POLK COUNTY, Iowa — The Polk County Sheriff’s Office has identified the victim killed in a fiery crash that occurred Sunday, as a woman from Carlisle. WHO-TV reports the crash happened in the 5700 block of SE Vandalia in Pleasant Hill. When first responders arrived on scene they found a single vehicle on its side and fully engulfed in flames.

According to the sheriff’s office, after firefighters extinguished the flames they found an adult female dead inside. Tuesday afternoon the sheriff’s office identified the victim as 35-year-old Emily Ora Woolsey, of Carlisle.

A preliminary investigation found that Woolsey was traveling eastbound on SE Vandalia when she lost control of the vehicle, hit a guardrail, and rolled into the ditch. An investigation into the crash is ongoing.

(Des Moines, Iowa) – Iowans using wheelchairs through the state Medicaid program will no longer need a prescription and in-person doctor visit to get their wheelchairs repaired after a policy change by Iowa Department of Health and Human Services. The Iowa Capital Dispatch reports State Rep. Josh Turek, D-Council Bluffs, said that the measure proves advocacy can make a difference. Previously, Iowa Medicaid members were required to get a prescription and have a meeting with a health care provider in order to repair wheelchairs — a requirement Turek said was unnecessary, as wheelchair users have already been prescribed the equipment when they received it.

“This was just an unnecessary barrier that was causing an enormous amount of harm and suffering to the disabled population, delaying the process weeks or months for people to just be able to get a wheelchair repair,” Turek said. These delays caused by the prescription requirement kept some Iowans with disabilities homebound for significant periods because they did not have a working mobility device, he said. Turek, who uses a wheelchair, sponsored a “right to repair” bill in the 2024 legislative session that would remove the prescription and doctor’s visit requirements for wheelchair repairs under Medicaid. While the legislation had unanimous support in the House, he said, it was not discussed by the Senate.

Though the legislation did not advance, the measure was still implemented. Beginning July 1, Iowa HHS changed its policy to no longer require a prescription for wheelchair repairs. Turek linked the HHS administrative policy change with the discussions during the legislative session. The repair delays caused by prescription requirements “really wasn’t on on their radar” for HHS, he said, but advocacy by lawmakers and members of the disabled community prompted action by the state department.

State Rep. Josh Turek at work in the Iowa Capitol. (Photo courtesy of Rep. Turek)

While the prescription and face-to-face visit requirements were lifted, wheelchair users on the state Medicaid program still need prior authorizations for equipment repairs — pre-approval from the managed care organization (MCO) or private insurer that is providing Medicaid coverage. This process can also take several weeks, Turek said — time in which the Medicaid recipient will not be able to get the needed repair.

In future sessions, Turek said he plans to advocate for ways to reduce the wait time for the repair process through measures like requiring MCOs to respond to authorization requests within seven to 10 days, or lifting the authorization requirement for repairs that cost under $700.

DES MOINES, Iowa — A detention officer with the Polk County Sheriff’s Office (PCSO) has found himself on the other side of the law, charged with four felony counts of possessing contraband in the county jail. KCCI-TV says according to the sheriff’s office, detectives arrested 26-year-old Mario Antonio Rocha, of Des Moines, just before noon on Tuesday (Aug. 13, 2024). Rocha had been employed with the PCSO as a detention officer at the Polk County Jail for just over a year. Court documents show the PCSO received a tip on Aug. 2 that Rocha had allegedly been bringing the narcotic K2 into the jail for an inmate “on multiple occasions.”

Polk County Sheriff Kevin Schneider specified that Rocha admitted to smuggling the drugs in on four occasions. The PCSO says Rocha submitted his two-week notice of resignation on Aug. 4, but when he was interviewed by investigators on Aug. 5, he was told the two weeks were not necessary. Court documents show Rocha admitted to using his personal cellphone to communicate with an inmate’s significant other. The Sheriff said there was no indication anyone else was involved in alleged smuggling. There are roughly 230 detention officers working at the Polk County Jail, and more than 1,000 inmates.

Schneider did not specify exactly how Rocha allegedly smuggled in the drugs. Rocha was released from custody on a surety bond early Tuesday afternoon. All four charges Rocha faces are Class D felonies, each carrying up to five years in prison.

(Clinton County, Iowa) – A man from eastern Iowa was injured during a collision Tuesday evening between his motorcycle and an unknown vehicle. The Iowa State Patrol reports a 1999 Harley Davidson motorcycle operated by 60-year-old Ronald David O’Haver, of Toronto, IA, was traveling westbound on U-S Highway 30 between Calamus and Wheatland, and approaching 154th Avenue. An unknown vehicle was southbound on 154th. The driver of the vehicle failed to yield the right-of-way. The vehicle struck the motorcycle, causing serious injuries to O’Haver. The accident happened at around 6:50-p.m.

O’Haver was transported by MedForce to the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics. The Patrol said he is expected to recover. The vehicle that struck him left the scene of the crash. It is believed to have been a black, 2007-to 2012 Nissan Sentra. The crash remains under investigation.

The Patrol was assisted at the scene by the Clinton County Sheriff’s Office and Wheatland Fire/Rescue.

(Radio Iowa) –  Monday’s Iowa State Fair attendance dropped below 100-thousand after three straight days above that mark. Rain may have been the reason it was the first day that this year’s event didn’t beat the attendance for the same day last year.

Saturday broke the single-day attendance record by about ten thousand, hitting 128-thousand-732.

(Red Oak, Iowa) – A man and a woman were arrested Tuesday evening in Red Oak. Red Oak Police says 40-year-old Susan Marie Wasson, and 38-year-old Anthony Charles Wasson, both from Red Oak, were arrested at around 7:45-p.m. in the east 200 block of Nuckols Street, in Red Oak. Both were charged with Violation of a No Contact Order. They were transported to the Montgomery County Jail and held on $300 cash-only bonds, each.

BURLINGTON, Iowa (KCRG) – A Burlington, Iowa man was arrested and faces charges of attempted murder and child endangerment for allegedly shooting his father in the face over an argument about stinky feet. KCRG-TV reports a criminal complaint says 48-year-old David Carpenter called police on Sunday, admitting to the shooting and that his child was in the room where the incident happened.

Police responded to a home in the 2000 block of Monarch Drive in Burlington at around 9:30 p.m. on Aug. 11. The father was taken to the hospital for his injuries. Officers at the scene said there were two children under the age of 14 at the home.

Detectives said the father was in the hospital when he told them that he and his son, David, were having a heated argument about David’s stinky feet. A criminal complaint for David Carpenter says he made a comment about shooting his father as the argument escalated. Then David allegedly went into his bedroom to retrieve a firearm, before walking back to the living room where his father was sitting in a motorized scooter.

The complaint says David was yelling at his father about guns when he pulled the firearm out from behind his back, pointed at his father’s face, and accidentally pulled the trigger. Detectives said David admitted that at least one of his kids was in the living room watching TV when the incident happened.

Carpenter faces charges of Attempted Murder and Child Endangerment. Officials have not reported the condition of the father who was injured in the shooting.

(Radio Iowa) – Ukraine’s Ambassador to the United States is on a tour of Midwest states, to discuss the stakes in Ukraine’s battle with Russia. Ambassador Oksana Markarova says she was encouraged by conversations she had during her visit to the Iowa State Fair yesterday (Tuesday). “So many people just said that they keep us in their prayers and there is nothing more I want to hear because this is what we need in this moment, you know, more prayers and more weapons,” Markarova said.

Russia invaded Ukraine in February of 2022 and this past week thousands of Ukrainian troops have crossed into Russian territory.  “We are the army that actually is holding the ground against Russia, which was supposed to be the second most powerful army on the globe,” she says. Last week, the Pentagon announced the U-S has provided over 55 BILLION dollars in military assistance to Ukraine in the past two and a half years.

Markarova says the U-S is Ukraine’s number one strategic partner, but Ukraine’s war time experience is of value to the U-S as well as Europeans. “We have now the largest battle tested army among all our of friends and allies,” Markarov said. “…The reason why we want to be members of the NATO is not for NATO to defend us, but for NATO to become stronger because we will have a lot to contribute to it.”

Markarova also met with Governor Reynolds, Des Moines city leaders and U.S. Senator Joni Ernst yesterday (Tuesday). Her trip was arranged by the German Marshall Fund, an organization that promotes alliances among the U-S and European nations.