In a follow-up to our report Thursday morning, additional details have been released about the arrest of a Glenwood woman who faces 11 felony counts of Dependent Adult Abuse and one felony count of Ongoing Criminal Conduct. According to the Daily NonPareil, 35-year old Tonya Fustos was arrested Tuesday after an investigation was conducted done by State of Iowa’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit.

She was released Wednesday without having to post bond, but is expected to make all of her court dates. Fustos’ next court appearance will be a preliminary hearing on March 30th. If convicted of ongoing criminal conduct, Fustos could be sentenced to up to 25 years in prison. She could face up to five years in prison on each dependent adult abuse charge.

According to court documents, Fustos, while acting as the director for caregivers for dependent adults, committed a series of financial exploitation violations from August of 2014 to February of 2015. Assistant Pottawattamie County Attorney Shelly Sudmann, who will prosecute the case, said Fustos hired her husband’s painting company to paint the rooms of the dependent adults. Fustos reportedly charged the residents more than $100 for the work.

According to the arrest affidavit, Fustos allegedly directed her employees to use the dependents’ personal funds to pay for the invoices. Sudmann likened the allegations to renting an apartment and being asked to pay for maintenance, even though you are already paying rent. Sudmann also said it did not look like all the billed work was actually done.

At the time of the alleged financial exploitation violations, Fustos worked as a director for Developmental Services of Iowa. She currently works for AmeriHealth Caritas. Fustos has been ordered not to advise clients on their accounts until her case is resolved.

Investigators in Iowa have identified a man killed Sunday during a single-vehicle crash in Adair County. According to the Omaha World-Herald, the victim was 51-year old Douglas Jonathan Rector, of Fair Oaks, Indiana. Rector died after the Chrysler minivan he was driving east on Iowa Highway 92 east of Greenfield, veered off the road. The van entered the north ditch, exited the ditch, became airborne and rolled as it came back in contact with the road.

A man who allegedly violated the terms of his probation issued following an OWI arrest was taken into custody Thursday afternoon, in Red Oak. Police say 51-year old Brett Alan Black, of Red Oak, was arrested at around 4:30-p.m. and brought to the Montgomery County Law Enforcement Center, where his bond was set at $1,000.

Tiffany Torno received a surprise gift from Ashton Kutcher on Thursday morning. The Daily NonPareil reports the gift was part of a “surprise philanthropic flash mob,” native Iowa actor and entrepreneur, Kutcher funded for all the classroom projects in Iowa on fundraising website DonorsChoose.org. A total of 131 requests including four from Council Bluffs and one each from Lewis Central, Glenwood, Harlan, Red Oak, Shenandoah and Treynor received funding. In addition, several other southwest Iowa teachers had projects funded by the #BestSchoolDay campaign.

Among them:
• $551.16 for Erin Plagge at 20th Street Elementary School in Denison for 30 headphones for first-graders (along with one previous donor)
• $400.58 for Deborah Fajardo at Northeast Elementary School in Glenwood for 24 chair pockets for kindergartners (fully funded by Kutcher)
• $313.07 for Christine Skog at Harlan Community Intermediate School in Harlan for music books (along with three previous donors)
• $672.25 for Irene Blazek at Missouri Valley Middle School in Missouri Valley for four classroom tables (along with two previous donors)
• $2,150.01 for Amanda Brandon at Riverside High School in Oakland for a concert band bass drum (fully funded by Kutcher)
• $1,979.24 for Michael Moran at Red Oak Middle School in Red Oak for five archery targets (along with nine previous donors, including a match offer by ESPN)
• $734.79 for Sarah Martin at Shenandoah High School in Shenandoah for five Sphero robots (along with two previous donors)
• $194.95 for Shantelle Vohs at Treynor Elementary School in Treynor for book boxes, math activities and games (along with two previous donors)

In a video statement, Kutcher said he grew up as a product of Iowa’s public school system with “teachers who went above and beyond,” who sometimes “cared more about me than themselves.” He said “They inspired me. They made me believe in myself. They probably believed in me more than I believed in myself, and I probably wouldn’t be where I am today without them.” Kutcher, in addition to being an actor, is also a venture capitalist who invested in several technology companies. He dropped out of the University of Iowa, where he studied biochemical engineering, after winning a modeling contest in 1997. Outside of Iowa, Kutcher was among more than 50 athletes, actors, businesspeople and philanthropists Thursday who participated in the #BestSchoolDay effort. More than $14 million was given to fund nearly 12,000 projects nationally.

A bill that seeks to cut the abuse of prescription pain killers known as opioids passed the U-S Senate Thursday. Iowa Senator Joni Ernst, a Republican from Red Oak, voted for the bill. Ernst says as part of the bill, she pushed to help take down barriers that prevent some smaller pharmacies in Iowa from participating in drug take back programs.

“There are a number of pharmacies that would like to participate, but there are a lot of regulations that are imposed to gaining access to those types programs. And for some pharmacies it can be quite costly to overcome in overcoming barriers,” Ernst says. Those who get hooked on the pain killers often switch to heroin, as it is much cheaper. Ernst says it’s important that pharmacies across the state can use the drug take back.

Ernst says Iowa has a lot of small family-owned pharmacies that are not like the big chains, and they need to be sure they can have easier access to the take back programs so that any pharmacy that wants to participate can. She says the federal program approved by the U-S Senate adds to the state and local drug take back programs.

“We want to make sure that they are safely handled — and drugs that are turned back in — and that we are getting them from the public when they are not needed,” Ernst says. “So, it’s an important program, I feel very strongly about it.” Iowa’s other Senator, Chuck Grassley, help push the bipartisan bill through.

Information from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shows 264 people in Iowa died of drug overdoses in 2014. According to Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), a total of 94-thousand used prescription pain medications for non-medical purposes in 2014, including 10-thousand young people (ages 12-17).

(Radio Iowa)

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press

BOONE, Iowa (AP) — A historic bridge near Boone has partially collapsed into the Des Moines River. Officials with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources say the west side of the Wagon Wheel Bridge collapsed Thursday afternoon. The bridge was damaged in late February by flowing ice.

STORM LAKE, Iowa (AP) — Officials with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources have found an oily material leaking from a Storm Lake dredge. Storm Lake’s Public Works Department placed booms around the dredge Wednesday afternoon in an effort to contain the leak, but on Thursday DNR officials found the oil had escaped the booms and was spreading along the lake’s shoreline and in the marina. The city is regularly dredged to remove silt and improve water quality.

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) — An eastern Iowa man was sentenced to 30 years in prison after he admitted to receiving and possessing child pornography. U.S. Attorney Kevin Techau announced a federal district court judge in Cedar Rapids sentenced 43-year-old Michael Cottrell of Reinbeck to federal prison Thursday.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Buddy Hield scored 39 points, Ryan Spangler made a series of critical plays down the stretch and sixth-ranked Oklahoma beat Number 21 Iowa State 79-76 Thursday night in the Big 12 Tournament quarterfinals. Georges Niang matched a career-high with 31 points for the sixth-seeded Cyclones (21-11), who trailed by 14 midway through the second half before making it a game.