(Harlan, Iowa) – Officials with the Iowa Judicial Branch, Wednesday, said that on Tuesday, September 24, the Iowa Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in Harlan. The proceedings will take place in the Harlan High School auditorium, 2102 Durant Street. The oral arguments are open to the public and will begin at 7 p.m.

The court will hear attorneys argue in the following case:

IA SUPCO (front row, left to right): Justices Thomas D. Waterman, Susan Christensen, & Edward M. Mansfield; (Back row, left to right): Matthew McDermott, Christopher McDonald, Dana Oxley & David May.

Todd P. Halbur v. Stephen Larson, Administrator of the Alcoholic Beverages Division, in his Official Capacity, case number 22-2021 from Polk County.

Case summary: The Administrator of the Alcoholic Beverages Division appeals following a jury verdict of $1 million on a whistleblower claim brought against him by the division’s former comptroller. The administrator contends the district court erred by not dismissing the claim on grounds the comptroller’s complaints were not protected disclosures under Iowa Code section 70A.28 because they were made to the administrator, his supervisor, about the administrator concerning matters within the comptroller’s normal job duties. The issue is whether the whistleblower protections of Iowa Code section 70A.28 shield an employee from termination when the employee’s complaints are made directly to the employee’s supervisor concerning decisions the supervisor has made.

Attorney briefs for Todd P. Halbur v. Stephen Larson, Administrator of the Alcoholic Beverages Division, in his Official Capacity are posted on the Iowa Judicial Branch website at https://www.iowacourts.gov/iowa-courts/supreme-court/supreme-court-oral-argument-schedule/case/22-2021.

A public reception with the supreme court justices sponsored by the Shelby County Bar Association will follow the oral arguments.

(Radio Iowa) – The board of trustees of Graceland University in Lamoni has selected its 19th president. Joel Shrock started at Graceland in 2022 as vice president for academic affairs and dean of the faculty. He had been interim president since Graceland’s previous president resigned this summer.

“Graceland chose me to lead as president, but I chose Graceland as well,” Shrock said. “This place represents and stands for the values that are important to me.” Graceland was founded in 1895 by the Community of Christ, formerly known as the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and remains affiliated with the church. Just over 12-hundred students are enrolled at Graceland for the fall semester.

“In no particular order, I love these things about Graceland: the mission to create learning communities that help students to lead meaningful and productive lives; the diversity on Lamoni campus, the diversity on the Independence, (Missouri) campus, the Kansas site,” Shrock said, “a safe place for self discovery; skills for a changing world.” Shrock said values dissent and debate.

“I’m not talking about embracing nihilism or disruption or intolerance or shouting down people who disagree with us. Our passions must not divide us,” Shrock said. “…A university is a place where differences of opinion are necessary and good. They must unify us.” Shrock says the world is always changing, and Graceland must as well.  “Universities are not factories. We don’t pour out widgets. We transform people into their better selves,” Shrock said. “Graceland provides students the opportunity…to learn, but it only works if we all join together in a mutually supportive community of learners.”

Shrock says the world is always changing, and Graceland must as well.” Shrock, an Indiana native, was a history professor, dean and provost at Anderson University in Indiana for 20 years before being hired to be an administrator at Graceland. Shrock graduated from Ball State University with a degree in U-S history and got his doctorate from Miami University in 1996.

(Radio Iowa) – The Republican nominee for Lyon County Sheriff is seeking judicial review of a decision that the county’s incumbent sheriff is eligible to be on the General Election ballot as the Libertarian Party’s nominee. Iowa State Patrol Trooper Brian Hilt won the Republican Primary for Lyon County Sheriff in June. But since one person wrote his challenger Sheriff Stewart Vander Stoep’s name on the Libertarian Party’s Primary ballot in Lyon County, Vander Stoep became the Libertarian nominee.

That was verified by a 2-to-1 vote last week by an objections panel, made up of two members of the Lyon County Board of Supervisors and the Lyon County Recorder. But now Hilt has filed a lawsuit seeking judicial review to reverse their decision, calling it “arbitrary…illogical and based on an erroneous interpretation.”

The Lyon County Sheriff sought the Republican Party’s nomination, but lost to the state trooper. Trooper Hilt’s appeal claims the sheriff had to be nominated by a county convention of Libertarians and argues the sheriff could not have been nominated by a single write-in vote on the Libertarian ballot.

The appeal asks for quick review of the case. Iowa’s Secretary of State has said 11:59 tonight (Wednesday) is the deadline for certifying candidates for the General Election, so the ballots can be printed in time.

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa – A Council Bluffs man was sentenced today to 40 months in federal prison for possessing a firearm as a felon.

According to public court documents, T.J. LeBaugh, 37, dropped a bag with a loaded nine-millimeter firearm and an extended firearm magazine while fleeing from law enforcement. Prior to fleeing on foot, LeBaugh was speeding and caused a car accident. In 2015, LeBaugh was convicted of possessing a firearm with an obliterated serial number in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Iowa.

After completing his term of imprisonment, LeBaugh will be required to serve a three-year term of supervised release. There is no parole in the federal system.

United States Attorney Richard D. Westphal of the Southern District of Iowa made the announcement. This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) and the Council Bluffs Police Department.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results. For more information about Project Safe Neighborhoods, please visit Justice.gov/PSN.

(Radio Iowa) – Flags on state buildings are at half-staff today (Wednesday) to remember those who lost their lives in the September 11th terrorist attacks 23 years ago. Iowa Senator Joni Ernst, a Republican from Red Oak, issued a video statement reflecting on the attacks.

“September 11, 2001 tested our nation in ways we could never have imagined it. It also revealed the profound strength and resilience of the American spirit,” Ernst says. Ernst says every day Americans became heroes and first responders selflessly rushed in to help others on that day. “America stood united, unwavering in our resolve to never let fear dictate our future,” she says. Ernst says we have to continue to remember the way the country responded.

“Today, we reaffirm our commitment to never forget and always remember. We must regain our patriotism and be ever vigilant to safeguard the freedoms we too often take for granted,” Ernst says. Ernst is a retired combat veteran who served in the Iowa National Guard.

Governor Kim Reynolds also issued a statement, saying. “Nearly 3,000 Americans died in the national tragedy, including hundreds of first responders who ran in to save the victims of an evil, unspeakable attack on innocent people. I stand with every American on Patriot Day to honor and forever remember the thousands who senselessly lost their lives and their families who will always long for their loved ones. You will never be forgotten.”

(Radio Iowa) – The Des Moines Fire Department is launching a program designed to cut the number of non-emergency calls while connecting frequent 9-1-1 users with long-term services. People can now get medical care at a downtown homeless shelter, while paramedics will visit public housing, homeless encampments, and people who often call 9-1-1. Assistant Fire Chief Percy Coleman says building trust will be key to the program’s success.

Coleman says, “Our goal is to get those individuals to a point where they’re independent and that they can take care of their own needs.” A city report says 82 individuals made up nearly 15-hundred of the fire department’s transports in 2022 alone. Through the department’s Mobile Integrated Healthcare program, the team will identify nearby long-term resources available to patients, and help set up things like doctor appointments, transportation, and ways to refill prescriptions. Coleman says the program is centered around fostering independence, along with trust.

“Our folks are able to get out there and meet with these folks,” he says. “They develop a positive, working relationship, and so it’s the communication piece. They’re able to articulate what their needs are and we’re able to plug folks right in.”

Coleman says the department began using the program in April but they’ve been building out its services before launching it to the public.