Category: Iowa

Business, Healthcare, IowaLeave a comment

Judge finds nursing home worker was fired for being honest with inspectors

Gary Dickson

In a recent case, an Iowa nursing home worker was fired for being honest with inspectors. The worker revealed issues the employer didn’t want disclosed, leading to immediate termination. Similarly, another worker was fired for allegedly instructing a colleague to lie to state inspectors. These incidents resulted in unemployment hearings, with some workers being awarded benefits while others were denied. Lawton Bronson School and Hegg Memorial employees also had cases reviewed recently. Continue reading Judge finds nursing home worker was fired for being honest with inspectors

Education, IowaLeave a comment

Iowa Board of Regents approves tuition increases for fall 2024

Gary Dickson

The Iowa Board of Regents unanimously approved tuition and fee increases for public universities, leading student leaders to push for reduced budget burdens on students. They emphasized the negative impact of rising costs and called for increased state allocations to ease the financial strain on students. University presidents also received significant salary increases. Continue reading Iowa Board of Regents approves tuition increases for fall 2024

Community, Iowa, JusticeLeave a comment

Sioux Center police officer forced to quit after domestic abuse arrest

Gary Dickson

A Sioux Center police officer who was forced to resign after a domestic abuse arrest — a charge that was later dismissed — and a failed psychological test is entitled to unemployment benefits, a judge has ruled.

According to state records, Steve S. Topete began working for the City of Sioux Center as a full-time police officer in June 2023. When he was hired, he was required to take and pass the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory test, which is a 600-question survey designed to measure an individual’s integrity, character and suitability as a law enforcement officer, with the answers reviewed by a psychologist. All certified law enforcement officers in Iowa are required to take the test. Continue reading Sioux Center police officer forced to quit after domestic abuse arrest

Health, Iowa, SiouxlandLeave a comment

Board: Acupuncture patient was abandoned, called sheriff’s office for help

Gary Dickson

An Iowa man had to call the sheriff’s office for assistance after his acupuncturist inserted needles into his body, then went home and fell asleep, according to the State Board of Medicine.

Board records and a report from the Lyon County Sheriff’s Office indicate that on June 12, 2023, a male patient went to the Rock Rapids office of XiaoDong “Dave” Wang, a state-licensed acupuncturist. According to the board, Wang inserted acupuncture needles into the man’s body, left the Wang Acupuncture Clinic, went home and fell asleep. Continue reading Board: Acupuncture patient was abandoned, called sheriff’s office for help

Healthcare, Iowa, Justice2 Comments

State-certified caregiver charged with sexual exploitation of a minor

Gary Dickson

A state-certified caregiver has been arrested and charged with sexually exploiting a minor while employed by an Iowa nursing home.

The most recent case, and the only one in which criminal charges have been filed, involves Guider’s employment at the Pleasantview Home in Kalona.

Over the past 12 months, Martell Guider, a 36-year-old male certified nursing assistant, has been the subject of complaints regarding a series of alleged incidents involving sexual impropriety at three Iowa nursing homes located in Audubon, Correctionville and Kalona. Continue reading State-certified caregiver charged with sexual exploitation of a minor

Crime, Iowa, South Dakota, TransportationLeave a comment

Motor vehicle accident Monday leads to arrest for drug offenses

Gary Dickson

On Monday, March 18 at 3:52 p.m., The Sioux County Sheriff’s Office investigated a motor vehicle accident that occurred on Sioux County Road A54B, 14 miles northwest of Rock Valley, IA.

Sharon Kerschion, age 71, from Hudson, SD, was driving a 2002 Buick Century northbound on A54 when a 38-year-old male passenger, who was experiencing a mental health condition, distracted her by grabbing the steering wheel. Kerschion lost control of the vehicle and entered the west ditch where the vehicle came to rest on railroad tracks.

Simultaneously, while investigating the accident, the Sioux County Sheriff’s Office arrested Continue reading Motor vehicle accident Monday leads to arrest for drug offenses

Business, IowaLeave a comment

Sergeant Bluff entrepreneur wins SBA’s top state award

Gary Dickson

The owner of a catering business and event venue in northwest Iowa is being named the Iowa Small Business Person of the Year by the Iowa district office of the U.S. Small Business Administration.

Cathy Bishop is the President of Aggies, Inc., a BBQ catering company in her hometown of Sergeant Bluff, Iowa.

A 1983 graduate of Texas A&M (the Aggies), Bishop spent ten years in Colorado as a bank examiner. She had always dreamed of being an entrepreneur though, and in 1994 she came home and opened Aggies. Aggies began as a restaurant with some catering, but in 2009 Aggies pivoted to catering full-time and turned the restaurant into an event venue.

Continue reading Sergeant Bluff entrepreneur wins SBA’s top state award

Agriculture, Environment, IowaLeave a comment

More than half of Iowa’s tested streams and lakes are ‘impaired’

Gary Dickson

There are at least 721 water body segments in Iowa that do not meet water quality standards for recreation, public water supplies and the protection of aquatic life, according to the state Department of Natural Resources.

The DNR has drafted its latest list of “impaired” waters that it is required to submit to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency every two years. The list is based on data collected by the department and numerous other entities between 2020 and 2022, and it is used to guide restrictions for stream pollution for Continue reading More than half of Iowa’s tested streams and lakes are ‘impaired’

Government, Iowa, PoliticsLeave a comment

House Democrats introduce proposals on collective bargaining, state retirement accounts

Gary Dickson

Iowa House Democrats laid out proposals Tuesday they say will help Iowa workers, including measures to add collective bargaining rights to the state constitution and raise the minimum wage.

Members of the minority party laid out five components of their proposal on workers’ pay. The bills introduced include House File 2293, which would gradually increase Iowa’s minimum wage from $7.25 to $15 per hour by July 2026, House File 2300, extending the state’s sales tax-free holiday in August from two days to two weeks and House File 2338, extending state childcare assistance to children with parents or guardians employed at a childcare facility. Continue reading House Democrats introduce proposals on collective bargaining, state retirement accounts

Crime, Iowa, SiouxlandLeave a comment

Former Sioux County sheriff’s deputy charged with felonies/misdemeanors

Gary Dickson

He was a Sioux County sheriff’s deputy and now he’s a former sheriff’s deputy.

Thursday, former Sioux County sheriff’s deputy Caleb Haverdink and his wife, Jill were arrested on numerous complaints and charges.

According to a joint press release from the Sioux County Sheriff and the Sioux County Attorney’s office, the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI) filed seven counts of Neglect of a Dependent Person, Class C Felonies; two counts of Mandatory Reporter Violations, Simple Misdemeanors; and one count of False Report to Law Enforcement, a Simple Misdemeanor, against the couple, who live in Maurice. The charges are the result of a criminal investigation conducted by the DCI. Continue reading Former Sioux County sheriff’s deputy charged with felonies/misdemeanors