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Ex-Sioux City councilman admits to storing hazardous waste

News

March 20th, 2021 by Ric Hanson

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) — A former Sioux City councilman has pleaded guilty to illegally storing and transporting several tons of toxic leaded glass processed by his now-closed recycling company. The Sioux City Journal reports that Aaron Rochester entered his plea Friday in U.S. District Court in Sioux City to unlawful storage of hazardous waste and unlawful transportation of hazardous waste. He faces up to five years in prison on each charge. No sentencing date has been set.

 

Iowa COVID-19 update for 3/20/21: No new deaths; 486 additional cases

News

March 20th, 2021 by Ric Hanson

The Iowa Department of Public Health’s Coronavirus dashboard, today (10-a.m., Saturday), shows 486 additional positive test results for COVID returned from the labs, for a total of 373,372, and zero additional deaths. The pandemic death total stands at 5,672. Long-Term Care facility deaths account for 2,225 of the total number of deaths across the state.

Iowa continues to report no Long-Term Care (LTC) facility COVID-19 outbreaks. Hospitalization data show: 172 Iowans are hospitalized with COVID (compared to 189 on Friday); 38 are in an ICU (compared to 44 Friday); 27 people were admitted to a hospital across the state (compared to 45 Friday), and 20 patients are on a ventilator.

RMCC Region 4 hospitals (those in western/southwest Iowa) show: those hospitalized with COVID are at 14; 8 people are in an ICU; one person was admitted, and five people remain are on a ventilator.The 14-day and seven-day positivity rates remain unchanged at 3.9% each.

The State reports nearly 1.22-million vaccines have been administered, with nearly 1.17-million of the shots given to Iowans. Those persons who have received a required two doses of the vaccine, amount to 435,843.

In the KJAN listening area, here are the current number positive cases by County; The # of new cases since yesterday {+} – if any; and the total number of deaths in each county to date:

  • Cass, 1,389 cases; {+3}; 52 deaths
  • Adair, 952; {+2}; 31
  • Adams, 327 {+0}; 4
  • Audubon, 495 {+0}; 9
  • Guthrie, 1,193 {+1}; 28
  • Harrison County, 1,823; {+3}; 70
  • Madison County, 1,617; {+0}; 19
  • Mills County, 1,682; {+10}; 20
  • Montgomery, 1,045 {+0}; 36
  • Pottawattamie County, 11,075; {+30}; 149
  • Shelby County, 1,256 {+1}; 34
  • Union County,  1,285; {+0}; 31

(Podcast) KJAN 8:05-a.m. News, 3/20/21

News, Podcasts

March 20th, 2021 by Ric Hanson

With Ric Hanson.

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(Podcast) KJAN morning news, 3/20/21

News, Podcasts

March 20th, 2021 by Ric Hanson

The 7:05-a.m. newscast with News Director Ric Hanson.

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6 arrested in Montgomery County, Friday

News

March 20th, 2021 by Ric Hanson

The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office reports three people were arrested Friday:

  • 28-year-old Amanda Marie Borgmyer, was arrested on a valid warrant for Harassment 3rd Degree. Borgmyer was booked into corrections and was released on $300 cash bond.
  • 28-year-old Nathanial Allen Dishong, of Red Oak, was arrested on a valid warrant for Burglary 3rd Degree, Criminal Mischief 3rd Degree and Theft 4th Degree. Dishong was booked into corrections on $500 cash bond.
  • And, 24-year old Kyle Andrew Nicholson, of Red Oak, was arrested Friday on a valid warrant for Assault with Bodily Injury. Nicholson was booked into corrections and was held without bond.

Red Oak Police report three arrests, also:

  • 30-year-old Chloe Marguirete Coburn was arrested at around 5:40 p.m., Friday. She was charged with domestic abuse assault — 1st offense. Coburn was transported to the Montgomery County Jail. She is being held without bond.
  • And, an altercation in Red Oak led to two arrests Friday morning. Authorities say 19-year-old Chad Stanley Padilla and 23-year-old Steven Cody Esquivel, both of Red Oak, were arrested for disorderly conduct in connection with an incident at the Oak Creek Apartments. Officers were called to the location shortly before 8:40 a.m. on a report that two males were fighting in the apartment’s courtyard. Police say both suspects were engaged upon officers’ arrival, with one male restraining the other. The suspects were then separated, and taken into custody. The men were released on $300 bond, each.

Iowa early News Headlines: Saturday, March 20, 2021

News

March 20th, 2021 by Ric Hanson

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 3:35 a.m. CDT

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The Iowa Supreme Court says there was enough evidence for a jury to conclude that a man shot and killed his mother in 2015, rejecting his appeal and leaving in place the jury’s $10 million verdict even though the man was later acquitted of criminal charges.. The court on Friday denied Jason Carter’s appeal of the civil case in which a jury found him responsible for the June 2015 shooting of his mother Shirley Carter at his parents’ farm home near Knoxville. Jason Carter, of Knoxville, and his father Bill Carter have been locked in legal disputes since Shirley Carter’s death. Carter later was charged with first-degree murder but a jury found him not guilty.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A panel of Iowa budget experts says they expect higher than anticipated state revenue this year and they remain cautious about predicting a quick recovery. The Revenue Estimating Conference on Friday increased the current year estimate of revenue to $8.07 billion or 1.9% growth from the previous year. That is up from a December estimate of 0.5% growth and $7.96 billion in revenue. The panel estimates state revenue will also increase in the following two years. If the estimated 3.8% growth for the 2022 fiscal year is realized, tax cuts approved in 2018 will not kick in. That’s because legislators require at least 4% revenue growth before lowering the tax brackets.

WATERLOO, Iowa (AP) — Firefighters in central Iowa have rescued a man trapped under a skid loader at a burial vault business in Waterloo. The Courier reports that the incident happened around 6 a.m. Friday when the hydraulics that operate the arms of the skid loader bucket failed, sending one of the arms crashing down on a mechanic and pinning him. Waterloo Fire Department Battalion Chief Ben Peterson says the bucket happened to be titled downward and hit the cement first, relieving enough weight from the arm that it saved the mechanic’s life. Petersen says crews cut the skid loader arm off the man’s back and took him to a hospital. His condition was not released.

INWOOD, Iowa (AP) — Authorities say a 9-year-old girl is dead after the car in which she was riding rear-ended a school bus in northwest Iowa. The Iowa State Patrol said the West Lyon Community School District bus was stopped to pick up students when it was hit. In a statement posted on Facebook, the West Lyon Community School District said the victim was a third grade student. She has since been identified as Jessica Yeaman, of Inwood, according to a crash report. The Des Moines Register reports that the 17-year-old driver of the car suffered serious injuries and was transported to a local hospital in Sioux Falls. Her condition wasn’t immediately known.

U.S. House aims to help rural health care systems with RUSH Act

News

March 19th, 2021 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) – Health care systems in rural Iowa are struggling, especially after a year of the pandemic, and an effort is underway in Congress to find a fix. Members of the U-S House are considering the Rural and Underserved Small Hospital Protection Act, known as the RUSH Act. Iowa Farmers Union president Aaron Lehman says rural facilities are having a hard time finding staff.

“You have to have boots on the ground in the health care system to make sure essential services can be met,” Lehman says. “As our rural communities try to see how their community can develop either from an economic standpoint or a social standpoint, if they cannot find the personnel for their health care system, everything else grinds to a stop.” The bill would make changes to how rural health clinics are reimbursed for services by the federal government, changes Lehman says are critical.

“Providing some clarity to that is the first step in addressing whatever inequities there are to get our rural health system up to speed,” Lehman says. “We really have to take a close look at it, but the discussion is going to be vital to us moving this ahead.” He says the pandemic brought on many of the difficulties facing rural health care providers as they attempt to meet the needs of underserved areas.

“They’re on the front lines and they don’t have all the ammunition they need in order to combat COVID issues,” Lehman says. “They’ve had to find all sorts of ways to work together because those resources don’t just sit across town. Challenges are huge and the pandemic has really exposed what our barriers are in our health care system.” Lehman says Iowa Farmers Union will continue to weigh in on the rural health care problem and is studying the legislation to see what will work best.

Those under 21 not allowed to bet on March Madness or other sports

News, Sports

March 19th, 2021 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) – The N-C-A-A basketball tournament is underway for the first time since sports gambling was legalized in Iowa. Racing and Gaming Administrator, Brian Ohorilko, says there’s a lot of excitement after last year’s tourney was canceled by COVID. But he says you have to be 21 to do any betting on the games. “The sports operators have a very robust age and identity verification process prior to letting people sign up for accounts,” he says. Ohorilko says you may’ve gone through this type of verification with your bank or credit union.

“Many of the controls that are used in the sports wagering industry are very similar to the financial controls that are used in the banking industry when people are trying to determine the identity of someone accessing their financial accounts. It’s a very similar process,” according to Ohorilko. He says some companies have additional proprietary controls of their own they use to verify identities. And there are some tried and true methods.

He says if they can’t verify the identity of the person signing up then they may request additional information, such as the photocopy of and I-D. Adults sometimes try to sneak underage people into casinos, and Ohorilko says that is a possibility with online gambling as well. “We always have the risk of a willing adult signing up or passing along their account information to a minor. But short of that, it really is very difficult for underage customers to obtain an account,” Ohorilko says.

Sports gambling companies face fines from the Racing and Gaming Commission if they are found to have allowed someone under the legal age to gamble. They are also required to cross-check gambling requests with the state self-ban list to keep people on that list from signing up.

Iowa revenue ticks upward amid slow job improvement

News

March 19th, 2021 by Ric Hanson

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A panel of Iowa budget experts says they expect higher than anticipated state revenue this year and they remain cautious about predicting a quick recovery. The Revenue Estimating Conference on Friday increased the current year estimate of revenue to $8.07 billion or 1.9% growth from the previous year. That is up from a December estimate of 0.5% growth and $7.96 billion in revenue.

The panel estimates state revenue will also increase in the following two years. If the estimated 3.8% growth for the 2022 fiscal year is realized, tax cuts approved in 2018 will not kick in. That’s because legislators require at least 4% revenue growth before lowering the tax brackets.

9-year-old girl in car killed in crash with school bus

News

March 19th, 2021 by Ric Hanson

INWOOD, Iowa (AP) — Authorities say a 9-year-old girl is dead after the car in which she was riding rear-ended a school bus in northwest Iowa. The Iowa State Patrol said the West Lyon Community School District bus was stopped to pick up students when it was hit. In a statement posted on Facebook, the West Lyon Community School District said the victim was a third grade student. She has since been identified as Jessica Yeaman, of Inwood, according to a crash report.

The Des Moines Register reports that the 17-year-old driver of the car suffered serious injuries and was transported to a local hospital in Sioux Falls. Her condition wasn’t immediately known.