IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) – Inmates at a Rockwell City prison were found in possession of pills, cellphones and a hammer in a series of incidents last month raising questions about security. Records released to The Associated Press show one inmate was trying to break into the woodshop at the North Central Correctional Facility. He had pliers, a putty knife and a hammer. The inmate later revealed a hidden compartment containing a cellphone and iPod.

Another inmate had a cellphone he used to make calls outside the prison and for Facebook. A third inmate said cellphones – considered dangerous contraband under Iowa policy – were for sale inside the prison for $120.

Officers discovered 400 pills that initially were suspected to contain cocaine and Demerol. Later testing came up negative for narcotics.

The lawyer for an Atlantic woman accused of faking her daughter’s cancer says the woman is competent to stand trial, but unable to tell right from wrong. KETV in Omaha reports a judge granted Attorney Jay Mez’ requested the state to pay for depositions and Mez’ expert witnesses.  Online court records show Mez indicated on Oct. 1st his defense of 30-year old Leatha K. Slauson would be one of “Diminished Responsibility.”

Authorities say Slauson lied about her daughter having cancer, inserted a feeding tube into the 5-year-old girl and gave her drugs and cannabis oils.

Slauson has pleaded not guilty to 20 counts, including assault, child endangerment and theft by deception. Her trial is set for next month.

Audubon County Community Foundation (ACCF) Chair Brett Irlmeier, today (Friday), announced a new endowment fund. The $50,000 Exira-Elk Horn/Kimballton School District Endowed Fund was created by Exira resident Marvin Jorgensen. The fund will ultimately benefit students of the newly-formed district.

The Exira-EHK School DIstrict Foundation Endowed Fund is a permanently endowed fund that can accept donations from the public, individuals, businesses and other organizations, that want to help the school district today, and, help build a stronger community tomorrow. Donors will be eligible to receive a 25% Endow Iowa Tax Credit for each donation, in addition to any Federal Tax benefits for which they may qualify.

The Audubon County Community Foundation has distributed over $1.2-million in grants and scholarships. For more information about donating and/or establishing an individual foundation or fund, call any ACCF Board member, or Iowa Foundations Director Dennis Nissen at 1-800-794-3458.

October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month. The issue has been in the national spotlight after a few high-profile cases involving N-F-L players accused of abuse. In Iowa, officials say the state’s domestic abuse hotline and shelters field more than 70-thousand calls a year. Leah (LEE-uh) Gilbert is with the Domestic Violence Awareness Center in Fort Dodge that serves residents in 15 counties in north central and west central Iowa. “This year we’re just asking for everyone’s help to raise awareness and show support for victims and survivors in Iowa,” Gilbert says.

There are 12 domestic violence shelters in Iowa and Gilbert says her facility in Fort Dodge gets 10 to 15 calls every day. “We are strictly shelter-based now, so within the month I would say we house between 20 to 25 women, men or children,” Gilbert says.

The Iowa Coalition Against Domestic Violence is asking supporters to put a purple bulb in an outdoor light fixture to show support for the movement. On October 23rd, Iowans are being invited to make a five-dollar donation to the statewide organization and wear jeans to work on “Jeans Day”. The money will be used to buy clothes for domestic violence shelters.  “Money is a big issue,” Gilbert says. “We all know that funding has been cut in a lot of areas and so donations, volunteering — anything that anyone would want to do — we would greatly appreciate.”

According to the Iowa Coalition Against Domestic Violence, weekends are the most common times cases of alleged domestic abuse are reported — and about two-thirds of the perpetrators of domestic violence are under the age of 35. A federal report indicates 70 percent of those accused of domestic abuse were abused as children.

The Iowa Coalition Against Domestic Violence is holding the eighth annual “It’s About Time” fundraiser tomorrow night (Saturday) in Des Moines. Shelters around the state have a variety of fundraisers scheduled throughout the month, too. (The other 11 domestic violence shelters are located in Sioux City, Council Bluffs, Ames, Des Moines, Clinton, Waverly, Oskaloosa, Iowa City, Burlington, Muscatine, and Dubuque.)

(Radio Iowa)

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – After years of stability, Iowa’s congressional delegation will soon have some new faces – and the candidates running for the state’s two open seats all say they can bring some homespun pragmatism to Washington.

Democrat Staci Appel, a former state lawmaker, and Republican David Young, a former aide to Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley, are both making that argument in the 3rd district, where longtime Republican U.S. Rep. Tom Latham is retiring. Appel says she supports boosting the minimum wage and other efforts to help working families and argues Young lacks perspective due to his long career in Washington. Young says his experience means he can effectively work across the aisle.

The 1st district also will have a new representative because incumbent Rep. Bruce Braley is running for U.S. Senate.