This time between Memorial Day and Labor Day is being referred to as the 100 deadliest days of the year to be in a motor vehicle. During the period, the average number of deadly teen driver crashes climbs 15-percent compared to the rest of the year. Rose White, spokeswoman for Triple-A-Iowa, says traffic picks up during the summer months and so do accidents involving new motorists.

White says, “Drivers ages 16 through 17-years-old are three times as likely as adults to be involved in a deadly crash.” In the past five years, 16-hundred people were killed nationwide by inexperienced teen drivers. She notes the state figures are also alarming. “Last year, 100% of the teen drivers involved in fatal crashes were not wearing their safety belts,” White says. “Teen drivers represent only 7.2% of all licensed drivers yet they’re involved in 21% of all reported crashes.”

The four largest risk factors for fatal crashes involving teen drivers are: inexperience, distractions, speed and not wearing safety belts. “We still see a very high number of teens not using their seat belts,” White says, “but we do know, proof has shown time and time again, it’s the best thing people can do to protect themselves from serious injuries and death.”

Traffic safety officials urge parents and other adult drivers to set an example for teens by using their seat belts and staying off their phones when in the vehicle with younger drivers.

(Radio Iowa)

A clinical trial is underway in the region to test a drug that shows promise in treating the condition that afflicted actor Robin Williams before his suicide in 2014. Researcher and board-certified psychiatrist Dr. Warren Duffy says as many as one-point-four million Americans have Lewy body dementia. It impacts each person differently but many of the symptoms can be drastic.

“There’s some fluctuating levels of attention and concentration,” Duffy says. “People will have hallucinations. They can also have sleep issues such as acting out their dreams. They can have some violent movements where they can even hurt their partner during sleep or fall out of bed.”

Some sufferers act out their dreams vividly with no memory of doing so. Duffy runs a clinic and sleep lab in Lincoln, Nebraska. Several Iowa patients are taking part in the medical trial and there’s room for more. The drug is called nelotanserin.

“It’s an ongoing study,” Duffy says. “If patients out there have, or they have loved ones who have any signs of memory issues and they have any hallucinations or sleep issues, we wish they would contact us so we can talk to them further about this.”

Once the active phase of the study is complete, Duffy says participants will be provided with the medication for a “significant period of time.” Lewy body dementia can be very difficult to pinpoint. “It often goes unrecognized for quite a while,” Duffy says. “It’s very typical they’ll see three or more clinicians before it even gets diagnosed. Often, family members are at a loss for what to do with their loved ones when they start having memory issues, and then if they start seeing things or having sleep issues, they’re looking and searching for help.”

There are no approved therapies for the treatment of the ailment in the United States. To take part in the study, call 402-470-6060 and choose option 4 or send email to research@alivation.com.

(Radio Iowa)

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – A former state Democratic Party chairman says he wants to be governor of Iowa. John Norris said Thursday that he’d filed papers to get on the 2018 primary ballot.

He’s a longtime aide to Tom Vilsack, the former governor and U.S. agriculture secretary. Norris has said he wants to boost the state’s economic growth by leveraging renewable energy, raising wages and expanding high-speed internet.

Norris joins a crowded Democratic field. Former party chairwoman Andy McGuire announced her candidacy in April and state Rep. Todd Prichard is running, too. Polk County Conservation Director Rich Leopold and party activist Jon Neiderbach also say they’re running. Union leader Cathy Glasson announced Wednesday that she’s exploring a bid. Des Moines businessman Fred Hubbell also is considering running, as is Davenport Alderman Mike Matson.

More area and State news from KJAN News Director Ric Hanson.

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Audubon Community School District Superintendent Brett Gibbs reports the District is participating in the Summer Food Service Program. Meals will be provided to all children (18 and under) free of charge. Meals will be provided on a first come, first serve basis, at the following site and times:

Audubon Elementary School: June 5, 2017-August 18, 2017 ~ 11:30am-12:30pm Monday-Friday

No Service on July 4, 2017 for the holiday.

Two people were arrested on separate charges Thursday afternoon, in Creston. According to the Creston Police Department, 28-year old Tyler James Hicks, of Creston, was arrested on an Adair County warrant. He was being held in the Adair County Jail on a $2,000 cash bond.

And, 24-year old Rebecca Adeline Holbrook, of Lenox, was arrested in the 800 block of Taylor Street, in Creston, on a charge of Theft in the 5th and 4th Degrees. Holbrook was later released from the Union County Jail on a $1,000 cash or surety bond.

The area’s top news at 7:06-a.m., w/KJAN News Director Ric Hanson

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Police in Red Oak have arrested a man for Disorderly Conduct. 34-year old Keith Andre Smith, of Red Oak, was taken into custody in the 100 block of E. Grimes Street at around 3:40-a.m. today (Friday).  Smith was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on a $300 cash bond.

State Auditor Mary Mosiman has released a report on a special investigation of the Anthon Rescue Squad located in Anthon that shows thousands of dollars of improper use credit cards and the organization’s money. Mosiman says the investigation focused on former secretary/treasurer Kristine Roggatz. “Our investigation identified almost 92-thousand of improper disbursements and a little over nine-thousand dollars of unsupported disbursements for a total impact to the Anthon Rescue Squad of 100-thousand-956 dollars,” according to Mosiman.

A majority of the funds went to pay off credit cards. Mosiman says the improper disbursements included almost 81-thousand dollars in payments on credit cards that were in Roggatz’s name, and there were several cash withdrawals from A-T-M’s from the organization’s checking account by Roggatz.

The State Auditor was called in after the city and rescue squad staff was contacted by a collection agency regarding a Capital One credit card established in the organization’s name which they were not aware of. “We actually identified no payments using the Anthon Rescue Squad’s funds to the Capitol One card — but we did find payments to a Staples credit card, two Citi business credit cards, a Commerce Bank credit card and a Sam’s Club Discover card — again totaling almost eighty-one-thousand dollars,” Mosiman says.

She says there were 19 cash withdrawals made at A-T-Ms and purchases from phone service providers, online vendors, and retail vendors.  Mosiman says there was a lack of oversight, and it was something that could be easily taken care of by the organization. She says the easiest thing that can be done is to have the bank statements sent to someone not involved in depositing the money and they can review them and see if there is any unusual activity.

The audit covered a period from January 2009 through December of 2014, and Mosiman reported it was not possible to determine if additional amounts were improperly disbursed because bank statements and images of checks redeemed prior to January 1st, 2009 were not available. Copies of the report have been filed with the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, the Woodbury County Attorney’s Office, and the Iowa Attorney General’s Office.

(Radio Iowa)

Iowa’s weather during May was on the cool, wet side. State climatologist Harry Hillaker says temperatures were widely varied during the month, with a low of 27 degrees in Cherokee on May 2nd and a high of 94 in two cities, Little Sioux on the 8th and Shenendoah on the 15th.

“Temperature wise, we ended up averaging just slightly below normal, not quite one-degree cooler than usual for May,” Hillaker says. “We had a cool first few days of the month and a cool last week-and-a-half and rather warm in between, but averaging out just a little bit on the cool side.” Many farmers had a difficult time getting into their fields to plant during May as the continued rains left many acres muddy or underwater.

“On rainfall, the statewide average was not quite 5 inches of rainfall, roughly a half-inch greater than usual for the month of May,” Hillaker says. “Much of the state was near-normal to above-normal for rainfall with the exception of parts of southeast and east-central Iowa, which only got about half the normal amount of rainfall during the month of May.”

The wettest part of the state during May was west-central Iowa where some areas had almost twice the usual amount of rain. May and June are typically the busiest months of the year for severe weather and this May was on target. While there were several scattered severe storms, there was a three-day run of them May 15th, 16th and 17th.

“We had three consecutive evenings where we had widespread severe weather, the biggest of those being the final one which came on the 17th,” Hillaker says. “We had severe weather reports of either high winds or large hail from over half of Iowa’s counties, 55 of the 99 counties reported severe storms on that one evening.”

As to the month ahead, June will start out hot with highs in the 90s expected in southwest Iowa, though a cool front should arrive next week which may persist and keep temperatures somewhat lower than normal well into mid-month. The first day of summer is June 21st.

(Radio Iowa)