More area and State news from KJAN News Director Ric Hanson.

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The Guthrie Co Sheriff’s Office is warning residents to be aware of scam phone calls. The calls are from people impersonating the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and juvenile court services and wanting money and personal information. The Sheriff’s office reminds residents to never give out personal information over the phone to somebody you don’t know.

EARLY, Iowa (AP) – A judge has upheld the murder conviction of an Iowa mother who shot and killed her 20-year-old neighbor in 2001. Judge Michael Moon rejected an application for post-conviction relief filed by Tracey Richter, who’s serving life in prison in the slaying of 20-year-old Dustin Wehde.

Prosecutors contend Richter lured Wehde into her home in the tiny northwest Iowa town of Early, and shot him several times in her bedroom. They say she killed Wehde as part of a plot to frame her ex-husband during a custody battle.

Richter contends she acted in self-defense during a home invasion. She argued her 2011 conviction was tainted by errors at the trial by her defense lawyer, the prosecutor and the judge. Moon rejected all of those arguments in a 30-page ruling last month.

Sheriff’s officials in Pottawattamie County report four people were hurt in separate motorcycle accidents, Sunday. The Omaha World-Herald says the crashes occurred near Walnut, Underwood and Crescent. None involved another vehicle. Sunday afternoon near Walnut, the male driver of a motorcycle took an S-curve too fast near 510th Street and Sumac. The cycle rolled into a ditch. The driver and his passenger, who were not wearing helmets, suffered head injuries and were transported by ambulance to the Cass County Memorial Hospital in Atlantic, before being flown by helicopter to the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha. Their injuries were not considered life-threatening at the time of the accident.

Police in Creston report two OWI related arrests. 30-year old Samantha Whitfield, of Creston, was arrested Friday for OWI/1st offense. And, 21-year old Zachary Koch, of Creston, was arrested Sunday, also for OWI/1st offense. Both were later released from the Union County Jail on $1,000 bond, each.

And, Creston Specialty Care reported to police Friday morning, that a client had her wallet taken from her room. The family was advised to cancel any credit cards. The loss was estimated at $50.

The area’s top news at 7:06-a.m., w/KJAN News Director Ric Hanson

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There are -no- new cases of bird flu reported this fall as yet, but the aftershocks are still being felt from the widespread outbreak in Iowa and elsewhere this spring. Poultry producers continue to rebuild their flocks after millions of birds were wiped out by the disease. U-S-D-A livestock analyst Shayle Shagam says the latest egg production numbers are still showing a drop. Shagam says, “We are currently looking at total egg production in the United States being down about 8% in September compared to a year earlier.”

Iowa was the worst-hit state by bird fly earlier this year. Iowa had 75 confirmed outbreaks in 18 counties, which led to some 32-million chickens and turkeys dying or having to be euthanized statewide. The federal survey shows the poultry industry is starting to recover and rebuild. “The industry is attempting to expand the number of egg-type hatching layers,” Shagam says. “On October 1st, it was about 3% above a year ago, so we’re looking at an expansion there. If we look at the number of egg-type chicks hatched during September, they were up about 13% from 2014.”

“We’re having to raise the birds that will raise the birds that will raise the eggs,” he says. Consumers continue to see higher prices for eggs. Shagam says the wholesale cost during the 4th quarter will be about $2.45 a dozen, compared to $1.63 a year ago. There are rising fears more bird flu outbreaks could occur this fall as migrating wild waterfowl, which are blamed for carrying the disease, head south for the winter.

(Radio Iowa)

An investigation into narcotics trafficking in Montgomery County led to the arrest Sunday night of a man and woman on felony drug charges. Red Oak Police reports 45-year old Shelby Joann Olivares and 46-year old Lynn Kenneth Houtchens, both of Red Oak, were taken into custody at around 9:50-p.m. in the 400 block of E. Market Street.

Houtchens and Olivares each face one felony count of Delivery of a Schedule 2 Controlled Substance and three aggravated misdemeanor counts each, of Delivery of a Schedule 4 Controlled Substance. Houtchens was also charged with Possession of Methamphetamine, a serious misdemeanor.

Houtchens and Olivares were being held in the Montgomery County Jail on $50,000 cash bond, each. Red Oak Police were assisted in the investigation and arrests by Montgomery County Sheriff’s Deputies.

The Iowa Department of Public Health plans to give out three million dollars in federal funding to help provide more treatment for those with addictions to prescription drugs and heroin. The department’s Monica Wilke Brown says those who’re addicted will be treated with a couple of types of medication. “There’s been a limited level of treatment options for people who wanted to use medications. The research has gotten very well developed over the last for some people in some cases,” Brown says.

She says the medications that treat the addiction work in a couple of ways. “Some work in the brain to reduce the cravings that people have for the drug,” Brown explains. “And others make it less pleasurable for people to use the drugs.” The grant money will go to substance abuse providers who have medical professionals on their staff who can monitor and use of the medication to help the patients. Brown says that’s important because of the differences in how people react to treatment.

“One person might have success with methadone and another person might have success with maltrexone. Just like individuals are different, they respond differently to different medications,” Brown says. Brown says the number of people admitted for the treatment for addiction for the pain-killing drugs known as Opioids, has gone up rapidly. “It’s increased 152 percent just from 2007 to 2012. And one of the things that is of a particular concern with Opioid drugs — whether they are prescription drugs or heroin — the risk of overdose is great, and people can die from overdose,” Brown says. Thirty-three Iowans died from opioid overdose deaths last year.

“As people get more and more pain medications — usually legitimately after a surgery or an injury of some sort — then some people end up addicted and with a disorder from using that opioid. We’ve seen that increase here in Iowa, just as we have seen across the country,” according to Brown. Nineteen people died in Iowa last year from heroin overdoses. She says there will be treatment services available across the state.

You can Google “Iowa Drug Treatment” or look on the Drug-Free-Iowa.org website to find a treatment provider. “People can also reach out to their physician and ask for a referral for specialized services, because substance abuse treatment is really medical care for a chronic condition,” Brown says. One million dollars of the money from the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration will be distributed each year for a three-year period.

(Radio Iowa)

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A meat company based in Nebraska is recalling 167,427 pounds of ground beef that might be tainted with E. coli bacteria. The U.S. Department of Agriculture said Sunday that All American Meats Incorporated is recalling the meat that was sold to retailers nationwide. No illnesses have been linked to the beef.

The recalled meat was produced on October 16th, and it was sold in either 60-pound or 80-pound packages. All the meat that is being recalled had a sell-by date of Nov. 3 and establishment number 20420 in the USDA inspection stamp.