A man from Marengo has been charged with operating while intoxicated vehicular homicide for an accident early Sunday morning on Interstate-80 that killed the passenger in his pick-up. According to the Iowa State Patrol, a semi had been on the shoulder of eastbound I-80 near Malcom. It was in the right lane and accelerating to the posted speed limit when the crash happened.

Thirty-six-year-old Jesus Alfredo Belez, of Marengo, was driving the pick-up that rear-ended the semi. His 37-year-old passenger, Amy Renee Richard of Marengo, died. Belez has been charged with a felony that carries a maximum prison term of 25 years.

(Radio Iowa)

SERGEANT BLUFF, Iowa (AP) – A northwest Iowa school superintendent has been accused of drunken driving. Court records say 57-year-old Rod Earleywine is scheduled to be arraigned Sept. 7 on a charge of operating while under the influence, first offense. The Sioux City Journal reports that Earleywine was arrested Aug. 5 in Dickinson County.

The Sergeant Bluff-Luton Community School District website still listed Earleywine as superintendent Monday. School board President Jeff Wright has declined to comment about Earleywine’s arrest.

Police in Creston say the driver of an SUV failed to yield the right-of-way at an uncontrolled intersection, Friday afternoon, and was broadsided by a car. Authorities say 27-year old Shawna Rae Carr, of Creston, was traveling west on Summit Street at around 3:40-p.m., and didn’t immediately notice a 2005 Kia Sportage driven by 26-year old Matthew John Onstank, of Creston, who was traveling south on Mulberry Street.

Onstank couldn’t stop in time. His KIA t-boned Carr’s 2007 Ford Edge, causing a total of $9,000 damage. Carr told Police Onstank was traveling “really fast,” according to the report. No citations were issued.

The Creston Police Department reports three arrests over the past few days. Friday night, 33-year old Cassy Holcomb, of Creston, was arrested at her home on a charge of Simple Assault. Holcomb was released from the Union County Jail on a $300 bond. And, 27-year old T’Lee Jones, of Orient, was arrested Friday afternoon at the Union County Law Enforcement Center (LEC), on a Union County warrant for Failure to Appear (in court), on an original charge of Theft in the 4th Degree. She was later released from the Ringgold County Jail on a $2,000 bond.

Early this (Monday) morning, 27-year old Ryan Marshall, of Sharpsburg, was arrested at the Union County LEC on charges of Public Intoxication and Disorderly Conduct. Marshall was later released on a $300 bond.

Lung cancer remains Iowa’s top cancer killer, but there’s a new type of lung cancer screening for people considered high-risk. The low-dose C-T scan can detect lung cancer in the early stages, before symptoms arise. Harold Wimmer, national president and C-E-O of the American Lung Association, calls the scan groundbreaking and a potential lifesaver. Wimmer says, “The high-risk category profile is individuals who are current smokers or former smokers that have a 30-pack year history of smoking and are between the ages of 55 to 80.”

The term “30-pack year history” means they’ve smoked an average of one pack a day for 30 years, or two packs a day for 15 years. Studies find 84-percent of lung cancer cases are detected in the late stage when it’s very difficult to treat. When detected earlier, the survival rate is increased by more than five times. Wimmer says anyone can get lung cancer, especially people who smoke and those around them.

“There’s also other risk factors, such as radon exposure, family history, other environmental impacts that can be a risk factor,” Wimmer says, “but the use of tobacco products is still the number-one risk factor for lung cancer.”  In Iowa, 42-percent of the population is considered “ever smokers,” meaning they’re either current or former smokers, and they may benefit from the scan.

“Individuals can go to SavedByTheScan.org to take a quiz to see if they may fit into that high-risk category,” Wimmer says. “We also encourage individuals to talk to their doctor about having this scan done.” The scan is typically a covered benefit under most insurance plans, according to Wimmer. There were more than 24-hundred new lung cancer cases diagnosed in Iowa last year and nearly 18-hundred deaths.

Nationwide, lung cancer kills an average of 421 people daily, that’s about 18 deaths each hour, or one death every three-and-a-half minutes.

(Radio Iowa)

The Cass County Board of Supervisors are set to discuss changing the County Attorney status from part-time county officer to a full-time county officer, and then act on Resolution providing that the County Attorney IS a Full-time County Officer. Dave Wiederstein, is the Cass County Attorney. He also serves as a private practice attorney,  Acting Audubon County Attorney, and provides services to the City of Atlantic, through the his partner law firm, Otto-Lorence-Wiederstein, P.L.L.C.

Cass County Auditor Dale Sunderman says according to Iowa Code (331.752), that “A full-time county attorney shall refrain from the private practice of law,” which mean Wiederstein would have to give-up his private practice and work full-time for the County. The Code states also, that the Board of Supervisors may provide by resolution, that the county attorney shall be a full-time county officer. Further, that “If the county attorney objects to the full-time status, the effective date of change to a full-time status shall be delayed until January 1[st] of the year following the next general election, at which a county attorney is elected.” In Wiederstein’s case, that won’t be until Jan. 2019, since his four-year term will be on the ballot in Nov. 2018.

In other business, the Cass County Supervisors will discuss and then act on changing the status of the current part-time courthouse custodian to full-time custodian. The meeting takes place 8:30-a.m. Tuesday at the courthouse, in Atlantic.

Iowa’s top politicians are responding to this weekend’s events in Charlottesville, Virginia. Iowa G-O-P chairman Jeff Kaufmann was the first to issue a statement via Twitter. Kaufmann said the “racism and bigotry on display in Charlottesville is stupid, shameful and destructive.” Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley was next, saying what “white nationalists” were doing in Charlottesville was “homegrown terrorism.” Iowa Senator Joni Ernst also called it “terrorism” that was “fueled by racist hatred” that “has no place in our society.”

Governor Kim Reynolds said her prayers are with the victims and she condemned “ugly, vile, racist hate.” By early this (Monday) morning, all but one member of Iowa’s congressional delegation had tweeted on the situation. Congressman Dave Loebsack, a Democrat from Iowa City, said on Saturday that the “vile hatred displayed by white supremacists in Charlottesville is unacceptable and un-American.”

Congressman David Young, a Republican from Van Meter, tweeted on Sunday from Israel, where he’s on a congressional trip. Young condemned the “hatred” on display in Charlottesville and tweeted a few Bible verses. Congressman Rod Blum, a Republican from Dubuque, posted a message on Facebook. Blum quoted Gandi and said there was no place in a “civil society” for “racist supremacy groups.” Republican Congressman Steve King of Kiron has not Tweeted since July 27th and has not issued a statement on Charlottesville.

The Iowa Democratic Party’s chairman released a written statement Sunday, denouncing the “senseless acts by white supremacists and neo-nazis in Charlottesville.”

(Radio Iowa)