COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa – A Newton man was sentenced on January 15, 2025 in Council Bluffs U-S District Court, to 100 months (a little over 8-years) in federal prison for receipt of child sexual abuse material.

According to public court documents, between October 2022 and January 2024, Charles Gordon Feagins, 24, purchased and received images and videos containing child sexual abuse material. During a search of Feagins’s Newton residence, law enforcement seized electronic devices that had more than 500 images and videos containing child sexual abuse material.

After completing his term of imprisonment, Feagins will be required to serve a fifteen-year term of supervised release. There is no parole in the federal system. Feagins was also ordered to pay $45,000 in restitution. Feagins will be required to register as a sex offender.

United States Attorney Richard D. Westphal of the Southern District of Iowa made the announcement. This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation-Child Exploitation Task Force.

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa – A Council Bluffs man was sentenced on January 16, 2025 to 11 years (132 months) in federal prison for conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine.

According to public court documents, in May 2024, law enforcement conducted a traffic stop on a vehicle and identified the driver as Mexican national, Jose Remiro Casillas, Jr., 29. Casillas was in possession of over two pounds of methamphetamine and almost $2000. Casillas was distributing methamphetamine while on probation in Nebraska for a drug-related offense.

After completing his term of imprisonment, Casillas will be required to serve a five-year term of supervised release. There is no parole in the federal system.

United States Attorney Richard D. Westphal of the Southern District of Iowa made the announcement. This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, Iowa Department of Public Safety-Division of Narcotics Enforcement, and Southwest Iowa Narcotics Enforcement Task Force.

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa – A Shelby County man was sentenced on January 14, 2025 to 270 months in federal prison for conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine.

According to public court documents, on January 2, 2024, law enforcement pursued a vehicle in a high-speed chase through Harlan and Avoca, including on Interstate 80. The driver of the vehicle was identified as Sean Patrick Gifford, 41. On January 31, 2024, Gifford engaged in a second high-speed chase with law enforcement and was in possession of over 190 grams of methamphetamine and $29,845. Evidence located during a forensic search of Gifford’s cell phone corroborated his drug trafficking activities and linked him to the distribution of 4.5 kilograms of methamphetamine.

After completing his term of imprisonment, Gifford will be required to serve a five-year term of supervised release. There is no parole in the federal system.

United States Attorney Richard D. Westphal of the Southern District of Iowa made the announcement. This case was investigated by the Council Bluffs Police Department, Southwest Iowa Narcotics Enforcement Task Force, and Iowa State Patrol.

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa – A Council Bluffs man was sentenced on January 21, 2025 to 210 months in federal prison for receiving child pornography.

According to public court documents, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children received CyberTips that an account, later determined to be associated with Todd David Matheson, 63, had files containing child sexual abuse material. Law enforcement seized electronic devices during a search of Matheson’s Council Bluffs residence and an Omaha residence. A forensic examination of the seized electronic devices showed that Matheson used the devices to receive and distribute images and videos containing child sexual abuse material.

After completing his term of imprisonment, Matheson will be required to serve a five-year term of supervised release. There is no parole in the federal system. Restitution to the victims will be determined at a later date. Matheson will be required to register as a sex offender.

United States Attorney Richard D. Westphal of the Southern District of Iowa made the announcement. This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation-Child Exploitation Task Force, Council Bluffs Police Department and Omaha Police Department.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit https://www.justice.gov/psc.

(Radio Iowa) – A Des Moines hospital is the first in Iowa to perform brain surgery using a new type of treatment called GammaTile therapy. Dr. Sam Schroeder, radiation oncologist at UnityPoint Health — John Stoddard Cancer Center, says a postage stamp-sized chip that’s embedded with radiation is implanted in the brain after a tumor is removed. Aggressive brain tumors, which impact more than 200-thousand Americans a year, tend to resist traditional treatments and have a high recurrence rate.

“If the tumor has returned, the GammaTile allows us to deliver radiation from the inside out, which is very different than the vast majority of radiation treatment, particularly within the brain,” Schroeder says. “I think it’s a very attractive way to treat an area that’s in a challenging location.” If a brain tumor returns, he says it’s often treated with external radiation, and a surgeon may go back in and remove the new tumor. That’s where this new technique might best be used.

“There could be that risk that if there are any cells left behind, it can come right back and doing subsequent procedures can be very challenging,” Schroeder says. “So a way of thinking about the GammaTile is, it’s like an insurance policy to minimize the likelihood that a spot should come back in these fairly challenging situations.” The first GammaTile surgery in Iowa was performed at UnityPoint in Des Moines within the last month, and Schroeder says the technique may only be used on 10 or 20 patients, at least initially.

UnityPoint Health photo

“We won’t be treating hundreds or thousands of patients a year with this,” he says. “We think it is a very important tool to be able to offer because sometimes, patients are doing very well, aside from maybe a spot that’s causing issue within the brain. So we want to make sure that we can take care of these patients and give them the best treatment possible.”

The FDA-cleared procedure, called Surgically Targeted Radiation Therapy or STaRT, is designed to delay tumor regrowth while preserving healthy brain tissue. Schroeder says it targets tumor cells precisely where recurrence is most likely, bringing new hope to people with life-threatening brain tumors.

(Radio Iowa) – The author of a bill to establish a five-year moratorium on new casino licenses says it will be considered in a House committee next week. Representative Bobby Kaufmann’s bill would block the bid for a new casino in Cedar Rapids. Backers of the Cedar Crossings Casino project say it would inject competition in Iowa’s gambling industry. Kaufmann rejects that.

“There is no such thing as a free market in the casino industry. That is a fallacy and it’s complete B.S.,” Kaufmann says. “The Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission is a government body that chooses winners and losers and the free market does not exist.”A southeast Iowa lawmaker has introduced a bill in the Iowa Senate that would establish a five-year moratorium on new gambling licenses. Kaufmann’s bill goes farther, to set criteria in state law for regulators who’d be reviewing casino license applications in the future.

Backers of the Cedar Rapids project point to an estimate indicating the Cedar Crossings Casino would generate 60 MILLION dollars in gambling taxes for the state. Kaufmann, a Republican from Wilton, says hundreds of people who live in his House district are employed at the Riverside casino that would lose customers to a Cedar Rapids casino. “The benefit does not outweigh people losing their jobs in my personal opinion,” Kaufmann says.

The Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission is scheduled to vote February 6th on the Cedar Rapids casino plan. It’s possible a fast-tracked bill could be signed into law by the governor before then. Governor Reynolds has not indicated whether she supports a moratorium on new licenses.

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa – A Council Bluffs man was sentenced on January 16, 2025 to 22 years (264 months) in federal prison for conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine.

According to public court documents, Ricardo De Jesus Guzman-Corona, 39, a Mexican national, facilitated the importation and distribution of mass amounts of methamphetamine to the Omaha/Council Bluffs metropolitan area over a three-year period while living in Mexico. Guzman-Corona conspired to distribute methamphetamine with individuals linked to the Sinaloa cartel. Guzman-Corona was responsible for the distribution of more than 4.5 kilograms of methamphetamine in the Omaha and Council Bluffs areas.

After completing his term of imprisonment, Guzman-Corona will be required to serve a five-year term of supervised release. There is no parole in the federal system.

United States Attorney Richard D. Westphal of the Southern District of Iowa made the announcement. This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, Southwest Iowa Narcotics Enforcement Task Force, Council Bluffs Police Department, and Omaha Police Department.

(Malvern, Iowa) – Officials with East Mills Child Care Solutions, say an event to celebrate the commencement of construction for the Lakin Foundation Child Development Center of East Mills, will be held on Saturday, February 1st, 2025, beginning at 3-p.m. The celebration event takes place at 905 2nd Avenue in Malvern,  followed by a brief program and reception at the Charles E. and Florence M. Lakin Community Center, located at 61321 315th Street, in Malvern.

The Lakin Foundation Child Development Center of East Mills is the culmination of years of visioning, hard work, and support from a dedicated board and community. The revitalized building which formerly functioned as a nursing home will be able to support up to 150 children and will offer before and after school care as well as 3 year old preschool in addition to regular childcare services. The building is adjacent to Wabash Landing, a new 61 house subdivision, and along a new Safe Routes to School project.

Merit Construction is the general contractor and Alley Poyner Macchietto is the project architect. Major funding sources for the project include Charles E. Lakin Foundation, Malvern Bank, Western Iowa Networks, Mills County, City of Malvern, Iowa West Foundation, Community Foundation for Western Iowa, Mills County Community Foundation, Jay & Jessica Burdic, Roger & Lavina Johnson, Kohll’s Pharmacy and Montgomery County Memorial Hospital. The project was also awarded a Community Development Block Grant which is being administered by SWIPCO as well as IEDA Grayfield Tax Credits. The project is 94% fundraised towards a $4.9M goal, and is still seeking financial support to complete the capital campaign. A grand opening is slated for November 2025.

About East Mills Child Care Solutions

East Mills Child Care Solutions was formed in 2022 by parents and community leaders actively working to solve the inadequate childcare options in the East Mills Community School District. With the help of local and regional partners, EMCCS will be able to accomplish their mission of creating reliable childcare, allowing for the future growth of East Mills communities.

(Radio Iowa) – A bill to significantly increase the fines for excessive speeding has unanimously cleared a subcommittee in the Iowa House. Representative Joshua Meggers of Grundy Center has been a state trooper for 18 and a half years. “In my time with the Iowa State Patrol, I’ve seen an increase in 100 mile an hour citations,” he says, “and last year I had quite a few.” Meggers and other state troopers wrote more than a thousand tickets in 2024 to drivers who were traveling 100 miles an hour or more on a roadway.

Meggers says the highest speed he encountered came at the beginning of his career.  “Back in 2006 or 2007, 126 (miles an hour) on Interstate 80,” he says. But it’s not just the Interstates where drivers are being clocked at triple digits. “This past summer, I was working a two-lane road in a 55 mile an hour zone and I stopped a gentlemen for 103 in a 55,” Meggers says. “His excuse was he had a bad day at work and just wanted to get home.”

Photo via the ISP Facebook page (file photo)

If his bill becomes law, the fines for speeding within 20 miles an hour above the posted speed limit would stay the same, but anything above that would merit a 285 dollar fine, with five more dollars tacked on for every mile an hour above 20 miles more than than the speed limit. It means the fine for driving 100 miles an hour in a 55 mile an hour zone would be 410 dollars.