OMAHA, Neb. (Jan. 20, 2020) – Creighton University Professor Guy McHendry, Ph.D. has conducted extensive research that examines the ripple effects of surveillance on our society and bias in surveillance technology. He says people may not realize how often they are observed, or the amount of data collected about them. McHendry, an associate professor in Creighton University’s Department of Communication Studies, teaches a course on surveillance culture, which he describes as the culmination of the ideas, beliefs, values, practices and laws in our society surrounding surveillance. “I have students record every interaction they have with surveillance for a 36-hour period, and the volume is overwhelming,” said McHendry. “We interact with surveillance practices whenever we browse online, make a credit card purchase or walk past a surveillance camera. Much of the surveillance we experience is not even visible to us.”

McHendry says companies build profiles that aggregate tens of thousands of data points to categorize consumers and predict and influence purchases. “It is not an exaggeration to say that most people are under some form of surveillance every minute of their life. If they have a smartphone that records location data, their every movement is tracked – including periods of inactivity while their phone sits next to them as they sleep. In addition, some cities have built large networks of license plate readers which could be used to map individual travel throughout a city.” McHendry said.

While vast amounts of data are collected, the technology and practices in use are frequently biased, and can lead to misidentification and misnomers, McHendry says. “They are designed by humans and reflect human ideas and priorities,” McHendry said. “For example, facial recognition systems struggle to recognize non-white faces because the data sets used to train the programs do not have enough non-white faces to build a predictive model. As a result, these systems are more likely to misidentify People of Color.”

McHendry also highlights bias posing potential dangers to women. “There is an entire stalking economy devoted to surveillance apps and devices. These technologies are disproportionately used by men to target women. Women are particularly at risk because of technology that makes every moment of life and location accessible. The volume of data makes it very difficult for someone to block or hide from an abusive partner.” While some surveillance practices are unavoidable, McHendry says there are some proactive measures that individuals could implement:

• Use a password manager or create unique, complex passwords for each online account.
• Use two-factor authentication whenever possible.
• Regularly review privacy settings on all apps and devices connected to the internet. Many apps and devices could collect data that is not required to use the full functionality.
• Undergo a regular “digital house-cleaning.” Unsubscribe, uninstall, delete and cancel obsolete apps, emails, online subscriptions and services.
• Regularly review web browser privacy settings.

McHendry says another proactive tactic is to educate children about surveillance, privacy and healthy online habits. McHendry is planning to continue additional research in late-2020.

The Creston Police Department reports two people were arrested on drug charges, Friday. 36-year old Clay Pettit, of Creston, was arrested following a traffic stop at around 11:50-p.m. He was charged with Driving While Suspended, and Possession of Paraphernalia. Pettit entered a Guilty plea when seen by Magistrate and was later released from the Union County Jail after serving his sentence. And, 41-year old Bobbie Jo Wilson, of Creston, was arrested a little after 3-p.m. Friday, for Possession of a Controlled Substance 3rd or Subsequent Offense, Possession of Paraphernalia and Child Endangerment. Wilson was later released from the Adams County Jail on $7,300 bond.

Saturday morning, 22-year old Wesley Oliphant, of Lenox, was arrested in Creston on a Union County Warrant for the charge of Conspiracy to Commit a Forcible Felony. Oliphant was being held in the Union County Jail on a $10,000 bond. Saturday afternoon, 35-year old Ashley Riepe, of Afton, was arrested in Creston for Theft in the 5th Degree. Riepe was cited and released from the scene on a Promise to Appear (in court). And, 35-year old Karmyn Watson, of Greenfield, was arrested in Creston Sunday afternoon, for Theft in the 5th. She was cited and released from the scene on a Promise to Appear.

Creston Police said also, a woman residing in the 400 block of S. Walnut Street reported Saturday night, that sometime between Jan. 4th and the 18th, someone broke into her residence and stole cash, a laptop, an Amazon Echo and an Amazon Dot. Entry was made by breaking a window. The estimated damages and loss amounted to $800.

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) –  Authorities say a collision between a semitrailer and a car left two people dead in Sioux City. The crash occurred around 9:30 p.m. Sunday. Police say the northbound semi collided with the eastbound car at an intersection. The 19-year-old man and 18-year-old woman in the car were pronounced dead at the scene. Police say the truck driver wasn’t injured. The names of those involved and other details about the crash haven’t been released.

(Des Moines, Jan 18)  Presidential candidate Tom Steyer will be back in Western Iowa for a quick trip on January 21st before coming back to Iowa full-time before the caucuses. Steyer’s campaign says the billionaire from California “will be using his time to energize supporters and encourage Iowans to join the movement that’s going to prioritize climate and beat Donald Trump.”

His schedule for Tuesday, Jan. 21st includes a Meet and Greet at “The Hub” (7 S. 4th St.) in Council Bluffs, from 10-until 11:30-a.m., and in Atlantic at the “Farmer’s Walnut Street Diner,” from 2:30-until 4-p.m.

Reservations to attend either Steyer event can be made through the campaign’s website.

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (Jan. 20, 2020) — The American Red Cross has extended its urgent call for donors of all blood types to give blood or platelets. With influenza escalating across the country and preventing some donors from giving, and winter weather threatening to cancel blood drives, the Red Cross now has a critical shortage of type O blood and urgently needs donors to restock the shelves.  Currently, the Red Cross has less than a three-day supply of type O blood available for patient emergencies and medical treatments. Type O positive blood is the most transfused blood type and can be given to Rh-positive patients of any blood type. While just 7% of the U.S. population has type O negative blood, it can be transfused to patients with any blood type and is what hospital staff reach for during emergencies when there isn’t time to determine a patient’s blood type.

Every day, the Red Cross must collect nearly 13,000 blood donations and more than 2,600 platelet donations for patients who rely on blood to survive. Shortfalls in donations can cause delays in essential medical care for patients. Donors of all blood types – especially types O positive and O negative – are urged to make an appointment to give blood or platelets now using the Red Cross Blood Donor App, visiting RedCrossBlood.org, calling 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767) or enabling the Blood Donor Skill on any Alexa Echo device.

Some area, upcoming blood donation opportunities:

Exira – 1/27/2020: 12 p.m. – 6 p.m., Exira Recreational Center, 106 N Jefferson

Anita – 2/11/2020: 12 p.m. – 6 p.m., Community Center, 805 Main Street

Lewis – 1/29/2020: 12 p.m. – 5:30 p.m., Lewis Community Center, 400 West MainStreet

Denison – 2/4/2020: 11:30 a.m. – 5:30 p.m., United Methodist Church, 113 South 14th Street

Sidney – 2/13/2020: 8:30 a.m. – 2:30 p.m., Sidney High School, 2754 Knox Rd

Glenwood – 2/3/2020: 12 p.m. – 6 p.m., Trinity Lutheran Church, 512 2nd St.

Malvern – 1/28/2020: 11:30 a.m. – 5:30 p.m., Malvern Library, 502 Main St

Red Oak – 1/27/2020: 11:30 a.m. – 5:30 p.m., Bethlehem Lutheran Church, 1101 East Summit

Clarinda – 1/21/2020: 11:30 a.m. – 5:30 p.m., Westminster Presbyterian Church, 322 N 16th

College Springs – 2/10/2020: 1:15 p.m. – 5:30 p.m., South Page High School, 600 S Iowa

Essex – 1/24/2020: 8 a.m. – 1:30 p.m., Essex High School, 111 Forbes St.

Shenandoah – 2/11/2020: 8:30 a.m. – 2:30 p.m., Shenandoah High School, 1000 Mustang Drive

Council Bluffs:

1/24/2020: 9 a.m. – 2 p.m., Council Bluffs Public Library, 400 Willow Avenue

1/26/2020: 8:30 a.m. – 1 p.m., Community of Christ, 140 Kanesville Blvd

2/1/2020: 8 a.m. – 2 p.m., Hy-Vee Broadway, 2323 West Broadway

Crescent – 2/15/2020: 8 a.m. – 12 p.m., Fire Station, 102 West Florence

Shelby – 2/8/2020: 7:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m., Shelby Community Building, 500 East Street

Defiance – 2/4/2020: 12 p.m. – 6 p.m., St. Peter’s Hall, 402 5th Street

Elk Horn – 1/28/2020: 11:30 a.m. – 5:30 p.m., Elk Horn Lutheran Church, 4313 Main Street

Harlan: 1/21/2020: 11:30 a.m. – 5:30 p.m., Veteran’s Memorial Building, 1104 Morningview; 2/11/2020: 9:30 a.m. – 3:30 p.m., CDS, 3107 Shelby Street; 2/12/2020: 7:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m., Harlan High School, 2102 Durant Street

Westphalia – 1/22/2020: 11 a.m. – 5 p.m., St. Boniface Parish Center, 305 Duren St.

Creston: 2/3/2020: 12 p.m. – 6 p.m., Trinity Lutheran Church, 800 N Sumner; 2/7/2020: 9 a.m. – 3 p.m., Creston SWCC Instructional Bldg, 1501 W. Townline

(Radio Iowa) — Opening arguments in the impeachment trial of President Trump begin in the U.S. Senate tomorrow (Tuesday). Sam Clovis of Hinton was co-chairman of Trump’s 2016 campaign, then served in the Trump Administration until May of 2018. “I think what has been going on is to try to get rid of Trump from the start,” Clovis says, “and they’ve tried everything.” Democrats have been calling for witnesses to testify during the Senate trial. Clovis says if Republicans capitulate, he has a list of witnesses he’d like to see testify. “Joe Biden, Hunter Biden…people in the Obama Administration that may have been behind some of the other issues, like Valerie Jarrett and Samantha Power and some of the others that were clearly involved in unmasking myself and Carter Page and George Papadopoulos,” Clovis says.

Clovis had supervised Papadopoulos, a foreign policy advisor to the Trump campaign who pleaded guilty to lying to the F-B-I about talking with Russian-linked contacts. Clovis hired a lawyer, as he was interviewed during Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation. “It took two years to come to the same the conclusion that that he could have come to in the first couple of weeks,” Clovis says.

Clovis doesn’t expect the impeachment trial to last long, partly because the Senate will be unable to do other business while the impeachment proceedings are underway. Clovis has battled health issues since his return to Iowa in mid-2018. In November of 2017, Clovis withdrew his nomination to be the top science adviser in the U.S. Department of Agriculture after Democrats and environmentalists complained he was skeptical of climate change. Clovis wrote at the time the political climate in Washington made it impossible to win confirmation to the job. Clovis worked six more months as a top adviser to U.S. Ag Secretary Sonny Perdue before leaving the Trump Administration.