(Grinnell, Iowa) – A call to the Grinnell Police Department last week about a woman who wanted to cross something off her “Bucket List,” resulted in a police escort. The Police Department was contacted by Sammi Bryan with St.Francis Manor/Sealand Park Hammond Center (an assisted living facility), with regard to a resident who was turning 100 years old and wanted to do some things she had never done and wanted to experience. One of those things was to ride in a Police car.

According to the Grinnell P-D’s social media page, Sergeant Chris Wray made contact with Bryan, and arrangements were made to pick up the resident, Dorothy Peak, from one of her appointments in a Police car and escort her back to the Hammond Center at St. Francis Manor.

Sgt. Wray & Dorothy Peak. (Grinnell PD Facebook photo)

Sgt. Wray said the Department was “Honored to be a part of fulfilling one of Dorothy’s “bucket list “ wishes, and wish this special lady a very Happy 100th birthday!! Dorothy celebrated her 100th birthday on Saturday (May 20, 2023).

(Red Oak, Iowa) – A traffic stop at around 3:50-a.m. today (May 22nd) in Red Oak, resulted in the arrest on a drug charge, of a woman from Nebraska. Red Oak Police report the traffic stop took place near Highway 34 and 4th Street, in Red Oak. Upon further investigation, 23-year-old Alanna Rae Minton, of Omaha, was arrested for Possession of a Controlled Substance/Marijuana – 1st offense. Minton was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on a $1,000 bond.

(Radio Iowa) – A special traffic enforcement effort targeting seat belt usage gets underway today (Monday) in the state. Governor’s Traffic Safety Bureau spokesman, Brett Tjepkes says Iowa continues to have good numbers in seat belt surveys. “We’ve been, you know, over 90 percent regularly for quite some time now,” he says. “Even though we do have that high percentage of usage for front seat, drivers and passengers — still in 2022 over half of our people that were killed in crashes in Iowa, we’re not wearing their seatbelts. And so, I think it’s perceived that it’s not a problem anymore,” according to Tjepkes.

He says their goal of lowering traffic deaths could be helped by everyone in the car buckling up. “We took a little dip last year but to date, we still have more people that have died in crashes this year compared to the same time last year.” he says. “Speeding distraction are still major problems as well as impaired drivers. And so wearing your seatbelt is that one thing you can do to protect yourself when you’re in a crash. To protect yourself from others in a crash to have that seatbelt on.”

State law requires anyone under the age of 18 to wear a seatbelt. Tjepkes says it’s important for anyone regardless of age. “If you’re sitting in the backseat of a car, it’s still very important to wear your seatbelt back there also,Tjepkes says. “I think we feel like we’re more protected we’re in that backseat, but a lot of our crashes happen on rural roadways. somebody leaves the road and the car rolls over and those passengers in the backseat are in just as much danger of getting ejected out of a car and in being severely or fatally injured.”

The national seatbelt campaign coincides with the Memorial Day holiday and the start of the summer driving season. ” But I can tell you are our law enforcement partners that we work with all over the state are out looking for seatbelt usage and addressing those with either with citations or educational opportunities all year long.,” he says. The “Click it or Ticket” enforcement will run through June 4th.

(Red Oak, Iowa) – The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office reports one person was arrested following a traffic stop Sunday evening, in the 1000 block of Highway 34. 31-year-old Corey Gloden, of Ft. Myers Beach, FL, was taken into custody at around 5-p.m., for Possession of a Controlled Substance/1st offense – Marijuana. His cash bond was set at $1,000 .

(Radio Iowa) – A University of Iowa study finds people who have a blundering boss will give them a pass if that boss is older, but they’ll judge more harshly if the boss is younger. Michele Williams, a U-I professor of management and entrepreneurship, co-authored the study that surveyed hundreds of professionals. It found workers are more willing to accept an incompetent boss who’s older and more experienced, but they’re less likely to tolerate incompetence if the boss is younger.

“When your boss is competent, age doesn’t matter,” Williams says. “If you’re a younger boss and you’ve been promoted and you’re doing a great job, people accept and respect you and think the performance system is fair, but when you’re less competent, then that older piece kicks in.” Those working under an older supervisor may convince themselves their employer’s promotion system is fair and their boss isn’t so bad. Williams says that worker is likely justifying a system that’s -not- fair, just to avoid the mental conflict that could result from acknowledging an unfair system.

“When they feel like they’re in a low power position or they don’t have many job alternatives or as the economy gets worse and jobs dry up,” Williams says, “then people are more likely to look to those status characteristics as evidence that their organization is fair because they want to justify the system.” The study found that workers who think their younger, less experienced boss is incompetent will begin to question the fairness of their employers’ promotion system. Williams says that can have a negative impact on their behavior, their morale, and their productivity.

“Using age as a marker of the fairness of the system is good for the organization, in the sense people aren’t getting disgruntled and they’re not complaining, but it is not good for the individual employee,” Williams says. “They’re not seeing things clearly. They’re accepting a boss that maybe they should be talking to the organization about getting someone else promoted into that position.” So what are the take-aways from the study? Williams says people need to remember to judge a person by their actions, not their appearance, and give the new boss an opportunity to prove him or herself.

“Transitions are difficult, so when you get a new boss coming in, it’s a change, they’re going to change the way things are done,” Williams says, “and keeping that open mind, and giving that person a chance — regardless of their age — is so important. Age is something that’s kind of still under the radar in our culture.”

The study is being published in the Journal of Applied Psychology.

(Cape Canaveral, FL) – Iowa born Astronaut Peggy Whitson and three other members of the SpaceX AX-2 Dragon crew launched into space from Florida, Sunday. Whitson, who retired from NASA, is the station’s first female commander who holds the U.S. record for most accumulated time in space: 665 days and counting. The four member team are expected to spend a little over a week there before returning home with a splashdown off the Florida coast.

Others onboard during the launch include a man and woman from Saudi Arabia – a fighter pilot and scientist – and the owner of a sports car racing team from Tennessee. Whitson works for SpaceX. The others paid for their seat on the 10-day mission. While the cost of their ticket wasn’t disclosed, The company previously stated the price tag would be in the area of $55-million each.

Falcon 9 launches Ax-2, Dragon’s 10th human spaceflight (SpaceX social media post)

The Saudi government is sponsoring the flight for the country’s two space-faring crew.

(Marshalltown, Iowa) – Officials with the Marshalltown Police Department reported Sunday, that at around 6:21-p.m. Saturday, a Marshalltown Police Department vehicle struck a four-year-old, male child. The accident occurred near the intersection of Woodbury Street and North 12^th Avenue, in Marshalltown. The police vehicle was being driven by Officer David Danielson.The name of the child was not released.

Authorities say Officer Danielson was conducting a routine patrol through the area when the accident occurred. The Officer immediately requested medical treatment for the child, who was subsequently transported to an area medical facility and treated for an injury to his right foot and lower leg. The child also suffered various scratches and abrasions, but appears to have avoided serious injury. He was treated and released, pending additional medical follow-up later this week.

Officer Danielson has served the City of Marshalltown as a police officer for sixteen years. He currently works as a uniformed patrol officer.

The Marshalltown Police Department was assisted at the accident scene by the Marshalltown Fire Department and the Unity Point Ambulance service. An investigation into the accident is continuing.

(Radio Iowa) – A new report ranks Iowa 20th in the nation for the overall health of older adults. The annual America’s Health Rankings by the United Health Care Foundation looks at more than 50 factors that affect adults over the age of 64. It found Iowa seniors have low rates of food insecurity and mental distress — and very few elderly Iowans avoided seeking medical care due to the cost. Archana Dubey is the Chief Medical Officer at United Healthcare. She says Iowa also ranks low for the number of doctors who specialize in treating aging adults, but that’s improving.

“There is a definite increase in geriatric providers,” she says. “That’s something that I did notice – a 19% increase in physicians who are practicing this specialty.” The report found a low rate of social isolation among elderly Iowans. However, it did find households with someone age 65 or above are slightly less likely to have a high speed connection to the internet.

“Even though nationally, we improved on internet access, but we noticed that in Iowa, we could do better so there is a lower percentage of household connectivity to high speed internet,” Dubey says. The report found 79 percent of Iowa households with people age 65 plus have high speed internet. That compared to 83 percent nationally. Dubey says being able to go online to order groceries or visit with a nurse or doctor is important to the health of older adults.

The United Health Care Foundation’s annual report found dental health among Iowa seniors has improved, while the rate of injuries from falls among older adults in Iowa is higher than the national average.

(Red Oak, Iowa) – An accident at around 8-p.m. Sunday in Montgomery County claimed the life of a man from Red Oak. The Iowa State Patrol reports 68-year-old Miles H. Russell died, when the 2019 Ford F-150 pickup he was driving crossed the center line of eastbound Highway 34 near Eastern Avenue in Red Oak, and struck the front driver’s side of a westbound 2007 Peterbilt tractor-trailer, driven by 54-year-old Jonathan D. Gonseth, of Murray.

Following the collision, the pickup struck a road sign and came to rest partially in the north ditch. The semi came to rest partially on the road and westbound shoulder. Miles Russell – who was not wearing a seat belt – was transported by Red Oak Fire to the Montgomery County Memorial Hospital, where he died from his injuries. Gonseth suffered minor injuries, but was not transported to the hospital.