(Guthrie Center, Iowa) – The Guthrie County Sheriff’s Office, Monday, released information about three, non-injury accidents. Sunday afternoon, a 2005 Dodge Ram 1500 pickup driven by 73-year-old Linda Kay Bentley, of Menlo, was traveling north on Talon Avenue, when the vehicle left the road.

The pickup went out of control and collided with a bridge guardrail before leaving the bridge and overturning into a creek below. Bentley was cited for Failure to Maintain Control. Her pickup sustained $7,000 damage and was declared a total loss. The Guthrie County Roads’ guardrail sustained about $750 damage in the collision.

An accident at around 4-a.m. Saturday in Guthrie County, caused a total of $11,500 damage. The Guthrie County Sheriff’s Office says a 2006 Ford F350 Super Duty pickup driven by 31-year-old Cameron Joel Hester, of Guthrie Center, was traveling south on Justice Road, when Hester apparently fell asleep at the wheel. When the pickup crossed over into the north lane and the driver’s side struck the bridge and then slid against the guard rail, ripping-off the vehicle’s front left tire. The truck came to rest in the east ditch. Hester left the scene of the accident, which was called-in by a passing motorist about 90-minutes after it occurred. Cameron Hester was cited for Failure to Maintain Control and Failure to Use a Safety Belt.

And, on November 1st, a 2007 Chevy Equinox SUV driven by 81-year-old Virgil Lee Hoehne, of Panora, was traveling west on Highway 44 at around 7:36-p.m., when the vehicle struck a deer. Damage to the SUV amounted to $5,000.

(Rockville, MD) Officials with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), Monday, announced seven health centers in Iowa are part of the top 10 percent of health centers nationwide receiving a Gold Health Center Quality Leader badge for their achievements in improving health outcomes and providing high-quality care for patients in rural and underserved communities. The digital badges, part of the Community Health Quality Recognition (CHQR) badge program, honor the health centers across the country that have attained the best overall clinical quality performance.

The CHQR badge program recognizes outstanding performance in a variety of clinical areas, including behavioral health, maternal health, diabetes health, heart health, cancer screening, and HIV prevention and care, as well as overall quality performance.

The health centers in Iowa that received a Gold Health Center Quality Leader badge today are:

·      Community Health Care, Inc., in Davenport

·      Community Health Centers of Southeastern Iowa, Inc., in West Burlington

·      Crescent Community Health Center, in Dubuque

·      Greater Sioux Community Health Center, in Sioux Center

·      People’s Community Health Clinic, Inc., in Waterloo

·      River Hills Community Health Center, Inc., in Ottumwa

·      Siouxland Community Health Center, in Sioux City

A full list of badges and awardees is available here.

HRSA’s Health Center Program is a cornerstone of our country’s health care system, especially for individuals and families who are uninsured; enrolled in Medicaid; living in rural, remote, or underserved areas; struggling to afford their health insurance co-pays; experiencing homelessness; residing in public housing; or otherwise having difficulty finding a doctor or paying for the cost of care.

Today, approximately 1,400 HRSA-supported health centers operate nearly 15,000 service sites. In 2022, health centers provided care for more than 30 million patients, 90 percent of whom had incomes below 200 percent of the Federal Poverty Guidelines. A 2022 survey of 4,000 health center patients nationwide found 97% would recommend their health center to family and friends.

For information on 2023 CHQR badge recipients by national, state, or individual health center levels, visit: https://data.hrsa.gov/topics/health-centers/chqr

Learn more about the Health Center Program: https://bphc.hrsa.gov/about-health-centers/health-center-program-impact-growth

Sioux City, Iowa – Officials with the Iowa Department of Public Safety, Monday, said that on Sunday morning November 5, 2023, the Woodbury County Sheriff’s Office requested DCI assistance with a death investigation involving a female inmate.  Jail staff observed the woman having a medical issue.  She was transported by ambulance to Unity Point Hospital in Sioux City where she was later pronounced dead.

The female has been identified as 27-year-old Asiana Primeaux of Marty, South Dakota.  Primeaux was arrested by Sioux City Police at approximately 1:30 AM Sunday on drug charges.  An autopsy has been scheduled for later this week at the Iowa Office of the State Medical Examiner in Ankeny, Iowa.

This is an on-going investigation, and no further details are being released at this time.

COUNCIL BLUFFS – The Iowa Department of Corrections, Monday, said 34-year-old Brian Jeffrey Combs, II, who was convicted of Robbery 2nd Degree in Pottawattamie County, failed to report back to the Council Bluffs Residential Correctional Facility as required, Sunday.

Brian Combs II

Combs is a white male, height 6’2″, and weighs 257 pounds. He was admitted to the work release facility on August 17, 2023.

Persons with information on Combs’ whereabouts should contact local police.

A bankruptcy court has approved the sale of the Mercy Iowa City hospital to University of Iowa. Radio Iowa’s Dar Danielson reports.

A statement from the U-I says they are committed to offering employment to all Mercy Iowa City employees in good standing. The statement says they plan to conduct an in-depth analysis of the health care needs of Iowa City and there will be no immediate changes for patients, employees, or physicians. Their plan is for the two organizations to officially merge in early 2024.

The Animal Rescue League of Iowa is now caring for the 46 horses that were seized from a property in Dallas County near Madrid (MAD-rid) last week. The Dallas County Sheriff charged the owner of the horses, 78-year-old Linda Kilbourne of Johnston, with livestock neglect — and says more charges are pending. Robyn Dobernecker (DOB-er-necker), the A-R-L’s animal welfare intervention coordinator, says the property owner did not surrender custody of the horses, which means a legal battle looms.

She says it’s taken several days to physically move all of the horses to the A-R-L facility, get them all assessed, and start giving them the medical treatment they desperately needed. Dobernecker says the horses were living in heartbreaking conditions.

It’s incredibly expensive to care for a single horse, and suddenly having nearly four dozen of them — many in poor condition — is putting a strain on the agency’s resources.

The website is A-R-L-dash-iowa-dot-org (ARL-Iowa.org). Dobernecker was at the property in Dallas County last week and has been on many such calls during her career.

If the A-R-L is granted custody of the horses, she says they’ll eventually be put up for adoption, once they’re healthy.

(DES MOINES, Iowa) – Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate and Hy-Vee stores are once again joining forces to honor Iowa’s military members during Hy-Vee Homefront, Hy-Vee’s annual Veterans Day breakfast. Hy-Vee will host a free breakfast at all Iowa store locations for veterans and active service members on Friday, November 10. Hy-Vee will also be circulating the Iowa Secretary of State’s “Honor A Veteran” postcards, encouraging Iowans to honor a loved one who has served our country.

“We really cannot say thank you enough to Iowa’s veterans and active military members,” said Secretary Pate. “We look forward to partnering with Hy-Vee every year for this opportunity to celebrate the brave Iowa men and women who have stepped up to serve their country and defend our freedoms.” Veterans and active-duty military will be able to receive this free breakfast between 6 A.M. and 10 A.M on November 10 in honor of Veterans Day at any Iowa Hy-Vee store. This event also serves as a way for the community to show their appreciation and gratitude to our local service members.

Secretary Pate’s ‘Honor a Veteran with your Vote’ program is another way individuals can show thanks to Iowa veterans.“These brave men and women have fought tirelessly for our freedoms, including our right to vote, and there is no better way to honor their service than by exercising that right and honoring them with our vote,” said Secretary Pate.

Secretary Pate and Hy-Vee have partnered to supply approximately 36,000 ‘Honor A Veteran’ postcards for Iowans to fill out on Veterans Day. Service members can use these postcards to write a tribute to a fellow service member, a loved one, themselves, or to give to a loved one to complete. These postcards will be returned to the Iowa Secretary of State’s Office and tributes will be posted online at sos.iowa.gov/HonorAVeteran and Facebook.com/HonorAVeteran.

Both the person who creates the tribute and the service member, if they are still with us, will receive an ‘Honor A Veteran’ lapel pin from Secretary Pate in the mail. Pin recipients are encouraged to wear their pin with pride while voting. Secretary Pate hopes to inspire Iowans to participate in this breakfast and complete the postcards to honor Iowa service members this Veterans Day.

(Glenwood, Iowa) – Sheriff’s officials in Mills County report two recent arrests. Sunday morning, 50-year-old Orlando Elisha Norwood was arrested at the Harrison County Jail, on a Mills County warrant for Failure to Appear on a Driving While Barred, charge. Bond was set at $2,000.

And, Friday afternoon, 33-year-old Bryan Michael Vannausdle, of Creston, was arrested in Mills County, on a warrant for Violation of Probation. His bond at the Mills County Jail was set at $5,000.

(Radio Iowa) – A retired Iowa Air National Guard member who became a symbol of the effort to save lives in the crash of United Flight 232 at the Sioux City Airport in 1989 has died. Colonel Dennis Nielsen of the 185th Air wing was caught in a photo carrying three-year-old Spencer Bailey from the plane wreckage following the crash. Gary Brown was Woodbury County’s Emergency Services Director at the time and was also a friend of Nielsen. “Denny was a very humble person. He did not enjoy the notoriety that came with that photograph,” Brown says. “But he also was respectful of the fact that his photograph was representing the hundreds and hundreds of emergency responders in the hundreds of people from the military and the 185th.”

Flight 232 Spirit of Siouxland Memorial featuring Colonel Dennis Nielsen

The picture by Sioux City Journal Photographer Gary Anderson later became the model for the Spirit of Siouxland Sculpture on the Sioux City riverfront. Sioux City’s response to the disaster was praised across the country. Brown says Nielsen was an early member of the local team that train for such emergencies. “Denny first joined with us in the disaster committee preparedness when it was first established back in the 80s. He was assigned there by Commander Dennis Swanstrom and he was an amazing ambassador for the 185th,” he says. Nielsen retired from the 185th Air Wing in 202 and moved to Raleigh North Carolina, where he died in September at the age of 76. Brown kept in touch with Nielsen.

“We’re gonna miss Denny, he’s an Iowa boy he was born in Shelby, Iowa on February of 1947,” Brown says. “And I’m going to miss him personally we just wish him a speedy journey.” The plane crashed and cartwheeled down the runway, but the effort of first responders helped save 184 of the 296 people on board the plane.

(Guthrie Center, Iowa) – Guthrie County Deputy Sheriff/Jail Administrator Jesse Swensen, today (Monday, 11/6/23), released reports on October jail statistics for Guthrie County. Swensen said “We processed 54 inmates through the jail in October and netted approximately $22,500 from holding out of county inmates.” He commended his staff, “…and the Heart of Iowa staff as [they] took in two problem inmates from other counties that they were unable to house due to their behavior and mental status.”

You can view the Average [Jail] Population, October billing and October Summary of Jail activity, by clicking on the pdf forms below:

Average Population October

October Billing

October Summary