(Radio Iowa) – Many Iowans are busy making their summer travel plans, which for some of us starts with the three-day Memorial Day weekend ahead. Triple-A-Iowa spokesman Brian Ortner says some Iowans are having to cut back on more lavish vacations this year in favor of shorter jaunts that are closer to home.  “We aren’t hitting the travel records, but the prediction is 3.7 million people from the West North Central region are going to travel 50 miles or more,” Ortner says. “That’s 116,000 more than last year, but it is 71,000 less than the overall record set back in 2005.” The region includes Iowa as well as Nebraska, Minnesota, Kansas, Missouri and the Dakotas.

While most Iowans who will be getting away on Memorial Day will be driving or flying, but there are transportation alternatives.  “The one area where we do set a record — like we did last year — is in what’s classified as the ‘other’ modes of travel, and that would be like buses, trains, cruises and those sorts of things,” Ortner says, “with 375,000 folks from our region hitting those other types of travel.” Triple-A says the statewide average price for a gallon of gasoline during Memorial Day weekend last year was three-59 a gallon.

Prices today in Iowa are averaging two-93, or 66-cents a gallon cheaper. That’s part of the reason Ortner predicts a good summer travel season ahead. “Even despite economic uncertainty and global challenges, travel remains a priority for individuals all across the U.S.,” he says, “and it’s about making memories and taking advantage of those long weekends.”

The AAA survey shows Iowa’s cheapest gas is in Des Moines at $2.84 a gallon, while the most expensive pump prices are in Ames at $3.09.

(Des Moines, Iowa) – High-speed internet provider Kinetic is providing a free dinner to every member of the Greenfield community today, May 21st, as part of an event marking the one-year anniversary of the devastating tornado that destroyed a significant portion of the town. The $5,000 donation intends to bring comfort to those impacted by the storm and speaks to the company’s commitment to supporting Greenfield’s comeback story.  Kinetic is also donating $1,500 to Greenfield’s Tree Memorial Fund, which aims to replant trees lost in the tornado. The contribution will help the town—well known for its tree-lined streets before the storm—maintain its beloved landscape for residents and visitors.

Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds is slated to be in Greenfield this afternoon, for a ceremony commemorating recovery from the May, 2024 tornado that devastated the community, and celebrating efforts since then, to recover and rebuild.

State Representative Ray Sorensen, a Republican from Greenfield, said he is “Grateful for Kinetic’s unwavering support for Greenfield; they stood by the community in its darkest hour, and they continue to show up every day for these residents while they work toward full recovery. Kinetic’s donations will help preserve the beauty of Greenfield and offer an opportunity for the entire community to come together to remember, grieve, acknowledge progress, and heal—on a day that will undoubtedly be challenging.”

In the aftermath of the tornado, Kinetic crews took immediate action to restore connectivity and a sense of normalcy for Greenfield residents and business owners. Kinetic also identified the need to ‘build back better,’ replacing the damaged, copper-based network infrastructure, with buried fiber to create a faster, stronger, and more weather-resilient network.  Kinetic invested $250,000—and more than 3,200 hours from May to November 2024—to rebuild the fiber-optic network, which delivers high-speed internet to 310 homes and businesses. In addition, Kinetic broke ground this week on Monday, May 19, to build out the remainder of its fiber network in Greenfield, investing another $400,000 to bring faster speeds to 610 more homes and businesses.

Construction has already started on the new build, and once completed, Greenfield is expected to have 99,100 feet (around 19 miles) of buried fiber. Covering the town, 920 homes and businesses will have access to critical high-speed broadband fiber internet to support their daily needs, today and many years to come.

(Iowa Capital Dispatch) – The family of a Sioux City man who died after an EMT allegedly injected him with the wrong drug is suing the city and its emergency medical providers. The family of the late James Joseph Foster Jr. is suing the City of Sioux City, Sioux City Fire and Rescue, the Sioux City Police Department and 10 of their employees in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Iowa.

The lawsuit claims that in the early hours of Aug. 18, 2023, a Sioux City police officer responded to a call about Foster, who was sitting or lying along the curb of a deserted residential street. Foster told the responding officer he had injured his arm, and eventually eight people from the police department and Sioux City Fire and Rescue responded.

According to the lawsuit, the 26-year-old Foster “never posed any threat” to the responders and was instead acting disoriented and fearful, repeatedly moving away from them. At one point, paramedic Deanna LaMere allegedly decided the situation called for the use of a chemical restraint in the form of the incapacitating drug ketamine. With the assistance of other responders, Foster was “held down and injected against his will,” the lawsuit claims. “However, instead of injecting him with ketamine, LaMere injected him with a lethal dose of the paralytic medication rocuronium,” the lawsuit states.

The lawsuit claims body-cam footage shows Foster soon was gasping for air. Minutes later, Foster lay motionless with his eyes open. In an ambulance en route to a hospital, Foster’s heart stopped and LaMere allegedly called ahead and falsely reported Foster had been given a dose of ketamine.

Foster died two days later, allegedly from an anoxic brain injury due to the administration of rocuronium, according to the lawsuit, whicht claims LaMere falsely recorded in an incident report that she had conducted an advanced life support assessment of Foster when she arrived on scene, although body-cam footage reportedly shows that this was never done. LaMere also is alleged to have falsely recorded that she and her EMT partner had verified the correct dose of the injection administered to Foster,

The lawsuit seeks compensation for past and future economic losses and funeral and medical expenses, plus punitive damages. The city has yet to file a response to the allegations, and a representative of the city’s legal department declined on Tuesday to comment on the case.

Separate from the civil lawsuit, court records show that on Jan. 16, 2025, LaMere was criminally charged with involuntary manslaughter and that she entered a not-guilty plea on Feb. 3, 2025. A pretrial conference in the case is scheduled for July 18, 2025.

State records indicate LaMere’s paramedic license with the Iowa Bureau of Emergency Medical and Trauma Services is in good standing, with no history of public disciplinary action, and that it expires in March 2027.

(Williams, Iowa) – A multi-vehicle crash Tuesday afternoon in northern Iowa claimed one life and resulted in the road closed and traffic being detoured around the crash. The accident took place at around 2:40-p.m. on southbound Interstate 35 near mile marker 147, in Hamilton County. According to the Iowa State Patrol, a 2019 Ford Fiesta driven by 68-year-old Reed Peterson, of Mason City, was traveling north on I-35, when for reasons unknown, the car crossed the median and hit the rear trailer tires of a 2000 Volvo semi, driven by 37-year-old Serghei Gornostali, of Bartlett, IL.

Following the impact the car was struck by a 2021 Freightliner semi, driven by a 29-year-old from Kentucky. The impact from that collision dislodged the engine from the car.

A 2016 GMC Yukon driven by 23-year-old Caleb Jacobsen, of Dows (IA), struck the engine block before the SUV struck the Freightliner. The SUV and Freightliner semi then traveled together into the west ditch. The car stopped on the inside lane of the Interstate.

The Patrol says Reed Peterson died at the scene. The other drivers were treated and released.

(Radio Iowa) – Today (Wednesday) is the first anniversary of the deadly tornado that hit the town of Greenfield in southwest Iowa. The storm killed five people and left 35 injured. A prayer service is part of the remembrance with a ringing of the bells and a minute of silence at 3:42, which is the time the tornado entered the town last year. There will also be a commemorative program in the town square to share stories and reflections from the community.

(Radio Iowa) – Iowa’s largest zoo is launching what’s described as a “transformative” project, one of the most comprehensive expansion and renovation efforts in the facility’s 60-year history. Blank Park Zoo spokesman Alex Payne says ground is being broken in Des Moines this week on the first of two big additions, expanding the lion habitat. It will be three times bigger than the current area, offering guests three different viewing experiences, each featuring floor-to-ceiling glass for unobstructed and accessible views of the lion pride. Tigers will also move into the new habitat, and Payne says the goal is to be a successful breeding facility for both lions and tigers. The 18-million dollar plan also calls for the zoo to break ground later this year on what’s to be called the “Wild Iowa” habitat, featuring native Iowa creatures like otters, bobcats and bald eagles.

(Radio Iowa) – The National Eucharistic Pilgrimage of the Catholic Church will enter Iowa today (Wednesday) on its way back to the West Coast. Davenport Diocese Deacon Ryan Burchett says the Pilgrimage is heading back from Indianapolis to Los Angeles. Burchett says the Pilgrimage will make a unique entrance into Iowa as the Bishop from the Diocese of Peoria will be bringing the Blessed Sacrament across the Mississippi River on a boat to Davenport Bishop Dennis Walsh in Burlington. It will leave Burlington on Friday and make a loop east towards Riverside and Mount Pleasant, Iowa City, and then eventually end up in Davenport on Friday. The next leg takes the Eucharistic Pilgrimage to Dubuque on Friday and then into Des Moines on Tuesday of next week. You can see the full schedule of events at eucharisticpilgrimage.org.

(Red Oak, Iowa) – The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office says two men were arrested on separate warrants, Tuesday. At around 7:50-p.m., Deputies arrested 49-year-old Jason William McCollum, of Villisca, on an active Adams County warrant for Failure To Appear on an original charge of Possession of Marijuana/1st offense. He was arrested in Red Oak and transported to the Montgomery/Adams County line, where he was transported by Adams County Deputies to the jail in Corning and held without bond.

And, at around 8:30-p.m., Montgomery County Sheriff’s Deputies arrested 36-year-old Andrew Travis Gaunt, of Red Oak, on an active warrant out of Page County, for Violation of Probation. Gaunt was arrested in the 1600 block of E. Summit Street, in Red Oak, and transported to the Montgomery/Page County line, where he was picked-up by Page County Deputies and transported to the Page County Jail in Clarinda and held on a $10,000 bond.

The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office reports also, 45-year-old Nichole Lavonne O’Briant, of Villisca, was arrested at around 1-a.m. today (Wednesday), following a traffic stop in Villisca. O’Briant was taken into custody for OWI/1st offense and transported to the Montgomery County Jail, where her bond was set at $1,000.

(Red Oak, Iowa) – Two men were arrested on separate charges, Tuesday, in Red Oak. According to Red Oak Police, 70-year-old Randal Joe Barr, of Red Oak, was arrested in the 1100 block of N. 5th Street at around 7-p.m., for Public Intoxication. Barr was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on a $300 bond. Earlier in the day Tuesday, 29-year-old Nikolus Brenton Schooling, of Red Oak, was arrested in the 1900 block of N. Broadway Street, on a valid Montgomery County warrant for Violation of Probation. Schooling was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on a $10,000 bond.