(Radio Iowa) – Iowans are paying over a dollar a gallon more for gasoline now than they were a year ago, and Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley, a Republican, blames the Democrat in the White House. Grassley says he’s introduced a bipartisan bill to combat anti-competitive practices by foreign oil producers who control 82-percent of the world’s oil reserve, namely OPEC. “Gas prices have been at a seven-year high since Memorial Day and they keep going up,” Grassley says. “According to AAA, Americans must pay $17 more on average to fill up their vehicles compared last year.”

Grassley says, “Biden has made clear he’s not a friend of domestic oil producers,” while crude oil prices have doubled since the 2020 election. The president is “scrambling,” Grassley says, to bring relief to consumers, but is going about it the wrong way. “He should prioritize biofuels to reduce the cost at the pump,” Grassley says. “This would also reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Unfortunately, he hasn’t taken the proper moves on biofuels to keep prices down.”

Grassley says the president pleaded with OPEC to reduce prices and to increase production and in Grassley’s words, OPEC told Biden to “go pound sand.” Grassley’s legislation is called NOPEC (NO-peck), which stands for the No Oil Producing and Exporting Cartels Act. “I introduced a bipartisan bill that would allow the United States to sue OPEC and its partners for anti-trust violations that increase gas prices,” Grassley says. “When OPEC meets, that’s collusion to set world prices.”

Grassley says if the administration insists on limiting domestic oil production, the U-S should at least have the tools to hold OPEC accountable for anti-competitive products and conduct. Triple-A-Iowa reports gas prices in the state are averaging $3.15 a gallon, up from $2.02 a year ago. The national average is $3.38.

More area and state news from Ric Hanson.

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(Des Moines, Iowa) – Governor Kim Reynolds, has ordered flags to be flown at half-staff from sunrise to sunset on Wednesday, Oct. 27th, in honor and remembrance of Iowa State Patrol Trooper, Ted Benda. Trooper Benda died as a result of injuries he suffered during a single-vehicle accident while enroute to assist the Clayton County Sheriff’s Office with a wanted suspect. Benda’s funeral is being held at the Waukon High School at 11 a.m. Wednesday.

The Governor says she and her husband Kevin “Join with Iowans in mourning the loss of this dedicated servant and we keep his family, friends and fellow brothers and sisters in uniform in our thoughts and prayers as they cope with this devastating loss.”

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Flags will be at half-staff on the state Capitol Building, on flag displays in the Capitol Complex and on all public buildings, grounds and facilities throughout the state. Individuals, businesses, schools, municipalities, counties and other government subdivisions are encouraged to lower flags as a sign of respect.

(Creston, Iowa) – Police in Creston report the arrest of a man on a Theft charge, Monday afternoon. Authorities say at around 1:40-p.m., 29-year-old Kevin Lee Davis, of Creston, was arrested at his residence, for Theft in the 5th Degree. Davis was cited and released at the scene, on a Promise to Appear in court.

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(Radio Iowa) – A Chicago man has been sentenced to more than six years in prison for defrauding Iowa concert venues. Court records show at least six Iowa venues were bilked by 43-year-old Romel Murphy for concerts that never happened. One paid Murphy 50-thousand dollars. According to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Murphy claimed to be a talent booker and sent fake contracts to entertainment venues that appeared to cover artists’ fees for concerts. Prosecutors say Murphy pocketed more than 410-thousand dollars. He pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud. Murphy has three previous fraud convictions.

Murphy’s scheme defrauded concert venues across the country, but none were named. A federal judge has ordered him to pay back the fees he pocketed. Murphy may have made some connections in the industry by working as the road manager for a national recording artist in 2017. The artist, identified by the initials K.C. in court documents, fired Murphy after one month.

(Radio Iowa) – A report by the Iowa Attorney General’s Crime Victim Assistance Division shows there were 17 domestic violence deaths in the first nine months of 2021. Division Director, Sandi Tibbetts Murphy, says that is the same amount in all of 2020. “That’s absolutely the first big concern that we see — we are once again at a higher rate than we have been historically — and with three months left to go in the year we are already at 17 domestic violence homicides,” Tibbetts Murphy says.

Tibbetts Murphy can’t say there is a direct link to the pandemic — but says it is an aggravating factor. “I certainly think the pandemic has made it much more difficult for those needing help to get access to it,” she says. She says many of the service providers work one-on-one with the victims and the pandemic has made that difficult. “They really were forced to almost withdraw, so again, all of those supports were incredibly curtailed during the pandemic. So, I think that certainly can be a correlation with the rise in homicides,” Tibbetts Murphy says.

Tibbetts Murphy says the Victims of Crime Act or VOCA federal funding dropped nearly 18 million dollars this year and that is also a concern. “Many of our programs rely on the VOCA funds for the majority of their budgets,” Tibbetts Murphy says. “And for a program to lose eight percent this year — but a potential 20 percent of their budget next year — could mean not only the elimination of services in some communities, the elimination of some jobs in communities, but even the closing of programs and shelters across the state.”

She says a fix is in the works to restore some of the funding, but it could take some time. Eleven of the 17 people killed so far this year have been women, and that has been the case since the statistics started being tracked in 1995. “It’s been so unfortunate that we can’t seem to solve that,” according to Tibbetts Murphy. “And that right now the most we can do is try to provide services and safety to victims so that they are able to make decisions about their planning and their lives in a way that is safe, or as safe as it can be. But the threat of that homicide is always there.”

Tibbetts Murphy says you should get help in dealing with your situation. “Our advice is always to seek the help of an advocate,. We have advocacy programs across the state. They provide services that are free and confidential. And they can work with victims to assess their needs, and assess their safety planning issues, and connect them with local resources that they may not know about or may not be able to access on their own.”

Some of the domestic violence resources available include the Iowa Domestic Violence Helpline at 800-770-1650. The National Domestic Violence Hotline is available at 800-799-SAFE or 799-7233. You can text “START” to 88788. The Love is Respect Teen Dating Violence Hotline is 866-331-9474, or text “LOVEIS” to 22522. All services are free and confidential.

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa – A southwest Iowa man was sentenced Monday in Council Bluffs U-S District Court, to serve slightly more than 17-years in prison, for Receipt and Possession of Child Pornography. In addition, the judge ordered 33-year-old Kenneth Howard Crum, Jr., of Sidney, to serve 10 years of supervised release following his imprisonment.

According to court documents, Crum pleaded guilty to the offenses in June of 2021. In November 2020, law enforcement investigated Crum for harassing his ex-wife through postings on the internet. The investigation revealed Crum also took pictures of children and posted the images on various internet websites. A search warrant was obtained to seize Crum’s
cellular telephone and a forensic examination of the cell phone located images and videos of child pornography, most involving children less than 12 years of age.

The Fremont County Sheriff’s Office and the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation – Iowa Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force investigated the case.

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa – The U-S Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa reports a man from Atlantic, 39-year-old Christopher M. Jespersen, was sentenced Monday (Oct. 25) to 10-years in prison, for Possession with Intent to Distribute Methamphetamine. His prison term will be followed by five-years of supervised release. Additionally, Jespersen was sentenced to 15 months to be served after his 120- month sentence for violating the terms of his supervised release from a prior conviction.

According to court documents, Jespersen pleaded guilty to the offense in June of 2021. In March of 2021, Jespersen was stopped for a traffic violation while driving in Dallas  County, Iowa. A lawful search of Jespersen’s vehicle recovered over 100 grams of methamphetamine along with digital scales and other drug distribution paraphernalia.

Dallas County Sheriff’s Department, Mid-Iowa Narcotics Task Force, and the Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement investigated the case.