(Des Moines, IA) – [KCCI-TV] – Officials with the Iowa Coalition Against Sexual Assault (CASA)  announced this week that after more than 40 years of advocacy work in shaping Iowa’s response to sexual violence, Iowa CASA’s Board of Directors voted to dissolve the organization, with Friday marking the final day for most of its work.  The decision also brings to an end to a national program it led to strengthen sexual assault survivor services across the country.

IowaCASA provided training, policy advocacy and technical support to rape crisis centers and victim service providers statewide.

The closure also ends IowaCASA’s involvement in the Resource Sharing Project, a national initiative designed to help state and territorial sexual assault coalitions build capacity, share best practices and improve services for survivors. It is the primary resource that similar sexual assault advocacy organizations rely on to build training and guidance. RSP materials addressed complex and emerging issues facing survivors, including access to housing, services for underserved populations and how agencies can respond when sexual violence intersects with other forms of victimization.

IowaCASA previously announced that its legal advocacy program will continue operating during a wind-down period before ending March 31, 2026.

Sexual assault resources:

• Text: IOWAHELP TO 20121
• Iowa Victims Hotline: 1-800-770-1650
• Nebraska Coalition to End Sexual & Domestic Violence: 402-476-6256
• National Sexual Violence Hotline: 1-800-656-4673
• National Domestic Victim Hotline: 1-800-799-7233

•   Estimated Total Award Amount: $66,002,161.76

• Imaging Systems: Multiple MRI systems, CT scanners, PET/CT systems, nuclear imaging (SPECT), digital X-ray systems, and a digital mammography unit with advanced imaging and compliance features.
• Robotic Surgical Systems: Multiple da Vinci 5 robotic systems (single and dual console), Mako Robotic-Arm Assisted Surgical System, Ion Robotic Bronchoscopy System.
• Other Advanced Equipment: Linear Accelerator for radiation therapy and Olympus Endoscopy System.

• Estimated Total Award Amount: $12,600,000.00

• Physicians: Family Medicine, Internal Medicine, Pediatrics, Emergency Medicine, Obstetrics/Gynecology, Psychiatry, General Surgery, and Cardiology.
• Advanced Practice Providers: Nurse Practitioners, Certified Nurse Midwives, Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists.
• Physician Assistants: Primary Care, Pediatrics, Surgical specialties.
• Registered Nurses: Clinical, OB, Oncology, Emergency Department, and specialized care roles.
• Specialty Providers: Radiology and Behavioral Health.

DES MOINES – The Iowa Dept. of Corrections reports Richard Wayne Shaul, convicted of Theft 2nd Degree in Henry County, Burglary 2nd Degree and Unauthorized Use of Credit Card $1K Theft 2nd Degree in Marion County, and Habitual Offender, Failure to Affix Tax Stamp, Theft 1st Degree, and Robbery 2nd Degree in Polk County, failed to report back to Fort Des Moines – Bldg. 70, as required on Friday, Jan. 30, 2026.

Shaul is a 55-year-old, 5’11”, 216-pound White male. He was admitted to the work release facility on July 30, 2025.

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

Richard Wayne Shaul

(Radio Iowa) – Four of the Republican candidates running for governor say they support a ban on vaccines developed with m-R-N-A technology, like the Moderna and Pfizer COVID vaccines. The subject came up during this week’s debate sponsored by Moms for Liberty. Zach Lahn says he would pull all COVID shots off the market in Iowa — and end all childhood vaccine requirements connected to enrollment in Iowa schools.

“We cannot trust the medical establishment in Iowa anymore. They have lost our trust,” Lahn said, getting applause and whistles from the crowd, “and they have done nothing to earn it back.” Adam Steen, former director of the Iowa Department of Administrative Services, says he absolutely would consider a ban on m-R-N-A vaccines.

“My father passed away three and a half years ago,” Steen said. “He was healthy as a horse, he got the COVID shot, ends up with diabetes, ends up with cancer, now he’s passed away.” Brad Sherman, a former member of the Iowa House, says his son-in-law, who’s a doctor, refused to take the COVID vaccine and faced losing his job before he was granted a religious exemption. “All we have to do is take a stand,” Sherman said. “We need medical freedom. We need to make sure we have it in this state.”

And State Representative Eddie Andrews says he wants a state law that would allow Iowans to sue the companies that made the COVID vaccines. “I remember in the early days of COVID, it didn’t take long to realize they’re just lying through their teeth,” Andrews said. Congressman Randy Feenstra, the other Republican running for governor, declined the invitation to debate Tuesday night and flew back to Washington, D.C. on Air Force One with President Trump.

Last May, U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. announced the C-D-C would no longer recommend COVID shots for healthy children and pregnant women and, in August, Kennedy ended federal funding of m-R-N-A vaccine development.

Five associations that represent doctors in the U.S. say they’re dismayed and alarmed by that decision because research using m-R-N-A technology is showing promise in developing treatments for serious diseases like cancer, multiple sclerosis and Parkinson’s Disease.

(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa Supreme Court is siding with the Davenport Public Defender’s office in dealing with an overloaded court system. The Supreme Court ruled 4-3 that the district court exceeded its limited role in determining whether the Davenport Public Defender should be allowed to withdraw from six cases.

The district court wanted a hearing detailing the office’s workload instead of accepting Public Defender’s determination they don’t have enough lawyers to handle the six cases where the defendants can’t afford their own lawyers.

The Supreme Court acknowledged the shortage of public defenders is an epidemic in the state, but said its ruling is limited to the Davenport situation and the role the district court plays in deciding if there is a temporary overload of cases.

(Radio Iowa) – Brian Meyer — the leader of DEMOCRATS in the Iowa House — says says a silent majority of Iowans want the carbon pipeline built and he says the Senate’s REPUBLICAN leader has proposed a resolution that will end the stalemate.

“I think it’s probably the most likely to pass, with maybe some tweaking around the edges,” Meyer said. “It’s my personal opinion that actually would be a way forward.” Senate Majority Leader Mike Klimesh is offering a bill that would expand the proposed pipeline corridor, so Summit Carbon Solutions could go around unwilling landowners and find people who’d let the pipeline run through their land. Meyer is one of 21 Democrats in the House who voted against a bill this month that would completely ban the use of eminent domain to seize land along the pipeline route.

“It’s just not a real bill,” Meyer said. “…At some point we need to sit down and have a conversation and negotiate a way forward on this pipeline.” Some Republicans like Adam Steen, who’s running for governor, have suggested the push to protect the property rights of landowners who oppose the pipeline is among the top campaign issues of 2026. Meyer says the Senate G-O-P leader’s bill is the best way to resolve the issue.

“I think there’s a lot of people in rural Iowa that want the pipeline and you have to look at everybody,” Meyer said, “not just 250 people that show up at the Capitol with red shirts on.” That’s a reference to landowners and their supporters who’ve gathered at the Iowa Capitol most Tuesdays during the past few legislative sessions, urging legislators to either block the pipeline or at least give them the right to say it can’t be on their property.”That’s certainly something to take into account and it’s very important that we address those issues with eminent domain and we protect property rights,” Meyer said, “and I think the Senate bill does its best to do that.”

But Meyer says it’s time to get the pipeline started. “There’s a lot of people in rural Iowa who are kind of the silent majority that want this to get done,” Meyer said, “because we need to address the economic realities in rural Iowa with corn and ethanol.”

Meyer made his comments today (Friday) during taping of “Iowa Press” which airs tonight (Friday) on Iowa P-B-S.

(Radio Iowa) – An Iowa-born actress, writer, teacher and director with more than five decades of stage experience is starring in the title role of a touring Broadway production that will make a one-week stop in Iowa next week. Sioux City native Ann Morrison, who’s 70, is very up-front about her age and says it’s a thrill to play the lead in “Kimberly Akimbo,” which won five Tony Awards, including Best Musical.

“The show is about a 15-year-old turning 16 during the course of the play, who has a rare genetic disease that causes her to age four or five years every year. So even though she’s turning 16, she’s actually in the body of a 70-year-old. And that would be me,” Morrison says, laughing. “I am, by spirit, a 16-year-old in a 70-year-old body, so I usually just jokingly say, I just have to show up.”

In an era when so much emphasis on stage and screen is placed on young blondes, Morrison says she’s neither, and it’s a spectacular change of pace to be playing this part — at this level — as a septuagenarian. “It’s interesting because some people say they think I am a 16-year-old with older makeup on. Of course, when I’m on stage, you can’t tell, you don’t see the lines in my face,” she says. “So some people think I am young and they’re shocked when I say, no, I’m really 70.”

Over her accomplished career, Morrison has performed multiple roles on Broadway, Off-Broadway and London’s West End. She says her love of the theatre started early when she was growing up in Sioux City. “My dad was a professor at Morningside College and my mother also was an adjunct teacher there and they created a musical theater,” she says. “This is back in 1950s and 60s because I’m 70 years old and I lived on campus.”

Following in her parents’ footsteps, Morrison now runs her own theatre company, SaraSolo Productions, that’s focused on young actors. “I’ve started this company to help people develop their own solo theater, that means standing on stage by yourself and creating story, but in a theatrical way,” Morrison says. “And so we go into performing arts high schools, and I work with 16-year-olds. So my Kimberly for me is a conglomeration of all the 16-year-olds that I adore so much.”

Morrison says the show is “full of heart at a time when we really need some heart.” The musical “Kimberly Akimbo” is playing at the Des Moines Civic Center, with eight shows next Tuesday through Sunday.

civiccenter.org
https://www.sarasolo.org/

(Atlantic, IA) – Officials with the Atlantic-based Southwest Iowa Transit Agency (SWITA), today (Friday), announced the organization was awarded a State Transit Assistance Special Project grant to help launch a pilot program to improve access to healthcare. SWITA is partnering with Methodist Jennie Edmundson Hospital and CHI Mercy Hospital to launch a new healthcare transportation program call SWI-Ride.

Once launched, the new program will aid transportation to and from scheduled medical appointments with healthcare providers at the two hospitals. The Iowa Department of Transportation has awarded a $50,000 State Transit Assistance Special Project grant to SWITA to help with scaling up the pilot program.

In a news release, Tara Slevin, President of the Jennie Edmundson Foundation, said “Reliable transportation is one of the most common—and most challenging—barriers our patients face when trying to access care. We see firsthand how difficult it can be for individuals to get to scheduled appointments, particularly when financial constraints limit their options. Our partnership with SWITA and CHI Mercy Hospital reflects a shared commitment to addressing that challenge. This State Transit Assistance grant, secured by SWITA, is an incredible step forward in helping bridge transportation gaps and expanding reliable access to care for patients across Pottawattamie and Mills Counties.”

Photo courtesy Chris Parks, SWIPCO Communications Coordinator

SWI-Ride seeks to provide a transportation option for patients that have barriers identified by healthcare partners to ensure they have access to their medical appointments. The launch is tentatively set for mid-February and will operate Monday through Friday from 7:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. It will initially be limited to rides within Pottawattamie and Mills Counties. SWITA, Methodist Jennie Edmundson Hospital, and CHI Mercy Hospital are providing matching funds over and above the $50,000 state grant to start the program.

SWITA is based in Atlantic and has a vehicle hub in Council Bluffs which serves 8 counties in Southwest Iowa with over 100 vehicles and approximately 70 drivers. It is Iowa’s largest rural public transit service in terms of the total number of rides provided each year, averaging 550,000 rides annually and growing.

To find out more about SWITA and the services offered you can browse SWITA.com or call 800-842-8065 or 712-243-2518. Follow SWITA on Facebook for regular updates as well.