(Radio Iowa) – A new state law outlines the visual language skills deaf and hard of hearing children need to learn — things like fingerspelling and American Sign Language — so they’re prepared for kindergarten. The law also establishes a mentoring program for parents of newborns and toddlers who are diagnosed with hearing difficulties. Tina Caloud, outreach director for the Iowa School for the Deaf, attended the bill signing ceremony in the governor’s office and spoke with Radio Iowa through an interpreter.

“We have been trying to propose this bill for several years now and it finally has been passed into law and we are absolutely thrilled. We are ready to work hard, work collaboratively for education our deaf and hard of hearing children across the state, to ensure they have language access,” she said. “This means both American Sign Language and English.” Studies show the majority of deaf children who enter kindergarten without knowing American Sign Language never catch up academically. Shirley Hampton of Davenport, president of the Iowa Association for the Deaf, spoke through an interpreter during a Radio Iowa interview.

“Don’t leave deaf children out. Don’t leave them behind,” she says. “Involve them in any type of communication that is occurring and that will allow them to thrive.” At least 2000 deaf and hard of hearing students are enrolled in Iowa’s K-through-12 schools. The Iowa Association for the Deaf is pushing legislators to offer closed captioning on the livestream of debate in the House and Senate. And the group says a state law may be needed to ensure emergency warning systems alert everyone.

“Any public places, such as the airport, anything like that, restaurants — we really need to make sure that it’s accessible for deaf individuals and the community, especially in those emergency situations such as a tornado,” Hampton said. “It’s vital not only for deaf people, but blind people as well to make sure they have access to that communication.” Hampton says she was recently eating in a central Iowa restaurant and saw other customers clustered around a television, then leave the dining room. She had no idea they had heard about a tornado warning through the television and were seeking shelter in the kitchen.

A collision on Interstate 80 Sunday morning in Pottawattamie County, claimed the life of a man from Nebraska and resulted in a woman being injured. According to the Iowa State Patrol, a 2004 Toyota 4Runner pulling a camper, and a 2015 Ford F350 & camper, were both traveling eastbound about a mile west of Shelby, when the Toyota, driven by 66-year-old Andrea J. Barge, of Oshkosh, NE, went out of control as it was traveling in the left lane.

The SUV/camper struck the pickup/camper, which was in the right lane, and driven by 31-year-old Benjamin J. MIller, of Lennox, SD. The pickup and camper went into the south ditch and came to rest. The SUV/Camper spun and came to rest on the driver’s side, partially in the right lane and south shoulder, facing southwest. The accident happened at around 10:54-a.m.

Andrea Barge – who wore her seat belt – was injured and transported by Shelby Rescue to Myrtue Medical Center, in Harlan. Her passenger, 72-year-old Delbert E. Barge, of North Platte, NE, who was not wearing a seat belt, died at the scene. Benjamin Miller was not injured.

(Red Oak, Iowa) – Three people were arrested Sunday, in Montgomery County. Red Oak Police report 35-year-old Cody Allen Keith Tunnel, of Red Oak, was arrested at around 10:20-a.m. for Criminal Mischief in the 4th Degree, for allegedly damaging a windshield. He was taken into custody and held in the Montgomery County Jail on $1,000 bond.

And, at around 7:16-a.m. Sunday, Deputies with the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office arrested 38-year-old Garret Allen Horgdal, and 38-year-old Jannelle Marie Davis, both of Henderson. They were taken into custody on valid U.S. Marshals warrants. Horgdal was wanted for being a prohibited person in possession of a firearm. Davis was wanted for making False Statements during the purchase of a firearm, and Sale or transfer of a firearm to a prohibited person.

Horgdal and Davis were being held without bond in the Montgomery County Jail.

(Corning, Iowa) – The Adams County Sheriff’s Office reports four recent arrests. On Saturday (May 28th), the Sheriff’s Office received a call about a man laying on the road at 220th Street and Fig Avenue in rural Adams County. Upon further investigation, 50-year-old James Ross Woods was arrested for Public Intoxication. He was transported to the Adams County Jail and held on a $300 bond. And, a little after 11-p.m. Saturday, Deputies responded to a call about another man sitting on the road, this time at 1801 Quincy Street, in Corning. 38-year-old David Christopher Yazell was arrested for Public Intoxication. His bond was also set at $300.

On May 23rd, at around 5:34-a.m., Adams County Deputies initiated a traffic stop on a vehicle speeding 78 mph in a 55 mph zone on Highway 34, near the intersection with Dogwood. The driver, identified as Caleb Driggers, of Omaha, was arrested for Driving While Revoked and No SR-22 insurance. He was also cited for speeding. Driggers was held in the Adams County Jail on a $1,300 bond.

And, on May 19th at around 5:03-p.m., Adams County Deputies saw 34-year-old Sunita Phipps, of Creston, enter a black Jeep Grand Cherokee, and begin driving. At the intersection of Corning Carl Road and John Street, Deputies initiated a traffic stop and ended-up placing Phipps under arrest for Driving While Suspended, Interference with Official Acts, Failure to Provide Insurance (SR-22 required), along with other traffic violations. Phipps was transported to the Adams County Sheriff’s Office.

**Any potential charges identified above are merely allegations, and and any defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.**

An accident involving a motorcycle trike in Montgomery County, Saturday morning, left the operator seriously injured and his passenger dead. Both were from Stanton. According to the Iowa State Patrol, a 2018 Harley Davidson operated by 66-year-old Wendell Keith Gourley was westbound on Highway 34 at around 10:10-a.m., when a gust of wind pushed the trike off the road to the right. The cycle collided with a cable barrier and six barrier posts before it rolled onto its top.

Wendell Gourley and his passenger, 66-year-old Jeannie Marie Schomburg-Gourley, were ejected from the motorcycle. She died at the scene. Wendell Gourley was transported by Air Med to the UNMC in Omaha. The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office and Emergency Management assisted the Patrol at the scene.

(Radio Iowa) – Governor Kim Reynolds is planning to consolidate the Iowa Department of Veterans Affairs and the Iowa Veterans Home in Marshalltown into one agency. The Iowa Department of Veterans Affairs helps Iowa veterans and their families secure military benefits and it oversees the Iowa Veterans Cemetery. According to a news release from the governor’s office, department director Steve Lukan is “leaving for employment in the private sector” and has resigned.

Reynolds has appointed Iowa Veterans Home Commandant Matthew Peterson as interim director of the Department of Veterans Affairs. The governor says she’s exploring a merger to house all veterans services in one agency.

The Iowa Veterans Home sits on a 150 acre campus and has about 500 residents. It’s the fifth largest veterans home in the country. The Department of Veterans Affairs has offices at Camp Dodge in Johnston. The agency’s website
still lists Lukan as its executive director.

(Radio Iowa) -Governor Kim Reynolds says she believes the State of Iowa could use federal pandemic relief money on additional school security measures. Reynolds says banning semi-automatic weapons like the one used to kill two teachers and 19 students in a Texas school isn’t the cure to mass shootings.  “You can’t focus on one thing and think it’s going to fix it because then the other thing that you do is you start to give some false sense of security that that’s it and we’re all going to be safe,” Reynolds says. “We all have to vigilant in our response looking for ways to keep kids safe — and people.”

Earlier this spring, Reynolds met with a company that digitizes the layout of schools, so those maps could be used by law enforcement in an active shooter situation. The state may also buy an app that lets students anonymously submit tips that a classmate may be threatening their school. “One of the things we wanted to make sure we had in place also is you need a central location, so we have somebody there that’s actually hearing, because it’s not an 8-5,” Reynolds says. “A lot of times those things happen later at night.”

Reynolds signed a law in 2018 requiring every Iowa school to have a high-quality emergency plan, conduct annual reviews and practice the response to an active shooter. The Iowa Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management also conducts threat assessments. “I think they’ve done about 54 since 2015 with the different school districts,” Reynolds says. “So what we’re looking at is maybe contract that out and provide that for all school districts.” Those could be done over the summer, according to Reynolds.

IA Gov. Kim Reynolds speaks during a Press Conference (File Photo)

Reynolds says there’s no single answer to what happened in Texas, but the governor says she is concerned by reports the shooter was in the school for an hour before law enforcement intervened. “As we have these horrific things happen we need to do an honest assessment and we need to be forthcoming about what happened and what we do differently going forward,” Reynolds says, “and we talk about that and we implement that into the training.”

The Texas shooter shared his plans on social media right before heading to the school and Reynolds says she’s troubled by news he may have indicated at the age of 14 that he’d go into a school with a gun when he was a senior. “I cannot imagine what these families — parents, grandparents, spouses, the school staff, the community, the local law enforcement to have to walk into that scene, the country, I mean, it is horrific,” Reynolds says. “…You can do everything you can and continue to evaluate and be as prepared as you can to make sure that things like this doesn’t happen, but there is evil that exists in the world and if you’re determined to do something like this, you’re probably going to find the means to do it, but let’s be proactive.”

Reynolds says the Governor’s School Safety Bureau is submitting applications for federal grants and is coordinating state agency efforts to plan for and respond to threats in Iowa schools.

DES MOINES, IA – A man from Polk County was sentenced Friday (May 27) to 55-yearsd-in prison, following his guilty pleas to production of child pornography, receipt of child porn, and to being a felon in possession of a firearm. Authorities say 62-year-old Gary Dale Elliott, Sr., of Des Moines, has a long criminal history that includes a 1988 conviction resulting from the death of his infant son. Elliott spent approximately 27 years in prison for that offense before being paroled in 2015.

The investigation into Elliott’s latest activities began in early 2021, when a woman reported to law enforcement that she had found thumb drives containing child pornography in Elliott’s Des Moines residence. Elliott, a felon, later threatened the woman while armed with a loaded gun.

In February 2021, officers executed a search warrant at Elliott’s residence and seized computers, thumb drives, and other electronic devices. Officers searched those devices and located thousands of images and videos of child pornography. The investigation also revealed that Elliott produced child pornography in 2018 by filming three minor victims with a camera hidden in the bathroom of his residence.

The matter was investigated by the Des Moines Police Department, Iowa Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, and the FBI Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force. The case was prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa.

(Hamburg, Iowa) – A call to assist a motorist with a disabled vehicle, Thursday night in Fremont County, resulted in the arrest of four people from Kansas City, Kansas. The Fremont County Sheriff’s Office reports Deputies responded to the area of I-29 southbound near mile-marker 5, at around 11:53-p.m., and upon arrival, located a silver Chrysler 300. They also observed indicators criminal activity.

Haskins

Misirlija

Thompson

Montgomery

The Mills County K9 Unit was called to assist and a K9 “Judge” alerted to controlled substances in the vehicle. A search was conducted, and stolen property and narcotics were located.

Those taken into custody for Theft in the 2nd Degree and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia, include:

• 58-year-old Carl Haskins
• 41-year-old Jamishia Misirlija
• 57-year-old Ellen Montgomery, and
• 59-year-old Janice Thompson.

Thompson was additionally charged with Unlawful Possession of Prescription Drugs.

Disclaimer: A criminal charge is merely an accusation, and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.

(Sidney, Iowa) – Fremont County Sheriff Kevin Aistrope, Friday (today), said his deputies, on Tuesday, arrested a Red Oak man following an investigation into an alleged sexual assault that took place Sunday, in Fremont County. 18-year-old Jordan Clements faces a charge of Sexual Abuse in the 3rd Degree, after allegedly forcefully sexually assaulting a juvenile.

Clements was being held in the Fremont County Jail on a $10,000 cash only bond. The Fremont County Sheriff’s Office was assisted by the Red Oak Police Department and the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office.

Disclaimer: A criminal charge is merely an accusation, and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.

Jordan Clements