Two men from Council Bluffs were arrested today (Wednesday), on Burglary charges. Council Bluffs Police report 20-year old Matthew Figueroa, and 39-year old William Hall, each face a charge of Burglary in the 3rd Degree, associated with an incident at a residence in the 700 block of Lindberg Drive, in Council Bluffs.

Officers were dispatched to the scene at around 11:40-a.m. for a reported burglary in progress. The caller said two males had entered the residence and were removing items. Prior to officers arrival the caller notified police the suspects fled in a silver car.

The caller was able to get the license plate from the suspect vehicle. A Pottawattamie County Deputy located the suspect vehicle in the area of Veterans Highway and I-29. The suspect vehicle was traveling west on Veterans Highway. Officers were heading in the direction when a second Pottawattamie deputy was able to block the vehicle in at S. 24th St. and Veterans Highway.

Council Bluffs officers arrived and a felony stop was conducted. The two suspects were taken into custody. The Council Bluffs Police department would like to thank the Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Department for their assistance, and the public for calling in the information that lead to the arrest of the suspects.

New federal data indicates there was a four-tenths of a percent (0.4%) DROP in the number of Iowans who had health insurance last year. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, four-point-seven percent of Iowans did not have health insurance at any point last year. Iowa was among 14 states that saw an increase in the number of uninsured residents. It’s the first time since 2013 any state recorded an increase.

The Census Bureau’s NATIONAL estimate for 2017 indicates eight-point-eight percent of all Americans were uninsured last year. That’s roughly equal to the number of uninsured Americans in 2016.

(Radio Iowa) — Iowa’s Medicaid director says he can’t fully explain recent increases in what the state is paying for each Iowan enrolled in the government insurance program for poor, disabled and elderly Iowans. Iowa Medicaid director Mike Randol presented a 36-page budget report to the Iowa Council on Human Services yesterday (Tuesday). A member of the council asked why a chart in the report shows costs went up more than six-and-a-half percent last year and are projected to increase 11 percent this year.

“I didn’t create that chart, so I need to go back and understand the background, understand the numbers behind the chart and understand the factors that could potentially be driving the increase,” Randol said.
Governor Kim Reynolds’ Administration recently agreed to pay the private companies that manage Medicaid seven-and-a-half percent more, so that may account for part of the increased costs. Fred Hubbell, the Democrat who challenging Reynolds’ bid for a four-year term as governor, says it’s time for answers. “Every time the governor or the governor’s office comes out with a number for what we’re spending on Medicaid, it’s a different number,” Hubbell says. “…There’s hardly any real disclosure about what’s going on in calculating the costs, the savings, the expenses.”

Hubbell has promised that if he’s elected, he will begin ending contracts with the private companies managing Medicaid patients’ care and bring the program back under state management. Reynolds says the administrators she hired after becoming governor in May of last year have assured her that to control costs, private companies should continue to managed Medicaid.
“With the contract negotiations, we hold the managed care providers accountable,” Reynolds says. “I’m not going to continue to hear the stories I hear as I travel across the state.”
Patients have complained about denied care. Providers say they aren’t being paid by the private companies and some have taken out loans to meet payroll. More than 680-thousand Iowans are enrolled in Medicaid.

A man who pled guilty to arson for his role in burning the Cedar Bridge in Madison County has died. KCCI reports that 19-year-old Joel Nathan Davis, of Norwalk, died after suffering a gunshot wound. The Madison County Sheriff’s Office says Davis was found last Thursday in a vehicle off of Cumming Road. They say it is unclear what happened to Davis.

An obituary by O’Leary Funeral Services in Norwalk says Davis died Tuesday night at Unity Point – Iowa Methodist Hospital in Des Moines. Earlier this year Davis pled guity to second-degree arson for his role in burning the Cedar Bridge in April 2017.

ACKLEY, Iowa (AP) — Separate trials in new locations have been ordered for a central Iowa man and woman accused in the torture and basement confinement of the man’s 8-year-old son. Hardin County court records say a judge granted a request Monday from 30-year-old Alex Shadlow, who’s pleaded not guilty to a kidnapping charge. Shadlow had requested separate trials, citing the likelihood that his defense would conflict with that of Traci Tyler, who’s also pleaded not guilty to kidnapping.

The judge tentatively set Tyler’s trial to begin Nov. 5 in Cerro Gordo County and Shadlow’s to begin Oct. 15 in Dickinson County. The new locations were sought because of pretrial publicity in Hardin County.
Authorities say the boy was locked up for at least 9 hours a day last summer in a space under the basement stairs at the couple’s Ackley home. He slept on concrete and had no access to a bathroom.

A Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Deputy dispatched to a disturbance northwest of Oakland, Tuesday evening, arrested an Oakland man. 41-year old Nathaniel Niles Sorensen was arrested on two felony counts of Child Endangerment, one with bodily injury, and two counts of Domestic Assault, also one with injury. Alcohol was listed as a factor in the altercation. According to the report, the incident involved his 15-year old son, 12-yeare old daughter, and 39-year old common-law spouse. The 15-year old suffered apparent, minor injuries during the incident. Sorensen was being held in the Pott. County Jail on a $5,000 bond.

The Sheriff’s Office said also, 42-year old Alan Levern Walter, of Grant, was arrested Tuesday evening, following a traffic stop. Walter was taken into custody for Driving While Revoked.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A newspaper reports the city of Des Moines has helped firefighters facing termination for alcohol offenses instead retire with disability benefits barred by state law. The Des Moines Register reports that over the past 12 years, city officials aided at least three firefighters who faced termination for alcohol-related offenses. Since 2002 Iowa law has barred firefighters and police officers from applying for disability if they are not in “good standing” or are the subjects of investigations that could lead to dismissal. Des Moines has used that law in some cases to block some police officers or firefighters from collecting disability.

But court records, the firefighters union and sworn testimony by Fire Chief John TeKippe show the city has helped other workers who faced termination retire with disability benefits.

(Radio Iowa) — A spokesman for the company that won approval to be the first to produce medical marijuana products for sale in the state says their biggest obstacle so far has been getting the medical community to talk with them. Medpharm Iowa spokesman, Lucas Nelson, says they are currently holding informational meetings around the state for patients and others. “Unfortunately, too many physicians, nurses — and really the medical community at large — too many of them have been unwilling to meet with us or really anyone tied with this industry. Unwilling to talk about it and learn more about it,” Nelson says.

Iowans who want to use medical marijuana need a referral from a physician to obtain a card from the state health department to allow them to buy the products. He says he’s gotten a lot of emails from people who say their doctor won’t even consider it as an option. “Obviously that ultimately hurts the patients who can’t find doctors to certify their condition,” he says. Nelson says they want to work with doctors and patients. “We have said in all of our outreach to the big systems and the small clinics and pretty much everyone inbetween, medical organizations, everyone you can imagine throughout the state. What we have said is, look we are not here to tell you that this will work for every single patient — or even most patients necessarily. That’s up to you as the medical providers to decide with your patient,” according to Nelson.

Medpharm is a subsidiary of Kemin Industries, which is based in Des Moines and makes a variety of products for human and animal food. Nelson is a lawyer for the company and says they have been trying to answer any questions they get about the medical marijuana program. “We do think it is important that you understand what the program is, how it works, what your role is as a physician. Understanding where your liability is and isn’t,” Nelson says. “We’ve heard from a couple of medical community members that this illegal for them to do and there is no protection. That isn’t true, it’s built right into the code. Making sure that the medical community is aware of that.”

He says they are also trying to answer any questions that the general public has about the issue. “One of the things we’ve noticed is that not enough people across the state are really aware of this program and have the education about it that we think needed to be out there,” Nelson says. Nelson says another part of the forums is listening. “Giving people a chance to voice concerns, ask questions, hear comments, things they are worried about. Actually we’ve had some great questions presented. We’ve been able to work with the Department of Public Health on how we’ve actually answered those,” Nelson says.

The company can begin selling products on December 1st and he says they want to be sure everyone finds out the things they need to know before the doors open. But, he says they still are hoping to get better help from doctors. “Even if we had a million people in this state that knew about it and were eligible and ready to sign up — if they can’t find a doctor to certify them — then there’s really nothing they can do,” Nelson explains. MedPharm Iowa built a production facility in Des Moines and also owns dispensaries in Sioux City and Windsor Heights. There will be other dispensaries in Council Bluffs, Waterloo and Davenport.

(Radio Iowa) — Food insecurity is a daily struggle for thousands of Iowans, including children, families and senior citizens. Donations of canned goods often drop off during September, which is Hunger Action Month. Angie Grote, spokeswoman for the Food Bank for the Heartland, is urging Iowans to promote hunger awareness by getting involved. “You can come volunteer as a group or as an individual,” Grote says. “You can organize a food drive with your neighborhood or your office. You can make a financial donation. Ten dollars will provide enough food for 30 meals.”

The Omaha-based food bank is part of the Feeding America Network and helps to stock shelves across Iowa and Nebraska. “We source food from different partners and we have a network of partners in the community,” she says, “organizations like food pantries, emergency shelters, schools and we distribute food to these organizations.”
She notes, hunger isn’t just a metro area problem. “In rural communities, they may not have as many pantries or as many resources,” Grote says, “so their struggles are a little different than urban or suburban communities.”

It’s estimated 209-thousand people served by the Food Bank for the Heartland are food insecure and 80-thousand of them are children. The agency distributes food to 535 non-profit groups, including schools, homeless shelters and food pantries in 93 counties across Nebraska and Iowa.