(Radio Iowa) – A celebrated musician from Africa is spending this week in southeast Iowa, offering residents of Oskaloosa a series of concerts and workshops featuring music and dance from his native Ghana. Okaidja Afroso is a singer, guitarist, percussionist and dancer who’s traveling with several other performers from Ghana.

During Monday night’s show, Afroso held up the three-foot-tall drum he plays. “This is carved from a solid piece of log. They chip, chip, chip, chip and hollow out the inside,” Afroso says. “The pegs around this are from tree branches. We usually put antelope, deer skin or cow skin on these drums to make the sounds they make.”

The performers are playing music most Iowans have never heard before, including a style known as jaku mumor, which means “ancestral spirit.”

(Arts Midwest photo)

“In Ghana, we have lots of different types of music and bands, due to the fact that we have a lot of different ethnic groups,” Afroso says, “so depending on where you go, you hear traditional drumming that are different and the drums are also different.” This visit is sponsored by Arts Midwest as Afroso and his band offer workshops to schools in Oskaloosa, as well as to various community groups.

Oskaloosa is the current Iowa host for the Arts Midwest “World Fest,” which connects international music groups with rural communities through weeklong visits. Free concerts and presentations are planned tonight at 6 at Smokey Row Coffee in Oskaloosa, Wednesday afternoon at the Oskaloosa Public Library, and Friday morning at George Daily Auditorium, where a ticketed concert is also scheduled for Saturday night.

(Radio Iowa)-  Governor Kim Reynolds hosted a welcoming ceremony in the Iowa Capitol for the president of Kosovo.
Reynolds met with Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani in June when Reynolds was on an overseas trade mission.

“Thank you for accepting my invitation to visit Iowa and to attend the World Food Prize and I certainly look forward to our time together,” Reynolds said. Osmani is among the leaders from 65 countries who’ll speak at World Food Prize events in Des Moines this week. Osmani’s first stop, however, was at the Iowa National Guard’s headquarters. Over 700 Iowa National Guard soldiers have done tours of duty in Kosovo and the Pentagon has tapped the Iowa Guard to help develop Kosovo’s security forces.

Kosovo President Osmani and Governor Reynolds with their husbands Prindon Sadriu, on left, and Kevin Reynolds, on right, in the Iowa Capitol Rotunda on Oct. 24, 2023. (RI photo)

“Please be reminded that the people of the Republic of Kosovo will always, always carry the deepest appreciation and admiration for the people of the United States of America,” Osmani says. “You stood with us in the darkest hours. When we needed a savior, you saved our lives and, not just that, you walked with us every step of the way.” After the break-up of Yugoslavia in the 1990s, neighboring Serbia launched an attack on ethnic Albanians in Kosovo and the NATO alliance intervened in 1999. Kosovo has been an independent state since 2008. Reynolds notes Iowa is one of two states that host a Kosovo consulate.

“Twenty-five years after first receiving NATO’s protection, Kosovo is paying it forward, acting as a counterweight to malign Russian influence and helping maintain the region’s stability,” Reynolds said, “while helping maintain the region’s independence.” Osmani says the partnerships between Kosovo and the United States are reflection of shared values, common objectives and strategic interests.

“What truly sets this alliance apart is the remarkable people-to-people connections that have developed over the years,” Osmani says. “One can wholeheartedly say that there exists a deep and genuine connection between the citizens of our two countries and, of course, the citizens of Kosovo and of Iowa in particular.”

Osmani is a lawyer and the first female speaker of Kosovo’s Assembly. She was elected president in 2021 — the second woman to lead the country in the past 15 years.

MARSHALLTOWN – The Iowa Dept. of Corrections reported on Tuesday (Today), that 29-year-old Gabriel Omar Santos Lopez, who was convicted of Domestic Abuse Assault 3rd Degree or Subsequent Offense and other charges in Marshall County, failed to report back to the Marshalltown Residential Center as required last Friday.

Santos Lopez is 5-feet 9-inches tall. He weighs 193 pounds. Lopez was admitted to the work release facility on August 7, 2023.

Gabriel Omar Santos Lopez

Persons with information on Santos Lopez’s whereabouts should contact local police.

(Atlantic, Iowa) –  The Cass County Sheriff’s Office reports 10 arrests took place over the past couple of weeks. Most recently, on Monday, October 23rd, Deputies arrested 31-year-old Stephen Ross, of Atlantic, on a warrant for Violation of Probation.  Ross was transported to the Cass County Jail where he was booked and held pending his later release to another agency. And, 22-year-old Mikayla Waldron, of Atlantic, was arrested Monday on a charge of Accessory After the Fact.  Waldron was transported to the Cass County Jail where she was booked and held pending her later release to another agency.

On October 20th, 2023, the Cass County Sheriff’s Office arrested Dante Watkins, 21, of Atlantic, on the charges of Possession of a Controlled Substance, Burglary 3rd Degree (x3), Theft 2nd and Theft 4th.  Watkins was transported to the Cass County Jail where he was booked and held.  These charges stem from a burglary investigation on and about the 11th of October, 2023. And, 31-year-old Dy Ifraim, of Minden, was arrested on a warrant for Failure to Appear.  Ifraim was transported to the Cass County Jail where he was booked and held.

On October 15th, 2023, the Cass County Sheriff’s Office arrested Nicholas Anderson, 32, of Atlantic, for OWI 1st Offense.  Anderson was transported to the Cass County Jail where he was booked and held pending his later release on his own recognizance.

On October 12th, 2023, the Cass County Sheriff’s Office arrested Joel White, 29, of Atlantic, on a warrant for Violation of Probation.  White was transported to the Cass County Jail where he was booked and held.

On October 11th, 2023, the Cass County Sheriff’s Office arrested Randi Shafer, 40, of Atlantic, on the charge of Possession of a Controlled Substance.  Shafer was transported to the Cass County Jail where she was booked and held.  Additional charges were later filed which included three counts of Burglary 3rd, Theft 2nd and Theft 4th.  These charges stem from a burglary investigation on and about the 11th of October, 2023.

On October 9th, 2023, the Cass County Sheriff’s Office arrested Devin Register, 33, of Atlantic, on a warrant for Domestic Abuse Assault.  Register was transported to the Cass County Jail where he was booked and held pending his later release on his own recognizance And, Derek McDermott, 37, of Atlantic, was arrested on the charges of Possession of a Controlled Substance 3rd offense, Driving while Barred, OWI 1st Offense and Eluding.  McDermott was transported to the Cass County Jail where he was booked and held pending his later release on bond.

On October 7th, 2023, the Cass County Sheriff’s Office arrested Gage Mundorf, 21, of Atlantic, on a warrant for Violation of Probation.  Mundorf was transported to the Cass County Jail where he was booked and held pending his later release on bond.

DES MOINES, IA – A Des Moines man was sentenced today (Tuesday) to 40 years in prison for sex trafficking three adult females by force, fraud, and coercion and kidnapping one of the adult females; 30 years for sexual exploitation and attempted sexual exploitation of a minor female; and 10 years for conspiracy to distribute marijuana. The sentences were ordered to run concurrently for a total term of 40 years in prison.

According to public court documents, Richard Thomas Ball, 47, used deceptive and coercive tactics as well as physical assaults to compel three adult females to engage in sex acts in exchange for money. Ball trafficked the victims and received proceeds from the victims’ sex acts. Ball kidnapped one of the victims during the course of trafficking her. Ball admitted that he transported the victim against her will in a vehicle from Missouri to Des Moines so that he could physically assault her during the trip as a form of revenge against another victim.

Ball also coerced three minor females to engage in sexually explicit conduct and caused images and videos to be produced of those minor females engaged in such conduct. Ball sexually abused the three minor females, one of whom he began abusing at age 13 and continued for approximately five years. Additionally, Ball admitted to conspiring with others, including minors, to transport marijuana to Iowa and distribute it.

United States Attorney Richard D. Westphal of the Southern District of Iowa made the announcement. This investigation was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Polk County Sheriff’s Office, Iowa Department of Public Safety, Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement, Iowa State Patrol, and Dallas County Sheriff’s Office.

Human trafficking is a crime involving the exploitation of youth under the age of 18 for commercial sex; the exploitation of adults for commercial sex through the use of force, fraud, or coercion; and the exploitation of any individual for compelled labor. Human trafficking does not require the transportation of individuals across state lines, or that someone is physically restrained. Signs that a person is being trafficked can include working excessively long hours, unexplained gifts, physical injury, substance abuse issues, running away from home, isolation from others, or having a person in their life controlling them or monitoring them closely.

Victims particularly susceptible to being trafficked include those with criminal histories, a history of physical or sexual abuse, uncertain legal status, and dependency on controlled substances. Individuals who purchase sex from minors or from those who are otherwise exploited for commercial sex are also subject to prosecution for sex trafficking under federal law, if they knew or were in reckless disregard of the fact that they were under the age of 18, or that force, fraud, or coercion was used.

Anyone who suspects human trafficking is occurring, be it a minor engaging in paid sex acts, or anyone being coerced into prostitution or labor, is urged to call the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 1-888-373-7888.

The Governor’s Traffic Safety Bureau is receiving 11 million dollars in federal money for grants to various safety programs in Iowa. Bureau Chief Brett Tjepkes (Jep-keys) says one program helps refugees with driver education.

He says it’s an important for people who are new to Iowa.

The Iowa Bicycle Coalition is also getting grant money.

The Iowa Restaurant Association and Mothers Against Drunk Driving are receiving grants.

Tjepkes says traffic deaths in the state are already more than 300 this year and they hope these grants will help bring that number down.

You can see a complete list of the grants at the Governor’s Traffic Safety Bureau website.