(Greenfield, IA) – Adair County Sheriff Jeff Vandewater reports a woman from Union County was arrested Monday, Jan. 12th, on an Adair County Felony Bench Warrant for Theft in the 1st Degree. 36-year-old Alisha Louise Geidel, of Creston, was arrested at around 11:20-a.m.

According to the arrest Affidavit, Geidel was employed by the Orient-Macksburg Community School District from May, 2021 through May, 2024.  Her employment contracts listed Geidel as Human Resources Director, Payroll Clerk, and/or Accounting Clerk. As part of her employment, Geidel was to receive a “single” health insurance plan at no cost to her. If she or almost any other employee elected to enroll in a “family” insurance plan, the additional cost above the “Single” plan was to have been paid for by the employee from their monthly paycheck.

Alisha Louise Geidel, (Photo courtesy the Adair County Sheriff’s Office)

During her employment as the school’s Payroll or Accounting Clerk, and based on software log-in information which was unique to Geidel, it is alleged that she manipulated the school’s payroll system in such a way as to make the employee cost or portion of the “Family” insurance plan WAS NOT being deducted from her paycheck. As a result, the Orient-Macksburg Community School District sustained a financial loss of at least $739.10/month for at least 32 months, with the total losses exceeding $10,000.

(A report from the Iowa Capital Dispatch) – Morningside University and St. Luke’s College – UnityPoint Health are starting off 2026 with efforts to begin melding the campuses together, having announced in summer 2025 that St. Luke’s will eventually become a Morningside location. Jackie Barber, dean of the Nylen School of Nursing and Health Sciences at Morningside, and Morningside Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Chris Spicer said the first step in the acquisition process is complete, with hopes for full combination after the year ends.

The private colleges, both located in Sioux City, have worked together for a long time and have offered “joint two-plus-two programs” since 2019, Spicer said. This acquisition is an opportunity to expand that partnership and others, he said. Barber said the idea for the acquisition was born from trying to think of ways to utilize both institutions’ strengths, as well as strengths from UnityPoint Health, to bolster “academic delivery of these health care programs” and the health care workforce pipeline.

While the initial announcement of the impending acquisition came out in July, Spicer said both institutions had been talking about it since the previous fall. The first phase of the process went “fairly smoothly,” he said, with the Higher Learning Commission approving the acquisition in November after September visits to both campuses. The effective date of the acquisition was Dec. 31 and with that date’s passage, Spicer said Morningside has submitted an official notification of change in ownership to the U.S. Department of Education. Now in the second phase, university officials are waiting for that approval and other regulatory steps while beginning the transition process for St. Luke’s students, faculty and staff.

While the current focus is on ensuring the continued delivery of quality higher education at both institutions, Barber said an overarching goal of the combination is to strengthen pathways for upskilling and continuing education needed for the health care workforce. Morningside will not keep St. Luke’s RN-BSN degree completion program, as it has its own version of the same degree, and current students will finish out the program while new students will enroll in Morningside’s degree.

(Radio Iowa) – The northwest Iowa town of Le Mars is in the running to be named one of “America’s Favorite Small Towns” and the deadline to vote is next week. Parade Magazine holds the annual competition as it celebrates vibrant but small communities nationwide and Le Mars is the only Iowa town on the list. Kristen Heimgartner, executive director of the Hometown Le Mars Heritage Foundation, says they entered the contest to better promote the town.

Heimgartner says getting into the finals would give Le Mars plenty of exposure, while winning would be a wonderful feat.

The finalists will be featured in a special print issue of Parade, and the winning town will host an event with “potential celebrity involvement,” sponsor giveaways, and national media coverage. Heimgartner encourages Iowans to vote and interact with the Heritage Foundation’s social media page.

Voting started in November. Semifinalists will be announced January 21st. National finalists will be announced this spring, with state and national winners to be named in June.

For a link to vote, click here. https://americasfavoritesmalltowns.parade.com/

(Radio Iowa) – Iowa National Guard Major General Stephen Osborn says that over the next decade the U-S military will undergo one of the most significant periods of modernization in its history.

Osborn says commanders will be able to act faster with the combined use of artificial intelligence, autonomous systems, and space assets. Osborn says units will be designed to deploy faster and sustain themselves in what he called “contested environments.”

The Iowa Air Guard’s 132nd Wing is already part of the military’s cyber defense mission. A bill congress recently passed authorizes the 220 MILLION dollar project to replace the Sioux City runway for the planes airmen from 185th Refueling Wing are flying and Osborn says the final step will be to see that funding is included in the military’s budget. Osborn points to other federally-funded infrastructure projects around the state that are part of the military’s transformation, including a 14-million dollar, federally-funded equipment maintenance facility that will be built in Waterloo.

Osborn made his remarks during the annual “Condition of the Guard” address to lawmakers.

(Radio Iowa) – Governor Kim Reynolds is proposing that Iowa join a handful of other states that have made it legal for pharmacists to make over-the-counter sales of ivermectin (eye-ver-MECK-tin). It’s a prescription drug the F-D-A has approved as treatment parasitic infections, like stomach worms and head lice in humans. During the pandemic, people began to buy ivermectin that had been approved for use in livestock.

Tennessee was the first state to allow ivermectin to be sold over-the-counter without a prescription. Louisiana’s law requires a standing order from a physician, indicating pharmacists may dispense ivermectin if a customer meets certain criteria. The bill Reynolds is proposing isn’t publicly available in the legislature’s online system yet.

The Food and Drug Administration’s website says the agency has not authorized or approved ivermectin for use in prevention or treatment of COVID-19 in humans and it has received multiple reports of patients who have required medical attention after self-medicating with ivermectin intended for animals. Medical groups warn the wrong dosage of ivermectin can cause low blood pressure, seizures and even death.

SIOUX CITY, Iowa – The Iowa Department of Corrections, today (Friday), reports 27-year-old Darius Charles Hamilton, who was convicted of Robbery in the 2nd Degree in Woodbury County, failed to report back to the Sioux City Residential Treatment Facility as required on Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026.

Hamilton is a 5’6″, 165-pound American Indian or Alaska Native male. He was admitted to the work release facility on Nov. 3, 2025.

IA DOC photo of Darius Charles Hamilton

Persons with information on Hamilton’s whereabouts should contact local police.

(Council Bluffs, IA) – Police in Council Bluffs say a warrant has been issued for a suspect wanted in connection with a shooting that took place on January 7th. The suspect in this incident was identified as 34-year-old Vershan B. Collins, of Omaha. Collins is wanted on charges of Attempted Murder and Domestic Assault – Display or use of Weapon 1st Offense. At this time, authorities have not released the victim’s name to help ensure their continued safety.

The Council Bluffs Police Department is seeking information on the location of Vershan Collins. Any information on his whereabouts can be reported directly to our Fugitive Task Force Officer at (712) 521-8599, or at by any of the following methods:
• Criminal Investigation Division: 712-328-4728
• Anonymous Tips (CrimeStoppers): 712-328-7867

Vershan B. Collins (Photo submitted by the CB PD)

Original incident report:

At around 8:30-a.m. on January 7th, hospital staff at CHI Mercy Hospital notified police that a woman who suffered a gunshot wound to the chest, had been dropped-off at the facility. Reports indicated a man and a woman left the victim at the hospital before leaving the premises.

An investigation determined the original incident occurred at 602 1st Avenue, in Council Bluffs. Investigators secured the scene and executed a search warrant. During the search, detectives recovered a discharged round from a weapon, a casing, and forensic evidence consistent with the victim’s statement.

(Radio Iowa) – Iowa’s preliminary number shows the lowest number of traffic deaths since the state started keeping records 100 years ago. D-O-T State Highway Safety Program Manager Larry Grant says a drop in motorcycle deaths is one of the factors. “Motorcycles were about half the fatalities than we normally have. And that kind of plays into what we were talking about, the number one crash, especially fatality, crash in the state of Iowa is a run off the road,” he says. Motorcycle deaths dropped from 64 to 38 in 2025. Grant says running off the road has been a key factor in motorcycle deaths. “Motorcycles typically are the majority of them are going to be single vehicle. I know that’s a shock, but a lot of times people think it’s going to be multiple vehicles. It’s not, it’s a single vehicle run off the road,” he says.

Grant says driving while impaired by alcohol is another factor in motorcycle deaths, but he says age is a bigger concern. “The actual motorcycle deaths in Iowa are more in the older age group than the younger age group. The younger age group has more crashes, but the injuries and fatalities occurs mostly with the older,” he says. Grant says the older age group is 54 to 65, and handling the speed of the motorcycle becomes an issue for them. “You know, they had it when they’re young and now they still have it. They get those big bikes and they just come in and speed is really, really high. The speed comes into those curves or and they just can’t slow down enough and they go off,” he says. “Now the younger drivers typically are riding the sport bikes and they’re typically wearing helmets more than your older drivers with I’m going to call them touring bikes, whether it’s a Harley-Davidson or whatever it might be.”

Grant says A-T-V (All Terrain Vehicles) and U-T-V (Utility Terrain Vehicle) crashes have led to more deaths as laws changed regarding their use. “Registrations for that through the D-N-R shows that went from 30-thousand registered U-T-V’s to 70-thousand last year. So that’s a huge increase on U-T-V’s, A-T-Vs,” he says. U-T-V and A-T-V deaths dropped by half this year from 20 to 10. Grant says one other statistic that stands out is the number of accidents where more than one person died. “Our our multiple fatality crashes were drastically down this year. We had about 12 of those crashes that resulted in 24 deaths, compared in the past we’ve had up to 88 deaths, with two years ago, 39 crashes, but 88 deaths,” he says.

Grant says the 2025 total now is 259, but they wait 30 days after the end of the year to make it a final count.

(Radio Iowa) – Mason City’s police chief confirms Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents were in Mason City on Wednesday. Police Chief Mike McKelvey released a joint statement on Thursday evening on behalf of his department, the Clear Lake Police Department, Cerro Gordo County Sheriff’s Office, and the local post of the Iowa State Patrol. He says they’ve been able to confirm that six people driving three vehicles claiming to be with ICE stopped at the Cerro Gordo County Law Enforcement Center on Wednesday afternoon, where they asked if they had any jail inmates with immigration detainers, which they did not.

McKelvey says while there are several social media stories about people being detained locally, they cannot confirm that, nor any other reports regarding a mass detainment. McKelvey says they’ve reached out to one of the Iowa ICE field offices to bring things to the national ICE organization’s attention because the situation has been possibly inflamed by unverified social media reports.