(Glenwood, Iowa) – The Glenwood Police Department says two recent thefts have been reported. On Tuesday, (April 2nd), the Glenwood Baseball/Softball Club reported a theft from building.

And, on Wednesday, April 3rd (today), a Glenwood woman reported the theft of her vehicle.

Additional details on the two incidents were not provided.

(Radio Iowa) – The governor’s plan to merge the 13 regional systems for mental health services and 19 substance use treatment regions has won bipartisan support in the Iowa House. The bill would establish seven behavioral health districts in Iowa. Iowa Department of Health and Human Services director Kelly Garcia says the plan does not call for additional state spending, but will free-up 23 million dollars in state funds for mental health services that haven’t been spent.

“Do we need more money? Possibly,” Garcia says, “but right now we’re sitting on fund balances, so I need a little bit more time to assess that but you absolutely should be assured that we will move forward with a recommendation once we make this change and assess what’s needed.”

Supporters of the merged system say it will ensure Iowans have access to similar substance abuse and mental health services no matter where they live. A House Democrat who backed the bill called it a good start, but she says the state will have to provide more incentives to get more people in the mental health care workforce. Under the bill, the redesigned and merged behavioral health system would not start operating in its seven regions until July 1st of NEXT year.

(Radio Iowa) – Governor Kim Reynolds has signed a bill into law that repeals the gender balance requirement for government boards and commissions in Iowa. Reynolds said it lets anyone with a passion for service fill slots on boards and commissions at the state and local level, “so that they can be filled by the best candidates available.”

A state law passed in 1987 had required all boards and commissions in state government to have an equal number of men and women. In 2009, Reynolds was a state senator who opposed the now-repealed law that extended the gender balance requirement to local government boards.

“I believed then, as I still do now, that our focus should always be on appointing the most qualified people,” Reynolds said, “and that includes engaged citizens with a genuine interest in serving their state or local government as well as individuals with valuable experience that directly relates to that position.”

Governor Reynolds signed a repeal of Iowa’s gender balance requirement for boards, commissions on April 3 2024. (RI photo)

Reynolds held a bill signing ceremony in her statehouse office early this afternoon. Guests included lawyers and a plaintiff who won a federal lawsuit over the gender balance requirement for a state commission that nominates judges. “We appreciate all of your work in helping us get this across the finish line as well,” Reynolds said.

During debate of the policy earlier this year in the Senate, Republican Senator Chris Cournoyer of Le Claire, said women don’t need an insulting system that uses gender quotas to fill board seats. Reynolds invited Cournoyer to speak at today’s ceremony.

“Our fore-mothers who fought hard over many, many years to get us a seat at the table,” whether it was the right to vote, Title IX or countless other ways are smiling today,” Cournoyer said, “They got us to the table and it has been up to us to show that we belong there and we have.”

Democrats in the legislature who opposed the bill say having an equal number of men and women on a board improves discussions and decisions, plus that local involvement is often a springboard to running for public office. According to the Center for Women and Politics at Iowa State University, women occupy about a third of the seats on local boards and commissions. The center’s director says the gender balance requirement also led to men being more involved in local cultural commissions, like library boards which had typically been filled with women.

(Radio Iowa) – Remains that were found in Missouri 46 years ago have been identified as southeast Iowa girl. Wapello County Sheriff’s Detective Aaron McConnell is asking for the public’s help in the death of 15-year-old Helen Renee Grooms of Ottumwa who went missing in 1977.

“Anybody that knew Helen back in 1977, 1978, or the family is encouraged to call us. Even if you think it’s nothing. It’d still be nice to put little pieces of the puzzle together,” McConnell says. Grooms was dubbed “Lincoln County Jane Doe” since her body was found in the Mississippi River near Elsberry, Missouri in March 1978. Her body was exhumed last October and a Southeast Missouri University Anthropology professor and undergraduate students were able to collect a DNA sample.

“The Lincoln County Coroner’s Office made contact with us, gave us a brief synopsis of what they had done already,” McConnell says. “They advised that they had a possible DNA match to a possible brother.” McConnell says a family DNA sample he collected matched the girl’s DNA and allowed investigators to identify Grooms. Her remains were returned to her family.

Helen Grooms. (Photo provided by Wappello County Sheriff’s Office)

McConnell described meeting Grooms’ brother. “You can just imagine, right? A brother not knowing where your sister was for 46-47 years,” McConnell says. “Every family deserves to know what happened to their loved ones that went missing no matter how long ago it was.” The Wapello County Sheriff’s Office says there are approximately 585 cold cases in the state of Iowa.

(Glenwood, Iowa) – Sheriff’s officials in Mills County say a woman from Malvern was arrested Tuesday evening on an Assault charge. 36-year-old Cally Ann Evans was arrested at around 7:25-p.m. in Malvern, and charged with Assault. Bond was set at $300.

(Radio Iowa) – The Powerball jackpot has grown to more than one BILLION dollars for Wednesday’s drawing. It follows the Mega Millions jackpot won last week that was also more than one BILLION dollars. Iowa Lottery spokesperson, Mary Neubauer, watches a specific aspect of the game when the jackpots get higher. “It’s something that’s called coverage. And what that number means is how many of all of the possible combinations of numbers in the game have been purchased or quote unquote, covered for a particular drawing,” she says. Neubauer says the addition of another drawing has had an impact on coverage numbers for Powerball.

“Because the Monday drawing in Powerball has only been around for about three years now, the coverage for a Monday drawing has always been lower. I think people are still figuring out that Powerball has a Monday drawing,” Neubauer says. “So in our recent drawings, what we’re seeing is that there is a higher quote , unquote coverage number for Wednesday and Saturday.”
Neubauer says the coverage number isn’t always a predictor that a jackpot will be claimed. “Interestingly when the Mega Millions jackpot that huge Mega Millions jackpot was just won last week. The coverage in that game wasn’t wasn’t terribly high. It was also only in the twenty percent range and there still was jackpot winner in the game,” she says.

Neubauer says the Powerball game has come a long way, the starting jackpot at the beginning was two million dollars.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – The Cass County Sheriff’s Office today (Wednesday), released a report on arrests that occurred from March 20th through the 31st.

On March 31st, 18-year-old Blake Welch, of Atlantic, was arrested for OWI/1st Offense.  Welch was transported to the Cass County Jail where he was booked and held pending his later release on his own recognizance; 42-year-old Lesli Wiston Altamirano, of Atlantic, was arrested for OWI/2nd Offense.  Wiston Altamirano was transported to the Cass County Jail where he was booked and held.

On March 30th, 43-year-old Nichole Anaya, of Atlantic, was arrested for Driving while Revoked and Possession of a Controlled Substance – 1st Offense.  Anaya was transported to the Cass County Jail where she was booked and held pending her later release on her own recognizance; 19-year-old Alex Rush, of Griswold, was arrested March 30th, on a warrant for Probation Violation.  Rush was transported to the Cass County Jail where he was booked and held pending his later release on bond.

On March 29th, Cass County Sheriff’s Deputies arrested 33-year-old Devin Register, of Atlantic, on a warrant for Failure to Appear.  Register was transported to the Cass County Jail where he was booked and held pending his release after time served; 28-year-old Kris Sorcey, of Atlantic, was arrested for Driving while Revoked.  Sorcey was transported to the Cass County Jail where he was booked and held pending his later release on his own recognizance.

On March 24th, 2024, the Cass County Sheriff’s Deputies arrested 65-year-old Randall Krogh, of Atlantic, for OWI/2nd Offense, and Interference with Official Acts.  Krogh was transported to the Cass County Jail where he was booked and held pending his later release on his own recognizance.

And, on March 20th, 45-year-old Brian Meredith, of Wheaton, IL, was arrested in Cass County, for OWI/1st Offense, and Possession of a Controlled Substance – 1st Offense.  Wheaton was transported to the Cass County Jail where he was booked and held pending his later release on bond.

(Radio Iowa) – Another proposed amendment to Iowa’s Constitution has emerged at the statehouse. Republicans in the Senate are proposing a constitutional amendment that would require a flat rate for personal income taxes in Iowa. Under current law, Iowa’s multi-rate system is being phased out, to reach a single rate of three-point-nine percent by 2026. Republican Senator Jason Schultz of Schleswig says multiple rates that impose a higher tax the more income a person earns penalizes success.

“Every time you feel like you’re moving ahead, you’re rewarded by a salary, there’s another hurdle,” Schultz says. “We’re just going to take another chunk of that money.” Eleven states have a flat tax and four of those states have constitutions requiring a flat income tax. Democrats oppose the concept. Senator Cindy Winckler, a Democrat from Davenport, says the amendment would limit the legislature’s authority to make decisions about taxing and spending. “Taxes are not necessarily things that people want to pay, but services are what they expect to receive,” Winckler said, “and that balance is important.”

Last week, House Republicans proposed a constitutional amendment that would require a two-thirds vote by lawmakers to raise income taxes. Proposed constitutional amendment have to clear the House AND the Senate twice — in years that are separated by a statewide election — before Iowans see the proposed amendment on a ballot for yes or no vote.

DAVENPORT, Iowa – A man from northeast Iowa was sentenced last week to serve 17-years in Federal prison, for receiving child pornography. The U-S Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa, says public court documents and evidence presented at sentencing, proved 49-year-old Corey Lester Schlemme, of Oxford, set up multiple Facebook accounts under various names to send and receive child pornography. After receiving a cybertip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, a subsequent search of Schlemme’s Oxford residence confirmed that he was sending and receiving child pornography.

Review of seized evidence also determined that Schlemme represented himself as a minor female in fraudulent Facebook accounts to persuade a minor victim to produce and send him child pornography. Over the course of nine months, Schlemme exchanged thousands of messages with the minor and solicited numerous videos and images of the minor engaged in sexually explicit acts. At the time of this investigation, Schlemme was a coach for the Clear Creek Amana School District.

After completing his term of imprisonment, Schlemme will be required to serve five years of supervised release. There is no parole in the federal system. Schlemme was also ordered to pay a special assessment of $5,000.00.

The case was investigated by the Johnson County Joint Forensic Analysis Cyber Team, with assistance from the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, the Department of Homeland Security, and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

The case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit https://www.justice.gov/psc.

For information about internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the resources tab.