(Radio Iowa) – A Madison County jury has found a 27-year-old man guilty of murdering his ex-girlfriend as his two young children slept in the next room. Twenty-three-year-old Rosanna Otto was found shot to death in her Winterset home in May of 2019. Jerome Moyer the third of Norwalk — who goes by the name Jerry — was arrested the next day during a traffic stop in Dubuque County.

Moyer had pleaded guilty to misdemeanor domestic abuse in 2014 for an attack on Otto. The next year, he broke into another ex-girlfriend’s home and threatened her with a knife. Moyer was sentenced to 15 years in prison for that attack, but the sentence was suspended in 2015.

Moyer was found guilty of first degree murder, which carries a mandatory sentence of life in prison.

DES MOINES, Iowa, March 1, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — Back in November 2020, “Above + Beyond Cancer” announced a nicotine-cessation contest, called the “Cold Turkey Challenge,” which offered a $50,000 community betterment grant for an Iowa small town that could gather a group of tobacco users in their community and work with them to stop using nicotine during an eight-week contest.

The Cold Turkey Challenge was open to all Iowa communities with populations of 5,000 or fewer. The eight-week contest officially kicked off January 1, 2021 and ends today, February 26, 2021. It was created to celebrate the 50-year anniversary of the release of the 1971 Norman Lear movie, “Cold Turkey,” which was filmed in Greenfield, Iowa.

It was the brainchild of long-time Iowan Doug Reichardt, and the Reichardt Family Foundation, in conjunction with Dr. Richard Deming, the Founder of Above + Beyond Cancer. Each community established a team of “Fighters” who pledged to not use tobacco for the duration of the eight-week contest, the team that was most successful became immeasurably more healthy and earned the betterment grant for their community.

Mt. Vernon was most successful! The dedicated team of “Fighters” from Mt. Vernon was the most successful group of tobacco users to give up nicotine for the 8-week Cold Turkey Challenge. For their success, the community of Mount Vernon will earn a community betterment grant of $50,000. The grant funds will be used to create beautiful Main Street Pocket Parks and establish an Exercise Trail near their newly constructed Lester Buresh Family Community Wellness Center.

Governor Kim Reynolds and Above + Beyond Cancer Founder Dr. Richard Deming will present the community of Mt. Vernon with their $50,000 community betterment grant check during a ceremony to be held in the Governor’s Formal Office, at the Iowa State Capitol, at 11 a.m., on Tuesday, March 2. Representing the Mt. Vernon community will be the chair of the Mt. Vernon Cold Turkey Challenge committee Joe Jennison, the executive director of the Mt. Vernon-Lisbon Community Development Group. He will be joined by fellow organizing committee members Amy Haney and Matt Siders.

Three members of the team of former smokers, known as “Fighters” from Mt. Vernon will also be in attendance, as will State Representative Charlie McClintock, from District 95. To learn more about Above + Beyond Cancer please go to: https://aboveandbeyondcancer.org.

A man from Walnut was arrested early Sunday morning, followed a pursuit in Adams County. According to the Adams County Sheriff’s Office, just before 5-a.m., Sunday, Deputies attempted to stop a Chevy truck that was speeding 80mph in a 55mph zone on Highway 34. They engaged in a pursuit that ended when the truck failed to stop at a T intersection of 210th Street and Adams/Montgomery Avenue, and got stuck in a field.

The driver of the vehicle fled the scene on foot, while a passenger – 36-year-old Adam Carter, of Carson, was found injured, inside the truck. Carter was transported to CHI Hospital by ambulance. The driver – 32-year old Robert Carter, of Walnut – was initially tracked unsuccessfully by a K9 but was located a little more than three hours later, at United Farmer Cooperative Gas Station, in Corning. Carter was also taken to CHI for treatment of injuries. Charges in the case are pending. Multiple agencies assisted with the pursuit, search, and arrests.

Saturday evening, Adams County Deputies were called to a domestic situation. 21-year-old Lyndon Bright, and 20-year-old Mia Maxwell, both of Corning were arrested. Bright was charged with Domestic Abuse Assault, while Maxwell was charged with Domestic Abuse Assault Causing Bodily Injury.

Other arrests in Adams County include: 42-year-old Jill Currin, of Villisca, who was arrested Feb. 24^th on a warrant for Harassment, and, on February 22^nd, 64-year-old Richard Swartz, of Corning, was arrested on warrants for Failure to Appear. He was taken to the Adams County Jail and held on $25,300 bond.

(Radio Iowa) – A group in the Iowa House is working on legislation that would erase the lowest level, non-violent felony convictions from a person’s record after a decade — if they aren’t convicted of another crime. The person would have to complete their sentence and pay all fines and court fees in order to have a Class D felony expunged. Drew Klein of Americans for Prosperity is urging legislators to pass the bill. “You’ve probably all heard me use that Ralph Waldo Emerson quote that, ‘If we treat people as they are. If we treat them as they could be, they become hopefully what they should be,'” Klein said. “And I think this bill moves us in that direction.”

Others say expunging non-violent felony convictions from decades ago can help Iowans qualify for professional licenses, get loans and sign leases. Representative Mary Wolfe, a Democrat from Clinton, says it would apply to non-violent offenses like criminal mischief, second degree theft or third offense drunken driving. “It is a piece of criminal justice reform that I think is important,” Wolfe says. “Many other states allow felonies to be expunged. This bill is more restrictive than several of those other states. Obviously, if somebody has a felony back in 2010 and they have another felony, they wouldn’t be eligible under this.”

Wolfe, who is an attorney, has been working on the bill after trying to help clients get their gun rights back.  “Primarily so they could hunt with their children or grandchildren,” Wolfe says. “I had no luck assisting them in doing that and I just think there should be a path forward for non-violent offenders to get their firearms’ right back without having to kind of plead with the governor’s office.”

Under current law, Iowa’s governor reviews and decides upon applications from felons seeking restoration of second amendment rights after they’ve completed their sentences.