The Audubon County Sheriff’s Office reports a Pottawattamie County man suffered possible, unknown injuries during a motorcycle accident Thursday afternoon, on Highway 44. 76-year old James Russell Wharton, of Avoca, was transported to the Audubon County Memorial Hospital by Audubon Rescue, after the 2014 Yamaha motorcycle he was driving westbound on Highway 44, left the road on a curve. The cycle entered a ditch and traveled for about 100 yards before hitting a street sign post. Wharton was ejected from the motorcycle during the crash.

The accident happened at around 3:30-p.m.  Damage to the cycle was estimated at $1,500.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) – A report says 2,300 patients at Veterans Affairs hospitals in Iowa and South Dakota were assigned to “ghost panels,” or primary care doctors who no longer worked there. Critics say the practice is a way some VA hospitals have made caseloads appear artificially small. It can be disruptive for patients, who have to see different doctors if they need care and may face longer wait times.

Federal auditors investigated the use of ghost panels at the request of Rep. Timothy Walz of Minnesota. A report issued Thursday found two panels at the Iowa City VA and two at the Blacks Hills VA. The report says the practice violates department policy, which requires patients to be reassigned when doctors leave employment. But it found no evidence that patients were negatively affected.

Sheriff’s officials in Pottawattamie County say a report of a motorist driving erratically in a pickup truck Thursday evening, resulted in the arrest of a Nebraska man on OWI and drug charges. 58-year old Michael Ray Starks, of Omaha, was arrested at around 5:45-p.m. on Dogwood Road, about a mile east of Highway 59. Starks was charged with OWI/1^st offense, and Possession of a Controlled Substance, after he was found to be in possession of about 4.6-grams of marijuana. Starks was booked into the Pott. County Jail.

The Sheriff’s Office said also, 55-year old Curtis Fletcher, of Underwood, was arrested Thursday morning on a charge of Harassment by intimidation in the 1^st degree, after he allegedly threatened to shoot a male acquaintance, if he came knocking on his apartment door again. The incident, which took place at 311 3^rd Street, was witnessed by the apartment manager.

And, a Shelby man was arrested at around 2:30-a.m. today (Friday), following an accident on Interstate 80. A van driven by 63-year old John Francis Berry, of Shelby, rear-ended a semi near mile marker 30. After an investigation, Berry was charged with OWI/1^st offense after he tested over twice the legal limit for intoxication. Berry was also cited for various other traffic offenses. He was booked into the Pott. County Jail. No injuries were reported.

A report from the advocacy arm of the American Cancer Society finds Iowa is making strides in efforts to reduce cancer incidence and death, but still has plenty of work to do. The government relations director for the agency’s Cancer Action Network, David Holmquist, says of the ten main criteria, Iowa got an excellent “green” rating in four areas, “yellow” in two, and a failing “red” grade in the remaining four.

“They have a very strong smoke-free law,” Holmquist says. “They have better provisions for those patients at end of life who need access to critical pain-relieving drugs. They also did expand Medicaid three or four years ago, that’s a huge improvement.” One of Iowa’s yellow areas — where the report suggests progress is needed — is in the category of tobacco excise taxes. Iowa’s cigarette tax is $1.36 per pack, which is far above Missouri’s tax of only 17-cents, but is far below states like New York, where the tax per pack is over $4.

Holmquist says Iowa ranked poorly in several key categories of the report.”They need to improve their funding for tobacco control and prevention,” Holmquist says. “They need more state funds for the breast and cervical cancer (screening) program. They need some improvements in their palliative care provisions, so, provision of care that begins at the beginning of the diagnosis and goes through the continuum of life.” Another “red” ranking for Iowa comes with the lack of regulation on tanning beds, especially the lack of restrictions for teens using them.

“We have huge concerns about tanning beds and young people particularly,” Holmquist says. “We believe that no one under 18 should use a tanning bed.” He says exposure to ultraviolet radiation, through sunlight and indoor tanning devices, is one of the most avoidable risk factors for skin cancer. In Iowa this year, an estimated 17,100 people will be diagnosed with cancer and 6,470 will die from it. With the knowledge we have today, Holmquist says we could prevent roughly half of cancer deaths in the United States. This is the 14th year for the study.

See the full “How Do You Measure Up?” report here: http://www.acscan.org/content/report-cards/2016/iowa/

(Radio Iowa)

Marshalltown police are investigating an attempted child abduction on Thursday afternoon. A ten-year-old girl was approached by a man in a silver four-door car. He tried talking to her, to get her name and offered her money to get into his car. She ran away and was not harmed. The man is described as having dark hair and sunglasses.

Sergeant Melinda Ruopp, of the Marshalltown Police Department, says the case is similar to ones reported in Grundy and Black Hawk counties. Area parents are being reminded to talk to young persons about “stranger danger.”

(Radio Iowa)