(Decatur County, Iowa) – Two separate incidents in southern Iowa have claimed two lives. The Iowa State Patrol on Tuesday, released the name of a man who died in a UTV accident at around 6:15-p.m., Tuesday. Authorities say 46-year-old Brian C. Kitt, of Ankeny, died after the 20111 Polaris Utility Terrain Vehicle he was operating overturned when it went out of control in a hay field. Kitt was ejected and died from his injuries at the Decatur County Hospital.

The second accident happened at around 6:52-p.m. Wednesday. The State Patrol says 41-year-old Justin Andrew Miller, of Leon, was operating a front-end loader that had just retrieved a round hay bale from the east ditch of Lineville Road. The bale had fallen off a truck and trailer. When the loader the loader turned into a private drive on Lineville Road, it struck a 6-year-old child, who died at the Decatur County Hospital. The child’s name was not immediately released.

Des Moines, Iowa – A Des Moines man was sentenced today to 27 months in prison following his pleas of guilty to two counts of a federal indictment charging conspiracy to  wrongfully obtain and disclose individually identifiable health information, and wrongfully  obtaining individually identifiable health information.

According to court documents, Dustin James Ortiz, 49, conspired with a then employee of the Veterans Affairs Medical Center (VAMC) in Des Moines to obtain individually identifiable health information of an individual which were maintained by the VAMC. The records Ortiz sought to and did obtain pertained to the victim’s mental health conditions and medications. Ortiz obtained this information without authorization required by law. Ortiz then disclosed the records to a third party. Because the conduct involved the intent to transfer and use the health information for personal gain and malicious harm, it was a felony under federal law.

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) is a federal law that requires standards to protect sensitive patient health information from being disclosed without the patient’s consent or knowledge.

In addition to the 27-month term of imprisonment, the Court ordered the payment of $2,000 in restitution, and a 3-year term of supervised release to follow the prison sentence. “Our office is committed to giving real meaning to HIPAA’s right-to-privacy protections,” said United States Attorney Richard D. Westphal. “HIPAA-covered entities should continue to
remind everyone that the privacy provisions of HIPAA are important and have significant consequences if violated.”

“Unlawfully obtaining and releasing veterans’ health records will not be tolerated,” said Special Agent in Charge Gregory Billingsley with Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General’s Central Field Office. “This breaches the integrity of the VA healthcare system and is an egregious violation of privacy.”

The co-defendant, a former employee of the VAMC, is set for sentencing on August 4, 2022. The Department of Veterans Affairs, Office of Inspector General investigated the case

(Radio Iowa) – The former technology director at a private Catholic school in eastern Iowa is sentenced to more than three years in prison for stealing thousands of dollars. Fifty-year-old Todd Wessels of Dubuque pleaded guilty in November to one once of wire fraud. He admitted that when he was the technology director for the Holy Family Catholic Schools he purchased prepaid debit cards. Wessels then transferred the balances on the cards to his personal account.

He admitted he used more than 500-thousand dollars for things like food and travel expenses for himself and his family. The school district was experiencing financial difficulties and closing a number of schools as a result. Wessels was sentenced to 41 months in prison and ordered to pay more than 503-thousand dollars in restitution and nearly four-thousand dollars in the district’s legal expenses.

(Radio Iowa) – Governor Kim Reynolds says she has to pursue legal options on two abortion-related laws that were challenged in court before deciding whether to call legislators back in special session to pass abortion restrictions.

“Right now it wouldn’t do any good to call a special session,” Reynolds said late this morning. “This is the route that we need to take. We’ve got two laws in place and so we’re going to move forward with that. We’ll wait to see what the ruling is…and then we’ll reassess after that point.”

Reynolds signed a bill into law in 2018 that would forbid abortions after a fetal heartbeat is detected, usually the sixth week of a pregnancy, but it never took effect due to a court injunction. She’s asking the courts to remove that block.

“We have the ‘heartbeat bill’ on the books and so let’s lift the injunction and let’s make that, you know, a law that it is and so we’re going to start with that,” Reynolds said. “We’re going to ask the Supreme Court to rehear the case and we’re also going to ask the district court to lift the injunction and we’ll take it from there.”

Reynolds faced a Friday deadline to file her requests with the court.
She’s asking the Iowa Supreme Court to revise its recent ruling that upheld a 24-week waiting period for abortions. Reynolds is making the legal argument that the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling that overturned Roe v Wade should make it more difficult to challenge Iowa laws that restrict abortion in the future.

“We’ll see what happens,” Reynolds said. “We’ll go through the system and, based on what the outcomes are from that, we’ll take our next steps.”

Reynolds, who spoke with reporters in Belmond before a meeting in th community’s hospital, said the timeline for resolving her legal requests on abortion policy is up to the court.

Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller has declined to represent the state in these matters. The governor has hired former Muscatine County Attorney Alan Ostergren to argue the cases. Ostergren most recently represented Republicans challenging Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Abby Finkenauer’s nominating petitions.

(Radio Iowa) – For Iowans who love glistening paint, shiny chrome and loud engines, one of the Midwest’s largest car shows will take over the Iowa State Fairgrounds this holiday weekend. Stephanie Schoennagel, spokeswoman for the Goodguys Rod & Custom Association, says this will mark the 31st annual Heartland Nationals in Des Moines.

“We’re expecting over 5,000 cars to come from about 15 different states,” Schoennagel says. “This is one of our biggest shows that we put on throughout the year and right now we’re pacing to beat last year, and last year was a record-breaking year for us so we’re really excited to come back to Iowa State Fairgrounds.” The event will feature custom hot rods, muscle cars, restored classics and trucks from way back in the 1920s up through 1997 — as 1997-model cars are now considered “classics”.

“That is new for this year. It’s a way for us to open our gates to a new generation of vehicle and then hopefully a new generation of automotive enthusiast,” Schoennagel says. “It’s a 25-year rolling cut-off so that’s going continue to change. So next year, we’ll open our gates to 1998, but yeah, it is kind of hard and crazy to think that 25 years is considered classic.” In addition to the thousands of stunning vehicles on display, other attractions include a remote-control car demo, the Central Iowa Railroad Club miniature train museum, and a “twilight cruise” down historic Grand Avenue.

“We’ll have live autocross racing action all weekend long. We’ll have the Burnout Competition on Saturday, Nitro Thunder Fest lighting off all weekend long. We’ll have the fireworks display taking place Saturday night. We’ll have fun stuff for the kids, the Good Gals Gallery, it’s really a fun, family-friendly event.”

The event runs Friday through Sunday.
https://good-guys.com

(Atlantic, Iowa) – A call for service Tuesday evening in Griswold resulted in a brief pursuit and an arrest. The Cass County Sheriff’s Office says Deputies arrested 48-year-old Christopher Putnam, of Griswold, on charges of OWI 1st Offense, Carrying a Weapon While Intoxicated, Eluding and Interference with Official Acts.

During an investigation resulting from the call for service, Putnam entered a vehicle and drove away from Deputies.  A short, normal speed pursuit ensued.  Eventually, Putnam complied, was detained and transported to the Cass County Jail where he was booked and held.

The Cass County Sheriff’s Office was assisted by the Atlantic Police Department.

(Atlantic, Iowa)  –  Are you going to be eligible for Medicare in the near future?  Have you been on Medicare for a while and want to better understand what it offers?  Do you have a family member you help with Medicare issues? If so, “Welcome to Medicare” is for you!  This free seminar offered by Cass Health’s Senior Health Insurance Information Program (SHIIP) counselors will be held on Thursday, July 7th from 5 to 7 pm.  The seminar will be held at 1500 East 10th Street in the Senior Life Solutions building.  Registration is needed by June 30th, by calling 712-243-7545.

“Welcome to Medicare” will cover Medicare Part A and Part B benefits, the prescription drug benefit (Part D), Medicare Advantage plans and Medicare supplement insurance.

SHIIP is a service of the State of Iowa. SHIIP services are free, confidential, and unbiased. SHIIP counselors are trained by the state and do not sell or promote any insurance companies, policies or agents.  Cass Health is a local sponsor for SHIIP in Cass County.

(Radio Iowa) – An investigator with the Mason City Police Department says they continue to explore every lead in the disappearance of Jodi Huisentruit. Monday was the 27th anniversary of the former K-I-M-T T-V morning anchorwoman’s disappearance. Officer Terrance Prochaska has been working on the case for 12 years. “I just want everyone to know that this case is very much alive with us. We continue to investigate this case like it happened just here recently,” he says. Prochaska says he’s talked and interviewed hundreds of people since taking on the case and hopes to someday find the right piece of evidence that solves this puzzle.

“In my 12 or 13 years I’ve investigated this case, it’s countless people that I’ve talked to, met, interviewed, and I want you to understand is that we focus on the new technology that comes about all the time. We keep trying to figure out a way to put this case into our technology that keeps advancing, to hope one day find an answer to what happened,” Prochaska says. He encourages people who think they have any information to call his office.  “Ultimately what this is going to lead to is, what the findjodi.com team has been saying all along, is if you know something, say something. If you want to just give us a call with your thoughts, we’re welcome to listen,” Prochaska says. “You’ll talk to me directly if you do make that call, and I will be happy to listen to you and answer what questions I can.”

Prochaska says trying to solve the case has become a part of his life and can understand some people’s frustrations when they think their tips don’t result in anything. “Some of the feedback that we’ve heard over the years is that ‘we don’t ever get a result of what happened when I called in’. On cases like this, what you have to understand is, we’re playing a small game with whoever did this, and the more information we tell, the information that person could be receiving to try to hide even further, if you understand what that means,” he says. “Understand that we take this case as serious as any other case.”

If you possibly have any information regarding Huisentruit’s disappearance, you can call Prochaska at the Mason City Police Department at 641-421-3636. It is believed Huisentruit was abducted from the parking lot of her apartment complex in 1995 Her body has never been found and she was declared legally dead in 2001.

(Radio Iowa) – It’s a scene reminiscent of the movie “Caddyshack,” but in this case, it wasn’t a Baby Ruth bar spotted floating in the clear water, causing swimmers to panic. Hamilton County’s public health director Shelby Kroona has a reminder for parents everywhere in Iowa to keep their kids home if they’re sick, especially from public swimming pools. “We’ve had two pools in Hamilton County that have had poop in the pool,” Kroona says. “Please remember, if your children are ill, do not send them to the pool. Oftentimes, there’s bacteria or viruses in that poop and it can spread to other people through the water.”

She says the risk of making someone else sick isn’t the only problem with the situation. “It also causes a lot of issues for the pool owners and operators because they then have to disinfect their entire pool,” Kroona says. “Just like absolutely any other time of the year, if your kid has a fever, diarrhea, illness, be conscious of where you send them.”

The Iowa Department of Public Health says there are about 1,300 pools, more than 420 spas, 260 wading pools, and 260 water slides at about 1,260 locations statewide that are inspected every year.