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Mills County Sheriff’s report 3/26/21

News

March 26th, 2021 by Ric Hanson

Two arrests took place in Mills County, Thursday. According to the Mills County Sheriff’s Office, 22-year-old Tristan Michael Herrera, of Hastings, was arrested at around 3:55-p.m., for Driving While Barred. And, 20-year-old Monica Nicole Price, of Glenwood, was arrested at around 10-p.m., on a warrant for Contempt. She was taken into custody at the Mills County Sheriff’s Office, where she was being held without bond. Bond for Herrera was set at $2,000.

And, one person was injured during a single-vehicle accident Wednesday morning, in Mills County. Authorities say 44-year-old Lee Hauschild, of Tabor, was traveling west on Lambert Avenue in a 2006 Jeep, when at around 5:20-a.m., he saw a brown animal entering the roadway. When Hauschild took evasive action to avoid hitting the animal, his Jeep went out of control and began to enter the south ditch, striking a guardrail and coming to rest fully submerged in the creek. Hauschild suffered minor injuries, but he managed to make it out the SUV on his own.

(Updated detour info.) – U.S. 59 Proposed Bridge Replacement in Page and Fremont County

News

March 26th, 2021 by Ric Hanson

AMES, Iowa – March 26, 2021 – The Iowa Department of Transportation is requesting public input for the proposed replacement of the U.S. 59 bridge over the East Nishnabotna River, one mile north of Iowa 48, on the Page and Fremont County line.  The project includes replacing the existing 372’ x 28’ continuous I-beam bridge with a 541’ x 44’ pretensioned prestressed concrete beam bridge. New bridge approaches and guardrails will be constructed as part of this project.  Construction of the project is anticipated to begin in 2023.

File photo: Pretensioned/prestressed concrete beam bridge

The DOT notes the proposed detour route has been updated: Through traffic on U.S. 59 would be detoured during construction using Iowa 48 to Page County Road M-41 (D Avenue), north to Page County Road J-14, and west to U.S. 59. There will be temporary traffic signals installed at the bridge over the Nishnabotna River on Page County Road M-41.  It is anticipated that the detour would be in place for approximately 120 days.

The East Nishnabotna River is a recreational paddling route and will be closed temporarily during construction.  Signs will be posted during construction that will direct users to a safe place to land a small boat or innertube.  It will be maintained on the upstream side, and a safe place to launch downstream is to be maintained on the downstream side. Information will be posted during construction on the Iowa DNR’s interactive river mapping system.

For general information regarding the proposed improvements please view the information online at www.iowadot.gov/pim

Tips to attract more birds to your back yard this spring

Ag/Outdoor, News

March 26th, 2021 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) – Aside from the common sparrows, blue jays and cardinals, experts say there are 429 species of birds in Iowa. If you’d like to attract more of them to your back yard this spring, conservation biologist Ryan Brady suggests making your feeder more attractive to your feathered friends. Brady says the best bird seed you can put out is black sunflower seeds.  “It’s fairly inexpensive, it works for a lot of different species and it has a high fat content,” Brady says, “so it’s good for the birds.”

Brady says you should also be sure to plant some cover for the birds that’s close to the feeder so they can hide from predators.  “Shrubbery that’s going to have a lot of thick branches, provide some cover from the elements,” Brady says. “Evergreens or conifers are excellent, so maybe plant a spruce or a fir.” If it’s impractical to place a shrub near your bird feeder, consider creating other cover nearby, like a brush pile.  “Maybe branches or other clippings that you have cut around your yard to spruce things up, instead of discarding them, make a pile of them off in the corner of your yard or property, maybe near the feeding station,” Brady says.

Iowans who have a traditional birdbath might consider adding a dripper, mister or bubbler to create motion in the water. Birds can see and hear that motion from a great distance and many curious species will fly in to investigate.

Iowans are reminded about the importance of being organ & tissue donors

News

March 26th, 2021 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) – This is National Donate Life Month and Iowans are being reminded to check the organ donor box when they first get or renew their drivers licenses. Registered Nurse Deb Thielan, at Van Diest Medical Center in Webster City, says this month is designed to educate people about the importance of organ, eye and tissue donations. “There are 565 Iowans on the list needing organs at this time,” Thielan says. “Every 10 minutes, a new person is added to the national organ transplant waiting list.”

From that national waiting list, there are 20 deaths every day. Thielan also notes, some 74-hundred lives are saved across the country every year through what are called “living donations.” “It’s an alternative type of donation for individuals waiting for an organ transplant from a deceased donor,” Thielan says. “It takes place when a living person donates an organ or part of an organ for transplantation to another person. That’s something to think about. It usually involves a single kidney, part of a liver, a lobe of a lung.”

She encourages everyone to sign up to be donors. “Don’t rule yourself out based on your age or what your current medical conditions may be,” Thielan says. “At the time of death, a medical assessment is completed and they will review all of the past medical history, factors that led up to the death, and they are the ones who will determine eligibility.”

The Iowa Donor Network partners with more than 120 hospitals and hundreds of E-M-S, medical examiners, hospice, and long-term care facilities to maximize the number of lives saved through organ and tissue donation.

iowadonornetwork.org

Iowa Supreme Court rules against Audubon man in sex abuse case

News

March 26th, 2021 by Ric Hanson

The Iowa Supreme Court has ruled against a 74-year-old Audubon man who was convicted of 3rd Degree Sexual Abuse of a female child. In their decision filed today (Friday), the High Court denied a judgement appeal and sentence for John Charles Donahue, who contended the district court erred by prohibiting his trial counsel from cross-examining the complaining witness about another allegation of abuse made by the witness. Donahue also claimed the district court submitted an erroneous jury instruction, and the verdict was not supported by sufficient evidence. When the court of appeals decision was affirmed, Donahue asked the State Supreme Court to review the case.

Donahue’s first trial ended with a hung jury and a mistrial. According to court records, Prosecutors in Iowa alleged Donahue committed third-degree sexual abuse against a person referred to in documents as “T.G.”   The incidents took place from July 31, 2014 through August 26, 2016, in Audubon County. After reviewing the case, the SUPCO concluded the district court did not abuse its discretion when it prohibited Donahue from questioning the victim about an incident in Carroll, and that the district court was not in error, when it submitted certain instructions to a jury. The Justices said also, “Based upon our review of the record, we conclude there is sufficient evidence to support Donahue’s conviction of sexual abuse in the third degree. As a result, we see no basis to disturb [his] conviction.”

(Podcast) KJAN News, 3/26/21

News, Podcasts

March 26th, 2021 by Ric Hanson

The news at 8:07-a.m., w/Ric Hanson.

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(Podcast) KJAN News, 3/26/21

News, Podcasts

March 26th, 2021 by Ric Hanson

The latest area/state news at 7:05-a.m., with News Director Ric Hanson.

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Inmates accused in Anamosa Prison killing had been in Woodbury County jail

News

March 26th, 2021 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) – The two prisoners charged in the murders of a nurse and guard at the Anamosa State Prison were both formerly held in the Woodbury County Jail. Twenty-eight-year-old Michael Dutcher, of Sioux City, and 39-year-old Thomas Woodard of Union, Nebraska are each charged with first-degree murder, attempted murder, and second-degree kidnapping in the Tuesday killings. Woodbury County Chief Deputy Tony Wingert remembers issues, Dutcher. “He was a problem inmate. With Dutcher, his actions made us more heightened, we would have extra officers escort him. He is in our computer numerous times while incarcerated for incidents — for acting out, for fighting for disobeying rules, for just being anti-social,” according to Wingert. “He was somebody we knew we had to be extra cautious around, because of what he was going to do.”

Wingert says the deaths at the Anamosa prison are a grim reminder that jail staff deal with dangerous inmates every day. “It’s a tragedy, it just shows how fast something can happen. No matter if you think you are doing everything right — something can change in the blink of an eye,” Wingert says. “And unfortunately with a tragedy like this, it does make our staff take a step back and go ‘alright I’ve got to up my game even higher.”

The D-C-I says Dutcher and Woodard struck and killed registered nurse Lorena Schulte and correctional officer Robert McFarland with a hammer when they tried to stop them from escaping. Dutcher and Woodard served time in Woodbury County on several robbery and theft charges. Wingert says Dutcher was in the Woodbury County Jail after a bank robbery in Holstein where he had a gun. And another gun was stolen.

Dutcher was taken to Anamosa in May of 2015 to serve a 50-year sentence for first-degree robbery, second-degree robbery, and other charges. Woodard arrived at Anamosa in 2017 for a 25-year sentence for first-degree robbery and burglary. Both now face life in prison if convicted of the murders.

Iowa House unanimously votes to establish framework for private flood insurance

News

March 26th, 2021 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) – Some Iowa insurance companies might start selling private flood insurance policies to cover homes if a bill that’s won House approval becomes law. Representative Gary Mohr, of Bettendorf, says these private policies could become a viable alternative to federal flood insurance. “Seldom do we get a chance in a single bill to help jump start a new, private sector marketplace product in Iowa,” Mohr says. “…With Iowa being a leader in the insurance industry, we see this as a potentially big, new, national private sector marketplace in the residential flood insurance market.”

An eligible insurance company must have a state certificate to do business in Iowa and a company would be required to file rates for its flood insurance policies with Iowa’s insurance commissioner. Representative Jon Jacobsen of Council Bluffs says this could be an important business opportunity. “Literally not a day goes by without questions from constituents on the flooding,” Jacobsen says. “Flood insurance has been a big issue for them.”

Representative Steven Hansen says because of federal flood insurance program rules, his constituents along Prairie Creek in Sioux City face significant hardships. “Hopefully this will give another alternative for some of those people who either are getting priced out of that market, couldn’t get a mortgage on their house because of it or any other number of problems with the flood insurance program.”

The bill, as written, would only allow private flood insurance policies to cover a primary residence. A non-profit group called First Street Foundation evaluates flood risks. It estimates nearly 300-thousand homes and businesses are at substantial risk of flooding between now and 2050. FEMA is scheduled to announce new rates for the National Flood Insurance Program on April 1st.

A bipartisan vote on wide-ranging education bill in Iowa House

News

March 26th, 2021 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa House has approved changes in how schools may use state funding for the Teacher Leadership and Compensation program. Republican Representative Holly Brink of Oskaloosa says not every Iowa teacher wants to be in a leadership role. “Just like students learn differently, teachers may feel that they educate and lead differently,” Brink said, “so we should continue to support them.” Former Governor Terry Branstad led the charge to send schools state grants specifically to boost pay for teachers who coach or mentor other teachers.

If the bill becomes law, Brink says school districts could use any money left-over in other ways. “Education is a priority. We’ve spent a lot of time this year talking about that already,” Brink says. “We need to continue to evaluate the process and the systems to ensure that we are doing the best we can.” Representative Mary Mascher of Iowa City and many other House Democrats objected.

“We have one of the best mentoring programs for new teachers in the country,” Mascher says. “…To take funding away from that makes no sense at all.” Some Democrats raised objections about other parts of the bill. The legislation would get rid of the requirement that students must wait 90 school days when transferring to another school before they may play varsity sports.

Representative Dave Jacoby, a Democrat from Coralville, suggests there’ll be a summer draft for prospective high school athletes if the waiting period is reduced to 90 calendar days. “This bill is a launching for high school trading cards,” Jacoby says. “…Interestingly enough, the bill also has a provision to be retroactive. Is this a carve out for specific players — sorry, for specific students?” The bill would double the Iowa tuition and textbook tax credit for parents of K-through-12 students attending accredited public and private schools. Five Democrats, including the House Democratic Leader, joined Republicans in voting yes on the bill.