(Radio Iowa) — The head of the union representing the largest share of state government employees is accusing the Department of Corrections of “downplaying” the severity of an incident at the Iowa State Penitentiary in Fort Madison. State prison officials, in a news release last Friday, said a guard was treated and released from a hospital after being punched and kicked by an inmate. AFSCME Council 61 President Danny Homan calls it an “incomplete portrayal” of the attack. He says video shows the inmate threw six punches and 13 “stomps to the head” while three other inmates attempted to slow down responding staff. Homan claims an inmate property search afterward found cocaine and a shank. While blaming Governor Kim Reynolds and Republicans, Homan calls staffing levels in Iowa prisons “dangerously low.” The governor’s office and the Department of Corrections issued statements in response to Homan’s claims.

Iowa Department of Corrections statement:

“Our staff and their well-being is the highest priority of this department. The department stands by its initial press release that was published after the assault occurred. It was both accurate and timely. After any assault on staff or other inmates, the department initiates an investigation into the incident. Any attempt to preemptively release the confidential details and evidence compiled as part of that investigation undermines the integrity of the investigation and the security of the correctional system. Attempts to politicize attacks on our staff damages the overall security of our facilities and the safety of our staff.”

Statement from Brenna Smith, Communications Director for Governor Reynolds:

“The Department of Corrections holds the safety and security of their team members with the highest priority.”

AFSCME news release issued 10/25:

AFSCME Council 61 President Danny Homan issued the following statement in response to the Iowa Department of Corrections’ incomplete portrayal of yet another correctional officer being attacked by an inmate at the Iowa State Penitentiary in Fort Madison:

“On Friday (Oct 19), the Iowa Department of Corrections distributed a press release detailing the assault on a correctional officer by an inmate at the Iowa State Penitentiary. Unfortunately, the DOC failed to release the full scope of the incident. In recent days, reports from eyewitnesses detail a situation far more serious than what the Department has led the public to believe.

“A total of four inmates were involved in the assault: one who threw six punches and 13 stomps to the head and three others who helped plan the assault and attempted to slow down the responding staff while the assault was taking place. Video footage shows the group of inmates plotting at a table and watching the correctional officer make his rounds. The inmate who assaulted the correctional officer had just completed a long-term restricted housing program intended to make him less dangerous. Additionally, cocaine and a shank were discovered during the shakedown and inmate property search following the incident. “Until yesterday (Wednesday), the Warden at ISP had refused to meet with union members over their concerns about the safety and security of staff within the facility. The dangerously low staffing levels at all of our correctional facilities mean that incidents like this one will continue to escalate in severity. When will Governor Reynolds and the legislative Republicans who have created this budget disaster realize that their carelessness is going to get someone killed?”

MASON CITY, Iowa (AP) — A trial has been scheduled in 2020 in a gender discrimination lawsuit filed by a former school district official in northern Iowa. Mason City Schools’ former human resources director Jodie Anderson filed the lawsuit in July, alleging that men employed by the district were being paid more than women for the same categories of work when she examined salary structures in 2015. The lawsuit says that despite receiving “outstanding reviews and received compliments” for her job performance, Anderson’s wage was frozen at $87,550.

The school district argued in a response that Anderson received more than $7,500 in excess pay without board approval, confirmed by a state re-audit. Cerro Gordo County court records say the trial is set to begin Jan. 7, 2020.

Another convenience store in Council Bluffs has been robbed. Police say the White Oak Station at 2024 5^th Avenue was hit at around 3:25-a.m., today. Authorities say a white male between 20- and 25-years of age, entered the store wearing a black hooded sweatshirt with “Mossy Oak” written on the front, a black ski mask, and black pants while displaying a black handgun. The suspect then left the store on foot eastbound with an undisclosed amount of cash.

Oct. 26th robbery images (click to enlarge)

He was described as being five-feet eight-inches tall, with an average build. There were no injuries. The same store was robbed Sunday night by two men, one of whom held a box cutter, the other a table leg. No injuries were reported during the incident.

And, early Wednesday morning, the Kwik Shop located at 3632 Ave G in Council Bluffs was robbed by a man wearing a black hooded sweatshirt with “Omaha” written on the back, a black mask, and light colored jeans, entered the store while brandishing a silver handgun. The Council Bluffs Police Department is asking anyone with information about these crimes to please call the Criminal Investigation Division at (712) 328-4728 or Crime Stoppers at (712) 328-7867.

Red Oak Police, Thursday night, arrested a woman from Pottawattamie County. 57-year old Cindy Jo Snipes, of Council Bluffs, was arrested a little before 10-p.m. in the 2300 block of Eastern Avenue, for Disorderly Conduct. Snipes was transported to the Montgomery County Law Enforcement Center and held on a $300 cash bond.

(Radio Iowa) — Senator Chuck Grassley has asked the Justice Department to investigate high-profile attorney Michael Avenatti and a client who made allegations against U.S. Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanagh.

Grassley says investigators should look into “a potential conspiracy” to make false statements to congress and obstruct his Judiciary Committee’s investigation of Kavanaugh. Grassley says there were “obvious, susequent contradictions” after Avenatti revealed a client’s allegations.

Avenatti tweeted that he’s ready to start the investigation immediately and Avenatti says it will — in his words — “get to the bottom of Judge Kavanaugh’s lies.”

(Radio Iowa Special feature) — This week, Radio Iowa’s Campaign Countdown has been providing snapshots of the statewide candidates Iowans will vote upon November 6th. An incumbent who’s been in the post for seven months faces two challengers in the race to be Iowa’s Secretary of Agriculture for the next four years.

Iowa’s long-time State Ag Secretary Bill Northey resigned in March to take a job in the USDA. Governor Reynolds appointed Mike Naig to the post. Naig defeated four competitors at the GOP’s state convention in June to win the Republican nomination for ag secretary. “During this campaign I’ve laid out my vision for the future of agriculture and that is in attracting and inspiring the next generation of Iowans to consider careers in agriculture,” Naig told convention delegates. Naig is a native of the northwest Iowa community of Cylinder.

Tim Gannon, the Democratic Party’s nominee for state ag secretary, is a Mingo native who’s part of his family farming operation in Jasper County. “I’m running because I don’t want to see Iowa become a place where our big cities, our metro areas are doing really well, providing economy opportunity, but all our small towns and rural areas are struggling to keep up,” Gannon said at the Iowa Democratic Party’s state convention in June. Gannon worked for Tom Vilsack in the governor’s office and in the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

The Libertarian Party’s nominee for state ag secretary is Rick Stewart. “We’ve got 82,000 farmers who know who to farm,” Stewart said on The Des Moines Register’s Political Soapbox at the Iowa State Fair. “What the secretary of agriculture needs to know is how to stop the government from telling the farmers how to do their job.” Stewart is a retired businessman from Cedar Rapids.

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

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Former Vice President Joe Biden is scheduled to make his first visit to Iowa since he acknowledged he’s considering seeking the 2020 Democratic nomination for president. Biden is planning to headline a rally in Cedar Rapids on Tuesday for in support of Democratic candidates for governor, lieutenant governor and Congress. The candidates include Abby Finkenauer, a House candidate who worked for Biden during his unsuccessful 2008 campaign for the presidential nomination.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A Native American tribe plans to open a casino on the Iowa-Nebraska border next week, despite a pending legal challenge from both states. The Omaha World-Herald reports that the Prairie Flower casino in Carter Lake will open at noon on Nov. 1. The Ponca Tribe announced the opening in a press release Thursday. The project’s first phase will include 9,500 square feet of space, 200 slot-style games and a full-service bar and snack bar.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — An eastern Iowa hospital is suing the insurance companies that oversee the Iowa Medicaid program claiming they have cost the small rural hospital thousands of dollars in patient revenue by refusing to fully reimburse the hospital for services provided to Medicaid-covered patients. Virginia Gay Hospital located in Vinton also alleges the ineffective appeals process set up by Amerigroup, UnitedHealthcare and AmeriHealth Caritas was “virtually a sham.”

BAGLEY, Iowa (AP) — A Guthrie County mother charged after her 11-month-old son drowned in a bathtub has pleaded not guilty. Court records show Seaira Briceno entered her pleas earlier this month to child endangerment. The Guthrie County Sheriff’s Office says Briceno’s baby drowned Aug. 10 when she left him and his 2-year-old brother in the tub at their Bagley home. Briceno told investigators she left the boys for about five minutes, but deputies believe the children were left alone longer.

DUBUQUE, Iowa (AP) — A Dubuque man has been given two years of probation for lying to Medicaid about care he provided for his father. The Telegraph Herald reports that 35-year-old Nicholas Brown also was recently sentenced to a two-year prison term, suspended, and told to pay more than $1,000 in damages to the Iowa Medicaid Fraud Control Unit.

Officials with the Iowa National Guard report funeral services for 19-year old Pfc. Matthew A. Cox, of Leon, will be held 10-a.m. Friday (Oct. 26th) at First Baptist Church (originally Urbandale), 3020 E. 38th Street, Des Moines.

Cox, a member of the 186th Military Police Company, Iowa Army National Guard based at Camp Dodge in Johnston, Iowa, died while swimming at a Naval Station Guantanamo Bay (NSGB) beach on Tuesday, October 16th. Interment with full military honors will be at the Decatur Cemetery, 7th and Water Street, Decatur City, Iowa at 10 a.m., Saturday, October 27th.

PFC. Matthew Cox

Cox was born in Des Moines. Hewas active in the Civil Air Patrol, Des Moines Police Explores and farmed with his grandfather, Fred Cox, on the Cox family farm in Decatur County. He was also a member of the 1st Baptist Church, where he was involved in the children’s ministries.

Cox enlisted in the Iowa Army National Guard on October 11, 2017 as a Military Police Soldier with the 186th MP Co. He deployed to Cuba in support of Joint Task Force-Guantanamo (JTF-GTMO) in July, 2018.

His awards include the Army Achievement Medal, Army Good Conduct Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Armed Forces Reserve Medal and the Army Service Ribbon.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A Native American tribe plans to open a casino on the Iowa-Nebraska border next week, despite a pending legal challenge from both states. The Omaha World-Herald reports that the Prairie Flower casino in Carter Lake will open at noon on Nov. 1. The Ponca Tribe announced the opening in a press release Thursday.

The project’s first phase will include 9,500 square feet of space, 200 slot-style games and a full-service bar and snack bar. Officials from Iowa state government and Council Bluffs are suing federal officials who approved the project in an effort to stop the casino, which would compete with state-licensed casinos in Council Bluffs.

Nebraska joined the lawsuit because Carter Lake directly borders the state. Nebraska’s constitution bans casino gambling.

UPDATE 8:28-p.m.: Jerry Payne was located near 35th and Broadway. He was struck by a motor vehicle at that location and suffered minor injuries. He was being evaluated at a local hospital. Authorities thank everyone for their help.

The Council Bluffs Police Department is requesting the public’s help in locating a missing adult, possibly endangered. Jerry Payne, 66 years old, has dementia and was last seen at his residence at 901 N 35th St Apt #P2 around 2 p.m. His family has not seen him since then and they are concerned for his safety. Jerry is 5’6” tall, 200 pounds, with brown hair and brown eyes. He was last seen wearing a long sleeve dark blue shirt, blue jeans, and grey shoes. Jerry smokes cigarettes and walks with a limp. If he is located or if anyone has seen him, please call our communications center at (712)328-5737.

Jerry Payne