(Radio Iowa) — The Jasper County Board of Supervisors have approved a new on-site video visitation system for the county jail that would charge visitors and will eventually generate revenue for the county. Sheriff John Halferty got unanimous approval for installation of the new system this week that he says would replace the old outdated system used now. He says the current system is a video monitor with a phone that families can schedule and come in and use a monitor and a phone handset to talk to inmates.  Halferty says it has become hard to maintain and fix the old system, and it does not generate any revenue for the county. A Delaware company called HomeWAV will provide the new system. “They will install approximately 12-thousand dollars worth of equipment at no cost to us initially. They would just take the revenue from the new system that the inmates are using and pay off that 12-thousand dollars,” Halferty explains.

Sheriff Halferty says four-thousand dollars for the installation of cabling is the only start-up cost, and that will come out of his budget. The county will get paid once the revenue from the service pays off the cost of the rest of the new equipment. “They estimate at the current use it would take about three-and-a-half years,” Halferty says, “so we would not see any revenue for three-and-a-half years, but after three-and-a-half years we would then see revenue on this new system that we previously never got revenue on.”

HomeWAV will maintain and service it. Those using the system to visit with inmates will be charged 25-cents fore each minute. Once the cost of the equipment installation has been paid for, the county will get 20-percent of the revenue generated by the system and HomeWAV will get the other 80 percent. The supervisors approved a five-year contract for the new system.

The Iowa Department of Public Health (IDPH) today (Friday) announced the first flu-related death of the 2018-2019 influenza season, a middle-aged (41-60 years of age) Eastern Iowa man, who had underlying conditions or contributing factors. IDPH Medical Director, Dr. Caitlin Pedati, says this death is an indication that flu can be a serious illness. “This death is an unfortunate reminder the flu virus does have the potential to cause severe illness and death, especially in the very young, very old, or those who have underlying health conditions.”

After 10 weeks of low influenza activity in Iowa, flu activity has increased over the last three weeks and influenza has been reported in every region of the state. The CDC recommends that essentially everyone over 6 months of age should receive the flu vaccine. It takes up to two weeks after vaccination for the body to achieve full benefit against the flu virus.

The flu is a respiratory illness caused by viruses. The flu comes on suddenly and symptoms may include fever, headache, tiredness, cough, sore throat, nasal congestion and body aches. Illness typically lasts two to seven days, and often puts healthy people in bed for days. The “stomach bug” which causes diarrhea and vomiting is not caused by the influenza virus, but usually by norovirus; thus, the flu vaccine will not protect you against this illness.

To learn more about influenza in Iowa, visit http://idph.iowa.gov/influenza. Contact your health care provider or local health department to find out where the vaccine is available in your community or use the Flu Vaccine Finder at https://vaccinefinder.org.

(Radio Iowa) — There’s still no sign of an eastern Iowa man who’s now been missing for three weeks.  Thirty-one-year-old Chris Bagley was last seen in the Cedar Rapids-area on December 14, after leaving his home in Walker the previous day without his wallet. His wife said Bagley left with a person she didn’t know. Linn County Sheriff Brian Gardner says it’s being investigated as a missing person’s case. Bagley has made no calls to his family, which has offered a $25,000 reward for his safe return.

Chris Bagley

The Taylor County Sheriff’s Office reports 38-year old Robert Girard, of Lenox, was arrested this (Friday) morning, in the 1000 block of Tennessee Avenue, in Taylor County. Girard was taken into custody on active Union and Adams County warrants for failure to appear on previous charges. He was transported to Adams County where he was being held, pending an appearance before a magistrate.

The Carroll County Sheriff’s Office today (Friday) announced residents of Carroll County have the opportunity to attend FREE weapon’s classes that are needed to provide you with certification for your Permit to Carry, and which acts as a permit to purchase a firearm. If you already have a permit to carry, you do not need to take a refresher course unless you feel it would be of value.

Sheriff Kenneth Pingrey says the class is available to residents of Carroll County, ONLY, and will be held on the following dates/times:

• Saturday, Jan. 19th at 8-a.m.
• Tuesday, Feb. 12th at 7-p.m.
• Saturday, March 2nd at 8-a.m.
• Thursday, April 4th at 7-p.m.

Persons wanting to attend one of the classes must present a current driver’s license or ID card. For more information, see the Carroll County Sheriff’s Office Facebook page or call the non-emergency line at 712-792-4393.

DUBUQUE, Iowa (AP) — A Dubuque financial cooperative is finalizing plans to spend about $37 million to redevelop an iconic building in the city’s historic Millwork District. The Dubuque Telegraph Herald reports that Dupaco Community Credit Union wants to acquire and transform the property widely known as the “Voices building” into the cooperative’s new operations center. Dupaco officials are also proposing office space for additional tenants and amenities for the community.

The five-story building once served as a local manufacturing hub but has remained vacant and underutilized for decades. Dupaco Chief Marketing Officer David Klavitter says the project would allow the cooperative to honor its origins. He says the building sits in the same neighborhood where 10 meatpackers started the group in 1948. Dupaco officials say the restoration project could begin early this year.

Firefighters from Kimballton, Elk Horn and Audubon responded to a barn fire Thursday afternoon, a couple of miles east of Kimballton. Former Kimballton Fire Chief Bill Allen told KJAN News the call came in at around 3:38-p.m., from the farmstead at 1170 Highway 44. Allen said the home owner was conducting a controlled burn in a pit, when some of the embers apparently flew up and caught the roof of the barn on fire. Kimballton crews arrived first on the scene and were able to obtain a quick knock down of the flames.

They then entered the barn and put out some smoldering hay that was in the loft. Allen says there really wasn’t much structure damage, thanks in part to the slow start the fire had. Crews were on the property for about two-hours. No injuries were reported.

DAVENPORT, Iowa (AP) — Jury selection is scheduled to begin Monday for the trial of a man accused of a Davenport slaying. Scott County District Court records say 37-year-old Deondra Thomas has pleaded not guilty to charges of first-degree murder and weapons possession by a felon. Officers sent to check a report of gunshots on the morning of June 9 found 46-year-old Jason Roberts suffering from bullet wounds. He was pronounced dead later at a hospital. Police say witnesses identified Thomas as the shooter.

(Radio Iowa) — An unusually warm weekend is ahead for Iowans with forecasters calling for high temperatures in the mid-40s to mid-50s. For some cities, that’s 25-degrees above normal. State climatologist Justin Glisan says it’s a continuation of the weather we had during December, which averaged about five-degrees warmer than normal statewide. Glisan says it was a wetter month, too. “Statewide precipitation averaged about 2.09 inches and that’s about three-quarters of an inch above normal,” Glisan says. “Most of that precipitation fell as rainfall not snow. In terms of snowfall itself, we were much below average, around three inches on the ground statewide. Typically, we see about eight inches.”

Some Iowans haven’t even fired up their snow blowers yet, nor have they had to toss one shovelful of snow. Looking ahead, Glisan says it’ll likely remain warmer and wetter for several more days. “Getting into the first full week of January and into the second week, we’re slated to have temperatures well above average, which we don’t typically see in January,” Glisan says. “On the flip side of that, we do have an increased probability of precipitation over that time period.”

Any precipitation that does fall over the upcoming 10 days or so will likely come down as rain, he says, not snow.

Officials with Windstream Communications report the company has deployed fixed wireless technology to deliver broadband speeds up to 100 megabits per second (Mbps) to homes in Audubon and Greenfield.
Windstream says it is using fixed wireless technology as part of its participation in the FCC’s Connect America Fund initiative, which is designed to support network upgrades in rural areas that would otherwise not be economically feasible. Fixed wireless is not a mobile service. Pole-mounted antennas transmit a broadband signal to receivers at each eligible customer’s home or business. The performance of a fixed wireless connection is comparable to wired solutions.

Brad Hedrick, president of Windstream operations in Iowa, says “Fixed wireless technology is an alternative to traditional cable networks that enables Windstream to deploy broadband service more quickly and cost-effectively in rural areas.” Hedrick said also, “We know customers want faster speeds, and we are committed to delivering them.”  Across Iowa, Windstream has invested $28 million in infrastructure improvements so that households in a dozen cities and communities can now enjoy faster internet speeds.

To inquire about availability of fixed wireless, visit Windstream.com on the web.