(Radio Iowa) – The leader of the Iowa Freedom of Information Council is hoping the Iowa Legislature takes action after a recent Iowa Supreme Court decision preventing the state Board of Medical Examiners from releasing preliminary information in the investigations of complaints against doctors. F-O-I executive director, Randy Evans, says the Medical Board had done this for many years.

“I think the board took the position that they were only making public selective details of the case that informed the public on what the legal basis for the charges were,” Evans says. Evans says the Supreme Court ruling found the law doesn’t allow information to be released until the final settlement.

“They point to the definitive language in the statute — which said that the findings of fact and the conclusion of the board, their final ruling was a public record. But that the court’s opinion was that there was no wiggle room to make any of that public earlier in the case,” he says. Evans says this is important information that could impact the lives of people seeking medical treatment.

“If there is a belief by the Board of Medicine that there is a legal basis for disciplinary charges to be filed — we believe that the citizens are entitled to know that to make a decision on which doctors they are going to patronize,” according to Evans. Evans says doctors do need to be protected from unsubstantiated claims — but he believes the Medical Board has done a good job of investigating. He says there are some 600 accusations each year against the 66-hundred physicians in the state.

“There’s only 25 to 30 cases that they file disciplinary charges in. So, to me that says that the Medical Board and its staff of investigators are doing a pretty thorough job of vetting these accusations to ensure they are not simply someone who dislikes a particular physician, or that has a vendetta,” Evans says. He says the justices noted the tough situation of protecting the public and the physicians in this case.

“The court’s opinion takes note that there are factors affecting public health and safety that the legislature may want to balance against the current wording in the statute,” Evans says. Evans says the F-O-I Council supports the legislature looking at the issue and he says it’s likely the medical board will pursue action with the legislature. The case involved allegations against former University of Iowa doctor, Domenico Calcaterra, a cardiothoracic surgeon, who now practices out of state.

He reached a settlement where he accepted a citation and warning and agreed to pay a five-thousand-dollar civil penalty. Calcaterra later sued, saying information still on the medical board’s website was hurting his medical career.

(Radio Iowa) – A true-crime book argues the infamous 1912 ax murders in the southwest Iowa town of Villisca were committed by a previously overlooked serial killer, and its authors will give a lecture in Ames tomorrow (Wednesday) night. Rachel McCarthy James, who co-wrote the book with her father, Bill James, says they did extensive research into dozens of similar slayings, all around the turn of the last century.

“I looked at other crimes from the same time period that had the same basic idiosyncrasies,” James says. “The same method was used, the back of the ax was used in all of these cases. They were at the same time of day, usually in the same type of place, a small town, fairly rural but near the intersection of two railroad lines.” Other things the crimes had in common included: the killer locked the door behind him, the bodies and windows were covered, and a lantern from the house was often taken and left somewhere outside.

In the Villisca murders, eight people were killed one night in a house, including six children. There was another incident in Iowa around that same time which wasn’t necessarily a “slam dunk” to be the same killer, she says. An elderly couple was murdered in a rural farmhouse in the Marshalltown area in 1910 that had many similarities to the Villisca case. James says it’s possible one man committed dozens of murders over several years in multiple states. His name was Paul Mueller and he was connected to the slaying of a family in Massachusetts in 1897.

“He was living with this family and he ended up being seen at the house on that night and he was the only one not killed in that event,” James says. “He was seen walking away from them towards the train on the night of the crime, never seen again.” In the book, the father-daughter duo claims Mueller likely committed 14 family murders with a total of 59 victims, but he may also be linked to another 25 mass killings with 94 more victims. James says she’s held the ax that was used in the Villisca murders but has never visited the house, which some claim is haunted.

“I’m not really a haunting person,” James says. “I’ve lived in a lot of ‘haunted’ places and I’ve never seen a ghost so I’ve never been a big person on haunting, which is good because I’ve devoted ten years of my life to ax murders now so there has to be some separation there.” The James’ collaborative book is called, “The Man From the Train,” while the younger James is working on her next book, “Whack Job,” which is also about ax murders. Their lecture is at 7 P-M Wednesday at Iowa State University’s Memorial Union Great Hall. The lecture is free and open to the public and will also be livestreamed.

(Glenwood, Iowa) – The Mills County Sheriff’s Office today (Tuesday) reports two people were arrested on drug charges Friday evening, following a traffic stop at Levi Road/Highway 34. Authorities say 26-year-old Jaymie Ilene Rowe, of Hastings (IA), and 61-year-old Joan Marie Brouillette, of Omaha, were arrested for Possession of Drug Paraphernalia. Their bonds were set at $300 each.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – Officials with the City of Atlantic, Tuesday morning, issued a reminder to persons who make use of the City’s compost pile by the Schildberg Recreational Area: “The compost pile is for residents who live within the Atlantic city limits.” The City warns continued use of the site by persons outside of the city, may force the City to temporarily close the site. The City does have a camera in place to capture the license plates of vehicles entering and exiting the yard waste site, as a friendly reminder.

Two weeks ago, officials with the City of Harlan said illegal dumping at their yard waste site resulting in a temporary closure. Cameras caught the alleged culprits, but a few days after the site was cleaned-up and re-opened, another incident of illegal trash dumping took place.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – The Cass County Board of Supervisors will hold their regular weekly meeting on Friday, beginning at 9-a.m.  During the meeting there will be two public hearing before action is taken on Resolutions pertaining to each hearing. The first is with regard to the issuance of General Obligation Capital Loan Notes not to exceed $2-million, and the authorizing of a Loan Agreement for the Notes. The hearing and Resolution are with regard to ISICS (Iowa Statewide Interoperable Communications System), a statewide radio platform that provides microwave-based radio communication to public safety agencies and others, border to border in the State of Iowa, to improve public safety across the state.  Additional communication antennas, etc. will be needed for system infrastructure and support.

The second hearing pertains to the vacating and closing about 500-feet of 570th Street under Interstate 80, north of Wiota, contained within a State of Iowa right of way. The State wants to eventually make I-80 three lanes in both directions. Closing the road is a part of that process. Some area landowners have complained closing the road would cut them off from their land and or animals, on either side of the Interstate.

In other business, the Board will act on Resolutions resetting the number of deputies and assistants in the Sheriff’s Office, and the entering into an agreement to abate the taxes, penalties, interest and costs on a County-held tax certificate for a parcel now owned by the City of Massena. The Board are also likely to approve the County Medical Examiner’s appointment of an additional Medical Examiner.

Reports are expected to be received as well, from County Veteran Affairs Director Mitch Holmes (The quarterly report was not available last week), and a regular report from County Mental Health/General Relief Coordinator Deb Schuler. The Supervisor’s meeting takes place in their Board Room at the Cass County Courthouse, and can be accessed live HERE.