(Des Moines, Iowa; KCCI) – A Mississippi man charged with a hate crime after destroying a display put up by the Satanic Temple of Iowa wants that charge dismissed. The display was put up in the Statehouse during the holidays. The Satanic Temple of Iowa says it was meant to symbolize freedom of religion. A custom statue and other parts of the display were destroyed days after it was put up.

Michael Cassidy argues the Satanic Temple of Iowa is not a real religion and that the hate crime enhancement violates his First Amendment rights. Prosecutors have offered a deal that would involve Cassidy pleading guilty to fifth-degree criminal mischief. As of right now, Cassidy has not accepted that offer.

His trial is currently set for May.

SPENCER, Iowa (KCAU) — A former nurse who worked in northwest Iowa, is accused of overdosing patients at the Spencer Hospital and illegally obtaining prescription drugs. 36-year-old Rachel Martinez, of Sioux Falls, S.D., is charged with one count of prohibited act – prescription drug violation (Schedule I, II, III) obtain by deceit, a class C felony; one count of prohibited act – prescription drug violation (Schedule IV or V) obtain by deceit, an aggravated misdemeanor; and four counts of wanton neglect of a dependent person, a serious misdemeanor.

According to court documents, Martinez was working at the Spencer Hospital and was assigned to care for four separate patients on four different days in late 2022:

1. On Nov. 9, 2022, Martinez was meant to administer hydrocodone to a patient every four hours but instead administered it three times over a five hour period, overdosing the patient. She was also meant to administer tramadol once every six hours, but did so four times over six and a half hours. Documents state Martinez again overdosed a patient on Nov. 19, 2022. A doctor ordered a patient to be given 3mg of melatonin, but Martinez allegedly gave 6mg.
2. On Nov. 21, 2022, documents stated that Martinez administered hydrocodone twice to another patient in a three hour period when the doctor ordered it for only once every four hours. She also allegedly gave zofran, morphine and tramadol over the same three houses, with documents saying “all of these extra narcotics with the Hydrocodone would have further overdosed” the patient.
3. Martinez was assigned to care for a patient on Dec. 7, 2022. The patient was in the hospital due to having an allergic reaction while getting cancer treatment. The doctor ordered that the patient could have IV Benadryl if they had another allergic reaction. Martinez allegedly gave the patient the drug to sleep, telling another nurse that the patient was “being annoying with the call light” and not sleeping.
4. Additionally, Martinez allegedly withdrew a hydrocodone and tramadol pill under a patient’s name on Nov. 9, 2022. Documents state she obtained the pills by “fraud, deceit, misrepresentation or subterfuge,” and kept the pills for herself.

Martinez was arrested on Dec. 1, 2023, and bonded out a day later. She pleaded not guilty to the charges on Jan. 2 in a written arraignment. A pretrial conference for the case is scheduled for April 16, with the trial set for May 21.

AMES, Iowa – March 20, 2024 – The Iowa Department of Transportation is asking for the public’s input on a proposed bridge replacement in northwest Iowa. The bridge is on Iowa Highway 3 over a drainage ditch, five-miles west of Iowa Highway 4, in Pocahontas County. The DOT says it plans to maintain traffic on Iowa 3 through the construction project that is planned for 2026.

If you would like to receive future emails about this project or submit a comment or question for this project, you can go directly to: https://bit.ly/iowadotcom5746. Initial comments are due by Monday, April 1, 2024.

For general information regarding the proposed project, contact Shane Tymkowicz, P.E., assistant district engineer, Iowa DOT District 3 Office, 6409 Gordon Drive, Sioux City, Iowa 51106, phone 712-274-5834 or 712-261-0405, email shane.tymkowicz@iowadot.us

(Fort Dodge, Iowa) – Officials with the Fort Dodge Police Department, Tuesday, released the identity of a Fort Dodge man who was shot and killed by Officers during an incident that occurred early Saturday morning. The deceased male was 24‐year‐old Tyler C. Stansberry. The Officers involved in the shooting were placed on Critical Incident leave while the incident is being investigated by the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigations. Per protocol, their names were being withheld until the Officers can be interviewed by the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigations.

As previously reported, officers were dispatched to a distress call at a residence in the Fort Dodge at around 8:40-a.m., Saturday. The caller reported that an individual within the residence was out of control and allegedly injured a dog within the residence. It was unknown if the subject possessed weapons.

When officers entered the residence, a male subject armed with two knives ran at the officers. An officer on the scene discharged his firearm, resulting in the death of the subject.

Stansberry’s mother Christine and his brother were not in the house when the shooting happened. They acknowledged Tyler had a knife, and barricaded himself in the basement. The family told KCCI Tyler Stansberry was going through a mental health crisis. Christine Stansberry says she filed papers to have authorities help her get him to a mental health evaluation. She said also, there needs to be more training for Officers to help them deal with persons suffering from mental health issues.

(Radio Iowa) – With this week’s arrival of spring comes new warnings about the potential poisoning risks in our homes and garages in the season ahead. It’s Poison Prevention Week and Linda Kalin, executive director of the Iowa Poison Control Center, says certain types of poisonings are more likely to occur during this time of the year. “People are spending more time outdoors, meaning, you can be exposed to just spring products, poison hazards from plants and mushrooms, garden chemicals, stinging insects, household cleaners.” Most people understand the potential threats caused by chemicals like pesticides and herbicides, but there are quite a few other chemicals that are equally dangerous, even deadly, in our homes.

“Gasoline, kerosene, charcoal lighter fluid, I don’t think we think of those as much,” she says. “Paint thinners, turpentine, that whole group we call hydrocarbons, can be very dangerous if children inadvertently swallow them and it doesn’t take much at all.” While spring cleaning, Kalin says take care -not- to mix certain chemicals — especially things like bleach with ammonia, acids, or other cleaners, or a very harmful liquid or vapor could result. Should you have an emergency, or just a question, the experts are on call around the clock.

“Our center is based in Sioux City and serves all 99 counties in the state of Iowa,” Kalin says. “It handles about 23,000 cases every year, and approximately 38% of those cases involve children under six years of age.” She suggests putting the Iowa Poison Control Center’s phone number of 1-800-222-1222 in your contact list, so it’s always available.

(Red Oak, Iowa) – The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office reports a Red Oak woman, 44-year-old Brooke Rena Scott,was arrested at around 6-p.m. Tuesday. Scott was taken into custody on a warrant for Violation of Probation. She was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on a $25,000 bond.

(Shenandoah, Iowa) – The Shenandoah Police Department, Tuesday, released a report on arrests that occurred from March 1st through March 11th.

***All charges are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty in a court of law**

(Radio Iowa) – West Liberty Foods is laying off more than quarter of its Iowa workforce in April. The layoff of workers on the turkey slicing line was announced in February after its customer Subway announced it is going to slice meat inside its sandwich shops. The executive director of West Liberty’s economic development corporation, Ken Brooks, says the cut in demand only impacts one part of the West Liberty business

“I do not anticipate the demand for the poultry products that West Liberty produces diminishing in any way,” he says. “What I think the market right now is realizing is a decrease in demand for some of that post-secondary processing that they have offered in the past.”

The company is working with the 260 laid off workers for reassignment opportunities elsewhere in the company and in the community. The City of West Liberty is offering utility billing extensions for individuals affected by the layoffs. West Liberty Foods currently employs 865 people in Iowa. It also runs facilities in Illinois and Utah.