WOODWARD, Iowa [KCCI] – Woodward police have filed charges against four employees at the Woodward State Hospital following an incident involving the assault of a dependent adult.

Woodward police Chief Jim Graham said the charges stem from an event captured on video in August, where a then-staff member, Mercedes Denise Wilson, assaulted a 21-year-old resident diagnosed with a mild intellectual disability. The incident reportedly occurred when the victim was in a chair.

A report filed with the Department of Inspections and Appeals details that the victim was trapped underneath the chair, and the staff member pressed down on it. The assault lasted about 15 minutes, according to criminal complaints, during which the victim was pushed out of different chairs multiple times.

Graham said three other staff members were present in the room but did not intervene. These staff members have been charged with neglect of a dependent adult. At least one of these cases has been dismissed, while another still has a warrant out for their arrest.

The Iowa Department of Health and Human Services oversees the Woodward Resource Center. In a statement officials said  “Iowa HHS takes the safety of our staff and clients very seriously, including reporting and conducting internal investigations into any reported incidents. The individuals involved in this incident are no longer employed by Iowa HHS.”

(Sidney, Iowa) – Fremont County Sheriff Kevin Aistrope reports the following arrests:

(Radio  Iowa) – Jim Leach, a Davenport native who represented Iowa in congress for 30 years, has died at the age of 82. Leach — first elected to the U-S House in 1976 — rose to be Republican chairman of the powerful House Banking Committee. Dave Loebsack — the Democrat who defeated Leach in 2006 — calls Leach a statesman.

“As I said many, many times — I wasn’t running against Jim Leach. I was running against total Republican control of Washington, D.C. at that time,” Loebsack said. “…I respect him for what he did in office. I respect him for breaking with his party as much as he did. I often tell people he was one of only six Republicans who voted, at the time, against the Iraq war resolution.”

That vote was in 2002. In 2008, Leach, a Republican, endorsed Barack Obama and the following year Obama appointed Leach to be chairman of the National Endowment for the Humanities. In 2022 during an Iowa Public Radio interview, Leach said he’d become a registered Democrat and was backing Democrats running for the U-S House to make congress more functional.

“We have to come together as a society and if we don’t come together as a society, we’re going to have a very difficult time leading ourselves, let alone leading the world,” Leach said. Leach moved from his hometown of Davenport to Iowa City when congressional district lines changed for the 2002 election. Secretary of State Paul Pate served as mayor of Cedar Rapids from 2001 to 2005 when Leach was representing the city. “He truly listened and tried to do right by us,” Pate says.

Leach, a three-sport athlete in college, won a state wrestling title in 1960 as a high school senior and was elected to the National Wrestling Hall of Fame. After graduating from Princeton, earning a masters from Johns Hopkins University and studying at the London School of Economics, Leach entered the foreign service and, for a time, shared an office with Dick Cheney. In the past decade, Leach served in several academic roles. Leach briefly led the Institute of Politics at the Kennedy School at Harvard and taught at Princeton. He’d also been a visiting professor and a senior scholar at the University of Iowa.

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) and U.S. Rep. Randy Feenstra (R-Iowa) today (Wednesday), called for the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) to support commerce on the Missouri River instead of removing 36 of its Aids to Navigation (ATONs) north of Blencoe, Iowa.

Navigation on the Missouri River is an integral part of moving Iowa’s inputs and goods both domestically and worldwide. In recent years, navigation up to Sioux City, Iowa has increased, and planned development projects are expected to further increase traffic in years to come.

“In Iowa, we are proud to feed, fuel, and supply consumers around the globe with products straight from the heartland. Our beautiful rivers are integral to sharing those products with the rest of the world.” said Senator Ernst. “The removal of this infrastructure on the Missouri River threatens the livelihoods of Iowans in our manufacturing and agricultural communities. I urge the Coast Guard to reconsider this decision.”

Read the full letter here.

DES MOINES, Iowa – Governor Kim Reynolds and Department of Public Safety Commissioner Stephan Bayens honored heroic citizens and first responders at the 2024 Sullivan Brothers’ Award of Valor and Governor’s Lifesaving Awards ceremony held this (Wednesday) morning in the Iowa Capitol Rotunda. A total of seven individuals from communities across the state were recognized for their courageous responses.

“Today’s award winners met moments of sudden, life-threatening danger or severe hardship with inspiring courage and presence of mind,” Governor Reynolds said. “They are true heroes who represent the very best of our state, and it was a privilege to recognize them this morning.”

Added Department of Public Safety Commissioner Stephan Bayens, “These Iowans intentionally and selflessly provided aid and assistance in times of need. It’s an honor to celebrate those who placed the needs of others above their own and answered the call to serve.”

The Governor’s Lifesaving Awards Program recognizes recipients in four different categories, including:
Meritorious Service, which is awarded to those individuals in recognition of courageous and unselfish service rendered during a time of distress.
Outstanding Service, which is presented to persons who have performed a courageous act in an attempt to save an individual who was in danger of losing his or her life or to individuals who unselfishly rendered service in a time of emergency.
Lifesaving, which is awarded to those individuals who have attempted to save the life of another individual, but did not put their own life in jeopardy.
Lifesaving with Valor, which is awarded to those individuals who at the risk of their own life, attempted to save that of another.

The Governor’s Lifesaving Awards honored four civilians:

• Randy Hartley, Adel – Outstanding Service Award
  

  Randy Hartley, Adel – Outstanding Service Award

• Tyler Borneman, Waterloo – Lifesaving Award
• Evan Scheck, Spirit Lake – Lifesaving with Valor Award
• Joseph Salmon, Spencer – Lifesaving with Valor Award

The Sullivan Brothers’ Awards of Valor honors the memory of George, Frank, Joe, Matt, and Albert Sullivan – all in their 20s – who served together on the USS Juneau in the Guadalcanal naval battle in the fall of 1942. All five brothers died together in a tragic attack when two Japanese torpedoes struck their ship.
Kelly Sullivan, the granddaughter of Albert Sullivan, participated in this year’s ceremony. Kelly is a third-grade teacher in Waterloo who sits on the commissioning committee of the new USS Iowa and also commissioned the USS The Sullivans. A total of three first responders, all with the Oelwein Police Department, were honored at today’s ceremony:

• Officer Gage D. Voshell
• Officer William E. Ward
• Officer Codi R. Wurzer

Click for event photos 
Click to visit the web page for lifesaving summaries and recipient photos

To make future nominations, or for general information on the Sullivan Brothers’ Award of Valor and Governor’s Lifesaving Awards, visit the DPS website.

(Radio Iowa) – More than 62-thousand Iowans are living with Alzheimer’s disease or another form of dementia, and if one of them is on your holiday gift list, some well-intentioned presents may no longer be appropriate or practical for them. Lauren Livingston, spokeswoman for the Iowa chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association, says some gifts can help a loved one in the early stages of the disease continue to navigate and maintain their independence.

“Something like a label maker, so they can stay organized and keep track of everyday household items that they might have trouble remembering,” Livingston says. “Same thing with dry erase calendars to keep them organized. Also, gifts for ride-sharing if they’re not able to drive anymore, because it’s still important that they get out there and stay active and social.”

Other gifts for someone in the early stages might include a G-P-S tracker which can help to keep them safe while allowing them to stay independent, or a “memory” calendar featuring family photos and filled in with birthdays and anniversaries. Livingston says the gift of music is always a plus.

“Music can be something that helps trigger memories for people in the middle to later stages,” she says. “So putting a playlist together of their favorite artists and songs from back in the day can really help spark those memories, and it oftentimes just makes them happy or puts them in a good mood to listen to that music that they loved.” For people in the mid to later stages, Livingston says soothing gifts can help with anxiety, like a handheld massage ball, a soft blanket, or a fluffy bathrobe.

“Comfortable, loose fitting clothing that’s easy for them to get themselves dressed and not need someone else to help as much,” Livingston says. “Another thing to think about is adaptive dining accessories, so no-spill cups, plate guards, silverware with special handles that make it easier to grasp so they can be more independent while they’re eating.”
Another thoughtful gift might be framed photographs or a photo collage created specifically for your loved one, and include people’s names on the photos.

Other suggestions include: A memory phone that can store pictures with names and contact information, puzzle and activity books, card games and board games, or an outing to a movie, play or sporting event.

Find more ideas at https://www.alz.org/iowa.

(Radio Iowa) – The Washington County Board of Supervisors has unanimously approved the first reading of an ordinance that restricts where wind turbines could be built. The vote came Tuesday following a public hearing on the issue Monday. Washington County farmer Greg Coch told K-C-R-G T-V that he supports the ordinance. ”It gives a lot of different people a voice cause a lot of people don’t want them. They don’t want them in their view-scape. They don’t want them in their environment and it gives those people an opportunity to have more of a setback than you would ordinarily see,” Coch said at the public hearing. Coch urged supervisor to pass the ordinance at their meeting Tuesday. Linda Boston was raised on a farm and told K-C-R-G T-V that she’s against the ordinance.

“It’s really not going to help us here immediately, it just helps in the long run. Our carbon footprint. And shouldn’t we be concerned about having the most healthy environment that we can for our world?” Boston said. The ordinance requires a guarantee that new wind turbines would not impact the value of any property within two miles. It also require turbines to be at least one mile away from most gathering places such as schools, libraries, and churches unless there is a written agreement. Supervisor Jack Seward Junior spoke about the ordinance before the vote. ”In my estimate, the whole basis for the industry as it exists today is a political push adopted by “big government” intending to fight “climate change” by removing carbon fuels from the economy,” Seward said. Supervisor Bob Yoder also expressed doubts about the turbines.

“They talk about green energy and I don’t think it’s as environmentally friendly as what they’re billed to be,” Yoder said. Supervisor Marcus Fedler says ordinance provides a way for both sides to give their input. ”So I’m looking forward to hearing from the people and let the people that want these, they still have to provide a reasonable reason why we should discriminate against other folks that don’t have a seat at the table,” Fedler said.

The Washington County Supervisors need to approve the ordinance two more times before it passes.

• John Johnson, Engineer, has been with the department for 42 years.  He will be retiring at the end of this month.
  

  Pictured: Atlantic Mayor Grace Garrett, Wayne Brosam, John Johnson, Tom Cappel, AFD Chief. (Photo submitted)

• Wayne Brosam, Assistant Chief, has been with the department for 27 years. Brosam has resigned from AFD due to a move outside of the fire district.
• Others recognized:
  • Russel Peck (38 years)
  • and Rich Smith (32 years).