JOHNSTON, Iowa (August 31, 2021) – Kay Henderson, the dean of the Iowa Capitol press corps and long-time guest panelist on Iowa Press, will be the next host and moderator of the Iowa PBS public affairs program. Henderson replaces David Yepsen, who retires from the Iowa Press desk on September 10, 2021. Her first formal broadcast as host will be Friday, September 17.  “Kay is already a member of the Iowa PBS family,” said Molly Phillips, executive director and general manager of the statewide public television network. “She has capably subbed as host and has been a regular second chair at the Iowa Press desk. She’s participated in countless campaign debates over the last three decades. We couldn’t ask for a stronger, more esteemed and experienced journalist to continue the Iowa Press legacy.”

Henderson first appeared on Iowa Press in October of 1987. For the past 20 years, she has been the national political director for Learfield news networks in Iowa, Missouri, Minnesota and Wisconsin. She has served two terms as president of the National Association of State Radio Networks’ news directors group. Henderson was hired by Learfield in 1987 as a statehouse reporter for Radio Iowa, a statewide news and sports network serving more than 70 commercial radio stations. She’s been that network’s news director since 1994 and will remain in that role alongside her new weekly assignment at Iowa PBS. “It’s an honor to be invited to take on this new role,” Henderson said. “Watching Iowa Press hosts Dean Borg and David Yepsen guide the program over the past 34 years has given me a glimpse of the responsibilities ahead. I’m humbled by the opportunity and excited about the task of helping Iowa Press move into its fifth decade of service to our viewers.”

O, Kay Henderson

Henderson received the Iowa Broadcast News Association’s 2002 Jack Shelley Award, an annual recognition of “outstanding contribution to the cause of professional journalism.” The list of Shelley Award recipients includes the late Dean Borg, who retired as Iowa Press host in 2016, and the late Dan Miller, the long-time Iowa PBS general manager who was an Iowa Press producer early in his 37-year career with the network. “After three decades of Iowa public affairs coverage on radio and on Iowa Press, Kay Henderson is the backbone of political journalism in this state,” said Andrew Batt, Iowa Press senior producer. “Our viewers have found Kay to be a trusted source for news and information throughout annual legislative sessions and nearly 20 election cycles.”

Henderson’s first salaried job in journalism was a three-month summertime stint as managing editor of the Lenox Time Table, the weekly newspaper in her southwest Iowa hometown. In addition to her work in Iowa broadcasting, Henderson has appeared on the PBS NewsHour, NBC’s “Meet the Press” and ABC’s “This Week” as well CNN, Fox News and MSNBC.

Since its inaugural broadcast in 1971, Iowa Press has engaged the best local journalists to interview experts, political and other newsworthy figures while exploring issues of state and national interest. Each week, Iowa Press invites newsmakers, policy makers and elected officials to join capitol reporters in a weekly discussion. The program airs Friday evenings and Sundays at noon on Iowa PBS. It is rebroadcast Saturday mornings on Iowa PBS WORLD.3. Past episodes of Iowa Press are available online at iowapbs.org.

Program support for Iowa Press is provided by Associated General Contractors of Iowa and Iowa Bankers Association.

(Radio Iowa) – Police say four people were shot — two of them fatally — in two separate incidents in Des Moines last (Monday) night. Police were called about 6 PM to the banks of the Des Moines River where the body of a 43-year-old Des Moines man was found, shot to death. Investigators say it was a homicide.

About two hours later, three people were shot on the capitol city’s east side and one of them died, a 40-year-old man from Des Moines. Two other men, ages 27 and 32, sustained non-life threatening gunshot injuries. No names were released in either case and there’s no word on any arrests. These are Des Moines’ 5th and 6th homicides of the year.

(Radio Iowa) – Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley is questioning the head of the U-S Department of Veterans Affairs about reports of inconsistent inspection practices and a lack of quality controls at veterans homes nationwide.  “It’s not directed just to any specific instances,” Grassley says. “It’s kind of an accumulation of a lot of concerns we’ve had.”

Those concerns include the pandemic and reports that show more than 14-hundred residents and staff of V-A homes nationwide have died of COVID-19. The V-A spends about one-billion dollars a year on state-run homes for veterans. The homes are only required to do one annual safety inspection. “Since there’s a lot of tax dollars goes into this,” Grassley says, “we have a responsibility to make those tax dollars keep our promises to our veterans.”

Grassley, a Republican, says it appears the standard of care at many state veterans homes “falls well short” of those required by other government-supported nursing homes. He says, “Americans deserve answers and our veterans deserve better.” “The lack of oversight by the VA seems to be a problem that’s not being carried out the way it should be,” Grassley says. “This is a letter to get answers to some specific questions.”

A POLITICO report says nearly 14-hundred V-A residents and 40 staff have died from COVID-19 in 110 state veterans homes. In the worst case, 110 deaths were reported at a 126-bed veterans home in New York. It’s unclear how many veterans, if any, have died from COVID at the Iowa Veterans Home. This summer, it was reported that two residents of the home in Marshalltown who were housed in the COVID unit had died. I-V-H officials said both veterans had “significantly compromised health conditions” and thus, they weren’t listed as COVID deaths.

(Waterloo, Iowa) – Officials with the Iowa Department of Corrections, Tuesday, said 30-year-old Devin Dewayne Smith, who was convicted of Robbery 2nd and other charges in Black Hawk County, failed to report to the Waterloo work release facility Monday night, as required. Smith is a black male, 6-feet 2 inches tall. He height 6’2″, and weighs 167 pounds. Smith was admitted to the work release facility on May 26, 2021.

Persons with information on Smith’s whereabouts should contact their local police.

Devin Smith (IA DOC photo)