SIOUX CENTER, Iowa (AP) — A former Sioux Center private school teacher convicted of sexually abusing a child has been sentenced to 15 years in prison. Des Moines television station KCCI reports that 36-year-old Curtis Van Dam was sentenced in Sioux City’s federal court. Van Dam pleaded guilty in June to sexually abusing a child. In exchange, other counts were dropped.

Police arrested Van Dam on Oct. 23 after the parents of an 11-year-old boy reported the teacher had sexual contact with their son. Police say Van Dam took part in sex crimes involving numerous children over four years and that the crimes occurred at various locations, including Sioux Center Christian School, where Van Dam worked as a fifth-grade teacher.

Two women from Missouri were arrested Thursday morning on drug charges, in Fremont County. Sheriff Kevin Aistrope reports deputies were dispatched at around 10:45-a.m. to the Finder’s Keeper’s Antique Mall, for a suspicious person. Upon further investigation, Deputies arrested 22-year old’s Lauren White and Whitney Glasscock, both of Kansas City, MO., for: Possession of a Prescription Drugs (Xanax and Suboxone), Possession of Marijuana and Butane Hash Oil, and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Their bonds at the Fremont County Jail, were set at $4,300 each. The Mills County K-9 Unit assisted Fremont County Deputies in handling the investigation and arrests.

Whitney Glasscock

Lauren White

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Magazine and broadcasting company Meredith is laying off 200 more people as it continues to cut costs after buying Time Inc. earlier this year. Meredith spokesman Art Slusark said Thursday that most of the job cuts are in the New York area, but 25 will be eliminated in Birmingham, Alabama, and another 15 will be cut at the company’s headquarters in Des Moines.

Since the Time acquisition, Meredith has eliminate about 1,800 jobs and 800 other employees have left the company. In addition to the job cuts, Meredith also announced it would merge two of its cooking magazines — Cooking Light and EatingWell — into one publication with circulation of 1.775 million readers that will be printed ten times a year.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Iowa State University says Gov. Kim Reynolds paid for her family’s tickets to the Liberty Bowl nearly one month after the game. School spokesman John McCarroll said Thursday that Reynolds paid $380 to cover the cost of four tickets with a personal check dated January 27, 2018, four weeks after the Cyclones defeated Memphis 21-20. The reason for the delayed payment wasn’t immediately clear.

The Associated Press reported Wednesday that Reynolds and three relatives accepted a free flight to the game on an airplane owned by Sedgwick, which administers state workers’ compensation claims.
Iowa’s gift law bars public officials from accepting anything worth $3 from contractors and lobbyists.

But Reynolds received approval from an ethics regulator to accept the flight as a campaign contribution from Sedgwick’s CEO Dave North, one of her top donors. North says he reimbursed Sedgwick for the cost.
Reynolds’ campaign says she met with donors during the day trip.

(Radio Iowa) — New U.S. Census data shows the median household income in Iowa grew in 2017 and the poverty rate declined. The Census Bureau reports Iowa’s median household income was more than 58-thousand dollars in 2017. That’s over four percent higher when compared to 2016. When INFLATION is factored in, the data indicates Iowa’s median household income rose roughly one-and-a-half percent from 2016 to 2017. The median income is a measurement representing the exact middle, but NOT the average income of Iowans.

The Census Bureau estimates 10-point-seven percent of Iowans were living at or below the poverty level in 2017. The poverty rate for Iowa a year earlier was nearly a percentage point higher, at an estimated 11-point-eight percent.

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (AP) — A Texas man shot by a western Iowa officer during a chase has pleaded guilty after making a deal with prosecutors. Pottawattamie County court records say 29-year-old Clifton Wade, of Zavalla, Texas, entered the pleas Tuesday to two felony counts of assault on an officer and other crimes. Prosecutors agreed to drop two counts of attempted murder in exchange for Wade’s pleas.

The records say his plea is contingent on his being sentenced to no less than 12 years and no more than 25 years. Wade’s sentencing is set for Oct. 2.

Council Bluffs police say Wade sped off May 1 when officers tried to stop his pickup truck at a closed construction site and later intentionally rammed two police cruisers. One officer then shot him.

(Radio Iowa) — Just over two dozen Red Cross volunteers from Iowa are bound for the East Coast to help victims of Hurricane Florence. Keith Kuperman is Disaster Program Manager for the Red Cross in Des Moines. “We have sent out 27 Red Cross members…from the entire state,” Kuperman said. All the volunteers from Iowa who are making their way to the Carolinas and Virginia have experience in responding to disasters, including hurricanes.

“As you know, in Iowa, we’ve had plenty of disasters recently – from our flooding events to tornadoes,” Kuperman said. “So, they’ve had plenty of experience besides the national responses they’ve gone to in the past years.” In addition to the 27 volunteers, five Emergency Response Vehicles from Iowa will be in the region. The people and equipment from Iowa will initially be sent to evacuation shelters.

“After the storm passes, they will be assigned different responsibilities,” Kuperman said. “Some of the ERV drivers will have to go out and distribute emergency supplies or they could be serving food.” Red Cross officials estimate the agency will be helping as many as 100,000 people in the Carolinas and Virginia. Iowans who want to help can donate money to the Red Cross.

“They can simply call 1-800-RED CROSS, they can go to redcross.org, or they can text the word FLORENCE to 90999 to donate 10 dollars,” Kuperman said.

WATERLOO, Iowa (AP) — Waterloo police say the victim of a fatal shooting this week was the mother of a man who was found shot dead just months ago. The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier reports that 48-year-old Diane Martin was shot in her home Monday. She was later pronounced dead at UnityPoint Health-Allen Hospital. Police say an autopsy shows that she died of a single gunshot wound. Police records show Martin had reported gunfire at her home multiple times in the past few years, but no injuries were reported.

Neighbor Beverly Sanders says gunshots are now a regular occurrence in the neighborhood. Diane Martin’s son, 22-year-old Shavondes Martin, was found dead in an alley in May. Shavondes Martin’s death remains unsolved. Authorities say they don’t know if the two deaths are linked.

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and Iowa Department of Public Health (IDPH) recommend Iowans get a flu vaccine before the flu begins spreading in your community. Officials say it takes about two weeks after vaccination for antibodies that protect against flu to develop in the body, so make plans to get vaccinated early in fall, before flu season begins. The CDC recommends that people get a flu vaccine by the end of October. Getting vaccinated later, however, can still be beneficial and vaccination should continue to be offered throughout flu season, even into January or later.

A few things are new this season:

• Flu vaccines have been updated to better match circulating viruses.
• For the 2018-2019 season, the nasal spray flu vaccine is again a recommended option for influenza vaccination of persons for whom it is otherwise appropriate. The nasal spray is approved for use in non-pregnant individuals, 2 years through 49 years of age. There is a precaution against the use of LAIV for people with certain underlying medical conditions.
• No intradermal flu vaccine will be available.

For more information on the flu vaccine, go to https://www.cdc.gov/flu/about/season/flu-season-2018-2019.htm

(Radio Iowa) — A national report shows the obesity epidemic is worsening in Iowa and across the country. Iowa now ranks as the fourth worst state in the U-S with an adult obesity rate of more than 36-percent. Nadine Gracia, executive vice president of Trust for America’s Health, says no states improved on their obesity rates since 2016 and several, including Iowa, saw rates increase. “Everyone has a role to play,” Gracia says. “It really requires a multi-sector approach where we can look at how do we ensure there are further investments in programs and policies that help to improve access to healthy and nutritious foods as well as encouraging and supporting physical activity.”

More than one in three Iowa adults is now obese. Only three states have adult obesity rates higher than Iowa on the report — West Virginia, Mississippi and Oklahoma. Colorado has the lowest obesity rate, followed by the District of Columbia and Hawaii. Gracia says the leaders of Iowa’s cities and counties need to work with state and federal governments in finding ways to address obesity, which she calls a serious health consequence. “That could be, for example, health departments, in working with transportation officials and community designers to ensure communities have neighborhoods that are walkable and bikeable,” Gracia says. “Or that schools where meals are served to children, that those meals are healthy and nutritious.”

In 2016, Iowa ranked 12th nationally in obesity rates with 33.4 percent. Now, the state is the 4th worst in the country with a jump of three full points to 36.4 percent. Growing evidence suggests certain prevention programs can reverse trends, but Gracia says we won’t see meaningful declines in obesity rates until they’re more widely implemented. “We know what works, policies and programs that help to promote access to healthy and affordable foods that are nutritious, as well as being able to engage in regular physical activity,” Gracia says. “They really help to promote obesity prevention and have sustained impact.”

The report says obesity is a problem in virtually every city and town and every income and social sector. Obesity drives an estimated $149 billion annually in health care spending, and another $66 billion in lowered economic productivity. Also, one in three young adults is ineligible for military service, owing to being overweight, posing a national security vulnerability.