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(Podcast) KJAN 8-a.m. News, 2/6/2019

News, Podcasts

February 6th, 2019 by Ric Hanson

More State and area news from KJAN News Director Ric Hanson.

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Prosecutor says woman took video of boy locked in basement

News

February 6th, 2019 by Ric Hanson

ELDORA, Iowa (AP) — A prosecutor says an Iowa woman accused of helping torture her boyfriend’s 8-year-old son and confining him in a basement took video of the boy’s treatment. Prosecutors allege Traci Tyler and Alex Shadlow locked the boy in their home, in a space under the basement stairs, for at least nine hours a day in 2017. Investigators say the boy slept on concrete and had to use a tin cup for a toilet.

A prosecutor told a judge Tuesday during Tyler’s trial that Tyler recorded video showing the boy desperate to use a bathroom and eventually urinating. Tyler’s attorney says she was following the advice of medical professionals when she had the boy ask for permission to use a bathroom. Shadlow is also charged with kidnapping. His trial starts June 24.

Governor backs adding anti-abortion language to state constitution

News

February 6th, 2019 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) — Republican Governor Kim Reynolds supports an attempt by G-O-P legislators to change Iowa’s constitution after the Iowa Supreme Court ruled last year that the document provides women with a fundamental right to an abortion. “I’ve made it very clear that I’m pro-life. I’m proud to be pro-life,” Reynolds told reporters late this morning. “I’m never going to stop fighting on behalf of the unborn.”

A resolution from Senate Republicans proposes an amendment saying Iowa’s Constitution “does not secure or protect a right to an abortion.” That exact language would have to be approved by the Republican-led legislature this year or next year — and then AGAIN by lawmakers 2021 or 2022 before Iowa VOTERS could decide whether to add the amendment to the state’s constitution. Reynolds is critical of conversations Democrats in other states are having on abortion-related issues. “How horrified and appalled I am with what I see taking place in Virginia, the conversation in New York and other states that are contemplating abortion-on-demand, late-term abortion.”

A district court judge last month overturned an abortion restriction Reynolds signed into law last May. The law sought to ban abortions after a fetal heartbeat may be detected, around the sixth week of a pregnancy. The governor says the legal team reviewing THAT ruling hasn’t yet decided whether to ask the Iowa Supreme Court to review the lower court’s decision. The Iowa Supreme Court last May overturned a state law that would have imposed a three-day waiting period for women seeking an abortion.

(Podcast) KJAN Morning Sports report, 2/6/2019

Podcasts, Sports

February 6th, 2019 by Ric Hanson

The 7:20-a.m. Sportscast with Jim Field.

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Governor reacts to $4.15 million settlements for two Iowa Finance Authority employees

News

February 6th, 2019 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) — Governor Kim Reynolds is asking Iowa’s attorney general about the state’s options now that two women who accused a state agency director of sexual harassment are being awarded settlements worth more than four-million dollars. “We heard from one of the victims that said, ‘I’m ready to move on with my life and to put this in the past,'” Reynolds says, “and that’s what this has done.”

One of the women issued a written statement Monday, calling former Iowa Finance Authority director Dave Jamison’s conduct “horrific and appalling.” An investigation found one former and one current Iowa Finance Authority employee had been subjected to verbal and physical harassment. Reynolds isn’t ruling out the idea the state may take some sort of legal action against Jamison to try to offset the four million dollars taxpayers are paying. “We’re consulting with the AG’s office to consider what our state’s options are once the settlements are finalized,” Reynolds says.

Reynolds has repeatedly said she has “zero tolerance” for sexual harassment in state government. “We’re never going to stop doing everything that we can to change the culture and really raise what the expectations are for administrators and employees that come to work here every single day,” Reynolds says. The state’s solicitor general says awarding cash settlements to the two women avoids what could be more costly legal action against the state.

Grant Writing 101 Scheduled March 12 in Harlan

News

February 6th, 2019 by Ric Hanson

HARLAN, Iowa – Representatives of nonprofits, local government, schools and other organizations are encouraged to register for Grant Writing 101, which will be presented from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 12 at the Shelby County Extension office, 906 6th Street, Harlan. Grant Writing 101 will provide hands-on training in seeking and writing successful grant applications. To register, call ISU Extension and Outreach – Shelby County at 712-755-3104. There is a $15 registration fee which covers the training, materials, and a light meal that will be served at the start of the program.

Participants are encouraged to bring a laptop, iPad or tablet device to the workshop, if they have one available. Grant Writing 101 will be presented by Jane Nolan Goeken and Steve Adams, Community and Economic Development program specialists with ISU Extension and Outreach. Goeken and Adams will assist workshop participants in exploring various public and private funding sources, and provide instruction and tips on planning projects and writing successful grant applications.

For more information about the workshops, contact Goeken at jngoeken@iastate.edu or 712-240-2504.

(Podcast) KJAN Morning News & Funeral report, 2/6/2019

News, Podcasts

February 6th, 2019 by Ric Hanson

The area’s latest and/or top news stories at 7:06-a.m. From KJAN News Director Ric Hanson

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Nebraska woman gets another start date for Iowa murder trial

News

February 6th, 2019 by Ric Hanson

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) — A judge has granted another trial delay for a Nebraska resident accused of stabbing to death a woman in northwest Iowa. The trial of 21-year-old Melissa Camargo-Flores was scheduled to begin Feb. 19, but attorneys sought a delay because of the case’s extensive pretrial process. Woodbury County District Court records say the judge Monday set a status conference for March 29, when a new trial date likely will be ordered. In addition to this coming Feb. 19 , her trial was scheduled to start Sept. 18 and July 10 last year.

Camargo-Flores has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder in the Sioux City slaying of 24-year-old Kenia Alvarez-Flores on April 8, 2018. Court documents say Camargo-Flores admitted stabbing Alvarez-Flores. Camargo-Flores told investigators she’d been involved in a relationship with the victim’s boyfriend. Authorities say the two women were not related.

Cass County Extension Report 2-6-2019

Ag/Outdoor, Podcasts

February 6th, 2019 by Jim Field

w/Kate Olson.

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Advocates for Alzheimer’s patients lobbying legislators

News

February 6th, 2019 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) — Advocates, Tuesday, asked state legislators to pass a law requiring hospitals to give clear instructions to caregivers at home when Alzheimer’s patients are discharged. “I am here wearing purple on behalf of the Alzheimer’s Association.” That’s Becky Orr Montgomery, daughter of the late Johnny Orr — the former Iowa State basketball coach. “I’m involved in this because my mother had it. Her grandfather had it. All of her cousins died of it,” Orr Montgomery says. “My mother had it for 15 years.”

Romie Orr was 72 years old when she was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s.  “I included my children in caring for my mother so that they would understand how I want to be treated because I’m pretty sure I’m getting it,” she says, with a laugh. “You never know. My didn’t have it, so I might have gotten that side, but planning, nonetheless, for the future.” The Alzheimer’s Association is also asking legislators to set aside a million dollars to help low-income Iowans make modifications to their homes, so Alzheimer’s patients can avoid more expensive nursing home care as long as possible. Sandra Robertson of Des Moines is among the crowd lobbying legislators. Her mother was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s at age 48. “My brother, Jay Allen, is a singer/songwriter in Nashville, Tennessee, and he wrote a song called ‘Blank Stares’ for our mother,” she says. “This last year he toured across the U.S., singing that song at different events and has brought just a huge awareness to what people are dealing with.”

Three weeks ago, Robertson’s mother was transferred to a care facility because the family could no longer care for her at home. “It’s stressful at times, but we’re adjusting o.k. and we’re very thankful for the opportunity to be here today and be the voice for my dad and for my mother,” Robertson says. There are about 64-thousand Iowa Alzheimer’s patients in Iowa today.