(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa Department of Public Health is asking Iowans to fill out a survey to improve the state’s maternal health strategic plan. The outreach effort is funded in part by a federal grant the state received to address disparities in maternal health. The survey will help figure out what the gaps are in the health system, according to Dr. Nalo Johnson, division director for health promotion and disease prevention at I-D-P-H. “Also, looking at what programs or experiences may be working well for them regarding their maternal health experience,” Johnson says, “and where there may be areas for innovation or ideas that we can be considering from a programmatic or a policy standpoint.”

Studies find black, Asian and Hispanic women in the state are considered at higher risk for maternal death compared to white women. The survey is meant for all Iowans, or those who work in Iowa, who have an interest in improving the state’s maternal health strategic plan. Johnson says it allows people to tell the state what it’s doing well, but also where there are still gaps in the public health system. “We obviously see differences between various racial and ethnic populations within the state,” Johnson says. “So our goal really is to be able to take that health disparities reducing approach to our maternal health efforts to ensure that every Iowan has access to a safe birth.”

Iowa’s maternal mortality rates have increased in the past several years, although the state still considers maternal death a rarity.

(reporting by Kassidy Arena, Iowa Public Radio)

With Ric Hanson.

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(Radio Iowa) – A judge has ordered a Webster County murder suspect to undergo a mental evaluation before his murder trial can continue. Twenty-nine-year-old Fort Dodge resident Mark David Russell is accused of killing 45-year-old Angela McLeod at a residence in January in 2020. Russell faces a charge of first-degree murder. The police report accuses Russell of beating McLeod to death with a golf club. The trial will be suspended until a judge orders that Russell is able to stand trial, then the trial will resume.

The 7:07-a.m. broadcast news, from Ric Hanson.

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The Creston Police Department reports three arrests. At around 9:37-a.m., Sunday, 29-year-old Casey Welcher, of Creston, was arrested at 809 W Adams on the charges of Interference of Official Acts and Possession of Paraphernalia. Welcher was later released from the Union County Jail on a $600 bond. At around 12:20-a.m. Sunday, 27-year-old Patrick Iiams, of Decatur, was arrested in Creston, on a charge of Burglary 2nd degree. He was being held in the Union County Jail on a $10,000 bond.

And, on Friday, 34-year-old Shaune Tindle, of Creston, was arrested at the Union County Law Enforcement Center, on a Union County Warrant for the charge of Failure to Appear on the original charge of Possession of a Controlled Substance 1st Offense. Tindle was released from the Union County Jail on a $1,000 bond.

One person was taken into custody in Council Bluffs Sunday, following a stabbing incident at around 10:44-p.m. in the area of 21st Street and 3rd Ave. When officers arrived they located the victim, 39-year-old Carnell Walker, of Council Bluffs, who had several lacerations located on his upper torso. Walker was transported to a local area trauma center. Officers also located a possible suspect, 50-year-old Dennis Ruppe, of Council Bluffs, who was treated at the scene for a small laceration to his hand.

Dennis Ruppe

Ruppe was then transported to the Council Bluffs Police Department. Detectives conducted interviews of witnesses and the victim. Afterward, Ruppe was placed under arrest for Attempted Murder, Willful Injury, Aggravated Assault, and Criminal Mischief 4th. He was booked into the Pottawattamie County Jail.  Authorities say the incident remains under investigation, and anyone with information is asked to contact Council Bluffs Police Criminal Investigation Division at 712-328-4728

An executive with the Iowa State Fair is encouraging Iowans to be vaccinated against COVID before they come to the Fair. State Fair CEO Gary Slater told KCCI getting your vaccination before the Fair in August, will help out with all scheduled events, and should give you some peace of mind.  Slater said the fairgrounds won’t be able to promise social distancing at all exhibits.

Last year’s Iowa State Fair was canceled due to the pandemic. Slater called the decision to cancel the event one of the hardest decisions and worst day he’s had to face. The 2021 Iowa State Fair is scheduled for Aug. 12 to Aug. 22.

Two men were arrested for disorderly conduct Sunday evening, in Red Oak. According to Red Oak Police, 50-year-old Larry Eric Capps, of Elliott, and 53-year-old Roger Dean Cook, of Red Oak, were taken into custody at an auto parts store at around 5:17- and 5:52-p.m., respectively. They were transported to the Montgomery County Jail and held on a $300 bond, each.

(Radio Iowa) – Inmates in Iowa prisons who’ve been vaccinated against Covid-19 will be able to have in-person visitors, starting next month. Iowa Department of Corrections director Beth Skinner describes it as a slow opening. “Our visitation rooms will probably be cut in half in terms of the number of people that will be able to visit,” Skinner says. “…Video visitation will continue. We also believe that’s a great tool for people who can’t drive to the prisons and want to have connections with their loved ones.”

Inmates who are allowed to have visitors, but who have not agreed to get a Covid shot, will be able to continue using the video system for visitations according to Cord Overton, a spokesman for the agency.  “Those video visits are free of charge to the inmates right now,” Overton says. Prison officials plan to set up a scheduling system. “So that folks that are going to come visit a particular inmate can know that time that a visit is going to take place and it caps the visits at a certain length,” Overton says, “so that we can make sure those that want to have visits can get them done in a given week on visiting day.”

State officials say nearly 59 percent of the inmates in Iowa prisons are fully vaccinated. “Once the word is kind of spread around the prisons about the visiting restriction that you need to be vaccinated in order to have visitors at that time, that I would expect to see additional inmates that do decide to get vaccinated if they’ve been kind of on the fence about that,” Overton says. Prison visitors will not be required to show they’ve gotten a Covid shot. Studies have found family visits reduced depression among female and juvenile inmates. In-person visits also were found to reduce rule-breaking within the prison AND reduced recidivism once an inmate was paroled.