimes they regret what they say and we should ask them again to clarify their positions,” Scott said. “…As a guy who believes in Genesis 1:26, you know, the Bible’s very clear. He gave us a lot of authority, but not over each other as humans. Men and women were created to be free.”

Scott and DeSantis will be among the 13 presidential candidates to speak tonight (Friday) at the Iowa Republican Party’s fundraiser in Des Moines. It will be former President Donald Trump’s first in-person appearance at a multi-candidate event in Iowa since he announced his third campaign for the presidency last November. Vice President Harris will also be in Des Moines today (Friday) to talk with local activists about the legal challenge to Iowa’s new fetal heartbeat law that would ban most abortions in the state.

The 2023 Cass County Fair got into full swing on Thursday night with the Little Miss/Mister and Queen and King contests. The event was moved to the outdoor show ring to provide some relief from the hot weather and a large crowd was on hand for the crowning.

10 queen candidates and four king candidates competed for the titles this year. The candidates went through some preliminary judging in both group and individual interviews. Judges also considered their leadership and involvement along with their communication skills. All four king candidates and the top four queen candidates were able to share a bit more about themselves at the event Thursday night and then answer a random question from their peers for final judging.

At the end of the night Natalie Behnken was crowned 2023 Queen and Dylan Comes was crowned 2023 King. Behnken is the daughter of Blaine and Kim Behnken and is a member of the C&M Champions 4-H club and CAM FFA. Comes is the son of Chad and Tresa Comes and is a member of the Atlantic FFA.

The Princess award went to Rio Johnson of the Grove H.O.T. 4-H club and Atlantic FFA. The Prince award went to Tristan Becker of the Union Leaders 4-H club and CAM FFA. Miss Congeniality went to Claire Pellett of the Pymosa 4-H Club and Atlantic FFA. Mr. Congeniality was awarded to Comes.

The Little Miss contest had 17 entrants and the Little Mister contest had 11 entrants. The Little Miss drawing was won by Eve Erickson and the Little Mister drawing winner was Milo Sager.

Watch the full KJANTV broadcast of the event below.