An effort to reduce the improper use of handicapped parking spaces goes into effect January 1st. The State of Iowa will no longer issue “lifetime” handicapped parking permits — those blue plastic placards with a wheelchair symbol in white that are to hang on the rear view mirror when a vehicle is parked in a designated handicapped space. Mark Lowe — the interim director of the Iowa Department of Transportation — says the D-O-T has issued about half a MILLION of those “lifetime” permits and they’re supposed to be turned into the D-O-T when the person dies.

“There are people that use their grandmother’s placard when they’re out driving their car without grandma in the car, so to speak, or that retain placards after somebody has passed away,” Lowe says. Representative Larry Sheets of Moulton said during House debate of this change that too many non-expiring placards are being used “well beyond the death” of the person who got the permit. “Such misuse of these placards reduces the chance for a truly needy person from finding an available parking spot.”

Representative Mary Mascher of Iowa City also spoke out on the issue during House debate. “We’ve all seen and experienced and watched individuals park in handicapped spots where they shouldn’t be,” Mascher said.

The state isn’t yanking the “lifetime” handicapped parking permits that are out there, but starting in January, Iowans with a doctor’s recommendation will only be able to get permits that are good for either six months or five years.

(Radio Iowa)

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 3:40 a.m. CST

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A U.S. Department of Agriculture official has announced in Iowa today a new policy designed to allow farmers to take land out of a conservation program early if the land is to be transferred to the next generation of farmers. Agriculture Deputy Under Secretary Lanon Baccam says beginning Jan. 9, the USDA will offer an early termination opportunity for certain Conservation Reserve Program contracts.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The head of Iowa’s agriculture department says the state is recovering from the loss of millions of laying hens caused by the 2015 bird flu outbreak. Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey says Iowa’s egg production in October was roughly 1.30 billion eggs, up more than 70 percent from the same time last year. The average number of laying hens on hand in October was roughly 53 million, up 55 percent from last year.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — An inmate from Iowa with a history of violence toward guards and one daring escape has died in a Wisconsin prison one month after he was transferred there. Authorities said Thursday that 26-year-old Justin Kestner was found unresponsive in his cell Dec. 21 at the Dodge Correctional Institution in Waupun. A medical examiner says autopsy results haven’t been completed.

URBANDALE, Iowa (AP) — Authorities have arrested a man suspected of involvement in a traffic accident who pepper-sprayed an Urbandale officer who stopped him. The accident was reported early Thursday. Police say the officer pulled over a vehicle that matched the description of a vehicle reportedly involved. Police say that after the officer started talking to the driver, 25-year old Brandon Bordinat, the man sprayed the officer and fled the scene.The Urbandale Police Department told KCCI late Thursday afternoon that had been arrested and charged with assault on a police officer with a weapon, interference with official acts resulting in injury and interference with official acts while using a weapon.

(This is a correction to our earlier post which stated the woman was arrested. The report clarifies she was Cited and issued a summons. KJAN News apologizes for the confusion)…..A traffic stop at around 12:05-a.m, Thursday, resulted in a woman being cited and issued a summons with regard to a traffic stop and related drug offenses. The Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Office says 32-year old Meagan Marie Travis, of Council Bluffs, was cited for Possession of a Controlled Substance/Marijuana, and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia (A marijuana grinder, digital scale and pipe filters).  The woman was cited after being pulled over by a Pott. County Deputy in the area of Antique City Drive, for a registration violation. A small amount of marijuana in a pink container along with drug paraphernalia was found in the vehicle.

And a Nebraska man was arrested at around 8-p.m., Wednesday, for OWI/1st offense, after he was located in the 23,000 block of Idlewood Road in Pott. County, following a citizens report of a possibly intoxicated driver whose pickup was “all over the road,” and had nearly entered a ditch numerous times. 58-year old Jeff A. Kangas, of Omaha, was interviewed by a Deputy and taken into custody.

Officials with the Cass County Health System (CCHS) report Brett Altman, Doctor of Physical Therapy, Master of Business Administration, and Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives (FACHE), will begin as the new Chief Executive Officer of Cass County Health System on Tuesday, January 3^rd. A public reception to welcome Mr Altman will be held on Thursday, January 5^th from 10 am to noon in the CCHS atrium, including a visit from the  Atlantic Area Chamber of Commerce Ambassadors from 10 – 10:30 am.

Ned Brown, Chairman of the CCMH Board of Trustees, says “Mr. Altman has the vision, leadership skills and industry expertise to continue to move our organization forward. We are excited to have him on board.”

Brett Altman

Altman has served as President and CEO at Skiff Medical Center in Newton, for the past 2 ½ years.  He began his career at Skiff as the Director of Physical Therapy in 1994. Over the past 22 years he has moved up through the organization, serving as Director of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Interim CEO, Clinical Operations Officer and Chief Operating Officer before becoming CEO in 2014.

In a Press Release, Altman said “I’ve loved my career at Skiff, but this opportunity was too good to pass up. Cass County has a fantastic health system that is vital to the community. My family and I are very excited about becoming part of the Cass County community.”

Altman also noted the strength of the CCHS staff, saying  “I was tremendously impressed with everyone I met, and I can’t wait to get started. I am honored to have the opportunity to help lead CCHS into the future, and I look forward to working together with a very engaged team.”

The Cass County Sheriff’s Office reports a Shelby County woman was arrested Tuesday. Deputies arrested 26-year old Kaleigh Marie Turner, of Harlan, on a District Court warrant for Probation Violation. Turner was taken to the Cass County Jail and later released upon sentencing.

A federal court is siding with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and against environmental groups in a case that aimed to hasten water clean-up efforts. The Gulf Restoration Network and groups from Mississippi River watershed states argued the EPA needs to enforce more specific water quality standards. On appeal, a U.S. District Court ruled the Clean Water Act leaves that authority to the states.

Susan Heathcote, water program director for the Iowa Environmental Council, says the problem of cleaning up Iowa’s lakes and rivers is “the toughest problem we’ve ever tackled.” She says it’s going to take considerable public dollars and cooperation from both rural and urban Iowans. “This is a long-term investment that we have to make and it’s really an investment that we have to make for our children and our grandchildren because the nutrient levels are not going to go down overnight,” Heathcote says. “They didn’t come up overnight and they’re not going to go down overnight.”

Heathcote says the court ruling puts more pressure on local efforts. Heathcote says, “We know that increased leadership from EPA to enforce the Clean Water Act is probably less likely with the upcoming Trump administration, so we are looking at all of our options including new litigation.” Heathcote says the EPA has already settled a suit with the state of Missouri, agreeing to enforce standards for water quality in lakes there. She says now the challenge is to fund the needed landscape changes, like more conservation practices on farmland. She’s hopeful environmental, agricultural and public health groups can work together to pressure the legislature to fund more water quality projects.

(Radio Iowa)

State officials are now overseeing the operation of a northwest Iowa nursing home and it will be shut down by February 1st. The Abbey in Le Mars has operated for 45 years, but federal officials will not longer make Medicare and Medicaid payments to the nursing home because of a “history of serious quality issues.” Dawn Fisk of the Iowa Department of Inspections and Appeals says records indicate “The Abbey” has been on a federal watch list for some time.

“The Abbey has been a ‘special focus facility’ since August of 2014 and typically the process for a ‘special focus facility’ is over the course of two years as having been identified in that program, the facility will be able to improve the quality of care and be able to graduate from that program,” Fisk says. Fisk says The Abbey, however, failed to make the necessary improvements during that probationary period.

“They’ve had a history of substandard care that’s been identified over the course of those two years,” Fisk says. The nursing home has 52 beds, but currently has only 23 residents. Fisk says staff in two state agencies as well as the private insurance companies that now manage Iowa’s Medicaid program are working to find new homes for them.

“The Department of Inspections and Appeals will continue to have a presence in the facility until all residents have been moved to other suitable residential settings,” Fisk says. “After February 1st or after the facility actually closes — after all residents have been moved, we won’t have an on-site presence anymore.” Staff from the state’s long-term care ombudsman will meet with patients and their families next week at The Abbey to answer questions.

Fisk says it’s been seven years since government officials have ordered that an Iowa nursing home be closed. According to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services website, The Abbey rated “much below average” on health inspections and had been fined at least 10 times for substandard care.

(Radio Iowa)

Iowa Department of Corrections spokesman Fred Scaletta, today (Thursday), said a man serving a 35-year sentence on two-counts of 1st Degree Theft, has died at a prison in Wisconsin. Justin Kestner, who was transferred Nov. 21st to Wisconsin as part of an interstate compact, was serving his sentence from western Iowa’s Woodbury County on the Theft charges, and on charges out of eastern Iowa’s Lee County, for being an Habitual Offender and Operating Motor Vehicle without Owner Consent. His sentence began Jan. 11, 2010.

On December 21, 2016, Kestner was found unresponsive in his assigned cell at Wisconsin Department of Corrections Dodge Correctional Institution. Responding staff initiated lifesaving measures but were unsuccessful.

No additional information is available at this time. The Dodge County (Wisconsin) Sheriff’s Office is investigating the death.

Police in Council Bluffs have arrested a man on numerous charges associated with an alleged sexual assault and kidnapping. 37-year old Dusty Rhodes, of Council Bluffs, was arrested following an investigation that began at around 7:20-a.m. today (Thursday), when Council Bluffs police officers were dispatched to a home in the 2300 block of South 9th Street to check the welfare of an adult female resident.

A 911 caller told dispatchers that the (Unidentified) 35-year old female resident had been sending text messages stating that she had been sexually assaulted and was being held against her will by her live-in boyfriend, Dusty Rhodes.

Dusty Rhodes

Upon arrival officers were able to make contact with the female who managed to escape through a bathroom window. As officers were attempting to make contact with Rhodes, who was still in the residence, he ran out the back door of the home, carrying his eight year old daughter.

Rhodes was taken into custody following a short foot pursuit. The daughter was not harmed during the incident. Detectives from the Criminal Investigation Division responded and assumed responsibility of the investigation.

Dusty Rhodes is currently in police custody at the Pottawattamie County Jail on charges of Kidnapping 1st Degree, Sexual Abuse 3rd Degree, Child Endangerment, Aggravated Domestic Assault and Eluding.

RENWICK, Iowa (AP) – The once-bustling town of Renwick, Iowa, has lost many businesses as its population declined. But when its sole bar closed this year, a group of friends pooled their money to repair and reopen the place as the Blue Moose Saloon. It was an impressive achievement, and one that is becoming more common as population continues to trickle away from rural America.

Residents of more small towns are scrambling to hold onto places where people can still get together. Some are pooling their money to save bars, groceries and cafes. Others are creating co-ops or seeking private or government grants.

In the village of Decatur, Nebraska, a dozen people put up money when the Green Lantern Steakhouse burned down.