(Radio Iowa) – Safety inspectors discovered the radio system employees inside the Anamosa State Penitentiary used to communicate was malfunctioning more than a year before the inmate attacks that killed two Anamosa employees. K-C-R-G T-V was first to obtain the report Iowa’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued last August. It was based on an inspection in February of last year. Iowa OSHA investigators warned the prison’s communication system would not show the location of an emergency if an employee radioed that he or she was being attacked. OSHA said the system had other deficiencies, including dropped calls within the prison.

The OSHA report also indicated some prison staff assigned to respond to emergencies within the prison were not always available because of other duties. Iowa OSHA labeled these violations serious and levied a 20-thousand dollar fine against the Iowa Department of Corrections. The agency is appealing the fine and a spokesman declined to comment on the report. “We’ll address any issues the investigations may reveal and we’ll do what’s necessary to protect our people. Nothing is more important than that,” Reynolds says. “Changes may require additional investment, something that I am fully committed to doing, and this includes making sure that the department and its facilities are adequately staffed.”

Last week, House Republicans proposed a 20 MILLION dollar increase in the prison system’s budget. Last month, Majority Leader Jack Whitver announced SENATE Republicans were proposing a four MILLION dollar increase and he discussed the budget decision on Friday, before OSHA’s August report was publicly released. “We rolled out that number the day after the incident happened, so that process of figuring out how much we need, if there are safety concerns, has not been vetted,” Whitver said. “The House rolled their number out maybe two weeks later to where they had done a little bit more work. Obviously, it’s going to come somewhere in between there, after talking with both the governor and the director of corrections.”

Whitver made his comments during an appearance on “Iowa Press” on Iowa P-B-S.

Sheriff’s officials in Pottawattamie County, today (Monday), reported three arrests. At around 2:10-a.m. Sunday, 50-year-old Vincent Duane Wilson was pulled over for speeding 44 mph in a 25 mph zone, northbound through Crescent. Upon further investigation, Wilson was arrested for OWI/2nd offense. At around 1:10-a.m., Sunday, 26-year-old Brady Paul Johnson was arrested in Council Bluffs, after a deputy went to check on a motorist in need of assistance at 205th and Railroad Highway. Johnson was subsequently arrested for OWI/2nd offense.

And, at around 2:15-p.m. Saturday, 39-year-old Damien Joseph Keairns appeared at the Pott. County Sheriff’s Office to turn himself-in on a warrant. Once the extraditable warrant out of Woodbury County was confirmed, Keairns was booked into the Pottawattamie County Jail and held on the Woodbury County warrant.

(Radio Iowa) – A new phone scam is surfacing in central Iowa where the caller claims to a be from Amazon-dot-com. The caller starts by saying you’ve made a purchase, of say, 500-hundred to 15-hundred bucks. The supposed Amazon rep then threatens to turn you over to the fraud division of the Federal Trade Commission if you don’t pay up. Don’t pay up! It’s a scam! Amazon will email you personally, with your name, if there is a problem with your account. Don’t wire or mail money to someone you don’t know. Don’t deposit a check from someone you don’t know and wire the money back, no matter how good a tale they tell. If anyone calls you about that, or wanting any personal info, just hang up and contact the FTC at ftc.gov/complaint.

If you think you’ve been scammed, call your local police department and let them know.

A Kiwanis project that started 25-years ago in Atlantic, continues with their mission of keeping kids safe while on a bicycle. Kiwanis member Steve Green said it all started with a Bell Helmets advertisement in a magazine.

After he got the go ahead to incorporate a bike safety program, Green called then Atlantic Police Chief Roger Muri, he wanted to get involved and sent his – at that time – Officer Steve Green to work with the program. It wasn’t long afterward that Barb and Dave Chase with Nishna Valley Trails got involved, to share their experiences and expertise in riding bikes.

Bell Helmets used local newspaper articles about the program to start other programs across the nation. To date, there are 5,000 similar programs established across the country for kids’ bicycle safety.

During the third year of the program, if a child’s helmet was damaged while being used, it would be replaced. In one such instance, a girl’s helmet broke into three pieces, but she didn’t suffer any injuries to her head. Atlantic’s program was also a part of Bell’s test program of a new helmet design.

The Kiwanis are giving helmets to third-graders in Atlantic and the CAM School District. The Griswold Optimists buy helmets for third-graders in Griswold, as well. Home school kids are also invited to attend the bicycle safety program. This year school has a “No Visitor” policy, so the program is not available. Last year the Bicycle Safety Program was put on hold due to COVID, but kids were still given helmets. They were placed inside their lockers for them to take home free of charge.

The discounted helmets still cost the organization $32,000 over the course of the 25-years the program has been in existence. Green says he knows of at least a half-dozen kids who were saved from more serious injuries, through the use of a bike helmet. In addition to bicycle helmets, the Kiwanis donate teddy bears to emergency rooms to help settle down a child who may be upset due to their injuries. He says about 150 bears are given away each year at the hospital.

If you would like to become involved with the Kiwanis and helping youth in the area, call Steve Green at 243-1247.

(Radio Iowa) – Iowans who are members of the Asian American and Pacific Islander community spoke out against increased violence against Asians across the country during a weekend rally in Des Moines. Speakers told stories of hate and discrimination to help raise awareness of Asian experiences in Iowa. Bonnie Manyvong said she’s proud of her younger brother for helping to organize the event.  “Someone had to speak out,” Manyvong says. “I mean, our culture is pretty much brought up where we were raised to be silent and quiet. Not to talk, not to speak, walk away from a situation even if it bothers you.”

A report found there were more than 37-hundred Asian hate incidents nationwide in the past year. Matthew Manyvong says he decided to put the rally together on impulse after six women of Asian descent were killed in Atlanta two months ago.  “It can happen anywhere,” Manyvong says. “Why wait for something to happen here when we can prevent it from happening?”

From 2019 to 2020, anti-Asian hate crimes increased more than 140-percent. Manyvong says that’s why there are more events like these to come. He says this was the first event of many to unify the Asian community in Iowa.

(By Kassidy Arena, Iowa Public Radio)

The Cass County Board of Supervisors will hold their regular weekly meeting beginning 9-a.m. Tuesday (April 13). On their agenda is discuss and possible action (D/A) on:

• Approving a Resolution for the Secondary Roads Dept. Construction Program.
• Approval of new hires by the County Engineer.
• Approval of a Resolution with regard to the 2021 Weed Control Program.
• Establishing a Cass County temporary county redistricting commission (districts based on 2020 Census data).
• Appointing members to the Cass Co. Zoning Board of Adjustment and/or Zoning Commission, for the remainder of open terms.
• And, appointing a member (A licensed physician) to the Cass County Board of Health (for the remainder of a term ending 12/31/2023).

The meeting takes place in the Supervisor’s Board Room at the Courthouse in Atlantic. Persons interested may view/and or participate via Zoom, at the following link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/138870131?pwd=dnRLK2ZjcWQ2SWpMQm0wK1c0b2pwUT09

With Ric Hanson.

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The Creston Police Department reports six people were arrested over the past few days. At around 1:45-a.m. today (Monday), 32-year-old Gilberto Pantoja, of Lenox, was arrested for Public Intoxication. He was later released on a $300 bond.  At around 7:20-p.m. Saturday, 33-year-old Cody Wilson, of Thorton, CO., was arrested at the Union County Law Enforcement Center, on an Adams County warrant for Harassment in the 3rd Degree. He was also later released on a $300 bond.

Saturday afternoon, 42-year-old Brady Richert, of Creston, was arrested in Creston for OWI/2nd offense. He was later released on $2,000 bond. 29-year-old Lucas Perrigo, of Thayer, was arrested Saturday, for Assault with Injury. He was later released on $1,000 bond. Friday afternoon, 35-year-old Skylar Rufenacht, and 33-year-old Samantha Meek, both of Creston, were arrested for Violation of a Protection Order. They were later released on $300 bond, each.

And, a Creston man reported to Police on April 5th, that mailboxes were vandalized in the 900 block of Cottonwood Street. Officers at the scene discovered three mailboxes and a post that had been damaged. The loss was estimated at $150.

The 7:07-a.m. local news report, w/Ric Hanson.

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