CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) — A Mason City woman who pleaded guilty in a case in which prosecutors say burglarized 13 Iowa homes of patients in search of painkillers has been sentenced to more than a year in federal prison.

Federal prosecutors for Iowa say 33-year-old Samantha Jo Rogers was sentenced Monday to 14 months in prison. She had pleaded guilty in March to making false statements related to health care matters. Prosecutors dropped other charges in return for her pleas.

The thefts occurred in Cerro Gordo County. Prosecutors say Rogers accessed the private health and residence information of at least 1,900 patients and used that information to show up at patients’ homes, posing as a public health worker recovering opioid medications. On other occasions, Rogers used a crow bar to break down the patients’ doors and steal the narcotics.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate has launched a drive to get schools involved in registering young voters. The Iowa Legislature passed a law in May 2017 that lowered the voter registration age to 17 as of Jan. 1 of this year. Under the new law, those who will be 18 in time for the next general election also may participate in primary elections.

Pate on Tuesday announced plans to award schools that register at least 90 percent of their eligible students to vote with the Carrie Chapman Catt Award, named after the Iowan who was a national leader in the women’s suffrage movement.

He encouraged schools to organize voter registration events on Sept. 24, which is National Voter Registration Day.

(Radio Iowa) — More than 100 people attended a public hearing in Winterset, today (Tuesday), over a county ordinance that would ban construction of wind turbines and solar panels for the next 27 months. Madison County’s Board of Supervisors has indicated it will use that time to draft new zoning rules for the wind and solar industries. Aaron Price, chairman of the Madison County Board of Supervisors, opened the hearing by cautioning the crowd to keep things civil.

“Do not clap. Do not cheer. Do not make snide comments under your breath,” Price said. “We don’t need any of that.” People from the Winterset area and others from as far away as Algona and Amana spoke. Some argued wind turbines are disturbing the landscape — and causing rifts in families and among neighbors. Paul Ehm lives near Orient and he doesn’t like the noise or the flashing red lights on the five wind turbines operating nearby.

“We have neighbors I don’t talk to anymore. They don’t talk to me,” Ehm said. “That is a cost.” Ehm wasn’t the only person from neighboring Adair County to air grievances at the Madison County hearing. Jodie Hoadley of Orient — a member of the Adair County Board of Supervisors — said by the end of this year there will be over 500 turbines in her county.

“This has caused a lot of relationship issues in the county between family members, neighbors, people in town,” Hoadley said. “People don’t speak that have been friends for years, neighbors for years. It’s tore families apart.” Steve Shelley of Stuart, who’s also an Adair County Supervisor, has one tower on his farm and another is being erected. He urged officials in Madison County to speed up the process of drafting zoning rules for turbines.

“The moratorium, I hate to see you string it out there,” Shelley said. “If you can’t get it done in six months, I don’t know when you’ll possibly get it done.” Allen Lang of Winterset says economic gains from the turbines already in the county are coming at a cost. “It does now look different,” Lang said. “It does now sound different when we go into the countryside.” Janalee Caviness of rural Greenfield helps maintain a small group of wind turbines and she accused critics of new wind farms of having a “not in my backyard” mentality.

“Be fair about it and get real facts,” Caviness said. “Some of the stuff that’s out there is pretty wild.” This was the first airing of the proposed Madison County moratorium and it could go into effect sometime in October. Residents near properties where permits for wind turbines have already been granted pleaded with Madison County officials to stop those projects as well as any new projects.

DES MOINES – Gov. Kim Reynolds ordered all flags in Iowa to be lowered to half-staff from sunrise to sunset on Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2019, in honor of Patriot Day and in memory of those who lost their lives in the September 11th terrorist attacks.

Flags will be at half-staff on the State Capitol Building and on flag displays in the Capitol Complex. Flags will also be half-staff on all public buildings, grounds and facilities throughout the state.

Individuals, businesses, schools, municipalities, counties and other government subdivisions are encouraged to fly the flag at half-staff for the same length of time as a sign of respect.

Sheriff’s Deputies in Page County today (Tuesday), arrested a man wanted on a District Court Bench Warrant for Failure to Appear for his jury trial at 9-a.m., today.  At around 9:20-a.m., 37-year old Jonathan Lynn Gray, of Shenandoah, was arrested  at the Page County Courthouse. Gray was set to stand trial on charges of Assault on Persons in certain occupations – bodily injury, Police Dog – interference, & Interference with acts – bodily injury.

He had been out on bond prior to failing to arrive at the Page County Courthouse prior to start of his trial. Deputies from the Page County Sheriff’s Office transported Gray from the Page County Courthouse to the Page County Jail where he is currently being held on a $20,000 cash only bond, pending further court proceedings.