(Des Moines, Iowa) – State, city and county food inspectors have cited Iowa restaurants and stores for hundreds of food-safety violations during the past five weeks, including insects, rodents, moldy fruit and salad dressings that were several months out of date. The Iowa Capital Dispatch says inspectors reported one restaurant had no handwashing sink for the kitchen staff, while another was rinsing dirty utensils in a sink where raw seafood was being prepped and trimmed for raw consumption by diners.

The findings are reported by the Iowa Department of Inspections, Appeals and Licensing, which handles food-establishment inspections at the state level.

The state inspections department reminds the public that their reports are a “snapshot” in time, and violations are often corrected on the spot before the inspector leaves the establishment.

None of the violations at inspected establishments were in western Iowa. Four are in Des Moines, two each are in Davenport and Cedar Rapids. Other violations were found during inspection of establishments in Ames, Clinton, Osceola, Waverly, Walcott, Marshalltown, Sibley and Marion.

For a more complete list of all inspections, along with additional details on each of the inspections listed below, visit the Iowa Department of Inspections, Appeals and Licensing website.

(Johnston, Iowa) – Officials with the Iowa Army National Guard report 20 Iowa National Guard Soldiers with the 186th Military Police Company will deploy this Sunday (Jan. 7th) to Kosovo, for a 9-month tour. Their mission is in support of the same NATO peacekeeping operation where the Guard recently deployed Service Members from the 2-211th General Support Aviation Battalion, out of Waterloo.

The primary mission of the 186th MP Co. will be to provide law and order support to US and NATO forces during the ongoing international peacekeeping operation and promoting local and regional stability.

Photo from the 186th Military Police Facebook page (May, 2023)

The community send-off ceremony will be held at Building S-60 on Camp Dodge Joint Maneuver Training Center (7105 NW 70th Ave, Johnston, IA 50131) on January 7th at 8 a.m. and is open to the public. The unit will depart immediately following the ceremony and head to Fort Cavazos, Texas to complete their pre-mobilization training.

(Radio Iowa) – Former Iowa Congressman Steve King has endorsed Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy. King says Ramaswamy is principled and smart — and knows the Constitution. King and Ramaswamy are outspoken critics of giving Summit Carbon Solutions eminent domain authority to force unwilling landowners to let the carbon pipeline run through their property.

King, in a written statement, praised Ramaswamy for promising to pardon peaceful January 6th protesters if he’s elected president and to end birthright citizenship. King served nine terms in the U-S House, but was rebuked by some fellow Republicans for controversial comments, stripped of his House committee assignments and defeated by Randy Feenstra in a Republican Primary in 2020.

King endorsed Fred Thompson before the 2008 Iowa Caucuses and campaigned with Ted Cruz in 2016. State Treasurer Roby Smith endorsed Ramaswamy this summer. Former Iowa Secretary of State Matt Schultz and former Iowa Senate President Jake Chapman are on Ramaswamy’s campaign team and often introduce the candidate at events.

Ramaswamy has wrapped up his second tour of Iowa’s 99 counties and has five more stops on his schedule today (Wednesday).

(Creston, Iowa) –  Officials with the Creston Police Department say two people were arrested early this (Wednesday) morning in the 1700 block of W. Townline Road. Authorities report 48-year-old Jennifer Suzanne Donez, of Cromwell, and 24-year-old Wiley James Lewallen, of Riverside, TX, were arrested on charges of Interference with Official Acts and Provide False Identification. Donez and Lewallen were being held in the Union County Jail, with bond set at $600 each.

Late Tuesday morning, Creston Police arrested 22-year-old Jesus Eduardo Gallo, of Mission, TX. He taken into custody at the Union County Law Enforcement Center and charged with Failure to Appear. Gallo posted a $2,000 bond and was released from the Union County Jail.

DES MOINES, Iowa — A man charged in a deadly crash with a tow truck driver will go on trial for vehicular homicide next month. According to court documents, Dmytro Prysich hit Joshua Villa, as Villa was getting out of his truck to help with a separate crash along Interstate 80/35, back in November.

Dmytro Prysich

Investigators say Prysich then left the scene. He was later pulled over and arrested by police in Clive. His trial is now scheduled to start Feb. 26.

IOWA CITY, Iowa – University of Iowa Healthcare officials say they have now performed over 10,000 robotic procedures, the program plans to continue growing. Robotic procedures have expanded to a variety of disciplines in UIHC from cardiac surgeries to transplants. These tools are specialized in soft-tissue procedures. Hospital staff use robotics in roughly 100 cases every month.

In a social media post, the UIHC said “Our Perioperative Robotics Program recently celebrated its 10,000th soft-tissue surgery using robotics and is performing approximately 100 cases per month, thanks to the collaborative work of the surgical specialties and expanded training programs for nurses and residents.” UIHC Medical Director of Robotic Surgery, Dr. David Bender, MD, says “Robotic procedures are done across all surgical disciplines for patients in need of surgery—many of whom have cancer. Urology, gynecologic oncology, thoracic oncology, general surgery and otolaryngology are among the specialties using this technology every day.

Robotics Nurse, Julie Delancey, RN, and nurse Megan Mulholland, RN, BSN prepare an Operating room and robot for a Robotic Prostatectomy at UIHC on Monday, November 7, 2022. (UIHC Facebook photo)

The program has been a 20-year work-in progress, with more than 40 surgeons having learned how to operate these machines. UIHC started rolling in robotic procedures over the last several years, but now the hospital says they’re used every day.

UIHC Robotics surgical specialists, nurses & residents. (UIHC Facebook photo)

AMES, Iowa (KCCI) -The FBI is now joining in the investigation into a missing five-year-old girl in Iowa. KCCI reports that Avery Doherty of Ames has been missing since October. Police believe her mother, Esther Bender, took her. She does not have custody of her daughter. Avery is 4′5″ and weighs 45 lbs. She has blonde hair and blue eyes.

Anyone with information is asked to call police.