A new telehealth initiative will expand H-I-V prevention efforts in rural Iowa, where H-I-V rates continue to climb. TelePrep will use at-home video calls and the postal system to administer H-I-V prevention medication to rural residents who are at risk. TelePrep coordinator Angie Hoth says in other Midwestern states, H-I-V cases are mostly concentrated in big cities.

Hoth says, “Whereas Iowa has approximately 25 to 30 percent of its HIV cases occurring in a rural part of the state, which is quite unique compared to our neighbors.” Hoth says the TelePrep program expects to serve 300 to 500 rural Iowa residents. She says the distance from cities can be a barrier to getting H-I-V prevention medication.

Hoth says, “People who may be at risk may be eligible for HIV prevention and for sexually-transmitted infection prevention don’t always have access to the services they need.” University of Iowa Health Care and the Iowa Department of Public Health are collaborating on TelePrep, which may be the only program of its kind in the country.

(Radio Iowa)

A California man arrested at the Des Moines Airport last fall has been sentenced to 30 years in federal prison for a drug-running operation. Forty-three-year-old Jonathan Leroy Homedew was convicted of conspiring to distribute methamphetamine. Last fall, prosecutors say Homedew mailed more than 10 kilos of the potent, smokable form of methamphetamine in packages. The packages were found in Des Moines postal facilities.

Investigators say Homedew had been traveling between Iowa and California repeatedly last summer, buying drugs in California, mailing them to Iowa and then flying here himself to distribute the meth. Three others pleaded guilty in this case. One man has been sentenced to more than 15 years in prison. A woman has been sentenced to more than seven years. A third woman who pleaded guilty hasn’t been sentenced yet.

(Radio Iowa)

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The Nebraska Department of Transportation has shut down several interstate ramps in east Omaha expected to affect 47,000 drivers and cause traffic headaches for motorist in Omaha and western Iowa.

Station KETV reports that westbound Interstate 80 ramp to northbound Interstate 480 has been closed along with northbound Highway 75 ramps to westbound I-80 and northbound I-480. Also, the F Street entrance ramp to northbound Highway 75 is closed.

Drivers are being rerouted east on I-80 to northbound I-29 in Council Bluffs, Iowa, then westbound back into Omaha on I-480. The ramps were closed Wednesday night for construction that’s expected to last until the first week of October. The DOT says the closures are needed for bridge repairs and repaving.

The Shelby County Sheriff’s Office reports a man from Tennant was arrested for filing false reports with law enforcement. 48-year old Mark Allen Boardman was taken into custody late Sunday night, after deputies were called to the 600 block of Stanley Blvd in Tennant, for reports of shots fired. Deputies arrived on scene and determined in fact no shots were fired. Boardman was booked into the Shelby County Jail and posted a $300 bond Monday afternoon.

And, on June 30th, Sheriffs Deputies in Shelby County arrested 57 year old David Gerard Ausdemore, of Persia, for OWI/1st Offense. Ausdemore was also cited for Speeding, and Reckless Driving. The charges were the result of a traffic stop along Highway 191. Ausdemore was transported to the Shelby County Jail and released the following morning on his own recognizance.

Sheriff’s officials in Union County say a man residing in the 100 block of Kansas Avenue, in Lorimor, reported Wednesday, that sometime during the last couple days, someone came along the side his 1997 Ford F250, and broke out the side window.  The damage was estimated at $350.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – A recent Iowa Supreme Court ruling means black defendants on trial in Iowa have a better chance of challenging all-white juries. The court’s decision last Friday throws out a method previously used to gauge the racial composition of a jury and says judges must consider multiple methods of assessment that offer a more balanced review.

The court considered the appeal of Kelvin Plain Sr., a black Waterloo man convicted by an all-white jury of harassment. The jury pool in his case had one black man among 56 potential jurors. Plain’s attorney, Gary Dickey, says the ruling now gives minority defendants in Iowa an avenue to challenge jury pools lacking a minority presence.

Plain may get a new trial if a judge, using the court’s new assessment directive, determines the jury pool violated his right to an impartial jury.