DES MOINES – Officials with the U.S. Department of Justice, Tuesday, said it found reasonable cause that conditions at Glenwood Resource Center violated the 14th Amendment in the U.S. Constitution. The DOJ released the findings of its investigation into Glenwood, which stated that experiments were conducted on residents without their consent.

FILE – This Dec. 19, 2019, file photo, shows the entrance to the Glenwood Resource Center campus in Glenwood, Iowa. In a report released Tuesday, Dec. 22, 2020, the U.S. Justice Department has found that Glenwood Resource Center, the Iowa state-run care center for people with intellectual disabilities, likely violated the constitutional rights of residents by subjecting them to human experiments, some of which were deemed dangerous. (Kelsey Kremer/The Des Moines Register via AP, File)

Experiments conducted at Glenwood included overhydrating residents, which the department said caused harm. Assistant Attorney General Eric Dreiband, with the Civil Rights Division, said, “Individuals with disabilities are not human guinea pigs, and like all persons, they should never be subject to bizarre and deviant pseudo-medical ‘experiments’ that injure them.”

According to the DOJ, Glenwood residents were subject to inadequate physical and behavioral health care, with few safety or oversight measures. The department also noted severe deficiencies in oversight and quality management at both Glenwood and the Iowa Department of Human Services. The DOJ said it is considering whether the Glenwood and Woodward resource centers violated rights under Title 11 of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Gov. Kim Reynolds released, Tuesday issued a statement on the completed DOJ Investigation into Glenwood Resource Center:  “What happened at the Glenwood Resource Center was unconscionable and unacceptable. Under Director Garcia’s leadership at DHS, we’ve fully cooperated with the investigation and I commend her for immediately digging in to assess the situation. I am committed to bringing all the tools and state resources needed to address the challenges at the facility. The families and loved ones remain in my thoughts as this likely brings up very difficult and strong emotions.”

Upon learning of the DOJ Investigation, Gov. Reynolds instructed DHS Director Kelly Garcia to cooperate and assist with any investigation. DHS went on to conduct a review and fact-finding effort to identify issues and begin making changes.

U.S. Senators Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) and Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), members of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Tuesday night, issued a joint statement regarding the DOJ findings:  “The findings of this investigation into the Glenwood Resource Center are sickening and intolerable. Our hearts break for the families and loved ones who have been directly impacted by this tragic news. We appreciate Governor Reynolds’ responsiveness to this situation at the state level, and in the Senate we will continue to work on behalf of all Iowans, including those with disabilities, to ensure folks have the care and support they need.”

The Mills County Sheriff’s Office today (Tuesday) reports one arrest took place Monday morning: 42-year old Margaret Misailegalu Samana, of Blue Springs, MO., was arrested on I-29 at around 10:40-a.m., for Possession of a Controlled Substance. Her bond was set at $1,000.

DES MOINES – A total of 267 cultural organizations and 152 artists serving 118 Iowa communities will receive a share of $7 million in grants announced Tuesday (today) by the Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs. Among them, is Griswold, Corning, Carroll and Greenfield. Officials say: the East of Omaha live music venue in Griswold will receive $14,600; The Warren Cultural Center in Greenfield will receive $27,000, and The Corning Center for Fine Arts & Corning Opera House will receive a total of $9,500.

The Iowa Arts and Cultural Recovery Program grants were administered by the Iowa Arts Council, a division of the Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs, and will bolster arts venues, cultural nonprofits and creative workers whose activities are essential to education, economic development and quality of life throughout Iowa.

The one-time grants range from $1,500 to $175,000 and provide relief to individuals, businesses and nonprofit organizations that can demonstrate lost income and extra expenses incurred due to the pandemic. The grants may be used to offset operating expenses, as well as costs associated with reopening in person or adapting programs to virtual formats.

While the relief program was highly competitive, the department funded 75 percent of requests, demonstrating support for arts and culture statewide.

Gov. Kim Reynolds allocated the funding, made possible by the Coronavirus, Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act, on Dec. 2nd. The department launched the Iowa Arts & Culture Recovery Program the same day and received more than 550 requests totaling more than $36 million by the Dec. 11 deadline.

Atlantic, IA —On Monday, December 21, Cass County Public Health received 500 doses of the Moderna vaccine. This vaccine will be used in accordance with Iowa Department of Public Health (IDPH) guidance to begin vaccinating phase 1A healthcare personnel. Cass County Public Health Director Beth Olsen says “While we were not expecting our shipment until a little later in this week, we were very happy to have the vaccine in our hands yesterday. Thanks to great partnerships and planning, I’m also pleased to announce that we were able to start vaccinating frontline healthcare workers today.”

The 500 doses that are now in Cass County are specifically for healthcare personnel. These parameters are set by the Iowa Department of Public Health (IDPH), and includes the following workers:

• Healthcare personnel (HCP) with direct or indirect patient contact.
• Health care personnel are defined as paid and unpaid persons serving in health care settings who have the potential for direct or indirect exposure to patients or infectious materials.

Dr. Angela Weppler receives her first dose of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine. (photo submitted)

According to Olsen, “The largest healthcare provider in the county is Cass County Health System, and many of the doses are allocated for their staff members. However, we know that there are still healthcare workers in the county who are eligible to receive the vaccine at this time. We need those community members to take a brief survey so that we can schedule their vaccination through Cass County Public Health.”

Examples of jobs that would qualify for vaccination at this time include, but are not limited to:

• Critical care
• Emergency Department
• Infectious Disease
• Hospitalists
• Primary Care
• Anesthesia
• Respiratory Therapy
• Emergency Medical Services
• Phlebotomy
• Pharmacy
• Radiology
• Federally Qualified Health Center
• COVID-19 Vaccinators of Essential Populations
• COVID-19 Specimen collectors
• Staff/physicians of urgent care centers
• Acute care clinic
• Clinical laboratory
• Hospice
• Home health
• Physical Therapy
• Rehabilitation

Olsen says “If there are Cass County residents who work in these areas, and they want to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, they should take the survey on casshealth.org/covid-19 as soon as possible so that we can administer their first dose within 30 days.”.

No Public Vaccine Yet: It may be several weeks or months before the vaccine is readily available for the public. There is currently no waiting list or sign-up for the public. According to Olsen  “Just today [Tuesday] Governor Reynolds introduced the next phases of vaccination, which may include groups like law enforcement, teachers, and elderly adults. As we receive more direction from IDPH, and as we find out more about our future shipments of vaccine, we will continue to communicate with Cass County residents about vaccine availability.”

(Radio Iowa) – State health officials say COVID-19 vaccinations will start Monday (Dec 28th) for residents and staff of Iowa’s long-term care facilities, while several thousand Iowa health care workers have already gotten the first round of shots. Kelly Garcia, director of the Iowa Department of Human Services, says the -next- phase of vaccinations will target Iowans 75 and older and front-line essential workers, including first responders, teachers and workers in food and ag-related manufacturing. Garcia says they’re laying out a third phase of recipients as well.

(As said: Adults 65-74 and individuals 16-64 with high risk conditions)

The first shipments of the Moderna vaccine began arriving in Iowa yesterday (Monday) and Governor Kim Reynolds says they’re being distributed in all 99 counties. Already, more than 84-hundred health care workers have been inoculated against COVID-19 with the first vaccine round from Pfizer.

(HAYWARD, Calif., A-P) California authorities say they have charged a convicted killer with the 1988 kidnapping and slaying of a 9-year-old girl, whose mother now lives in southwest Iowa. Michaela Joy Garecht disappeared from a market in the San Francisco Bay Area after riding her scooter there with a friend. Her body has never been found. Police say they only recently were able to match a partial palm print at the scene to David Misch, who’s in prison for killing a woman. Misch was charged Monday with murder and kidnapping. He’s scheduled to be arraigned Tuesday.

Michaela Garecht, 9, went missing from outside a Hayward shop in 1988.

Michaela’s mother, who is undergoing treatment for breast cancer, issued a statement to the media in California, Monday. It reads:

“Over the years, I often wondered whether I really wanted to know the truth of what happened to Michaela,” she wrote. “I wondered if I would be able to take it. When I received news of the kidnapper having been identified, I asked the hard questions of Detective Purnell, of what method this man used to kill his victims, and received answers, and they were not easy.

“When I had doubted whether I would want to know, it always came back to, if Michaela could experience it, I could hear it. Because it’s not about me. It’s never been about me, about my feelings. It is and always has been about Michaela. What I have been through is nothing. What I feel is not important. It is only about Michaela.”

(Radio Iowa) – Davenport police are investigating a fatal crash involving a bicycle. Police say a motorized bicycle was headed the wrong way on a one-way street in a residential neighborhood just north of Davenport’s downtown after 10 o’clock on Monday night. Investigators say the cyclist, a 46-year-old man, hit an oncoming car head-on.

He was taken to Genesis East Medical Center where he died of his injuries. Police say the victim was from Davenport but haven’t released his name.

(Radio Iowa) – As you look for some last-minute gifts for Christmas, the Iowa Lottery is running its annual “appropriate gifting” campaign. Lottery spokesperson, Mary Neubauer, explains: “That campaign is just our gentle reminder to folks that we have always considered lottery tickets for the adult marketplace or the grownups on your list,” Neubauer says. Someone who is under 21 can’t purchase a lottery ticket and they can’t cash it in if they win. “So we just encourage people if they are giving lottery tickets as gifts to reserve those for folks who are 21 and older,” she says.

Neubauer says there a lot of gifts that have restrictions on them and their goal is to give a simple reminder to everyone that lottery tickets fall into that category.”Because this is not the year that we need to be coming out with a really harsh message for folks. I think we’ve all had more than enough things to worry about this year, and we wanted to be really gentle in our approach this time — but still get that message across,” Neubauer says.

Neubauer says the appropriate gifting campaign goes along with their message of playing responsibly and not overextending yourself when buying Iowa Lottery tickets.

Plans by the Audubon School Board to award bids for the Building Project were “Shot down,” according to Superintendent Eric Trager, by significantly higher than anticipated quotes. Bid day for the renovation project was last Friday (Dec. 18^th). Trager said they’re trying to figure out now, how to get the project back to what they originally estimated it to be.

Trager said the bid market right now is all over the board. The reasons vary, he says, but there’s no doubt the year of COVID has something to do with it.

He said they’re trying to work with the low bidders to figure out where they can maintain efficiency without compromising quality. Work on the restroom asbestos abatement project was postponed until they Board knows where they stand on the other projects. Bids for the project came in last Wednesday.

In other business, the Audubon School Board approved two new hires. Brittany Williams was hired as Junior High Girls Basketball Coach, and an Associate. In addition to the long discussion with regard to bids, the Board talked about their Return To Learn Plan for the Second Semester.

WEST BRANCH, Iowa (AP) — An investigation continues into a wrong-way accident that killed three people on an Iowa interstate highway. The Des Moines Register reports that the accident happened about 4:30 a.m. Monday on Interstate 80 near the town of West Branch in Cedar County. The Iowa State Patrol says 20-year-old Eric Nunez of Plano, Illinois, was driving a 2015 Nissan Altima eastbound in the westbound lanes when the car struck a Dodge Grand Caravan driven by 70-year-old Robert Larson of West Liberty.

Nunez, Robert Larson and Teresa Larson, 68, also of West Liberty, all died in the crash.