DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – The Iowa Supreme Court has suspended the law license of the former Madison County Attorney for 18 months for violating attorney rules of ethical conduct including having sex with a client and then assaulting her when the relationship deteriorated. It was significantly more lenient than an attorney disciplinary board’s recommendation of a four-year suspension.

Court documents filed Friday say 57-year old Anthony Zane Blessum engaged in a sexual relationship with a client in 2011 and was convicted of repeatedly striking her in 2013. He also was found to have improperly handled client funds. Blessum was the Madison County attorney from 1986 to 1997. He recently has practiced law in his own office in Des Moines.

Police in Creston say a resident of the community was arrested Thursday morning on a Union County warrant for Probation Violation. 30-year old Nick Wilkinson, of Creston, was being held in the Union County Jail while awaiting a bond hearing.

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) – A wrongful-death lawsuit has been filed against the Woodbury County sheriff and other officials, saying their failure to treat a jail inmate for substances abuse withdrawal led to his death more than two years ago. The federal lawsuit was filed by Tony Josta, of Homer, Nebraska, representing the estate of his son, Anthony Josta. The lawsuit says 35-year-old Anthony Josta “was subjected to defendants’ deliberate indifference to his medical needs.”  Anthony Josta was found dead in his cell on March 26, 2013, three days after his arrest on a warrant for contempt of court.

Woodbury County Sheriff Dave Drew told the Sioux City Journal that he welcomes the chance to offer sworn testimony in defense of the jail’s procedures and explain the conditions and decisions officers face daily.