(Radio Iowa) – A man who served as an interpreter for U-S troops in Afghanistan is hoping to have better luck in immigration court after being denied political asylum in the United States. Zalmay Niazy has lived in Iowa Falls since 2015. He has an appointment with an immigration judge in Omaha late this month. “I am crossing fingers,” he says, “and I am very hopeful that it goes the right direction and I get to stay.”

The U-S Department of Homeland Security cited involvement in a terrorist organization as the reason for denying him asylum and Niazy says that’s very frustrating since he worked with U-S soldiers to fight against terrorism in Afghanistan. Niazy says his life will be in danger if he is deported back to Afghanistan and immigration court is his last hope. “If I get a denial from the court, that will be a death sentence for me to go back home,” Niazy says.

Niazy made his comments on Iowa Public Radio’s River to River program. Niazy’s case drew national attention in 2017 when he went to one of U-S Senator Chuck Grassley’s town hall forums to ask for help. Niazy told Grassley he’d been shot twice and survived a roadside bombing during his work as an interpreter for U-S troops in Afghanistan.  “I already have a stamp on me and my family as a US spy back there,” Niazy told Grassley. “I have lost my uncle and I have went through a lot of bad situation.”

Grassley told Niazy he would help and two months later Niazy was interviewed by immigration officials. Niazy didn’t hear again about his case until he received a letter this past January, informing him his asylum request was denied.

(Reporting by Iowa Public Radio’s Kasidy Arena)

The Iowa Department of Human Rights reports the CDC (Centers for Disease Control) eviction moratorium is set to expire on June 30, 2021. However, the Iowa Rent and Utility Assistance Program is still available to assist eligible households.  For details and eligibility, visit https://www.iowafinance.com/iowa-rent-and-utility-assistance-program/ or call the Housing Recovery Help Line 855-300-5885 or 515-348-8813.  There is information for both tenants and landlords.

Note: Polk County and the City of Des Moines will be administering the program locally. Therefore, Iowans residing in either Polk County or the City of Des Moines will be ineligible to apply for the Iowa Rent and Utility Assistance Program. More information on the program that may assist Polk County and City of Des Moines residents is available at IMPACT Community Action Partnership or call 515-518-4770 for rental assistance, housing, and other help.

Another resource is the Iowa Emergency Solutions Grant program that helps to prevent households from becoming homeless due to eviction, and assists Iowans experiencing homelessness to quickly regain rental housing.  For more information, call the Housing Recovery Help Line 855-300-5885 or 515-348-8813.

(Radio Iowa) – Dry weather is prompting advisories about water use in some Iowa communities. Sheldon Public Works Director Todd Uhl has been monitoring water levels in his city’s wells and just issued a “water watch” in Sheldon on Thursday. “Our usage has been creeping up lately and then this week it has absolutely skyrocketed to a point where we feel it’s time to start the ‘water watch’ and hopefully we can get some compliance and people will do some conservation,” he says, “and that will prevent us, hopefully, from having to go to mandatory restrictions.” At this point in May, residents in Sheldon used about 900-thousand gallons of water per day.

On Wednesday of this week, Uhl says more than one-and-a-half MILLION gallons of water were used. “The previous peak day that I had ever seen in Sheldon was just over 1.3 million so our usage has really jumped drastically in a very short amount of time,” Uhl says. Water use typically declines in the evening, but Uhl says this week it’s increased. “You ride around town and there’s a lot of lawn watering going on,” Uhl says. “I understand people would like to keep a green lawn and I know there was a lot of lawn loss last year with the drought and some winter kill, so people and keep them looking good.” Uhl says lawn and garden watering is still allowed in Sheldon, but with the recommendation that it happen after 8:30 p.m. Uhl says he’s hoping Sheldon residents take steps to limit or curtail all non-essential water usage, so restrictions won’t be necessary. Restaurants in Shelton are being encouraged to serve customers water only when requested and water should not be used to fill swimming pools or wash parking lots or driveways.

On Friday (June 11), the City of Harlan – which was on a Water Watch since April 26th – switched to a “Tier 1 – Water Warning,” where restrictions on how the water is used, is now mandatory until further notice.

(Radio Iowa) – A southeast Iowa woman is accused of threatening to place an explosive device in an attorney’s office. According to court records, 30-year-old Siearre Smith of Ottumwa entered the Wapello County Attorney’s Office on the afternoon of May 25th and yelled at employees in the lobby. While shouting, Smith said, quote “This place needs blown up and that’s exactly what I am going to do.”

A warrant was issued for Smith’s arrest on May 28th and she was taken into custody this past Wednesday. Smith has been charged with threat – explosive or incendiary device, a Class D felony and is currently free after posting bond. A preliminary court appearance has not been scheduled.

(Radio Iowa) – An eastern Iowa woman will always remember her getaway to the family’s cabin along the Mississippi River last weekend. The woman was one-million dollars richer when she returned to her Urbana home.  During her trip to the far corner of northeast Iowa, Karen Kramer stopped at a Harpers Ferry convenience store and bought a Mega Millions ticket for Tuesday night’s drawing. She spent ten dollars for five plays, one of which matched five of the six numbers drawn. Her winning numbers were: 9-22-39-41 and 54. She missed the Mega Ball, which was 19 with a Megaplier of 3.

The 60-year-old Kramer, who works as a para-educator for the Center Point-Urbana School District, claimed her winnings Thursday at the Iowa Lottery headquarters in Clive. Kramer’s ticket, along with another sold in West Virginia, were the only two in the country that won a one-million prize Tuesday night. According to lottery officials, one ticket for the BIG prize – an estimated 56-million-dollar jackpot – was sold in Illinois.

Kramer told Iowa Lottery officials that her and husband, Dave, plan invest the bulk of the winnings for retirement and pay some bills. She also wants to get a dog.

(Radio Iowa) – Iowa Congresswoman Cindy Axne is cosponsoring a bill she says will help people facing challenges in caring for older people. Axne, a Democrat from West Des Moines, says the Americans Giving Care to Elders or AGE Act would provide tax credits of up to 12-hundred dollars to taxpayers earning under 200-thousand dollars a year to offset elder care expenses.  “This will help our caregivers to be able to buy medications, help with medical tasks, daily living assistance — all of that stuff,” said Axne. “So, this will help provide some of the support our families need, take out some of the cost, give those caregivers some reprieve. They can hire a babysitter and use that money to give them a couple of hours to go to the grocery store and have maybe an hour’s peace to take a walk.”

Axne met with caregivers in a roundtable discussion at Des Moines Area Community College earlier this week on issues facing caregivers. In many cases, she says the caregivers are adults who must take care of their parents. “We have people who are in their 50s and 60s who are in the prime of their earning years and they’re also taking care of their own children,” she said. “They’re then needing to step up and take care of their parents. It’s very expensive, and in many cases, it requires somebody to leave the workplace, which puts a huge impact on those families. It also puts a lot of stress on them.”

Axne introduced the bill along with Republican Congressman David McKinley of West Virginia and Democratic Representative Jan Schakowsky of Illinois. In addition to bipartisan support, she says the measure is also backed by a number of organizations. “We’ve got support from the American Heart Association, the Longterm Care Community Coalition, the American Seniors Association — on and on — about how important this is,” said Axne. “So, I know that across the board, people bipartisanly agree that we’ve got to support our caregivers, because sometimes, it’s just too much for people to handle.”

The bill is under consideration in the House Ways and Means Committee.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – The Atlantic Chamber Ambassadors visited Akin Building Center on Thursday, June 10th, 2021. The Ambassadors visited with new manager, Rick Mericle, who discussed his new position and some of the struggles they have been through the past year. Despite the struggles, Rick and his team of 15 employees have managed to persevere by working together as a team.

Rick moved to Atlantic six years ago from Washington D.C where he worked in loss prevention. Rick would visit Atlantic quarterly to prep centers for inventory, so he was already familiar with the area. Rick would later move to Atlantic to work his way up at the Akin Building Center before taking the manager position in January. In Rick’s first quarter as manager, the Akin Building Center won Yard of the Quarter for 1st Quarter of 2021. This award is won by having the overall best store for the quarter in various areas such as cleanliness, organization, management, teamwork, store appearance, efficiency, and dedication.

Ambassadors Left to Right: John McDermott, Rick Mericle, Ethan Nachtman, Hector Vela, Pat McCurdy, Dianne McCurdy-Gipple, Jacob Haupert, Kathie Hockenberry, Jennifer McEntaffer, Connie Waies, Dr. Keith Leonard, Anne Quist, Dustin Dreager, Donnie Bergmann, Rich Perry, Ashley Skow, Nedra Perry, Dawn Marnin, Ashley Hamilton, Krysta Hanson, Carol Schuler, Victoria Gibson, Janet Cappel, Shelby Roberts, Marcus Daugherty

Akin Building Center has added many new in store items, and still offers any building supplies that you may need. Despite nationwide price increases in items such as lumber and copper wire, Akin’s prices remain competitive with any competitors. Akin is currently accepting applications for three full-time positions and is looking for more hardworking employees.

For more information about Akin Building Center call (712) 243-4385 or visit their Facebook Page https://www.facebook.com/AtlanticAkinBuildingCenter.

WATERLOO– The Iowa Department of Corrections reports 45-year-old Kevin Reddout, who was convicted of Domestic Abuse Assault-3rd or Subsequent Offense and other charges in Black Hawk County, failed to report to work from the Waterloo Residential Correctional Facility as required Thursday night.  Reddout is a white male, height 6′ 0″, and weighs 216 pounds. He was admitted to the work release facility on May 13, 2021.

Persons with information on Reddout’s whereabouts should contact local police.

Kevin Reddout

The Iowa Department of Public Health in their latest COVID-19 update, Friday (today) reports 107 additional, positive cases of COVID-19 from over the previous 24-hours, for a pandemic total of 402,929. The Coronavirus dashboard also shows 11 additional deaths, for a total of 6,095. Deaths at Iowa’s Long-Term Care facilities since the start of the pandemic, amount to 2,370.

There remain four LTC outbreaks in Iowa, with 30 positive cases among patients and staff, and four persons who have recovered. Iowa’s 14-day and seven-day positivity rates are both down slightly, to 1.8%.

Iowa’s hospitalization data show: 73 people are hospitalized with COVID-19; 18 patients are in an ICU; 12 COVID patients were admitted to a hospital, and six patients are on a ventilator. In RMCC Region 4 (hospitals in western & southwest Iowa), there are two people hospitalized with COVID-19. No one was in an ICU, no one was admitted over the previous 24-hours, and no one was on a ventilator.

In the immediate KJAN listening area, here are the current number positive cases by County (since the beginning of the pandemic) and the total number of deaths (Since the beginning of the pandemic) in each county to date:
Cass, 1,477 cases; 54 deaths
Adair, 993; 32
Adams, 355; 4
Audubon, 546; 10
Guthrie, 1,313; 32
Harrison County, 1,935; 73
Madison County, 1,787 19
Mills County, 1,797; 24
Montgomery, 1,115; 38
Pottawattamie County, 12,340;173
Shelby County, 1,375; 37
Union County, 1,381; 35

The 8:08-a.m. Newscast from Ric Hanson.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (4.2MB)

Subscribe: RSS