(Radio Iowa) – Some Iowa business owners were in Washington, D-C this week to tell senators about the difficulties facing the agricultural economy. Jay Funke is the sales manager at Del Clay Farm Equipment in Edgewood in northeast Iowa. Funke said low commodity prices are affecting sales in the region.

(Council Bluffs, IA) — A man charged in connection with a shooting incident last fall in Avoca that left one person injured, has entered a plea of not guilty to several charges associated with the case. The charges against 29-year-old Shaun McCarthy include Attempted Murder, Willful Injury and Child Endangerment, to name a few.

According to online court records, McCarthy entered his written plea to the charges on January 9^th. On Thursday (Jan. 15th), a judge issued a modified No Contact/Protective Order in the case against McCarthy.

As previously reported, Deputies in Pottawattamie County responded a little after 8-p.m. Oct. 10, 2025, to a reported shooting west of Avoca. As law enforcement was coming to the residence, additional gunfire was heard. Deputies identified the male suspect as Shaun McCarthy, who at the time was 28-years-old, and who was outside the residence when deputies arrived at the scene.

After a short standoff, McCarthy was taken into custody without further incident. The victim suffered minor injuries. Sheriff’s officials said they found children safe in the home.

A jury trial has been scheduled for February 10.

(IOWA CAPITAL DISPATCH) – A federal judge has ordered the Muscatine County Jail to release an ICE detainee who had been incarcerated for almost a year after a judge ruled in his favor on an asylum request. The Iowa Capital Dispatch says court records indicate 36-year-old Jose Yugar-Cruz entered the United States in July 2024 after fleeing his home country of Bolivia. In court filings, Yugar-Cruz alleged that while living in Bolivia, he operated a small business and had “refused to facilitate the drug trade by police officials” who then detained him and tortured him.

In the court filings, Yugar-Cruz said he fled to Mexico, entered the United States on foot at the Arizona border, and then “sought out and surrendered” himself to federal immigration officials. He was then taken into custody and jailed, after which he applied for asylum based on the threat of persecution in Bolivia.

In December 2024, a federal immigration judge held a hearing on Yugar-Cruz’s asylum request. According to a lawsuit Yugar-Cruz filed four weeks ago against Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem and various Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials, the judge ruled in January 2025 that the U.S. government could not send Yugar-Cruz back to Bolivia due to the ongoing threat of torture. The judge granted Yugar-Cruz “withholding-of-removal relief” — a form of protection for individuals who face persecution if returned to their home country. It prevents the U.S. government from deporting an individual to a country where their life or freedom would be threatened.

In his lawsuit, Yugar-Cruz asserted the government never appealed the immigration judge’s ruling and so he “expected that he would soon be released from detention and allowed to start his life in the United States.” In February 2025, however, Yugar-Cruz was still being held in the Freeborn County Adult Detention Center in Albert Lea, Minn. While there, the lawsuit claimed, he spoke to ICE officials who first indicated he’d be released in “15 days or so,” but later informed him they would continue to hold him while looking for some third-party country to which he could be deported.

The lawsuit alleged ICE officials proposed that Yugar-Cruz be deported to Argentina, Chile or Paraguay, all of which border Bolivia, but Yugar-Cruz objected, noting that Bolivians, including the police, can easily travel to those countries without a passport. Mexico was proposed as an alternative, but Yugar-Cruz expressed concern officials there would simply deport him to Bolivia. On Dec. 3, 2025, Yugar-Cruz was transferred from the Albert Lea jail to the Muscatine County Jail in Iowa.

Nine days later, Yugar-Cruz’s attorney sued the Muscatine County jail administrator, as well as Noem and other Homeland Security officials, alleging they were violating federal law by continuing to detain Yugar-Cruz 11 months after the immigration judge had ruled in his favor. As part of that lawsuit, Yugar-Cruz’s attorney noted the Trump administration had adopted a practice of deporting people to third-party countries with no guarantee those individuals wouldn’t immediately be sent to their home country, where they faced persecution or torture.

A federal judge in the District of Columbia has ruled the practice amounts to a “widespread effort to evade the government’s legal obligations by doing indirectly what it cannot do directly.” Yugar-Cruz has no criminal record, according to his attorney’s court filings. His lawsuit alleged violations of his due process rights and the Immigration Nationality Act, and sought his immediate release from the Muscatine County Jail.

Recently, after the U.S. Department of Justice acknowledged the federal government had been attempting, without success, to find a third-party country to accept Yugar-Cruz, District Court Judge Stephen H. Locher ruled in Yugar-Cruz’s favor. Locher ordered the Muscatine County Jail to work with ICE officials in securing Yugar-Cruz’s immediate release and, on Jan. 7, 2026, ICE officials confirmed for the court that Yugar-Cruz had been discharged from the county jail.

His release remains subject to “reasonable conditions of supervision” by ICE, according to Locher’s order.

(Lewis, IA) – Officials with the Cass County Conservation Department said Thursday, the Cass County Conservation Board is holding a Cabin Fever Escape program on January 24th. The program/open house will be held at the Outdoor Educational Classroom outside Massena, from 1-until 4-p.m.  There is no charge to attend, and all ages are welcome!

Cure your cabin fever by spending some time outside with family friendly FUN! Bring your mugs, sleds, dress for the weather, snowshoes, and cross country skis will be available! If you get cold, warm and tasty drinks and a movie will be playing inside our lodge! There will be no snow activities planned- birding hikes, as well!

Full Moon Snowshoe Night Hike

The Cass County Conservation Board is holding Full Moon Snowshoe Night Hike. The Full Moon Snowshoe Night Hike will be held at the Outdoor Educational Classroom outside of Massena, on January 31st beginning at 7-p.m. Come out for a great night hike, try to call in various species of Owls that may be in the park that night! Snowshoes (variety of sizes) will be available. If the sky is clear, a full moon will light the way for hikers. The event is FREE, but be sure and dress for the weather!

The event be a night hike with “NO SNOWSHOES- if there is NO Snow!”

Find the Outdoor Education Classroom by taking Highway 148 south of Massena, turn Left on Tucson Road, follow it East for about two miles, and then a right hand turn into the parking lot.

(Radio Iowa) – Governor Kim Reynolds says the federal funding she’s designating for cancer screening tests and treatment will be quickly distributed. “If we’re good at what we do and we can demonstrate that we did get the money out the door, that these are stood up and we’re actually providing these services we have a chance to get additional money next year,” Reynolds said. Two weeks ago Iowa was awarded more than 200 MILLION dollars in federal funding to expand rural health care options.

Governor Reynolds announced during her Condition of the State message on Tuesday that 50 MILLION dollars of it will be designed for cancer-related care. “We have 250 proposals that they’re going through right now,” Reynolds said. “We will be able to start awarding contracts the end of this month. I was on a phone call with Dr. Oz just this week and he thought it was just amazing that we’d be able to turn it around this quickly.”

Dr. Oz is director of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the agency that awarded the 209 MILLION dollar grant. Reynolds says her staff began developing grant application guidelines when the state submitted its original request for the federal funding months ago. Part of the 50 MILLION Reynolds has reserved to expand access to cancer screening and treatment will go toward equipping hospitals that are regional hubs for cancer patients.

“All the things that we can put together so that they can provide care for Iowans in rural Iowa,” Reynolds said, “so they’re not having to drive miles to get the treatment that they require.” Iowa has the second highest rate of new cancer cases in the U.S. and the only state where the cancer rate is rising. “I really hope that we can start to change the narrative by screening, prevention, treatment,” Reynolds said, “and then really making sure everybody has access to all of those regardless of income, insurance or zip code.”

Reynolds made her comments during an interview with Radio Iowa.

(Radio Iowa) – A southeast Iowa medical clinic will be closing its doors next month. MercyOne says it will stop seeing patients at its Ottumwa facility on February 27th. In a letter to patients, MercyOne says it will inform them of a medical record transfer to its clinic in Centerville or another facility of the patients’ choice. MercyOne says it must “strengthen its ministry by expanding access where possible and consolidate or relocate services where barriers exist.”

In a Facebook post, a MercyOne healthcare provider said the news was a shock to staff as they were informed just hours before the public. MercyOne’s Ottumwa location is a 33,000 square-foot facility that opened in 2017.

ATLANTIC, IA – Cass Health Orthopedic Surgeon Dr. Matt Weresh, a distinguished physician with more than 30 years of service in Iowa, announced his retirement effective May 2026. Dr. Weresh will complete his final orthopedic surgeries at Cass Health during the first week of April.

Dr. Weresh relocated his practice to Cass Health in 2017 and has since provided expert care in a wide range of procedures, from complex hip and knee joint replacements to general surgeries. He was a pioneer in the region—the first orthopedic surgeon to serve central Iowa with specialty training in trauma and fracture care, areas which remained primary interests throughout his career. His impactful work has been published in several national articles and presented at numerous conferences in the fields of hip, knee, and general trauma/fracture care.

Dr. Matt Weresh (CCHS submitted photo)

“Dr. Weresh’s impact on orthopedic care in this region cannot be overstated,” said Brett Altman, Chief Executive Officer at Cass Health. “His expertise, particularly in trauma and joint replacement, has served our community exceptionally well. While we will deeply miss his contributions and dedication, we are well-prepared for this transition and excited to announce a significant expansion of our orthopedic capabilities to meet the growing needs of our patients. Thanks to Dr. Weresh pioneering the way, Cass Health will be offering our most robust orthopedic care with six 5-star professionals much like Dr. Weresh.”

Cass Health has been proactively planning for Dr. Weresh’s retirement and is expanding its orthopedic team to offer more comprehensive services. This strategic expansion ensures continuity of high-quality care and introduces new specialized expertise.

Currently, the orthopedic team includes Dr. Dan Hatz, Dr. Caliste Hsu, and Zachary Hollingsworth, PA-C. Dr. Hatz provides comprehensive orthopedic care including hip, knee, and shoulders. Dr. Hsu specializes exclusively in hand and microvascular procedures including carpal tunnel release, arthritis management, and traumatic injury repairs. Hollingsworth is a dedicated physician assistant to the orthopedic team, specializing in surgical and inpatient follow-up care, assisting in orthopedic and general surgeries, and coordinating comprehensive patient evaluation and clinical orders.

Cass Health also recently partnered with MD West ONE, the region’s largest private practice for orthopedics, neurosurgery, and spine care. Four physicians from MD West ONE will begin practicing at Cass Health in February 2026:

• Dr. Todd Sekundiak, Dr. Kimberly Turman, Dr. Charles Rosipal, and Dr. Jordan Lacy.
• Dr. Todd Sekundiak is a nationally recognized leader in joint replacement, who specializes in minimally invasive and robotic-assisted surgeries, including the innovative “Jiffy Knee” procedure.
• Dr. Kimberly Turman is an expert in arthroscopy and reconstructive surgery of the knee, shoulder, and hip, and has a particular passion for sports medicine.
• Dr. Charles Rosipal has advanced fellowship training in shoulder instability and rotator cuff repair.

Additionally, Neurosurgeon Dr. Jordan Lacy will return to Cass Health. Specializing in complex spine conditions, Dr. Lacy provides expert diagnostics and surgical procedures for back and neck health. “This next chapter of orthopedic care at Cass Health is really exciting for us and our patients. We are deeply grateful for Dr. Weresh’s service here, and we look forward to working with a team that continues his legacy of excellence,” said Altman.

(Red Oak, IA) – Police in Red Oak, today (Thursday) arrested a man on an active Montgomery County warrant. 65-year-old Terry Joe Halvin, of Red Oak, was taken into custody in the 100 block of W. Coolbaugh St. at around 12:30-p.m. on the warrant for Probation Violation.

Halvin was being held without bond in the Montgomery County Jail.