SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) — The city council has approved a $7.5 million settlement connected to a November 2016 crash involving a Sioux City municipal bus. The Sioux City Journal reports that the council voted Monday for the settlement with Chad and Rosanne Plante, of rural Hinton. The city’s legal department had recommended approval following mediation talks with the couple.

Chad Plante suffered two broken legs and a brain injury. Authorities say a turning Sioux City Transit bus failed to yield at an intersection and struck Plante’s sport utility vehicle. The bus driver was cited for failure to obey a traffic control device. Plante spent several weeks in a coma and then had months of rehabilitation. He and his wife didn’t file any litigation.

Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds, Thursday, will recognize seven (7) individuals — including a Crawford County man — during the opening day of the Iowa State Fair, for their unselfish service to their fellow citizens. The Governor’s Lifesaving Awards Ceremony recognizes citizens who helped a friend or neighbor in critical need of assistance, and in turn, became everyday heroes. The awards take place 10:30-a.m. Thursday, at the Susan Knapp Amphitheater on the State Fairgrounds. In attendance will be Gov. Reynolds, Lt. Gov. Adam Gregg, and DPS Commissioner Roxann Ryan.

There are four categories in which honorees are recognized: lifesaving with valor, lifesaving, meritorious service, and outstanding service. A Meritorius Service Award will be presented to Chad Reynolds, of Vail, for rescuing a disabled woman from her smoke-filled home. On February 3rd, 2018, at approximately 11:30 AM, Dorothy Huff was at her home in Vail. The 74-years  woman is wheel-chair bound, and suffers from dementia and other health issues. Her daughter and granddaughter, who normally reside with her, were not home that morning. Mrs. Huff noticed the room getting darker from thick, black smoke. The fire was in the living room, which is connected to the porch. Dorothy made her way out of the living room and fell out of her wheel chair onto the floor by the front porch. She could not get up or reach the handle on the door. Chad Reynolds, who lived across the street, saw the black smoke coming from the home. He ran over to the residence and entered the residence; immediately locating Mrs. Huff. He carried her to his residence. The Award recognizes Reynolds for unselfish service that ensured Mrs. Huff avoided serious injury.

Authorities are investigating a bank robbery that took place Monday afternoon in southeast Iowa. The Keokuk County Sheriff’s Office reports a 911 call was received at around 2:40-p.m., Monday, with regard to a bank robbery at the Hedrick Bank, South Ottumwa Savings Bank, located in Hedrick. Law enforcement personnel from multiple agencies responded to the scene. Additional information was not immediately released.

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) — A Cedar Rapids woman has been charged with vehicular homicide for the crash deaths of two people in Linn County. The Linn County Sheriff’s Office says 23-year-old Brianna Stastny was arrested Sunday. Court records don’t list the name of an attorney who could comment for her. Deputies say 22-year-old Kaelonnie Moore and 43-year-old Darla Moander, both of Cedar Rapids, where killed in the Sept. 29, 2017, crash on U.S. Highway 151 near Cedar Rapids. Deputies say Stastny was driving south and attempting to pass another vehicle when she struck a northbound vehicle driven by Moander.

Stastny was treated at a hospital. Investigators say she was under the influence of marijuana when the collision occurred.

(Radio Iowa) — A western Iowa woman is part of one of the first Cyclospora outbreak lawsuits against the company that supplied salads to McDonalds. Kellie McCall lives in Monona County and says she got sick in June of this year and began having diarrhea, stomach cramps, fever, and severe gas within 14 days of eating a McDonald’s salad she bought in Onawa. She says she was forced to see emergency medical attention at Burgess Hospital in Onawa. Attorney William Marler of the Marler-Clark Law Firm is representing McCall and around two dozen others. He says the C-D-C was able to find Cyclospora in an unopened container of Fresh Express salad, so the C-D-C and the F-D-A where able to link the Cyclospora to the salad kids sold at McDonalds.

There are 395 confirmed cases across 15 states, with 87 of the case in Iowa. Sixteen people have been hospitalized. “They haven’t figured out if its the carrots in it or the romaine lettuce, but the product tested positive for the parasite before it got to McDonalds,” Marler says. “So, even though technically I could have sued McDonalds — the real entity here who had the last best chance to make sure there wasn’t a parasite in your food was Fresh Express.” Fresh Express is a Delaware corporation that operates mainly out of Windermere, Florida. “We are asking them to compensate them for their medical bills, lost wages, and the pain and suffering for having this parasite in your body,” Marler says.

Marler says this was not a simple one or two-day illness. “Some of these people were sick for several weeks. It’s a hard bug to get rid of, they use a very powerful antibiotic to actually kill the bug, which is almost as difficult on your body as the parasite is,” Marler says. “So, a lot of these people have taken a long time to recover.”  Marler believes this is a case of not following through with the food safety law requirements to make sure the Cyclospora wasn’t in the salad ingredients. “The law exists, it’s really just getting the companies to really implement them. If there is a failure of government here, it’s not having enough inspectors to inspect products that are brought in from outside the United States. We are probably maybe only inspecting one or two percent of the produce that comes in, and I think most people would find that pretty unacceptable,” Marler says.

He thinks his case is pretty strong against the company. “There are people who tested positive for this parasite and it’s been found in the food. There’s not a lot of argument that Fresh Express could have that this thing didn’t happen,” Marler says. “Hopefully they will see the writing on the wall and take care of my clients and the hundreds of other people who were sickened.” The court filing says McCall had to have more treatment after initially going to the emergency room and being diagnosed with Cyclospora. It also says she lost considerable income due to the sickness. Des Moines Attorney Steven Wandro is working with Marler Clark, which is based in Seattle.