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(A report by the Iowa Capital Dispatch) – A central Iowa nursing home has been cited for an incident in which a resident’s family member had to summon the police to provide critical medical assistance for their relative. The Iowa Capital Dispatch says according to state inspectors, the incident occurred on Aug. 18, 2025, when the staff at Perry Lutheran Home failed to provide a female diabetic resident with her scheduled blood-sugar check and a set of two blood-sugar injections.
About 6:40 p.m., after the resident’s blood sugar had dropped to 27 — a potentially lethal level, with anything below 54 considered dangerous and necessitating immediate intervention — a visiting family member arrived at the home and found the resident slumped over in a chair, unresponsive. Inspectors allege the relative summoned the staff to the woman’s room and asked them to call 911.
According to the inspectors, a staff nurse allegedly refused, stating that wasn’t proper protocol. When the relative insisted, the nurse allegedly told the relative to call 911 herself and left the room to begin searching for the facility’s emergency kit, which is used to administer a drug in cases of low blood sugar. Other staffers eventually joined in the search, which lasted about 15 minutes, but the kit could not be located, according to state inspectors.
At 7 p.m., the relative called 911, and the police dispatcher helped by providing guidance on lowering the resident to the floor. The dispatcher then asked whether there was a defibrillator in the building, but a nursing assistant to whom the question was relayed allegedly indicated she didn’t know. According to state inspectors, police officers then arrived and, at the relative’s insistence, the officers initiated cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Once paramedics arrived on the scene and administered a drug to stimulate the production of glucose, the resident became responsive and was transferred to a hospital for additional treatment.
State inspection reports indicate the woman’s relative reported that while she, the police and paramedics had been working to revive the woman, the nurse on duty never returned to the room to assist. The inspectors allege that a subsequent review of medical records at Perry Lutheran Home indicated that on three prior occasions in August 2025, the female resident’s blood sugar was recorded at levels between 55 and 68 — all considered to be potentially harmful levels.
The Iowa Department of Inspections, Appeals and Licensing proposed a state fine of $6,750 as a result of the recent findings. The imposed fine was tripled to $20,250 due to the incident representing a repeat, serious violation. It marks the third time in the past two years that the home has faced trebled fines due to repeat, serious violations, although the penalties were held in suspension in two of those three cases.
DES MOINES, Iowa (KCCI) – Former Des Moines Public Schools Superintendent Ian Roberts has pleaded not guilty to federal immigration charges, KCCI reports. Court documents show Roberts was charged with making a false statement for employment and illegal immigrant in possession of a firearm. A grand jury says Roberts lied on his I-9 submitted as part of his hiring process for Des Moines Public Schools in 2023. The jury says Roberts said he was a U.S. citizen “knowing he was not in fact a United States citizen.”
Federal authorities moved Roberts from the Woodbury County Jail to a federal facility in Council Bluffs. There is a hearing for Roberts set for Wednesday, where the court could set a date for his trial.
If found guilty, Roberts could be fined, imprisoned for up to 15 years, or both.
CRESTON, Iowa — According to a report from KCCI-TV, a federal judge has issued a temporary restraining order preventing the Creston Community School District from moving forward with plans to fire a teacher for her comments regarding the slain conservative activist Charlie Kirk. Last month, Melisa Crook, a high school English teacher from Creston, was informed that she was facing termination for a social-media comment regarding Kirk.
Crook then sued the district in federal court, citing a series of pro-Republican posts by Superintendent Deron Stender and school board president Don Gee, and alleging that her First Amendment rights were being violated. U.S. District Judge Rebecca Goodgame Ebinger recently granted Crook’s motion for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction blocking the district’s plans to terminate her. The judge also deferred Crook’s request for a preliminary injunction until after a court hearing that’s currently planned for Oct. 31, 2025.
The order prevents the district’s school board from conducting Crook’s employment hearing, scheduled for Oct. 21, 2025, and from “taking any other adverse employment actions” against Crook based on her Facebook comments. In her ruling, Ebinger found that Crook “is likely to succeed in showing Stender took adverse action against her in response to exercise of her First Amendment rights” and that she is “likely to succeed on the merits of her First Amendment claim as to Stender.”
Ebinger added that she concluded “Crook spoke as a citizen on a matter of public concern when posting her Facebook comment.” As part of her ruling, Ebinger observed that Crook had “responded to and discussed the murder of a public figure, Charlie Kirk, and her (subsequent) longer post clarified her intent” in posting the original comment. “Crook posted her Facebook comments on her personal time, at home, from her personal Facebook account,” Ebinger stated in her ruling. “She did not purport to speak as an employee of the Creston Community School District.
The school district had argued that a temporary restraining order or preliminary injunction would defeat its decision to discharge an employee and improperly extend “the employment of a potentially incompetent employee.” Ebinger rejected that argument, stating that “the court finds the enforcement of First Amendment rights outweighs any potential employment harm to defendants. Further, the public has a compelling interest in protection of First Amendment and other constitutional rights.”
As part of her ruling, the judge denied Crook’s request to be removed from administrative leave.
DES MOINES, Iowa [KCCI-TV] — Des Moines Public School leaders voted to approve Associate Superintendent Matt Smith’s contract as the district’s interim superintendent.
Under the new contract, Smith will serve in the new role through June 30, 2027. He took over the role on September 26.The annual salary written into the contract is $286,716 for the first year, which is a more than $25,000 increase from his current salary.
The new contract is the same salary former Superintendent Ian Roberts was earning. After the first year, the board will determine raises based on Smith’s performance.
DES MOINES, Iowa — Robert Lundin, the chief academic officer for Des Moines Public Schools, has been placed on administrative leave, according to district officials. KCCI reports Lundin was placed on leave on Oct. 6.
No details have been provided regarding the reasons behind this decision, with a spokesperson for the district describing it as a personnel matter.
(Radio Iowa) – Brad Sherman, a Republican candidate for governor, says reducing property taxes is a priority, but he suggests taking a sledgehammer to the system and completely eliminating property taxes isn’t doable. “I would love to see no property tax,” Sherman said. “It’d be great, but I don’t know that there’s a way to fund our essential services, you know, if we were to cut out all property taxes. How do you do that?”
Sherman says he can think of only two ways to pay for police, fire and other essential services if the property tax is eliminated — either raise the state sales tax or use state income tax revenue. “And we’ve been cutting income tax, so that’s probably something we shouldn’t look at right now,” Sherman said, “but a sales tax, to replace a property tax elimination, it would be a big sales tax and then it would have to be collected by the state.”
Sherman says that’s because not all areas of the state have enough retail establishments that would collect the sales taxes needed to fund local services. “Some counties have a lot of retail, other counties don’t have hardly any retail, so one county would go broke (and) the other would have a…boom and so you would have to collect that centrally by the state and then it would have to be doled out in many ways and that would be a big problem,” Sherman said. “And centralized government always scares me, you know, I believe in decentralized government.”
GOP gubernatorial candidate Brad Sherman on the “Iowa Press” set at Iowa PBS on Oct. 17, 2025. (Iowa PBS photo)
Sherman proposes reducing property taxes for people who’ve lived in Iowa for at least a decade and own their own home. “When you hit 60 or 65 for seniors, that then their primary residence could be tax free. A very small sales tax could cover that, but even that in itself might end up paying for itself because people would stay in Iowa then instead of actually moving to another state when they retire because now they have a home,” Sherman said. “Plus it would protect seniors on low income from losing their homes.”
Sherman made his comments during a recent appearance on “Iowa Press” on Iowa P-B-S. Sherman is a pastor from Williamsburg who served one term in the Iowa House. He launched his campaign for governor in February — before fellow Republican Kim Reynolds announced she would not seek reelection.
(Sidney, Iowa) – A Fremont County man was injured during a collision early this (Tuesday) morning near the Sidney Junior-Senior High School.
The Iowa State Patrol says a 2007 Chevy truck driven by 18-year-old Mavryc Morgan, of Sidney, crossed the center line of the road at 2700 Knox Road in Sidney a little after 8-a.m. The truck struck a 2003 GMC Yukon driven by 51-year-old Sergio Contreras, of Sidney.
Contreras – who was not wearing a seat belt -was flown by air ambulance to the UNMC in Omaha. Morgan was uninjured in the crash. An investigation into the accident remains ongoing.
(Guthrie Center, Iowa) – A collision last week between two SUV’s in Guthrie County resulted in possible/unknown injuries to both drivers. According to the Guthrie County Sheriff’s Office, a 2020 Lexus RX 350 SUV and a 2012 Nissan Murano SUV were both traveling north on Highway 4 at around 3:30-p.m. on Oct. 13th.
As 68-year-old Margaret Marble, of Panora began slowing down for a vehicle turning east into a driveway, her 2020 Lexus RX 350 SUV was struck from behind by the Nissan, which was driven by a 15-year-old female from Yale. The Sheriff’s report said the teen was distracted, and her foot got caught between the brake and the gas pedal, and as a result was unable to maintain control before her vehicle struck the Lexus.
Damage from the collision amounted to a law enforcement-estimated $8,000 altogether. Deputies cited the teen for Failure to Maintain Control.
(Red Oak, Iowa) – Officials with the Red Oak Fire Department report a little before 1-p.m., today (Tuesday), the Montgomery County 911 center was notified by Pottawattamie County 911, about a combine fire in the area of 490th x Pioneer Trail in rural southeast Pott County, within the Elliott Fire District.
Red Oak FD and Elliott FD were paged and while enroute, Griswold Fire & Rescue was requested for mutual aid due to smoke being visible from Red Oak of the fire. Additional support was requested from area farmers with tractors and discs due to high winds and an apparent ongoing fast-moving fire. (Red Oak FD Facebook photos)
Fire crews arrived on scene and found approximately 4-5 acres on fire, spreading moderately to the east with the wind into a waterway containing two large brush piles that were now on fire. Additional mutual aid was requested from Macedonia Volunteer Fire Department and Carson Fire and Rescue for water tankers due to the size of brush piles actively on fire. The field fire was quickly contained with on scene units as well as the use of tractors and discs who helped contain the fire as well as contain spot fires that flared up due to the wind. Stanton Fire and Rescue Department was requested for tanker support but cancelled as additional units arrived on scene.
The landowner was working with a contractor to bury and place soil on top of the brush piles and will continue to monitor the area until complete. No injuries reported. It is believed that a hot ember or spark ignited dry vegetation while the combine was in operation. Crews were on scene for roughly 2 hours.
MCEMA Drone Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j0kTe2kzOBc&feature=youtu.be
Assisting agencies:
Montgomery County 911
Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office – Red Oak, Iowa
Montgomery County Emergency Management Agency
Elliott Volunteer Fire Department
Griswold Fire & Rescue
Macedonia Volunteer Fire Department
Carson Fire and Rescue
Stanton Fire and Rescue Department
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