One person died and another was injured during a crash that occurred late Friday night, in Mills County. The Iowa State Patrol reports a 2006 Harley Davidson motorcycle was traveling westbound in the eastbound lanes of Highway 34 between mile markers 1 and 2, at the same time a 2019 KIA SUV was traveling eastbound. The motorcycle and SUV collided head-on at around 11:10-p.m., resulting in the death of the motorcycle operator, 39-year-old Jacob Otto Saxer, of Bellevue, NE.

The driver of the SUV was identified as 25-year-old Leeva Unique Kitchens, of Sidney (IA). Kitchen was transported by Glenwood Rescue to the Bellevue Hospital.

The State Patrol was assisted at the scene by the Mills County Sheriff’s Office and Nebraska State Patrol.

(Red Oak, Iowa) – The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office reports deputies were dispatched at around 12:10-a.m. today (Saturday), to the 500 block of E. 4th Street, in Villisca, for a reported assault in progress. Following an investigation, Deputies arrested 39-year-old Kevin Bradshaw, of Villisca, who was charged with Domestic Abuse Assault (by) impeding the flow of air/blood, and Assault causing bodily injury.

Kevin Bradshaw was being held without bond, in the Montgomery County Jail.

The coalition’s report shows that 6 in 10 of all U.S. nursing homes would have met the new nurse-staffing standard of 3.48 hours in the fourth quarter of 2023. Iowa homes fell below the national average, with 56.5% of them meeting the new standard.

The report indicates the Iowa homes with the lowest nurse staffing levels in the fourth quarter of 2023 were Arbor Springs of West Des Moines, Midlands Living Center of Council Bluffs, Linn Haven Rehab & Health Care of New Hampton, Pleasant Acres Care Center of Hull, Northbrook Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center of Cedar Rapids, Crest Haven Care Centre of Creston and Aspire of Perry. All reported less than 2.5 hours of total nursing care per resident, per day, according to the report.

A separate set of data published by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services indicates that 14% of Iowa’s 422 nursing facilities were cited for insufficient staffing in fiscal year 2023. That’s more than double the national average, which was 5.9%.

The report also highlights a problem in many nursing homes nationwide: high staff turnover, which disrupts continuity of care and leads to errors by workers who aren’t familiar with residents’ needs.  The Iowa homes with the highest rate of nursing-staff turnover, ranging from 85% to 100%, were Risen Son Christian Village of Council Bluffs, Sunrise Retirement Community of Sioux City, Wesley Acres of Des Moines, Arbor Springs of West Des Moines, Dunlap Specialty Care, Azria Health Park Place of Des Moines, Sunny Knoll Care Centre of Rockwell City, and Montezuma Specialty Care.

The report also identifies the Iowa nursing homes that had the highest number of administrators who left employment with the facility during 2023. The Elmwood Care Centre of Onawa and Heritage Specialty Care of Cedar Rapids, are each reported to have had five administrators who left the facility in 2023. Azria Health Park Place of Des Moines, Sunny Knoll Care Centre of Rockwell City, Crest Haven Care Centre of Creston, Cedar Falls Health Care Center, Premier Estates of Muscatine, Westwood Specialty Care of Sioux City, Casa De Paz Health Care Center of Sioux City, Wesley Park Centre of Newton, and Garden View Care Center of Shenandoah each are reported to have had four administrators leave during the year. Ten other Iowa nursing homes had three administrators leave during the year.

DES MOINES, Iowa – A Waukee man was sentenced today to 25 years in federal prison for production and possession of child pornography.

According to public court documents and evidence presented at sentencing,  Michael Alan Jagim, 52, created and produced child pornography, using secreted video recording devices. On December 14, 2021, after receiving a cyber-tip, law enforcement officers conducted a search of Jagim’s residence and seized multiple electronic devices. A forensic analysis of these devices found multiple videos of child sex abuse material, including videos created by Jagim, for a total of 3,620 images. Jagim was also ordered to pay $28,123 in victim restitution.

After completion of his prison term, Jagim will be required to serve ten years of supervised release. There is no parole in the federal system. Jagim was also ordered to pay $10,200 in special assessments.

United States Attorney Richard D. Westphal of the Southern District of Iowa made the announcement. This case was investigated by the Waukee Police Department, the Urbandale Police Department, the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, and the FBI Child Exploitation Task Force.

This case was prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa as part of the U.S. Department of Justice’s “Project Safe Childhood” initiative, which was started in 2006 as a nationwide effort to combine law enforcement investigations and prosecutions, community action, and public awareness in order to reduce the incidence of sexual exploitation of children. Any persons having knowledge of a child being sexually abused are encouraged to call the Iowa Sexual Abuse Hotline at 1-800-284-7821.

(Radio Iowa) – The owner of a dog has been charged with two simple misdemeanors for violating dangerous animal ordinances after a child was attacked by the dog in southeast Iowa Wednesday. The Ottumwa Police Department says it received a call of a nine-year-old girl who was attacked by a dog that was later determined to be a pit bull. The girl was transported to the hospital with injuries to her face, head, arm, shoulder, and hand. Her current condition is unknown.

The pit bull was euthanized and its remains will be tested to determine if it had rabies since it was not vaccinated. Police say 48-year-old Bradford Henry admitted to being the owner of the animal, telling law enforcement that he had the dog since it was a puppy.

Henry was released from the Wapello County Jail after posting bond.

(Radio Iowa) – The retirement system for more than 47-hundred current or retired Iowa sheriffs and deputies is being enhanced. A bill signed into law this week increases the maximum benefit payment that’s allowed for sheriffs and deputies who retire after at least 23 years of service. Sheriffs or deputies who retire after 30 years on the job in Iowa would be able to receive 80 percent of their annual salary as a pension.

Senator Charlie McClintock, of Alburnett, has been a police officer in Cedar Rapids since 1994 and is currently the department’s 9-1-1 manager. “I started out as a deputy sheriff and I can tell you this is a big deal to them and everything that they do,” McClintock says. “…They’re not only doing patrol and investigations and traffic, they do our jails, our transports and our overall law enforcement.”

Representative Monica Kurth of Davenport says a beefed up pension may spur some to stay on the job. “We are losing well trained employees in law enforcement because wages and benefits are better in other places,” Kurth says. The legislation also provides a state income tax credit of up to two-thousand dollars to officers who move to Iowa to take a job in law enforcement. It would be for moving expenses. A third section of the law sets new bail restrictions for people accused of murdering or assaulting a peace officer or a prison employee.

One lawmaker called the bill the 2024 legislature’s “back the blue” package. It passed the House and Senate unanimously.

(Atlantic, Iowa) –  The last call for Rod Cook, a member of the Lewis Fire Department was sent out today (Friday) by a dispatcher with the Cass County Communications Center.

Rodney “Rod” Cook died Monday, April 29, 2024, at his home in rural Atlantic. He was 73 years old.

Rodney Cook (photo from Roland Funeral Home. com)

He was a lifetime member and past Commander of the VFW Post #3415, and was a member of the Lewis Fire Department since 1976. In honor of his dedication to service, the Lewis Fire Department escorted Cook to his final resting place in the Atlantic Cemetery, where his burial is with military honors.

(Radio Iowa) – The State Department of Education is updating some of its previously reported high school graduation rates. The Education Department announced the data used to calculate the graduation rates for the last ten years left out students who had transferred to another school and then dropped out. Most recently, the correction increased the 2023 graduation rate by a tenth of a point to 87-point-five percent.

The rates for 2021 and 2022 fell by more than two percentage points to 87-point-eight percent for 2021 and 87-point-four percent for 2022. The Department says in a statement that Iowa’s four-year graduation rate for the class of 2023 is consistent with the national standard and it’s above the 2023 rates reported by Minnesota, Nebraska, and South Dakota.

(Council Bluffs, IA) – Officials with the Community Foundation for Western Iowa, today (Friday) announced that the Iowa West Foundation has generously committed a 1-to-1 match of $50,000 for donations made to the Southwest Iowa Emergency Relief Fund. The fund at the Community Foundation for Western Iowa is a philanthropic response to the increasing needs throughout Pottawattamie County due to the catastrophic tornadoes that tore through the region on April 26. Iowa West matching funds will provide relief to individuals impacted in Pottawattamie County.

In Pottawattamie County, officials estimate approximately 300 residential homes and businesses were either partially damaged or fully destroyed. In Minden specifically, officials currently assess 48 homes as destroyed, displacing resident occupancy. The outpouring of support in response to the devastation that occurred in our communities is incredible, and the Community Foundation is proud to be a funding source to help provide assistance for our friends, family and neighbors who have been affected.

Community Foundation for Western Iowa President and CEO Donna Dostal says “Our community is focused on helping assist recovery, and at the Community Foundation, our work right in this moment is dedicated to helping families and communities now and into the future. We are truly grateful to the Iowa West Foundation for this significant investment to the recovery of several communities, and value our continued partnership.”

Donations to the Southwest Iowa Emergency Relief Fund will be distributed to nonprofit organizations, city and county governmental organizations, and church groups working with the communities affected by the heartbreaking loss and destruction. To donate to the Relief Fund, visit:
https://bit.ly/southwest-iowa-relief-fund or www.givewesterniowa.org.

Brenda Mainwaring, President and CEO of the Iowa West Foundation, says “All of us are asking how we can help our neighbors begin to rebuild their lives. The Foundation’s goal in partnering with the Community Foundation is to encourage everyone to give just a little more, knowing that their contribution will be doubled. We are committed to helping our communities through these immediate efforts, and in their long-term recovery as well.”

The Southwest Iowa Emergency Relief Fund will provide funding to organizations and services in Pottawattamie County that are filling basic human needs, rebuilding communities, and providing direct support to individuals and families. Organizations and groups that are on the frontline of relief efforts are encouraged to apply through the Community Foundation for Western Iowa’s website at: www.givewesterniowa.org.

Additionally, SHARE Iowa – an initiative of the Community Foundation – is a resource to access information on how you can assist our communities through relief efforts, such as volunteer opportunities and in-kind donations. The SHARE Iowa team continues to work directly with Pottawattamie County Emergency Management and Pottawattamie County officials on approved volunteer opportunities and donation needs.

The Relief Resource website will be updated regularly and can be accessed by visiting: www.sharegoodiowa.org/emergencyrelief

For those directly impacted by the April 26 tornadoes, it is vital that property owners report storm-related damage on the Pottawattamie County Emergency Management Agency website, pcema-ia.org, as local and state officials explore opportunities for federal funding.

DES MOINES, Iowa – On Friday, May 10, 2024 at 10-a.m., Governor Kim Reynolds, Lt. Governor Adam Gregg, Iowa Department of Public Safety Commissioner Stephan Bayens, State of Iowa leadership, law enforcement partners and families will pay tribute to fallen peace officers who gave the ultimate sacrifice while serving. Iowa DPS remains dedicated to remembering the brave men and women of law enforcement who died in the line of duty protecting Iowans and their communities. This year, two officers will be honored and added to the Iowa Peace Officer Memorial:

• Officer Kevin Cram, Algona Police Department. End of Watch September 13, 2023: Officer Cram was attempting to make an arrest around 8 p.m. that night when a suspect shot and killed him, according to the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation. Cram, a 33-year-old husband and father, was a 10-year law enforcement veteran who had been an officer in Algona since 2015. He was the 219th law enforcement officer to die in the line-of-duty.
  

  Algona Police Officer Kevin Cram

• Officer Phoukham Tran, Des Moines Police Department. End of Watch November 2, 2023: Des Moines Senior Police Officer Phoukham Tran had been directing traffic at the Iowa State Fair on Aug. 19, 2011, when he was struck by a drunken driver in a 3-ton pickup truck. Tran was thrown nearly 50 feet. He suffered from a punctured lung and severe head trauma. Tran medically retired from the force after the incident. He had served 30 years with the Des Moines Police Department before his retirement. He died November 2nd, 2023.

You are invited to join state and local officials in honoring the fallen peace officers, as well as the many other Iowa officers who have given their lives in the line of duty.

Dsm Sr. Police Officer Phoukham Tran (Retired)

If you are unable to attend this year’s ceremony, there are many ways you can observe National Police Week May 12-18, 2024. Please take time to thank current peace officers for protecting and serving your community and the great State of Iowa.

Details:
IOWA PEACE OFFICER MEMORIAL CEREMONY
Friday, May 7, 2024 at 10:00 a.m.
Iowa Peace Officer Memorial
Grounds East of Oran Pape State Office Building
215 East 7th Street
Des Moines, Iowa
(Rain Location: State Capitol rotunda)

Facebook Livestream: https://www.facebook.com/IowaDPS/

Find more information about the memorial and previous honorees here: https://dps.iowa.gov/iowa-peace-officer-memorial