DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – A company contesting its terminated contract to help oversee Iowa’s Medicaid program has filed a lawsuit against the state.

WellCare of Iowa filed a lawsuit Tuesday in Polk County District Court against the state Department of Human Services. The company wants the agency to reverse its decision to terminate WellCare’s contract to help manage the state’s $4.2 billion Medicaid program.

A state official on Friday affirmed an administrative law judge’s recommendation to terminate WellCare’s contract over how the company disclosed information on fraud convictions of former executives. The judge also said the company had improper communication with state officials.

WellCare says it properly disclosed information. It also says the findings should not have affected the company’s selection for a state contract.

DHS says it does not comment on pending litigation.

A vehicle became stuck aside railroad tracks in Red Oak on Wednesday.  The Red Oak Police department responded to a call of a vehicle stuck at 10:36am today alongside the railroad tracks on the south side of the 600 Block of West Coolbaugh Street.  Upon arrival officers found a blue 1984 Dodge truck and its driver Alvin Smith of Hastings sitting about 500 feet south of the 600 block of Coolbaugh Street.  The vehicle had traveled along the railway and then slid down the embankment into a ditch and became immobile.

The Red Oak Fire Department assisted with getting Smith out of the vehicle and the truck was removed by a tow service.  Smith told officers that a train was blocking the roadway so he tried to drive down railway property to get to the next road when he became stuck.

Smith was cited for Trespassing on BNSF property and then released.  Red Oak Police were also assisted at the scene by the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office.

There are several reports of vehicles in the ditches, median and minor collisions this afternoon in the KJAN listening area. Most of the accidents appear to be happening along Interstate 80 in Cass and Adair Counties. The Iowa DOT’s road conditions website at 511ia.org shows roads in and around Atlantic are partially covered with snow, ice and slush. I-80 from about Highway 173 in Cass County to Highway 25 in Adair County is also slushy. Slow down, and allow extra travel time to reach your destination.

Roads in blue are partially covered in snow and slush. Bridges and overpasses may be icy. (Image as of 2:30-p.m. 12/23)

You’re invited to join Cass County Conservation Staff at Atlantic’s Schildberg Recreation Area on Saturday, January 9th 2016, for “Sioree with the Swans.” Conservation staff will be giving ten-minute presentations regarding the Trumpeter Swans every half-hour beginning at 11:00 a.m. with the last one being presented at 2:00 p.m. There will also be time to view the swans through spotting scopes and witness random swan feeding sessions.

Hot chocolate, cookies, grilled hotdogs, and other snacks will be provided free of charge with donations being accepted (for swan care). The Schildberg Recreation Area is located on the northwest edge of Atlantic, on the north side of Highway 83.

IF THE WEATHER IS “BAD” OR THE SWANS ARE NOT AT THE PARK…the program will be held at the Atlantic Public Library from 12:00 p.m.-1:00 p.m. with a light lunch available. This event is being sponsored by the Cass County Conservation Board, Atlantic Parks and Recreation, the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, and the Atlantic Public Library.

Officials with the Cass County Conservation Board say the sponsors of the Trumpeter Swan arrival contest have determined the official arrival of the swans at the Schildberg Recreation Area, as November 22nd  On that day 18 Trumpeter Swans were at the Rec Area, and they stayed more than twenty-four hours. The winner of the contest is Todd Rocker.

He will receive a Trumpeter Swan 8×10 print from the Cass County Conservation Board. The Cass County Conservation Board thanks to all who participated in the contest.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) – A prominent lottery official was quietly removed from his 28-year post leading the Multi-State Lottery Association after the jackpot-fixing investigation involving his organization widened. A public record obtained by The Associated Press shows the group’s executive director, Charles Strutt, was placed on administrative leave indefinitely in October.

The move by the association’s board came days after Iowa prosecutors said their investigation of jackpot-fixing by the group’s former security director, Eddie Tipton, had expanded nationwide. Investigators say evidence so far suggests Tipton was the only lottery official involved.

Strutt is credited with overseeing Powerball since its 1992 inception, developing other multi-state games such as Hot Lotto, and expanding the association to 37 states and territories. Strutt and Idaho Lottery director Jeff Anderson, chairman of the association’s board, declined comment.

If you haven’t received the influenza vaccine this year, you can still receive either the flu shot or FluMist at the Atlantic Medical Center. Influenza vaccines are available Monday through Friday, from 8:30 to 4:30 pm and Saturday from 8:30 to 11:30 am. There is no need to make an appointment, and most insurance providers cover the cost of the vaccine.

The two best ways to protect yourself and those around you from influenza are to get vaccinated and to practice good hand washing. Getting vaccinated not only protects you, but also those around you who may be too young (under 6 months) or have a medical condition that prevents them from being vaccinated.

The seasonal flu (influenza) is a serious disease caused by the Influenza virus. Some common symptoms of the flu are fever, cough, shaking chills, body aches, and extreme weakness. The influenza disease may last for a couple of weeks.

Ways to help protect yourself from Influenza:
 Avoid close contact with sick people.
 Wash your hands often with soap and water. If soap and water are not available, use an alcohol-based hand rub.
 Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth.
 Clean and disinfect surfaces and objects that may be contaminated with germs like the flu.
If you are sick with flu-like illness, the CDC recommends that you stay home for at least 24 hours after your fever is gone except to get medical care or for other necessities. (Your fever should be gone without the use of a fever-reducing medicine.) While sick, be sure to practice the three c’s: contain your germs by limiting contact with others as much as possible, cover your nose and mouth with a tissue when you cough or sneeze, and clean your hands.

For more information, please contact the Atlantic Medical Center Immunization Nurses at 712-243-2850.

Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders mocked one of Republican Donald Trump’s recent comments about Hillary Clinton during a rally Tuesday night in Council Bluffs. “Donald Trump is very upset. It’s very hard for him to deal with. I don’t know what his relationship with women has been in his life, but he has discovered that women go to the bathroom.”

Earlier this week Trump said it’s “disgusting” that Clinton went to the bathroom during a commercial break in last weekend’s Democratic candidate debate. Sanders jokingly made an admission of his own Tuesday night. “I’ve got to be honest with you. I’ve got to lay it out on the table: I also went to the bathroom,” Sanders said and the crowd cheered as Sanders stuck with his sarcasm. “I know. I have to admit it. I guess I’m a man. Men are allowed to go to the bathroom, but women? What can we say?”

Sanders spoke to nearly 18-hundred people, touting his campaign agenda, including his call for an increase in the minimum wage. Sanders says Trump, who opposes a minimum wage hike, won’t “make American great again” for everyone, just for millionaires like himself. Sanders also points to a recent poll which suggests if the General Election were held today and it was Sanders versus Trump, Sanders would win.

“It would give me nothing but great satisfaction,” Sanders said yesterday. “Boy, would I love that.” Sanders wrapped up a three-day campaign swing through Iowa with a town hall meeting in Red Oak this morning.

(Radio Iowa)

The Cass County Board of Supervisor’s, today (Wednesday), voiced their support for a proposed Resolution pertaining to the U-S Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). A draft of the Resolution was presented to the Board for their review and changes as necessary. The Resolution, as currently written, states in-part, that the RFS “Has been created to reduce dependence on foreign sources of crude oil and to foster development of domestic energy resources.”

A change to the proposed resolution by Supervisor Mark Wedemeyer, would remove a section that states “Renewable fuel resources should provide significant reduction in greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to climate change.” Wedemeyer says he doesn’t subscribe to the theory of “Global warming.”

John and Brad Hartkopf, representing the Renewable Fuels Industry, spoke before the Board prior to their taking the Resolution under consideration. John Hartkopf said they have been trying to educate the public and presidential candidates on the importance of the issue.

He said “Iowa is the nation’s leader in renewable bio-fuels and ethanol and production.” The renewable fuels industry he says, brings 73,000 jobs to Iowa, a $5-billion payroll and $13-billion to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). In the original law passed in 2005 and renewed in 2007, “There is seven-years left in that law, and that last seven-years is primarily for market access. So this market can be expanded to other states. And that was the intent of the law…the purpose of the law is the protection of the United States from foreign oil…environmental protection, and to grow Iowa’s and [the] Midwest’s agriculture industry.”

Hartkopf said the RFS of course has seen opposition from the oil industry, and there are misconceptions about who benefits from renewable fuel. He said Renewable Fuels has not received federal tax credits since 2011, but the oil industry still receives $4.8-billion in tax credits.”

He says the main thing they want to the public and presidential candidates to understand, is the economic benefit to the State and how critical the RFS is in continuing that benefit. The Board is expected to approve the amended resolution during its meeting on Dec. 31st.