(Leon, Iowa) – Authorities say a medical condition may have caused a single-vehicle crash Friday evening in southern Iowa, that resulted in a fatality. The Iowa State Patrol reports 61-year-old Edward Ray Hiebing, of Leon, was driving a 2007 GMC Sierra pickup truck east on Highway 2 at around 6:45-p.m., when the vehicle left the road to the south and struck the Long Creek Outfitters Building at 1601 W. 1st Street.

Hiebing was pronounced deceased at the scene. He was not wearing a seat belt. The Patrol was assisted at the scene by the Decatur County Sheriff’s Office, and Leon Fire and Rescue.

(Marshalltown, Iowa) – Officials with the Anaheim, California, Police Department report an Iowa man wanted on a charge of Murder in the 1st Degree, in connection with a fatal shooting June 1st, 2024 in Marshalltown, died Friday after he was shot by law enforcement near a motel in California. 18-year-old Victor Delgadillo, of Marshalltown, was transported to a local hospital after he was shot at around 1:30-p.m. Friday near a Motel 6, by a U-S. Marshals law enforcement Task Force who were attempted to arrest the man.

According to a social media post by the Anaheim Police Department, officers responded to the 1400 block of N. State College Blvd. to assist a U.S. Marshal’s Task Force, The U.S. Marshal’s Task Force consisted of law enforcement personnel from the U.S. Marshal’s Office, the California Department of Corrections, the San Bernardino County District Attorney’s Office, and other agencies.

Victor Delgadillo

(Corning, Iowa) – The Adams County Sheriff’s Office reports a man and woman from Union County were arrested on drug charges, Friday. Authorities say 27-year-old Aaron Johnson, and 34-year-old Tonya Tindle, both of Creston, face charges of  Possession of a Controlled Substance and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia.

The pair were arrested following an investigation. Deputies were assisted at the scene by the Adams County K9 “Midge.”

(Des Moines, Iowa) – One of Iowa’s largest nursing home operators, Care Initiatives of West Des Moines, is currently facing at least 10 wrongful death lawsuits. The Iowa Capital Dispatch reports the lawsuits, all filed in state court over the past 18 months, include four against Northcrest Specialty Care in Waterloo, which has been the focus of at least 21 complaint investigations by the state in the past year. Care Initiative’s facilities in Avoca and Corning are included in the lawsuits. Read more about those cases below.

In each of the lawsuits, Care Initiatives has denied any wrongdoing. The company, which operates 43 Iowa nursing homes as well as several assisted living centers and hospice locations, says it does not comment on pending litigation. Roughly 2,800 elderly or disabled Iowans receive care from one of the company’s facilities.

In several of the lawsuits, Care Initiatives has attempted to have the cases thrown out of court due to contracts residents signed at admission. Those contracts call for any disputes between the residents and the company to be settled through private arbitration rather than civil litigation.

At least four wrongful deaths claims have been filed against Waterloo’s Northcrest Specialty Care nursing home, although some of those claims are being challenged due to arbitration agreements signed by elderly residents. (Photo via Google Earth; document courtesy of Iowa District Court for Black Hawk County)

Such agreements have generated controversy nationally, with advocates for seniors arguing that residents and their family members often don’t understand the contracts may result in them losing their right to sue.

Corning Specialty Care: The family of Angela Segebart alleges that she was admitted to the Corning home in September 2017 and that on Jan. 20, 2022, she tested positive for COVID-19. On Jan. 27, 2022, the staff allegedly dropped Segebart while transferring her in or out of bed, resulting in two broken legs. The lawsuit claims the staff then failed to assess Segebart’s injuries and placed her back in bed. Two days later, she was experiencing respiratory problems and was transferred to a hospital where she subsequently died.

The official cause of Segebart’s death was chronic respiratory failure and pneumonia due to COVID-19, with sepsis and acute renal failure listed as contributing factors. Care Initiatives successfully fought to have the bulk of the case settled through arbitration, although the family’s claim of loss of consortium could result in further litigation depending on the outcome of arbitration.

Avoca Specialty Care: The family of Craig Christensen alleges that while living at the Avoca facility in January 2022, Christensen developed a urinary tract infection that was left untreated and led to the development of sepsis and septic shock and, ultimately, his death on Feb. 20, 2022. A jury trial is scheduled for July 29, 2025.

(Radio Iowa) – Representatives from the Iowa Hunger Coalition have met with state officials, hoping to convince Governor Kim Reynolds Iowa should participate in a federal program NEXT summer that provides extra food for kids in low income households. The program provides an extra 120 dollars in summertime federal food assistance for each child who qualified for free or reduced price lunch at school. Reynolds cited administrative costs when she turned down the federal funds for the so-called “Summer E-B-T” program THIS summer.

Luke Elzinga, a spokesman for the coalition, says the U-S-D-A has announced it will provide grants to states, to cover technology expenses associated with the benefits.

Elzinga says food pantries in the state are overwhelmed.

Elzinga works for the Des Moines Area Religious Council food pantries, which saw record use in July.

The Iowa Hunger Coalition delivered a petition to the governor’s office this week that was signed by over 35-hundred Iowans, urging Reynolds to accept extra federal food benefits next summer for low income students who qualify for free or reduced prices school lunches.