OTTUMWA, Iowa (AP) — The man who served longer than any other as the chief justice of Iowa’s Supreme Court has died. Reece Funeral Home in Ottumwa says 90-year-old Arthur McGiverin died Sunday afternoon at Mercy Hospital in Iowa City. A funeral Mass is scheduled for June 21 at St. Mary of the Visitation in Ottumwa.

Supreme Court Chief Justice Mark Cady said in a news release Tuesday that McGiverin “will long be remembered for his steady leadership and all he did to improve our system of justice. He served with the utmost integrity and civility.”

McGiverin practiced law from 1956 until he was named a district court judge in 1965. He joined the high court in 1978 and was chief justice from 1987 until his retirement in 2000.

Despite warnings from the FTC, a public NFL victim and an MTV reality show, the number of “catfishing” victims increased by 50% in 2018 compared to three years ago. “Catfishing” is when someone fakes an online identity to scam victims for money, romance or physical harm. Catfishers use stolen photos of attractive people and impersonate them. They’re also highly skilled at manipulating others into trusting them. Some move fast while others take years developing relationships with the people they swindle. But across the board, catfish share one thing in common: they always have an excuse why they can’t meet you in person.

These online relationships can last for months or even years! A study released by SocialCatfish.com — a leading resource to verify online identities —  shows the Number of Catfish Victims in Each State using data from the FBI for 2018.

Iowa ranked No. 30 in the country with 165 reported victims.  Vermont reported the fewest victims of all 50 states with just 25 cases. The 10 States with the Most Victims include: California (2,105), Texas (1,238), Florida (1,191), New York (782), Pennsylvania (577), Washington (493), Virginia (480), Michigan (461), Illinois (463), North Carolina (432).

The 10 States with the Fewest Victims were: Vermont (25), South Dakota (31), Wyoming (33), North Dakota (35), D.C. (36), Montana (42), Delaware (48), Rhode Island (51), (Hawaii (59) and New Hampshire (68). Of the U.S. Territories, Puerto Rico had the most with 49 victims and American Samoa had the fewest, reporting zero cases. The state with the lowest cost per victim is South Dakota, with $3,281 per crime. The state with the highest cost per victim is North Carolina, with $47,886 per crime. According to the FBI Internet Crime Report, the total amount of money lost to catfish in 2018 in the US was $323,952,461.

5 Signs You Are Being Catfished:

• If they ask for money: This may sound so obvious, but if the online friend or romantic interest whom you have never met asks you to send money or provide your bank information, you are being catfished.
• If they can’t meet in person: If the person strings you along without meeting in person.  They may even eventually agree to a day or time but have an “emergency” that day such as a cancelled flight or a medical issue.
• If they are stationed overseas: If they claim to be stationed overseas or working on an oil rig or platform, as an excuse for not meeting.
• If they can’t video chat: If the person refuses to video chat ever.
• If they seem to good to be true: Some people who catfish feel bad about themselves and take on the online persona of a model or successful businessperson and the like.

To avoid becoming a victim, thoroughly fact-check and verify online identities using google and SocialCatfish.com or other, reputable sites before meeting in person or providing any information about yourself.

Source: SocialCatfish.com

Adair County Sheriff Jeff Vandewater had a very brief report this week. The report said 50-year old Connie Jae Emgarten, of Casey, was arrested Saturday on a Cass County warrant for Failure to complete jail time on an original, Possession of a Controlled Substance/3rd-or subsequent offense, charge. Emgarten remained in the Cass County Jail as of Monday (June 3rd).

(Radio Iowa) — TWENTY Democratic presidential candidates will appear at a series of forums in five Iowa cities next month. The events are sponsored by AARP and The Des Moines Register. Radio Iowa news director O. Kay Henderson and Kathie Obradovich of The Register, will moderate the discussions. Each of the 20 candidates will appear at just one forum. The events, which will begin at 2 p.m. each day, will be held the week of July 15th. They’ll be staged in Des Moines, Davenport, Cedar Rapids, Sioux City and Council Bluffs.

These are invitation-only events for AARP members, and the audience at each forum will be comprised of 200 to 250 Iowans. The event in Council Bluffs takes place 2-p.m. Saturday, July 20th, and features the following candidates who are scheduled to speak:

• 2:00 p.m. Sen. Bernie Sanders
• 2:30 p.m. Mayor Pete Buttigieg
• 3:00 p.m. Gov. Steve Bullock
• 3:30 p.m. Mayor Bill DeBlasio

The forums will be livestreamed at www.DesMoinesRegister.com

(Radio Iowa) — While the U-S House gave final Congressional passage of a disaster relief package last (Monday) night, Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley says it won’t go nearly far enough to bail out all Iowans who’ve been impacted by flooding.  “This package is a good start of addressing the flooding needs of Iowa,” Grassley says. “I think not only me but a lot of other senators feel that there’s going to have to be a second disaster bill between now and September 30th.”

The 19-billion dollar relief package is comprehensive, Grassley says, but it only includes money to repair roads, bridges and levees that were damaged in the -first- round of flooding, and there’s been many millions of dollars -more- damage since March and April. “Just think, Burlington just had overruns of their levees and downtown flooded there this week, it wasn’t there before,” Grassley says. “Davenport, three or four weeks ago, then Missouri River flooding again, so, we haven’t calculated any of this.”

Grassley was pleased the package included his amendment to provide coverage for farmers who lost millions in corn and soybeans that was stored in bins which were inundated by flooding. Overall, Grassley says the disaster relief package should help those affected, especially in southwest Iowa, in their continued efforts to rebuild and recover.  “You may start to help these communities with this money,” Grassley says, “but if it doesn’t last, including what we haven’t calculated yet in Iowa, then there’s going to have to be more spent.”

The bill that passed the House last night had passed the Senate last month. The president is expected to sign the measure into law yet this week.

DEWITT, Iowa (AP) — Authorities have released the name of a man who died after his pickup truck collided with a firetruck in eastern Iowa’s Clinton County. The collision occurred around 9:45 a.m. Sunday at a rural intersection just north of Allens Grove Park. Authorities say the Donahue Volunteer Fire Department firetruck was heading north on a non-emergency test drive when driver Clayton Schoenthaler began turning around to head south back to the station. Its right rear dual wheels were then struck by the southbound pickup.

The Clinton County Sheriff’s Office says the man driving the pickup died later at a hospital in DeWitt. The Iowa State Patrol identified the man as 76-year-old Roger Galloway, who lived in Grand Mound. His passenger was identified as 74-year-old Linda Galloway, also of Grand Mound. She was taken to a Davenport hospital for treatment.