RIPPEY, Iowa (AP) — A west-central Iowa woman has been sentenced to one year of probation for holding a large party in May during a government-order ban on gatherings of 10 or more people. Television station WOI reported Friday that 38-year-old Charity Snavely was also sentenced earlier this month to 10 days in jail, but that sentence was suspended. Snavely pleaded guilty to a public health violation stemming from a May 23 party at her Rippey home in which police said she served 13 minors alcohol.

At the time, Gov. Kim Reynolds had ordered a ban on such gatherings in an effort to slow the spread of COVID-19.

CORALVILLE – The Iowa Board of Corrections voted unanimously today (Friday) in support of the appointment of Mike Heinricy as the next warden of the Iowa Medical and Classification Center, in Coralville. His appointment was recommended to the board by a department hiring committee. Heinricy has served as the deputy warden of the Iowa Medical and Classification Center since May of 2020, and he served as the Deputy Warden at the Anamosa State Penitentiary from May of 2016 to April of 2020.  He started his more-than-17-year career in corrections with the Anamosa State Penitentiary as a Correctional Officer in 2002. Throughout his career in corrections, he has held such positions as: Officer, Counselor, Unit Manager, and Deputy Warden.

Commenting on the approval by the board, Iowa Corrections Director Beth Skinner said, “IMCC is probably our most complex prison in the entire system. The team that works there is extremely dedicated to their job, and they deserve a leader that will be dedicated to helping them succeed. I am positive that Warden Heinricy is going to serve this team, and the taxpayers of Iowa well as the leader of this extremely important correctional facility.”

(Radio Iowa) – The 138th annual Old Soldiers Reunion takes place this weekend, in Griswold. The annual Military March into the town begins just outside the city limits at 4:15-p.m., Saturday. Landon Peterson is a member American Legion Post 508 in Griswold. “Veterans, families of veterans (and) our theme is ‘Hometown Heroes’ so law enforcement, fire and EMS — anybody who is involved in that is welcome to join in our road march.”

Tractors will be parked on Cass Street in Griswold for a tractor show that starts at 8 a.m. Saturday. Peterson says that’s been a popular part of the annual event for the tractor owners AND members of the community. “That’s something that they’ve always been done and they were really excited to know that we were going to continue with the reunion so they didn’t have to miss one, because they really enjoy that,” Peterson says.

Other events at this year’s Old Soldiers Reunion include a parade and a street dance on Saturday night.

(Radio Iowa) – The search for a former Wartburg College music instructor who left a Waterloo care facility Monday night is entering its fourth day. Authorities have been looking for 46-year-old Michael Jensen of Waverly since he escaped from Ravenwood Specialty Care through a window. Jensen’s wife, Jen, says her husband was diagnosed with brain cancer in 2012. “He’s had diminished capacity since 2016,” Jen Jansen says. “Mostly from the brain cancer and complications from the treatments.”

Michael Jensen

Jensen says the past few months have been extremely difficult on the family. Jensen and the couple’s three daughters, one of whom just graduated from Waverly-Shell Rock High School, haven’t been able to visit Michael because pandemic restrictions. “He’s been in a nursing home for two years with cooperative care,” Jensen says. “… To be quite honest, with COVID, we’ve been at the end of our rope. It had been 121 days on Monday since I’ve seen him and been able to hug him.”

Authorities believe Michael Mitchell may be trying to return to the family’s home in Waverly. Nearly 50 volunteers showed up in Janesville Thursday to help look for him and they spent the morning searching property between Cedar Falls and Waverly before severe weather ended the effort around noon. Mitchell says she’s extremely grateful for the support her family has received from friends and strangers. “When I drove in the parking lot, I had to a minute to have a good cry,” Jensen says. “It’s overwhelming to see … a parking lot full of volunteers, who are taking their summer day.”

Firefighters and first-responders went door-to-door in Janesville Thursday night. Even though there have been no signs of Mitchell since he disappeared, Jen Jensen is confident he will be found.”We’re going to find him,” Jensen says. “I have so much confidence in this law enforcement team. Waterloo P.D. has been fantastic and homeland security has been wonderful.”

The search for Jensen will resume at 9 AM today. Volunteers should report to the Incident Command Center at the Island Park Boat House in Cedar Falls.

(Radio Iowa) – This week the state’s Test Iowa program has passed the 100-thousand mark in number of tests conducted. Governor Kim Reynolds announced in April that a group of Utah companies were being paid 26-million dollars to supply the test kits. The first Test Iowa site opened April 25th in Des Moines.  “Last week, Test Iowa sites across the state surpassed the capacity of 3000 tests per day,” Reynolds says.

There are now 20 “Test Iowa” sites in the state. Some are drive-through sites. Others are set up in partnership with local hospitals and clinics. According to the governor, 21 percent of the COVID-19 tests that have been done in Iowa since March have been run through the Test Iowa program. Reynolds says Test Iowa is currently the state’s number one source for tests. “As demand for testing continues to grow, Test Iowa appointments are filling up quickly, so even though we’ve far exceeded our capacity for the past two weeks, we’re mindful that we can push our capacity limits only so far,” Reynolds says. “While our volume of tests are in good supply, we are considering different ways to adjust operations at some of our test sites and at the State Hygenic Lab so that we can further expand capacity to meet the demands of Iowans that want to be tested.”

Iowans must use the Test Iowa app or call to schedule an appointment time for a COVID-19 test. Sites in Des Moines and Waukee account for 40 percent of the tests conducted through the Test Iowa program this month.