The Iowa State Patrol says an Audubon County man suffered non-life threatening injuries, when the motorcycle he was riding locked up on him Thursday evening on Interstate 80 in Adair County. 50-year old Dennis Kommes, of Exira, was traveling west on I-80 in the right lane, about three-miles west of Adair, when the back wheel on his 2008 Boss motorcycle locked-up and stopped turning. Kommes was unable to maintain control of the cycle, which turned onto its right side and then flipped onto its left,before coming to rest on the right shoulder of the road. Kommes, who was standing, alert and talking when authorities arrived on the scene, was transported by Anita Rescue to the Cass County Memorial Hospital in Atlantic. The accident happened at around 5-p.m.

Attorney Nicholas A. Klinefeldt, with tThe United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa has announced a settlement agreement, and the Office of Inspector General of the Department of Health and Human Services has entered into a corporate integrity agreement, with Bethany Lutheran Homes, Inc., a skilled nursing facility in Council Bluffs. The settlements resolves allegations of billing Medicare for medically unnecessary physical, occupational and speech therapy service.

Bethany Lutheran Homes has paid the United States the sum of $675,000 to settle the allegations, and entered into a corporate integrity agreement to ensure future compliance with federal health care program requirements. Klinefeldt says “This settlement
and corporate integrity agreement are the culmination of a two-year investigation and review of Bethany Lutheran Homes’s billing practices to Medicare.” He says his office “Is committed to ensuring the compliance with Medicare requirements and preventing fraud against the United States, and that Klinefedlt believes the settlement will reimburse the United States for past practices committed by Bethany Lutheran, and that The corporate integrity agreement will ensure their future compliance.”

Gerald T. Roy, Special Agent in Charge for the Kansas City Regional Office, added “The collaborative efforts of the agencies involved help ensure the solvency of the Medicare program and protect the beneficiaries that depend on the health care it provides.” The case was investigated by the Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General.

The Cass County Sheriff’s Office today (Thursday) released a report on arrests made over the past week. Officials say on Wednesday, 51-year old Jeffrey Charles Dory, of Anita, was arrested on a charge of Driving While Barred. Dory was taken to the Cass County Jail where he was released today (Thursday), on $2000 bond. 

On Tuesday, 23-year old Kasandra Rose Mesa, of Atlantic, was arrested on a District Court warrant for Theft 5^th Degree (Bad Checks). Mesa was taken to the Cass County Jail where she pled guilty the next day and was released. 

Last week: 30-year old Angelo Tap Gatdor, of Des Moines, was arrested on charges of OWI 2^nd Offense and Driving Under Suspension. Gatdor was taken to the Cass County Jail where he was being held on $2000 bond; 30-year Jesse James Noah, of Oakland, NE, was arrested on a Hampton Police Department Warrant. Noah was taken to the Cass County Jail and later released on bond; and, 18-year old Alexander Warren Wiechmann, of Red Oak, was arrested on a District Court warrant for Violation of Probation. Wiechmann was taken to the Cass County Jail where he was being held on $2000 bond.

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa – June 28, 2012 – Interstate Power and Light Co. (IPL), an Alliant Energy company, announced today it will cycle air conditioners for participating Iowa customers in the central and southern regions of the state, or for customers south of Highway 20. Weather conditions are such that between 1 p.m. and 7 p.m. today customers enrolled in the Appliance Cycling program will have their air conditioner cycled in 15-minute intervals to reduce overall energy usage. 

Participating residential customers have a small control switch placed on or near their central air conditioner. Today, Alliant Energy will send a signal to the switches in the targeted areas. Some of the major communities included in this cycling event include Cedar Rapids, Marshalltown, Clinton, Grinnell, Newton, Burlington, Ft. Madison, Ottumwa, Centerville, Creston, and Washington. The control switch will cycle the outdoor cooling unit off and on every 15 minutes. The furnace fan will continue to circulate the cooler, drier air already in the home. 

Alliant Energy pays each participating residential customer $8 per month from June through September – whether the air conditioner is cycled or not. A similar program for electric water heaters is also included in today’s event. Customers enrolled in that program receive a $2 per month discount during the same June through September time period. Appliance Cycling events typically occur between May 15 and September 15 on weekdays between 1 p.m.  7 p.m. They are not initiated on weekends or holidays.

The Cass County Board of Supervisors will meet Friday morning at the Courthouse in Atlantic. On the agenda for the 9-a.m. session, is action on: a Resolution to approve the appointment of a deputy county attorney to serve during the County Attorney’s absence or in case where there is a conflict of interest; Approving a fireworks display permit; Appointing a Veterans Affairs Commissioner to a 3-year term, effective July 1st; An update from Cass County Public Safety Commission Chair Steve Livengood, on the possible relocation of the communications center and a report on recent personnel changes at the Iowa Department of Public Safety; and, an end of fiscal year expense appropriation review and possible amendment.

The Board will also hear from Bob and Nella Seivert, new owners of the Medivac  Ambulance service.