(Adair County, Iowa) – A collision between two vehicles Sunday afternoon in southeastern Adair County reportedly resulted in injuries to four people. The crash happened at around 3:30-p.m., at the intersection of 330th Street and Henry A. Wallace Road, northeast of Orient. Two paramedic units were initially requested to transport the injured, but the second was cancelled.

No other details are currently available.

(Radio Iowa) – A new initiative will be launched in eastern Iowa next month, to try to keep Iowans with severe mental illnesses out of county jails and state prisons. Leslie Carpenter, co-founder of Iowa Mental Health Advocacy, is leading the pilot project. “In Johnson County we are developing the state’s first civil mental health court,” she says, “that will run in conjunction with a program called assisted outpatient treatment.”

The nine counties in the East Central Mental Health Region are providing funding for the project over the next two years. Doctors will refer patients to the program as they’re being released from the hospital after intensive mental health treatment. Carpenter says it will be for people who repeatedly stop taking medication for chronic mental illnesses.

“Mental illnesses, some of them like schizophrenia, bipolar disorder — schizoaffective disorders, cause changes in the brain to make them unaware of their own mental illness and that’s why they repeatedly stop treatment,” Carpenter says. National data shows people with severe or chronic mental illnesses are four times more likely to be arrested than other adults. People in the new Johnson County program will have regular meetings with mental health professionals AND with a judge or probation officer to discuss their medications and whether they’re experiencing side effects. Carpenter says it’s patterned after a New York program that’s been shown to reduce future arrests.

“When they’re taking their medications and engaged in treatment, they’re able to stay out of the hospital and in some cases stay out of jail and more successfully manage their lives,” Carpenter says, “go to school, have jobs, have families.” In New York, a state law allows courts to issue orders for “assisted outpatient mental health treatment” for appointments with medical professional as well as someone from the court system.

(Harrison County, Iowa) – Three people were injured Sunday afternoon, during a collision southeast of Missouri Valley. The Iowa State Patrol reports a 2004 Pontiac driven by 62-year-old Steven Geerdes, of Missouri Valley, was northbound on 335th Street at around 3:10-p.m., when the car crossed the center line at the intersection of Mound Trail. The car struck a 1966 Chevy head-on in the southbound lane of 335th.

The driver of the Chevy, 64-year-old Thomas Janecek, and his passenger, 61-year-old Angela Janecek, both of Omaha, suffered critical injuries and were flown by helicopter to the Nebraska Medical Center. Steve Geerdes was taken by Missouri Valley Rescue to Bergan Mercy Hospital, for treatment of serious injuries.

The Patrol says charges against Steve Geerdes are pending the results of chemical testing.

(Red Oak, Iowa) – Red Oak Police, Sunday, arrested a man wanted on a Montgomery County warrant for Simple Assault. 22-year-old Noah Donald Groves, of Red Oak, was arrested at around 12:53-p.m. in the 1800 block of E. Summit Street. Groves was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on a $300 cash bond.

(Anita, Iowa) – Public hearings on the proposed 2023-24 School Calendar and 2023-24 Certified Budget will be held Monday evening at the CAM High School Superintendent’s Office, prior to the start of the regular meeting of the CAM School Board. Later on during the discussion/action portion of the meeting, the Board will vote on whether or not to approve the Calendar, adjusted Calendar, and Budget. The hearings begin at 6:30-p.m.

Other matters to come before the Board include a presentation from the Facility Committee. The Committee voted last Wednesday to recommend to the School Board that the district’s North Facility be closed. The school board is expected to make a decision on the Committee’s recommendation, during their meeting in May.

In other business, the CAM School Board, Monday, will act on approving: a Librarian Sharing Agreement; Reduction in Force Contracts; an Out-of-State Senior Trip, and 300 Series Board Policies. The meeting will conclude with a discussion on the district’s facilities.