(Radio Iowa) – Simpson College president Jay Byers was found dead was at the president’s residence near the Indianola campus Thursday during a wellness check. The 54-year-old Byers was a Simpson alum and had been president of the college since July 2023.

Byers had previously been the C-E-O of the Greater Des Moines Partnership, and prior to that had been an assistant to Iowa Congressman Leonard Boswell. Byers had taken some time off this summer after the university said he was injured in a one-car accident.

The cause of death is under investigation and classes at the college have been canceled until April 22nd.

(Radio Iowa) – The new Iowa Cold Case unit has given families hope they could finally find out what happened to their loved ones. The latest tool in that effort are playing cards with cold case information on them that are going to Iowa’s prisons and jails. Haley Elliott was at the announcement of the cards and talked about how tough it is to not know what happened to her aunt Ruthie Kingery-Pohlmeier. “We don’t know anything. How many people were involved? Why did you choose her? What led up to this, and how did you know her? I don’t understand how there’s nobody who knows anything. There’s got to be someone out there who knows what happened,” she says. “It wasn’t just a body or a random person. It never was. She was my aunt, a friend, a sister, and a daughter with a beautiful soul.”

Kingery-Pohlmeier was found dead outside a Des Moines bowling alley in April of 2004. Brandi Weber Elliott says the playing cards offer more hope they will get some answers the case of her grandparents Bill and Kay Wood. “Hope that getting fresh new eyes on our cases is just what they need. Hope that more people will come forward with more information they have. And in the future, we will have justice for William and Grandma,” she says. Elliott read a letter from her mother.

“Someone knows what happened and who did this. Please step up and get us answers where we can find my mom, and we will let the DCI cold case handle who did this,” Elliott says. Bill Wood’s body was found in the couple’s burned out home in rural Norwalk in 2011. The autopsy showed he had been shot several times. A red pickup the couple owned was found at an apartment in Kansas City, but Kay Wood has never been found. Realtor Ashley Oakland was shot to death inside a model townhome in West Des Moines in April 2011. Her case has not been solved. Her brother Josh Oakland hopes the card effort works to bring information to the Cold Case unit.

“We’re really excited about what this opportunity presents for not only our family but for all of the other victim families that are here with us today. This new group is highly motivated, and we’re excited to see what they can get done. Iowa’s Attorney General says other states have had success with the playing guards generating new information and solving cold cases in other states.

(Radio Iowa) – Iowa high school students soon will have to answer at least 60 of the 100 questions on the U-S Citizenship Test correctly in order to graduate. The requirement, which will start for the Class of 2027, is in a bill that won final legislative approval yesterday (Thursday). It’s one of the governor’s top priorities. Republican Representative Bob Henderson of Sioux City led House debate.

“Will the knowledge of the heritage and the history and the framework our country make a good citizen? No, but a lack of that knowledge is almost certain to prevent a person from becoming a good contributing citizen,” Henderson said, “and sadly there can be found an abundance of examples in our current situation.” The test will be multiple choice, students will be given the questions in advance and they can take it multiple times until they pass.

Critics say students will be memorizing the answers rather that learning about how government works. Representative Elinor Levin, a Democrat from Iowa City, says the bill does not get to the actual goal of improving civics education and getting students engaged in their community. “The fact is that a 100 question, multiple choice test given to a 14, 15, 16, 17, or 18 year old is never going to be the best way to get them more civically engaged,” Levin said.

Representative Chad Ingels, a Republican Randalia who voted against the bill, says high school students could dig deeper if they were required to pass not just one semester, but two semesters of U-S government classes. “I am fully supportive of the idea that we need to increase the understanding of government and the role of citizens in government by our young people,” Ingels says. “I do not believe requiring a test for graduation provides the outcomes we are looking for.” Henderson says passing the test will be a valued achievement.

“This is not going to produce an ideal citizen, but it is a starting point and. by the way memorization is an important fact of learning,” Henderson said. “I would imagine that all of you would know from 7×8 is.”

Henderson is a retired math teacher. And seven times eight equals 56.

(Red Oak, Iowa) – Police in Red Oak report a man was taken into custody Thursday night, for Disorderly Conduct. 28-year-old Kyle Andrew Nicholson (city of residence not listed) was arrested at around 8-p.m., in the 1100 block of Irene Court. He was transported to the Montgomery County Jail and held on a $300 bond.

The Iowa State Patrol reports two people died and three others were injured in two separate Iowa crashes, Thursday. An accident at around 4:10-p.m. in Appanoose County resulted in the death of a man from Milo. The Patrol says a 2003 Buick LeSabre driven by 59-year-old Wesley Laverne Devore, of Milo, was traveling north on Highway T-30, at the same time a 2002 Chevy Express van driven by 55-year-old Jonathan Wayne Dorman, of Exline, was traveling southbound. The Buick crossed the center-line of the road and struck the van head-on.

Devore died in the crash. His passengers, 78-year-old Wortha May Devore, and 81-year-old Robert Wesley Devore, both of Promise City, were injured, along with the driver of the van. The passengers in the Buick were not wearing seat-belts. Wortha Devore was flown by AirEvac to a hospital in Des Moines. Robert DeVore and Jonathan Dorman were taken by ambulance to the hospital in Centerville.

And, at around 2:15-p.m., Thursday, one-person died when a semi tractor-trailer hit the rear of a car, in Cedar County. The Iowa State Patrol reports the semi, driven by 27-year-old Adam Weise, of Lowden (IA) was traveling east on Highway 30. A 2015 Chevy Malibu driven by *59-year-old Loretta J. Frana, of Lowden (IA) was turning onto Taylor Avenue from eastbound Highway 30, when it was struck by the semi. The semi came to rest on the shoulder of the road. The car came to rest in the southeast ditch. The Loretta Frana died at the scene.

(Red Oak, Iowa) – The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office reports a man from Red Oak was arrested Thursday evening on two active Montgomery County warrants. Mason Franzen was arrested at around 6-p.m. on the warrants for Violation of Probation, Driving While Barred, and Theft in the 5th Degree. His bond at the Montgomery County Jail was set at $4,000.

(Glenwood, Iowa) – The Glenwood Police Department reports the arrest on Wednesday (April 16th), of 35-year-old William Vogl, of Neola. Vogl was arrested for Driving Under Suspension. He posted a $300 bond and was released.

The G-PD said also, there were two reported incidents of theft. On April 13th, the Mills County Storehouse of Glenwood reported a theft, and on the 17th, a Glenwood woman reported an incident of burglary and theft. Additional details concerning those incidents were not provided.

(Radio Iowa) – A former Iowa Public Safety Commissioner announced he is running for the Democrat nomination in Iowa’s Second Congressional District. Kevin Techau is a sixth generation Iowan, and an Air Force veteran. Techau says he’s running for the seat now held by Republican Ashley Hinson in part because he believes the congresswoman has been a divisive presence.

“There’s just no reason we can’t work together for the benefit of Iowa, and right now, that’s not happening with Ashley Hinson. I’m dedicated to making Iowa safer and bringing economic opportunities back to Iowa,” he says. Hinson was reelected last year with nearly 60 percent of the vote. Techau says Hinson isn’t living up to her campaign promises. “Washington is full of broken promises, and Ashley Hinson is right at the front of that line. She ran the most recent campaign on economic issues, bringing prices down, fighting inflation, and she’s done nothing of the sort,” he says.

Hinson’s campaign released a statement saying that Techau is “a radical leftist who wants to return to (President) Biden’s open border agenda and push the woke policies that Iowans rejected in November.” The statement says Techau is out of touch with Iowa values and would be a rubber stamp for A-O-C’s squad of radicals in Congress. It also says Techau is a Hillary Clinton supporter, Barrack Obama appointee, and Joe Biden donor.

(Creston, Iowa) – The Union County Sheriff’s Office says no injuries were reported following an accident that occurred today (Thursday) at around 7:24-a.m., on Ringgold-Union Street. Authorities say a 16-year-old male was driving a 2005 Chevy pickup truck westbound, when, according to the teen, his vehicle was forced off the road by a semi that was traveling in the middle of the gravel road. The driver of the semi did not stop after the pickup went into the north ditch.

In the ditch, the pickup struck a culvert that went under the roadway. The semi was never located. The teen was wearing his seat belt when the accident occurred. Damage to the pickup was estimated at $2,500. The Union County Secondary Roads culvert sustained an estimated $100 damage.

(Radio Iowa) – Iowans with disabilities have a new spokesperson. Lisa Campbell of Tama is the new Ms. Wheelchair Iowa and she’ll spend the next year traveling the state, making public appearances at parades, county fairs and sporting events to advocate for people with disabilities. Campbell says winning the state crown was a real thrill. “Oh, my gosh, it was amazing,” Campbell says. “It was something that I have wanted for a while now and I’m just really, really glad that I got it.”

Campbell was born with spina bifida, a condition where the spine and spinal cord didn’t form properly, and she got her first wheelchair around age five. “I just take life one day at a time,” Campbell says. “I try not to get too down on myself. If I can’t do something, I know my limits, so I try to stick within those limits, but I do try to eventually push myself and see what more I can do.”

The Ms. Wheelchair Iowa program aims to focus -not- on disabilities but on the -abilities- of people who use wheelchairs. Campbell says people shouldn’t be shy about asking her questions about her disability. “I’m able to actually do a lot actually. When I was a preteen, my mother got me private swimming lessons so I am able to swim without any assistive devices,” Campbell says. “I can do pretty much everything, just in a different way.”

Ms. Wheelchair Iowa Lisa Campbell (MWI photo)

Each titleholder in the Ms. Wheelchair Iowa program focuses on a key issue during their year in the sash and crown, and Campbell explains her platform. “I’m trying to get amusement parks a little bit more wheelchair accessible. Just because we’re in a wheelchair doesn’t mean we don’t like those things,” Campbell says. “I absolutely love roller coasters. I love amusement parks and it’s really hard for a wheelchair user to get around in them because a lot of the rides are not equipped for wheelchair users.”

Campbell will represent Iowa at the Ms. Wheelchair America National Competition in Grand Rapids, Michigan in August.

To support the program, contact the state coordinator:

Samantha Edwards
202 North 2nd Avenue, Apartment 13
Marshalltown, Iowa 50158