(Radio Iowa) – A $1,000 reward is now being offered for information leading to an arrest in the shooting of a man found dead early Christmas morning in Fort Dodge.

That man was identified as 46-year-old Montreal Dungy of Fort Dodge, and at this time investigators are continuing to follow up on this homicide.

Anyone with information is urged to contact Webster County Crimestoppers or the Fort Dodge Police Department.

(Radio Iowa) – A top GOP leader says enacting limits on what judges and juries can award in medical malpractice lawsuits will be a priority for the 2023 legislature. Senate Republican Leader Jack Whitver says in the past six years, the Senate has passed two different limits or caps on non-economic or so-called “pain and suffering” awards in medical malpractice cases.

“We’ve passed both a $250,000 cap and I think we passed a $1 million cap a couple of years later, trying to figure out what the House might be willing to do or engage on that issue,” Whitver says, “and so it’s been a priority for us.”

Four of the six states that border Iowa have limits on medical malpractice claims.

Jack Whitver. (RI file photo)

“As we look around the state, our rural hospitals are struggling. One of the ways to try to recruit and keep doctors is to make sure they’re in a liability situation that’s comparable to other states,” Whitver says. “We’re not trying to do anything that is outside that norm. We’re trying to compete with the states around us.”

Nebraska and South Dakota have a $500,000 cap on non-economic damages in medical malpractice lawsuits. Wisconsin’s is $750,000. Missouri’s limit is adjusted annually to account for inflation and it’s nearly $800,000 this year.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – The Cass County Sheriff’s Office today (Wednesday) released a report on arrests covering the dates of Dec. 19th through the 25th.

• On December 25th, Sheriff’s Deputies in Cass County arrested 32-year-old Joshua Beedle, of Council Bluffs, for OWI 2nd Offense.  Beedle was transported to the Cass County Jail where he was booked and held pending his later release on his own recognizance.
• On December 24th, 29-year-old Tara Holmes, of Atlantic, was arrested for OWI 1st Offense.  Holmes was transported to the Cass County Jail where she was booked and held pending her later release on her own recognizance.
• On December 23rd, 25-year-old Andrew Malloy, of Audubon, was arrested on active arrest warrants.  Malloy was transported to the Cass County Jail where he was booked and held. Also arrested on the 23rd, was 43-year-old Nicholas Paulsen, of Atlantic, on several narcotics related warrants.  Paulsen was transported to the Cass County Jail where he was booked and held.
• There were three arrests reported on December 20th in Cass County: 44-year-old Justin Eblen, of Cumberland, was arrested for Violation of a No Contact Order.  Eblen turned himself in to the Cass County Jail where he was booked and held pending his later release on bond; 37-year-old Daniel Jensen, of Atlantic, was arrested on a warrant for Simple Assault.  Jensen was transported to the Cass County Jail where he was booked and held pending his later release on bond; and, 40-year-old Samuel Farley, of Des Moines, was arrested Dec. 20th, on a warrant for Failure to Appear.  Farley was transported to the Cass County Jail where he was booked and held.
• And, on December 19th, County Sheriff’s Deputies arrested 22-year-old Skyanne Christensen, of Atlantic, on narcotics related warrants.  Christensen was transported to the Cass County Jail where she was booked and held pending her later release on her own recognizance.

(Radio Iowa) – The wintry weather is forcing most Iowans to spend more time indoors — and with furnaces, fireplaces and space heaters running, there’s a serious risk from an odorless, colorless gas. Le Mars Fire and Rescue Chief Dave Schipper strongly recommends carbon monoxide detectors in all houses, apartments and mobile homes.  “We want everybody to have a carbon monoxide alarm or carbon monoxide detector just like a smoke detector,” Schipper says. “We want those to be placed where you can hear them. A lot of people tend to buy carbon monoxide alarms and put them in the basement, which is fine — if you can hear them. Otherwise, we want them in the sleeping area so they can awake you if there’s a problem.”

When people close up their houses because of the cold and there is little ventilation, Schipper says that’s when carbon monoxide calls to his department become common.  “This time of year, we see all kinds of problems with carbon monoxide as far as furnaces that aren’t running properly, fireplaces that may be plugged or have creosote built up in them,” he says. “We have a lot of people that tend to run their cars in their garage to warm them up in the wintertime. Even if the garage door is open, that carbon monoxide is staying in the garage or pushing into the house.”

Schipper says it’s critical to take precautions since carbon monoxide is invisible and has no scent, and without a detector, there’s no way to know if it’s seeping into your house.  “That causes headache, fatigue, nausea, vomiting,” the chief says. “A lot of people think they’re just getting a cold or the flu or getting sick, but really they could be having a carbon monoxide problem.”

A good C-O detector can cost as little as $15 and it could save your life.

(Radio Iowa) – The Sioux City Police Department is warning the public about a group called the National Police and Trooper Association after it contacted the police chief. Officer Valerie Rose says the legitimacy of the group cannot be verified. “It claims to help law enforcement families but when you google it you can see out there that it looks like it’s fraudulent and we can’t verify its legitimacy on it,” Rose says. She says they do know that local law enforcement is not being helped by the group. Rose rose says this is the time of year when scammers try to take advantage of people being in a giving holiday spirit:

“They happen all throughout the year every day it’s just an ongoing thing but of course, they do tend to take advantage of the holiday spirit and the generosity that people are feeling during this time of the year they’ll try to pull on those heartstrings to get money, unfortunately,” she says. Rose says they always advise you to take the time to verify online what the organization is and if you know they are local or otherwise legitimate. “Get on there, Google it, check their ratings check and see if there are any news stories that have already been done that are warning people that they are a scam,” Rose says. “See if there are any complaints against them claiming that they are fraudulent. You can check with the Better Business Bureau. You can also get online and you can check the Federal Trade Commission.”

If you do decide to donate, be suspicious of how they want you to pay them. “If it’s a scam, they’ll try to pressure you. They’ll tell you that you need to act immediately and then they’ll tell you weird ways to pay them,” she says. “We always advise never pay by gift card or wire transfer or cryptocurrency those right there are red flags if they’re trying to get you to donate using kind of a strange or an odd, uncommon means a way to pay.”

She says these scams primarily use the telephone to contact you, but scammers may also use email, text messages, social media, or U-S Mail. Rose says Chief Rex Mueller immediately recognized it might be a scam and checked it out.