UPDATE 3/23/24: Mary Schroer, who was reported missing on March 21, 2024, has been located. She is safe and in good health. She was located in Eastern Colorado and will be reunited with her family shortly.

(Carroll, Iowa) – The Carroll Police Department is asking for help in locating a missing 86-year-old female. Mary Schroer  was last seen leaving her residence in Carroll on Sunday. She has not returned and has not had any contact with her family.

Mary is 5-feet one-inches tall and weighs 112 pounds. She drives a white 2014 Honda Civic (the photo attached is not the actual vehicle) with New Mexico license 905SPD.

If located call your local police department or the Carroll Police Department at 712-792-3536.

(Radio Iowa) – A report by the State Ombudsman’s Office found that some county jails were not following Iowa law by taking money directly out of inmate commissary accounts for medical care. Ombudsman Bernardo Granwehr says Iowa law requires jails to go through the courts to recoup these co-pays.   “This is not a money maker for jails it’s really a drop in the bucket compared to the services provided,” he says.

Granwehr says this practice violates the prisoner’s due process rights.  “We’re calling for the Department of Corrections to make a change. We had a constructive dialogue with the department and they understand what the problem is so we want to encourage them to take the step of amending the rule that is causing the confusion,”Granwehr says.

Bernardo Granwehr State Ombudsman in Iowa

Jails can charge adult inmates for medical services if they are convicted of a crime or sentenced for contempt of court for violating a domestic abuse order. But they still have to seek that money through the courts. They cannot remove it directly from a commissary account. The Ombudsman has attempted to bring jails in Wapello, Scott, and O’Brien counties into compliance with state law. But as of its release, those jails had not changed their policy.

March 21, 2024 (Des Moines, Iowa) — The Iowa Tourism Office presented 24 awards recognizing excellence in the tourism industry during the 2024 Iowa Tourism Conference in Des Moines this week. State Tourism Manager Amy Zeigler says “These awards recognize the hard work and dedication of our tourism industry partners and the appeal of Iowa as a destination. We look forward to building on the positive momentum for continued success in 2024.”

Awards, divided into metro and rural distinctions, were made in 13 categories. In addition, conference attendees voted for the People’s Choice Award; nominees were the second-highest scoring nominations.

The complete list of 2024 Iowa Tourism Award recipients (*=area awards):

Outstanding Attraction

• Lewis & Clark Interpretive Center, Sioux City (Metro)*
• Mt. Crescent Ski Area, Honey Creek (Rural)*

Outstanding Community

• Cedar Rapids (Metro)
• Jefferson (Rural)

Outstanding Dining Business

• 7 Hills Brewing Company, Dubuque (Metro)
• The Centennial, Jefferson (Rural)

Outstanding Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Initiative: Catch Des Moines (Metro)

Outstanding Event

• Des Moines Arts Festival (Metro)
• Tri-State Rodeo, Fort Madison (Rural)

Outstanding Individual Leader: Diane Van Wyngarden, Oskaloosa (Metro)

Outstanding Lodging Property

• DoubleTree by Hilton Cedar Rapids Convention Center, Cedar Rapids (Metro)
• Corning Hotel LLC, Corning (Rural)*

Outstanding Marketing Collaboration

• Council Bluffs Convention and Visitors Bureau (Metro)*
• Emerge Marketing Solutions, Manning (Rural)*

Outstanding Niche Market Initiative

• Council Bluffs Convention and Visitors Bureau (Metro)*
• Pocahontas Chamber of Commerce (Rural)

Outstanding Promotional Material

• Cedar Rapids Tourism (Metro)
• Fayette County Economic Development & Tourism (Rural)

Outstanding Retail Experience

• Modern Dress, Boone (Metro)
• Harvestville Farm, Donnellson (Rural)

Outstanding Social Media Execution

• Catch Des Moines (Metro)
• Emerge Marketing Solutions, Manning (Rural)*

Outstanding Website: Visit Pella (Metro)

People’s Choice Award: Grow Cedar Valley

The Iowa Tourism Office, part of the Iowa Economic Development Authority, works closely with community partners, attractions and events, to promote the state’s beautifully vast scenery and unique history. Tourism in Iowa generated $6.9 billion in expenditures in 2022, with more than $1.1 billion supporting state and local governments, while employing a total of 68,607 people statewide. For more information on everything Iowa has to offer tourists, visit traveliowa.com.

(Radio Iowa) — The Iowa House has been in a holding pattern today (Thursday), waiting for the public release of the latest plan to change the operations of Iowa’s nine Area Education Agencies. House Republicans passed their first plan in February. Republicans in the Senate approved their alternative Monday and House Republicans have another proposal in the works. The public normally gets at least 24 hours to review proposed legislation, but House Minority Leader Jennifer Konfrst says Democrats have been told this latest plan is a lengthy amendment — and it will come up for votes within hours.

“You can’t tell me this is for Iowans,” Konfrst said. “You can’t tell me this is for Iowa kids. This is for the governor, This is for politics and it shows me ho they work for.” In January, Governor Reynolds said test scores among Iowa students with disabilities are behind other states. She’s called for an overhaul of the A-E-As. which have staff that travel to schools to help students with disabilities. “This is Republicans fighting with each other in a way that’s politics pure and simple and Iowa kids are the ones being left behind,” Konfrst said.

Melissa Seitz, a spokesperson for House Republicans, says Democrats know the concepts in this latest plan have been debated on the House and Senate floor and Iowans have been able to weigh in on these pieces of policy for weeks. She says House Republicans have worked hard to take feedback from the AEAs, superintendents and parents to resolve this topic — and move on to the rest of the priorities for the 2024 legislative session.

(Radio Iowa) – Officials with a rural healthcare center in northern Iowa are rethinking their care strategies post-COVID. The Belmond Healthcare Clinic turns increasingly to forms of remote care to better serve its three-thousand patients, whether through video, over the phone, or online, but some insurance providers don’t recognize tele-health as covered care. The clinic’s business development coordinator Robyn Hardman says that leaves the nonprofit clinic fronting the costs.

“There are a lot of times where you’re trying to serve your patients and give them that remote access, and at times we’re having to cover the cost of that because the insurance payers haven’t caught up,” Hardman says. “We’re not getting paid for these services, but it’s patients who critically need it.” Hardman says rural hospitals could struggle to maintain that consistent care if tele-health continues to go uncovered.

“There is definitely technology ahead of what is covered by insurance at this time, for sure,” she says. “Balancing that for other hospitals who don’t have additional funds will be challenging in the future.” Nearly 70 percent of the Belmond clinic’s patients utilize some form of remote healthcare.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – The Cass County Auditor’s Office reports Phyllis Stakey, of Massena, has filed her nomination papers for the Cass County Board of Supervisors in District 5. Stakey is running on the Democratic ticket in the June Primary.

The filing period for persons wishing to run for County Offices ends at 5-p.m. Friday, March 22nd.

As previously mentioned, the following Republicans have also filed their nomination papers (Name/Office/date filed):

Kathy Somers, of Atlantic – County Auditor (March 4th) – Incumbent

John Westering, of Atlantic – County Sheriff (March 4th)

Bernard Pettinger, of Anita – Supervisor/District 5 (March 6th) – Incumbent

Stephen S. Green, of Atlantic  – Supervisor/District 1 (March 13th) – Incumbent

Steve Baier, of Griswold – Supervisor/District 4 (March 19th) – Incumbent