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Keep up-to-date with Fox News Radio, Radio Iowa, Brownfield & the Iowa Agribusiness Networks!
(West Des Moines, Iowa) – A western Iowa nursing home is facing a lawsuit filed by a woman who fell down a flight of concrete stairs at the home while seated in a wheelchair. According to a report by the Iowa Capital Dispatch, Elaine Gunderson of Battle Creek, Iowa, is suing Odebolt Specialty Care and its owners, Care Initiatives of West Des Moines, for negligence and breach of contract.
The lawsuit alleges that on July 2, 2024, the 88-year-old Gunderson was found at the bottom of a set of 13 concrete stairs that led from the kitchen to the basement of the home. Although the kitchen was considered a restricted area from which residents were barred, a staff member had allegedly propped open the door, allowing Gunderson to wheel herself into the area. The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages. The home has yet to file a response to the lawsuit.
According to state inspectors’ reports, Gunderson had propelled herself into the kitchen, through two more doors, and then toppled down the stairs leading to the basement. She was later found by a kitchen worker who heard someone yelling for help.
The Odebolt Specialty Care nursing home in Sac County, Iowa. (Photo via Google Earth)
Gunderson had lacerations to her forehead and left forearm, and an injury the staff described as a “huge gash” in her cheek. She was transported to a hospital where, according to inspectors, the records indicate Gunderson was admitted with a head wound that required seven stitches to close as well as “bruises on her head, hands, legs, hips, both eyes and all over basically.” The lawsuit alleges that Odebolt Specialty Care was charging Gunderson $342 per day for its services. She had lived in the facility since 2013.
As a result of the accident, the state proposed but then held in suspension a $9,000 fine. Federal officials imposed a fine of $14,433. Court records indicate there are at least 14 other lawsuits currently pending against the Odebolt facility’s owners, Care Initiatives. Thirteen of those cases are tied to resident deaths, and one stems from an incident involving a male intruder who was found in bed with a female resident at a Care Initiatives facility.
The lawsuits allege negligence at Care Initiatives facilities located in Pleasant Hill, Wapello, Albia, Fonda, Corydon, Waterloo, Marshalltown, Avoca, Oskaloosa, Centerville, West Branch and Corning. Several of the cases have been stayed by the courts with the plaintiffs ordered to bring their case before an arbitrator.
(Des Moines, Iowa) – Des Moines Area Community College has won a preliminary round in its legal battle with Drake University over DMACC’s new logo. The Iowa Capital Dispatch reports U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Iowa Chief Judge Stephanie Rose has granted DMACC’s motion to increase the bond that Drake must pay as a result of the preliminary injunction it won blocking DMACC’s continued use of a new logo that is similar to that of Drake’s.
Rose ordered that the bond, which could be used compensate DMACC for costs associated with the injunction should it prevail in the case, to be increased from $25,000 to $250,000. Judge Rose has also denied Drake’s motion for an order to show cause regarding the university’s claim that DMACC was not complying the injunction requiring DMACC to eliminate, within 21 days, all uses of its new logo. In denying Drake’s motion, Rose found that DMACC’s actions were “based on good faith.”
Drake University, citing the attire worn by its bulldog mascot, seen above, is suing Des Moines Area Community College for trademark infringement over the latter’s use of the letter “D” in a collegiate-style font. (Photo illustration from U.S. District Court exhibits)
Erica Spiller, vice president of student affairs at DMACC, said it “took an enormous team effort” to comply with the court’s order and said that “to then have to defend ourselves against Drake’s unreasonable allegations that we defied the Court’s order was an affront to our faculty, staff, and corporate, educational, and community partners across central Iowa.”
In arguing a higher bond was justified, DMACC had submitted over 30 exhibits, including invoices and price quotes for new materials and products that were needed to comply with the injunction. In 2024, Drake sued Des Moines Area Community College in federal court over the latter’s recent rebranding effort. DMACC’s marketing featured a single-character logo of the letter “D” in a block-style, collegiate font that was similar to the logo used by Drake for the past 122 years.
Since then, the legal hostilities between the two schools have escalated. DMACC has filed a counterclaim in the case, accusing Drake of defamation. Drake has filed a motion seeking to disqualify DMACC’s attorneys from the case. After Drake won the injunction blocking DMACC’s continued use of its new log0, DMACC went to court to increase the bond Drake had to post. Drake then argued that DMACC wasn’t complying with the injunction. Spiller said DMACC remains open to settling the case and has offered to switch its logo to a variation of the school’s ‘D’ logo that has been in use at DMACC for more than a decade.
In a written statement, Drake University President Marty Martin said, “We respect the court’s decision to increase the bond amount while recognizing that costs incurred by DMACC were a result of it continuing to invest in a brand strikingly similar to Drake’s after we made numerous efforts in good faith to reach a resolution outside of the courts. Drake is confident the bond will be returned when DMACC is permanently enjoined.”
Martin noted that the court’s ruling last November granting the injunction stated that Drake had established a likelihood of success on the merits of its lawsuit, and that he’s hopeful the college can “move on from this matter without further appeals and litigation.”
(Griswold, Iowa) – The Cass County Farm Bureau is hosting a Legislative Forum and you are invited to attend! The event will be held this Saturday, February 22 from 9:00 – 10:00 AM at the Griswold Library (505 Main Street, Griswold)
Representative Tom Moore and Senator Tom Shipley will be in attendance to speak with attendees regarding agriculture issues in our community and state. There will be snacks and drinks provided, and the event is open to anyone in the community!
Rep. Thomas Jay Moore (R-Griswold) (official photo)
Farm Bureau encourages members and community residents to use this opportunity to talk with our elected officials, regarding topics affecting our rural communities and agriculture.
Senator Tom Shipley
(Radio Iowa) – While many Iowans enjoyed those spurts of warm weather we had during January, the temporary respites from winter may have killed some of our trees now that we’re back in the deep freeze. Tivon Feeley, the Iowa DNR’s forest health program leader, anticipates moderate to severe winter burn damage statewide to conifers, like white pines. Feeley says the January thaws forced some trees to use the water reserves in their needles.
“So even though the ground is frozen, the ambient temperature above is warm, and the conifers are tricked, especially the non-native conifers, when they think that it’s springtime: ‘Let’s start using up the water reserves,’ but the root system is still frozen,” Feeley says, “so they can’t get more moisture up into that tree, and so they dry out, and that’s what winter desiccation is.”
The symptoms include browning or bleaching of the needles, trees losing needles, and eventually, tree death. Feeley says we may not see the full impact of the winter burn until much warmer weather sets in, like in late May or early June. “You look at our eastern red cedar right now. They’re brown. They’re dormant. They’ve evolved in our climate. They know what to expect, and they’re going to stay brown until we get all that spring rain, and then they’ll start to green up late,” Feeley says. “Our non-native conifers are not used to that, so as soon as it’s warm, they think it’s spring, and they’ll start trying to use water up that they don’t have.”
Photo courtesy of ISU Extension and Outreach
There’s really nothing Iowa homeowners can do at this point in the year to save the trees if they’re burned, but Feeley says to remember this situation in several months when autumn returns. “The best thing to do to prevent this is to mulch around the base of your tree, and if we’re dry in the fall, which is pretty common in Iowa, and you have non-native conifers, to water that all around them to get an ample moisture built up to carry it through these warm days,” Feeley says, “because later this week, it looks like we’re going to warm up again, so it could be another situation where we’re set up for this winter desiccation.”
If needles on the tree are dead but the buds are alive, he says new plant foliage will regrow to replace the winter-burned foliage. If both the buds and needles are dead, Feeley says the tree will not recover.
(Radio Iowa) – A plan to let Iowans prepare for natural disasters by setting aside money in a tax-free catastrophic savings account is under review in the Iowa legislature. Representative Austin Harris, a Republican from Montour, says a dozen other states have similar laws on the books. “This idea has kind of come out of some of the natural disasters that we’ve seen the last five years in Iowa, whether it’s the derecho or some of the flooding we see in northwest Iowa,” Harris said, “so it’s an idea for Iowans to set aside money for whenever catastrophe may happen.”
Many homes in Greenfield were leveled by a tornado on May 21, 2024. (Photo by Mike Peterson, KMA Radio via Radio Iowa)
There would be lifetime limits on how much could be deposited in the accounts. Limits for Iowans who have insurance on their home would in the one- to two-thousand dollar range, while Iowans without insurance could save far more, with the limit based on the assessed value of their home. However, no more than 350-thousand dollars could be held in one of these proposed catastrophic savings accounts.
Withdrawals for disaster-related expenses would not be subject to the state income tax.
(Red Oak, Iowa) – A collision at the entrance to the Red Oak High School parking lot this (Wednesday) morning, caused a police estimated $6,500 damage altogether, but no one was injured. According to Red Oak Police, a 2017 Ford Explorer driven by 38-year-old Michela Williams, of Red Oak, was stopped at the entrance to the high school on N. 8th Street, and waiting to enter the roadway. A 2010 GMC Terrain SUV driven by an unidentified male, was traveling south and attempting to turn west into the parking lot, when the vehicle slid on the icy roadway and struck the Ford SUV.
Williams was cited for Failure to have Insurance (accident related). The other driver was issued a written warning for Failure to Maintain Control. The accident happened at around 10-a.m., Wednesday.
(Atlantic, Iowa) – The Atlantic Police Department is warning residents that they are now issuing citations for vehicles that have not been moved off of City streets so the snowplows can clear the streets. In a social media post Wednesday morning, the A-PD says “As we posted a few days ago, we have been attempting to help the Public Works Department with clearing the city streets. We found that after making that post, many individuals had still not moved their vehicles from city streets so that the roads could be cleared.
“Officers began issuing citations to vehicles yesterday evening that had not moved since the cessation of snowfall. However, some of these citations were marked as a violation of a snow emergency. The city of Atlantic has not enacted a snow emergency.” Vehicles that were issued citations were in violation of an ordinance limiting parking to 24-hours. The ordinance states “No person shall park any vehicle for a continuous period of more than twenty-four hours, on any public street, alley, or City-owned off-street parking area following the cessation of snowfall. 
“Many of these vehicles,” Atlantic Police said, “had not moved since the previous snowfall.” The citations have been updated with the City, and any that have been written as a violation of a snow emergency now show that they were in violation of 24 hour parking in reference to the city code mentioned.
The fine for a parking violation during snow removal efforts, is $30.
(Greenfield, Iowa) – The Adair County Board of Supervisors, during their meeting this (Wednesday) morning, accepted the resignation of the Walnut Township Trustee, and appointed his replacement. Supervisor Jodie Hoadley…
The Board tabled approval of an Information Technology (IT) Agreement with Access Systems, until they could receive more information from Auditor Mandy Berg. The Supervisors approved Life Insurance Plan Options by a vote of 4-to-1, with Supervisor Hoadley voting No. The expanded coverage will cost the County an additional $3,902.40/per year, and provides a $20,000 benefit amount per employee
The Board discussed and acknowledged receipt of a notice for proposed Mid-American Energy Projects. Mid-American officials said they are considering putting a tower in the northeast part of Adair County. Once again, here’s Supervisor Hoadley.
The tower will be between 25- and 30-meters (or about 80 to near 100-feet) tall, depending on the location and elevation of the (as yet to be selected) sites. Company officials say turning the lights off will save them money, and is an attempt to make them a “Good neighbor,” by not having the flashing lights on all night long. The move does not mean there will be any additional wind turbines in Adair County. Supervisor Hoadley pointed out the County has a moratorium on any new wind turbines and Solar panel installations.
A Mid-American spokesman said with regard to Monday’s press release about plans to develop two natural gas-fired combustion turbines near Orient, in Adair County. The company purchased land for the project several years ago.
Those turbines are expected to generate 465 megawatts of power. They would only run about 10-percent of the time if extra energy generation is needed to meet demand after all the other sources of power are in use. The facility encompasses about 20-acres, with the substation occupying about six-acres. The plant brings with it about a half-dozen high paying jobs.
In other business, the Adair County Supervisors approved a longevity raise for Secondary Roads Department employee Janelle Meisenheimer, who was been with the County for 30-years, according to Engineer Nick Kauffman. Kauffman discussed with the Board the County’s 5-year construction program, which he will also submit to the Iowa Department of Transportation.
(Atlantic, Iowa) – The Cass County Auditor’s Office is issuing an important reminder for residents applying for U.S. passports. Auditor Kathy Somers says “Many people may not be aware that the official passport application form is free, and that some unofficial websites may charge unnecessary fees. When applying for a passport, use the U.S. Department of State’s website, www.travel.state.gov, or visit a passport acceptance facility. Be cautious of third-party sites that charge for forms, as they are not official sources.”
The Cass County Auditor’s Office serves as a passport acceptance facility, and the forms are available there at no cost. While there is a fee to apply for the passport itself, the forms are free.
If you need assistance, please call the Cass County Auditor’s Office at 712-243-4570 or contact any other passport acceptance agency.
(Des Moines, Iowa) – The Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR), through a partnership with Alliant Energy, is offering a mixture of hardwoods, low-growing ornamental and evergreen tree species for $25 each. Alliant Energy customers can purchase up to two trees to be picked up at the following locations:
Submit an order form, available online at www.iowadnr.gov/trees, to reserve your trees.
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