w/Kate Olson.
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A traffic stop in Red Oak Tuesday evening, resulted in the arrest of 31-year old Austin Ray Aherns, of Red Oak. Red Oak Police say Ahrens was taken into custody for Driving While Barred. He was transported to the Montgomery County Jail and held on a $2,000 bond.
(Radio Iowa) – An Iowan who says he discovered what he describes as a “world changing” truth about his conception is urging Iowa legislators to make fertility fraud a crime. Mark Hansen says he wishes this scenario on no one. “In 2014, with a 23-and-me over-the-counter DNA test, my suspicions were confirmed that my mother’s doctor was indeed my biological father,” Hansen says. Hansen’s mother was devastated.
“At first she refused to believe I was the doctor’s son,” Hanson says. “After explaining the scientific side of DNA tests and the relative matches I found on 23-and-me, her disbelief changed to feeling violated.” Hansen says there are a variety of forms of fertility fraud. “Doctor-donor fraud, like my story; donor ID fraud where the patients ask for one donor and get another; donor background or medical history fraud where the donor isn’t upfront about potential genetic issues,” Hansen says. “and then even fertility clinic fraud where records are incorrect or donations are used excessively.”
Hansen testified Tuesday at an Iowa Senate subcommittee hearing on a bill that would create criminal penalties for “assisted reproductive fraud.” Hansen says it would give him legal standing to sue — which he does not have now. A representative of the Iowa County Attorneys Association agrees with that assessment, and says she was quite blown away by the stories Hansen and others shared with legislators.
Two women from Washington state described getting the results of DNA tests and learning that the family history they thought they knew was not accurate. Traci Portugal says her parents, who sought fertility treatments in California, were defrauded. “My discovery has been devastating and has left me at times with severe depression,” she says. Portugal told Iowa legislators laws are being considered in states like Nebraska, Colorado and Ohio to make fertility fraud a crime.
Indiana was the first to act — after a retired Indiana doctor was fined 500-dollars and lost his medial license, but faced no other legal consequences. He is believed to be the father of at least 50 of his patient’s children who discovered they were siblings after taking an Ancestry-dot-com test.
(Radio Iowa) – The House Public Safety Committee has approved a Republican-backed bill that would get rid of the required state permits for buying guns AND for carrying a concealed weapon. The plan has cleared initial review in the Iowa Senate as well. Senator Jason Schultz, a Republican from Schleswig, says 18 states have taken this step already.
“Re-introducing freedom is not a dangerous concept,” Schultz said. “It’s our American birthright.” While F-B-I background checks will be conducted for gun sales at licensed dealers, Jackie Stellish of Sioux City says getting rid of the state permit to purchase ends background checks for private sales. “Why would we want to race to the bottom with this legislation?” she asked. “…This bill and the way it is being presented is creating problems.”
Scott Jones, a lobbyist for the National Rifle Association, says requiring permits means gun ownership is structured as a privilege, not a right. “The Second Amendment is clear and concise. It guarantees the freedom and right to bear arms,” he said. “It’s time we get back to trusting the citizens of this state with the rights guaranteed to them through the Second Amendment.” Temple Hiatt of Iowa City, an Army veteran, says the bill creates more loopholes for illegal gun purchases.
“Missouri followed this very same path and now Missouri ranks fifth in the country for gun violence,” Hiatt said. “That’s not what Iowans want.” When Governor Kim Reynolds was a member of the state senate back in 2010, she voted for the current state law which says county sheriffs shall issue permits to anyone who meets the legal requirements of gun ownership.
Two years ago, Reynolds called the current law “good policy” — but said she’d keep an open mind if legislators chose to pass a bill getting rid of gun permits altogether. In 2018, a senate committee tabled a similar bill after the committee’s chairman said the governor opposed it.
Here is the latest Mid-America sports news from The Associated Press
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Creighton coach Greg McDermott has apologized for urging his players to “stay on the plantation” in a postgame locker room talk following a loss over the weekend. In a statement posted on Twitter, McDermott said he used a “terribly inappropriate analogy in making a point about staying together as a team despite the loss.” McDermott, who is white, acknowledged saying: “Guys, we got to stick together. We need both feet in. I need everybody to stay on the plantation. I can’t have anybody leave the plantation.” McDermott said he immediately recognized he had made an “egregious mistake.” Creighton has a racially diverse roster that includes several Black players.
AMES, Iowa (AP) — Kai Jones came off the bench to score a season-high 17 points and lead four Texas players in double figures and the 15th-ranked Longhorns pulled away from Iowa State early in an 81-67 win. Texas led for all but 22 seconds while beating the Cyclones for the eighth time in 10 meetings. Iowa State was led by Jalen Coleman-Lands, who scored 22 points. Courtney Ramey added 14 points for the Longhorns and Greg Brown and Matt Coleman III each had 12.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — An attorney for the family of a 5-year-old girl critically injured in a crash involving former Kansas City Chiefs assistant coach Britt Reid says the girl suffered a devastating brain injury that has left her unable to speak or walk. Attorney Tom Porto said Tuesday in an interview with ABC’s “Good Morning America” that the family of 5-year-old Ariel Young wants to see “the most serious charges and the most serious sentence that Britt could ever receive.” The girl has been hospitalized since the Feb. 4 crash in which Reid’s truck slammed into two cars on the side of the road. Police have said Reid told investigators he had “two or three drinks” along with prescribed Adderall before the crash. No charges have been filed.
IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — The top-ranked Iowa wrestling team will enter the Big Ten tournament this weekend after having not wrestled since Feb. 7. The defending conference champion Hawkeyes had to pause team activities for 10 days because of positive COVID-19 tests. During that time all the Hawkeyes could do was run outdoors to maintain their conditioning. The pause coincided with the record cold spell in the Midwest. Alex Marinelli says he couldn’t imagine athletes in other sports going out for runs when the temperature was 15 degrees below zero. The Hawkeyes shared the Big Ten regular-season title with Penn State.
IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Former Iowa basketball player Dr. P. Sue Beckwith has given $7 million to endow the Hawkeyes’ head coaching position. Known as Sue Beckwith when she played for the Hawkeyes from 1976-80, she received her medical degree from Iowa in 1984 and practices in Des Moines. Lisa Bluder and all future head women’s basketball coaches will hold the title of P. Sue Beckwith, MD, Head Women’s Basketball Coach. Beckwith has now given nearly $9 million to Iowa women’s athletics.
(*Corrected Cass County totals, 8-a.m. 3/3) Patrons of the CAM and Nodaway Valley School Districts, Tuesday, approved a measure calling for the districts to approve a new Revenue Purpose Statement (RPS), which specifies how the Districts may use revenues they receive from the State of Iowa’s Secure an Advanced Vision for Education (SAVE) Fund. A 60% majority was needed for passage. With approval, the RPS will remain in effect until it is replaced or amended, in the future.
Cass County Auditor Dale Sunderman says the measure passed by a vote of *170 yes to 12 no. Adair County Auditor Mandy Berg reports the same measure for the Nodaway Valley School District passed by a vote of 107 yes to 9 no. Voter turnout in Adair County was 4%.
(*Dale Sunderman says “There were nine (9) absentee ballots tallied on the March 2. All those were YES votes. There are two absentee ballots that were mailed but not yet received back.“)
The measure read as follows:
To provide funds to acquire or install information technology infrastructure (including improving buildings or sites for the purpose of accessing broadband digital telecommunications) and school safety and security infrastructure.
To provide funds to build and furnish a new school building or buildings; to build and furnish addition(s) to school buildings in the District; to remodel, reconstruct, repair, expand, and improve the school buildings in the District; to purchase and improve grounds; for demolition work; to furnish and equip district facilities.
To provide funds for the purchase, lease or lease-purchase of buildings, equipment (including transportation and recreation equipment), or technology and to repair transportation equipment for transporting students as authorized by law, to implement energy conservation measures, sharing or rental of facilities including a joint infrastructure project for the purposes of offering classes under district-to-community college programs as authorized in Iowa Code Section 423F.3(3)(c), procuring or acquisition of libraries, or opening roads to schoolhouses or buildings.
To provide funds to purchase land as part of start-up costs for new student construction program or if the sale of the previous student construction was insufficient to purchase land, and to purchase construction materials and supplies for a student-constructed building or shed intended to be retained by and used by the District.
To provide funds to make payments to a municipality or other entity as required under Iowa Code Section 403.19(2).
To provide funds for demolition, cleanup, and other costs if such costs are necessitated by, and incurred within two years of, a disaster.
To provide funds to establish and maintain public recreation places and playgrounds; provide for supervision and instruction for recreational activities; or for community education purposes.
To provide funds for the payment of principal and interest or retirement of general obligation bonds issued for school infrastructure purposes, energy improvement loans, loan agreements authorized by Iowa Code Section 297.36, sales, service and use tax revenue bonds issued under Iowa Code Section 423E.5 or Iowa Code Section 423F.4.
To provide funds for property tax relief; and
To provide funds for other authorized expenditures and purposes as now or hereafter permitted by law and designated by the CAM Community School District.
It being understood that if this proposition should fail to be approved by the voters, such failure shall not be construed to terminate or restrict authority previously granted by the voters to expend receipts from the Secure an Advanced Vision for Education Fund.
Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 3:25 a.m. CST
ANKENY, Iowa (AP) — Police say a suspicious device found at an Ankeny polling station Tuesday morning, forced an evacuation for about two hours. Police say the device – which was confirmed to be a pipe bomb – was found at the Lakeside Center in Ankeny, where residents were voting on an Ankeny school district special election. The building was evacuated. The State Fire Marshal, the agents with the FBI and Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives were called in. After the device was “made safe” the center was reopened about two hours after it was closed. No one was injured. The investigation into the origins of the device is continuing.
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Police have charged five people with attempted murder in a brazen Des Moines shooting that critically injured a 2-year-old child. Police say the shooting happened Monday night when more than a dozen shots were fired into a house. Officers called to the home found that one of the shots had hit a toddler inside. The child was rushed to a hospital and remained in critical condition Tuesday afternoon. Police later arrested five people ranging in age from 18 to 20 believed to have been involved in the shooting. All were initially charged with attempted murder and weapons counts. Police say the group intentionally targeted the house, but say the toddler and a 17-year-old girl who were in the home at the time were not the intended targets.
LONG GROVE, Iowa (AP) — Two people were killed and three were injured in a three-vehicle crash north of Davenport. The crash happened Tuesday morning on Highway 61 near Long Grove when the driver of a van traveling north lost control, crossing over the median and colliding with a pickup truck and a car. Scott County Sheriff Tim Lane told the Quad-City Times that two people in the car were killed and another was flown to a hospital in Iowa City. The driver of the van was taken to a Davenport hospital with serious injuries, and the pickup driver had minor injuries. The sheriff’s office will release the name of those involved later after their relatives have been contacted.
Substate 1 @ CB Thomas Jefferson: CB Abraham Lincoln 58, Southeast Polk 43
Substate 2 @ East High: Ames 57, Ankeny Centennial 37
Substate 3 @ Marshalltown: Johnston 65, Cedar Rapids Kennedy 63
Substate 4 @ Waterloo East: Cedar Falls 57, Cedar Rapids Washington 28
Substate 5 @ Clinton: Dubuque Senior 62, North Scott 40
Substate 6 @ Bettendorf: Pleasant Valley 57, Iowa City Liberty 46
Substate 7 @ Dallas Center-Grimes: Dowling Catholic 61, Valley 51
Substate 8 @ Indianola: Waukee 74, Ankeny 54
Class 3A Quarterfinals
#3 Unity Christian 70, #6 Roland-Story 42
Class 4A Quarterfinals
#1 Glenwood 79, #8 Wahlert Catholic 57
#4 Central DeWitt (16-2) vs. #5 North Scott (15-2) 1:00 p.m.
#2 Ballard 38, #7 Harlan 27
#3 Dallas Center-Grimes 43, #6 Bondurant-Farrar 32
Class 2A Quarterfinals
#1 Maquoketa Valley 51, #8 Rock Valley 35
#4 Nodaway Valley 53, #5 North Linn 47 (NV: Lindsey Davis 20pts, Maddax DeVault 17pts)
IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Former Iowa basketball player Dr. P. Sue Beckwith has given $7 million to endow the Hawkeyes’ head coaching position. Known as Sue Beckwith when she played for the Hawkeyes from 1976-80, she received her medical degree from Iowa in 1984 and practices in Des Moines.
Lisa Bluder and all future head women’s basketball coaches will hold the title of P. Sue Beckwith, MD, Head Women’s Basketball Coach. Beckwith has now given nearly $9 million to Iowa women’s athletics.