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Two sought in Washington murder case

December 3, 2009 By

Police in the southeast Iowa town of Washington are looking for two “persons of interest” in a homicide investigation. They’ve released photos of two men in their twenties. One goes by Memphis. Police describe him as white, around six feet tall with no upper front teeth and tattoos on both arms.

The other is named Brandon. He’s described as also being white around six feet tall with short black hair, blue eyes and a two to three inch scar on his forehead. The two may be from Michigan and are thought to be involved in the construction industry. Officers say both were in Washington November 22.

Early that morning, Robert Thomas Blankenship of Washington was found unconscious outside the 4th Avenue Bar and Grill in an area where several people had been involved in an altercation. Blankenship later died at an Iowa City Hospital. Anyone with information about them is encouraged to contact Washington Police at (319) 653-2256.

Contributed by Nick Wilkens, KCII, Washington

Filed Under: Crime & Courts

Council Bluffs police release name of victim in halfway house death

December 3, 2009 By

Council Bluffs police have released the name of a man who died Wednesday night after an altercation at a halfway house. Officials say the body of 53-year-old Phillip Johnson was found on the floor of his apartment at the Timothy House on North 15th Street in Council Bluffs at around 8:20 P.M.

Bluffs Police Sgt. David Dawson says they were called to check on Johnson’s welfare following an altercation that began with an argument over loud music or noise. Police are investigating his death as a possible homicide. An autopsy was scheduled for today. Officers questioned a man in his 40s who was allegedly involved in a fight with Johnson, but no arrests have been made.

Contributed by Ric Hanson, KJAN, Atlantic

Filed Under: Crime & Courts

Warm weather turns to cold and snow

December 3, 2009 By

High temperatures reached into the upper 50s on Tuesday, but it’s well below freezing across much of Iowa this morning, with most areas in the 20s. Meteorologist Jim Lee, with the National Weather Service office in Johnston, says parts of northern Iowa are seeing snow fly today with a couple inches of accumulation.

Many areas got an inch or less, but there are reports of as much as four-and-a-half inches of snow near Kanawha. The snowfall is reaching from Hancock County into Grundy and Franklin counties. Lee says the snowflakes will likely last much of the day for that region.

While the front is weakening, more snow could keep falling off-and-on through the day and into tonight. Lee said there is the potential for more white stuff in parts of Iowa on Sunday. It won’t be a major snow event, he says, but it could bring a few more inches.

Contributed by Pat Powers, KQWC, Webster City

Filed Under: Weather

Police warn of phone scam in NE Iowa

December 3, 2009 By

Law enforcement agencies are warning the public about a phone scam in northeast Iowa. The caller asks people to verify their debit card number in order for the card to remain active. The calls have been coming from an area code of 601 or 714. Authorities are reminding residents to never give out personal information, including debit or credit card information over the phone.

If a person believes they have been a victims of such as scam, they should immediately call their bank. The cases have been reported this week in Fayette, Howard and Winneshiek counties.

Contributed by Roger King, KOEL, Oelwein

Filed Under: Crime & Courts

U-I study on blood pressure getting attention

December 3, 2009 By

A University of Iowa medical researcher’s study of hypertension is getting national attention. Professor Barry Carter studied patients with high blood pressure at clinics in six Iowa communities. Doctors and pharmacists worked closely together to modify medication for half of the patients. Carter says that collaborative effort was twice as likely to achieve control of high blood pressure.

“Blood pressure control rates in a group of patients, who previously did not achieve control, were 30% in the control group that did not receive this intervention and 64% in the intervention group that did receive this physician/pharmacist collaborative model,” Carter said. Around 60% of patients with hypertension are not able to bring their blood pressure down.

“Part of that is because patients don’t go to the doctor as they should and part of it is they don’t take their medicine,” Carter said. “But, our research shows a big part of that is medications aren’t intensified and used in the proper combination to achieve blood pressure control.” Carter’s research appears in a recent issue of The Archives of Internal Medicine. He’s hoping new federal health care legislation will encourage more team-based medicine.

Filed Under: Health & Medicine Tagged With:

Farm Bureau president urges farmers to learn from G.M.’s demise

December 3, 2009 By
Craig Lang

Craig Lang

Iowa Farm Bureau president Craig Lang is challenging farmers to “heed” the lessons of the “demise” of General Motors.  Lang — a dairy farmer from Brooklyn, Iowa — says G.M. failed to make what consumers wanted — and that should be a cautionary tale for “modern” agriculture.

“For nearly 100 years this corporation dominated the world business scheme They were the model of management and development.  If you’re my age, you know what a ’57 Chevy really meant,” Lang says.  “It exemplified power, prestige and, if you were lucky, a date.”

But Lang says G.M. failed to track and respond to changing consumer attitudes.  

[Read more...]

Filed Under: Agriculture, Business

Lawmakers looking at distracted driving

December 3, 2009 By

Traffic safety experts estimate that one out of five crashes in the U.S. involve a distracted driver. Iowa lawmakers are expected to address the matter during the 2010 session, specifically focusing on drivers who send and receive text messages while behind the wheel. Democrat Tom Rielly of Oskaloosa is chair of the Senate Transportation Committee.

“It’s a safety issue,” Rielly said. “I know there are some studies out there (that suggest) it’s just as risky as driving with a .08 blood-alcohol level.” Rielly says he’s meeting with insurance companies and traffic safety advocates in hopes of crafting a bill to prohibit driving while texting.

Representative Dave Tjepkes, a Republican from Gowry, is a ranking member of the House Transportation Committee. He’s also a retired Iowa State Trooper. “I’ve seen folks driving down the road reading a newspaper,” Tjepkes said. “So, sometimes when you talk about…in the context of distracted driver, that’s pretty broad and ambiguous. As Senator Rielly and I are trying to figure out, how can we draft something that’s very targeted and very specific that we think will be effective?”

Tjepkes says the issue of drafting a bill to ban driving while texting is more complex than it might seem. For instance, there are questions about how to legally define texting. “That’s what we’re working on right now,” Tjepkes said. “I think all bills we introduce need to be kind of in the context…is this going to prevent something? How could it be enforced and what effect do we think we can have overall on safety?”

Law officers are wondering how they would enforce a texting ban. Rielly, who once served as mayor of Oskaloosa, says the issue is similar to a ban his city placed on semi drivers using Jake Brakes. “Anybody that lives near a highway knows when a semi puts on Jake Brakes, it’s very, very loud. So, we passed an ordinance, but my big concern was ‘how do you enforce this?’ Unless a police officer is sitting right there as the semi is putting on its Jake Brakes, it’s virtually unenforecable,” Rielly said.

“So, I think that’s something we do have to take into consideration as we discuss this important topic.” Tjepkes suggests a public education campaign, including billboards along highways and interstates, might also help address the problem. Rielly and Tjepkes made their comments on the Iowa Public Radio program “The Exchange.”

Filed Under: Crime & Courts Tagged With: ,
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