(Red Oak, Iowa) – A traffic stop Wednesday afternoon in Red Oak, resulted in the arrest of two men from Nebraska. Police report the vehicle was stopped at the intersection of Highway 34 and 4th Street, at around 4:06-p.m. Upon further investigation, officers arrested 35-year-old Jae Lawrence Torpy, and 20-year-old Ramon Edwin King, both of Omaha.  Each was taken into custody on a Possession of a Controlled Substance/Marijuana – charge. Their bonds were set at $1,000 each.

(rural Rock Rapids, Iowa) – Three juvenile females were injured Wednesday afternoon, during a crash in northwest Iowa’s Lyon County. The Iowa State Patrol reports a 2006 Chevy Impala driven by one of the juveniles, was traveling west on 160th Street, southwest of Rock Rapids, when the car went out of control where the road transitioned from pavement to gravel at Goldfinch Avenue.

The car entered the south ditch and rolled multiple times before coming to rest on its roof and catching fire. The accident happened at around 3:40-p.m., Wednesday. Two of the juveniles were transported by ambulance to Avera Hospital in Rock Rapids and Sioux Falls. No names were released.

Two of the three females were wearing their seat belts. The crash remains under investigation.

The State Patrol was assisted at the scene by Rock Rapids Fire and the Lyon County Ambulance.

(Radio Iowa) – Governor Kim Reynolds and the Republican governors of 14 other states – including the neighboring states of Iowa, Missouri, Nebraska and South Dakota – are objecting to proposed federal rules on nursing home staffing levels. The proposed rule comes from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. It says nursing homes should have enough staff to provide each resident with at least half an hour of care from a registered nurse and at least two hours and 45 minutes of care from a nurses aide each day.

The 15 Republican governors have sent a letter to President Biden, asking him to reconsider the rule. The governors say the long-term care industry is facing a workforce crisis, especially in rural areas, and the group calls the agency’s proposal an unnecessary, one-size-fits-all requirement that will force many long-term care facilities to close. The governors say that means many vulnerable Americans will find it more difficult to get a spot in a nursing home.

Twenty-six Iowa nursing homes have closed since May of last year. During the 2023 legislative session, Iowa lawmakers increased Medicaid reimbursement rates by 15 million dollars.

(Radio Iowa) – An unusual phone message led to a five MILLION dollar grant for the Siouxland Community Health Center of Sioux City. Mari Kaptain-Dahlen, the C-E-O of the non-profit health center, says the initial call came in mid-September from a woman who would only talk to her. “I was pretty skeptical because I get messages like that every week, but the woman had a very intriguing name, which has to remain anonymous, so I decided to give her a call,” Kaptain-Dahlen said. “When I returned her call and introduced myself, she said to me: ‘Thank you for taking a leap of faith to call me back. Many people don’t.'”

The woman Kaptain-Dahlen was speaking with represents the Yield Giving Foundation — established by MacKenzie Scott, the ex-wife of Amazon founder Jeff Bazos. In the past three years, Scott has given away about half her fortune to non-profits around the world. Kaptain-Dahlen says this is how the foundation representative she spoke with in September announced the grant:

“This woman said to me: ‘Well, Mary, we have fully vetted you and we have fully vetted your organization and we have fully vetted your leadership team,'” Kaptain-Dahlen said yesterday, “and she said: ‘We have found you to be a thriving organization and I am notifying you that Yield Giving has identified you as one of the funding recipients for 2023.'”

Last year, the Siouxland Community Health Center served 35-thousand patients who spoke 52 different languages. The center’s C-E-O credits the more than 350 people on staff and board members for embracing the non-profit’s mission. “Your commitment to make sure that mission is achieved with every person who comes through these doors and the empowerment of that mission that you have cultivated with your team and all of our staff — that is what has brought us to this moment,” she said.

Andrea Buckley, chair of the center’s board of directors, also spoke at yesterday’s (Wednesday’s) news conference. “We’re going to create a task force, hopefully come up with a real catchy name for it,” she said with a laugh, “but it’s really an opportunity for us to listen to our stakeholders, listen to our partners, listen to our community and figure out how we can use this gift.”

Yield Giving’s website indicates the foundation has donated more than 14 BILLION dollars to over 16-hundred non-profits around the world so far and at least seven are located in Iowa.

(Adel, IA) – The Dallas County Sheriff’s Office, Wednesday evening, said earlier in the day, Wednesday (11/1/23), a search warrant was executed at 33034 165th Street in rural Dallas County, Iowa. The search warrant was in reference to an ongoing live stock neglect investigation at that location.

Dallas County Sheriff’s Office Detectives located 46 horses on the property that were in need of Veterinarian care. These horses were seized as a part of this investigation. The investigation is ongoing and charges are pending at this time. This release will be updated when more information is available.

The Dallas County Sheriff’s Office is greatly appreciative of the assistance of the Animal Rescue League of Iowa. The Iowa Department of Agriculture also assisted in this investigation.