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SW Iowa man dies in pickup truck crash

November 25, 2010 By

Thanksgiving Day began with a deadly accident about 5 AM in western Iowa’s Harrison County.

The Iowa State Patrol reports 22-year-old Colton Richard Bertelson, of Logan, died when the pickup he was driving went out of control and rolled into a farm field about three miles east of Magnolia.

Officials say Bertelson was traveling southeast on Highway 127 in his 2004 Chevy Silverado pickup, when he failed to negotiate a curve. The truck left the road and partially entered the southeast ditch.

Bertelson tried to steer the truck back toward the highway, but it slid across the road and through the intersection with Morgan Avenue, before entering the northwest ditch and sliding into a farm field, where the vehicle rolled over.

He was ejected from the pickup as it rolled and was pronounced dead at the Missouri Valley Hospital. Officials say he was not wearing a seatbelt.

Thanks to Ric Hanson, KJAN, Atlantic

Filed Under: Fires/Accidents/Disasters

First family plans a quiet Thanksgiving at Terrace Hill

November 25, 2010 By

This will be Governor Chet Culver’s last Thanksgiving at the Terrace Hill governor’s mansion before he leaves office in January. Culver said Wednesday it will be a small gathering with his family. Culver says they will have a quiet Thanksgiving and enjoy some family time with his wife Mari, daughter Claire and son John.

Culver told Radio Iowa’s Dar Danielson they’ll have the standard Thanksgiving fare at Terrace Hill, with possibly an exception. Culver says he “might throw a little sausage into the equation” as he says he likes to grill out. Culver made his comments at the state capitol after a ceremony where he pardoned two Iowa-grown turkeys.

Governor Culver also read his annual Thanksgiving message, which included a call for Iowans to help others. “We hope Iowans will join with us in our annual moment of reflection on the greatness of the state we all share,” Culver said, “And as we gather with our loved ones to celebrate our many blessings, we also encourage Iowans to remember those who are less fortunate. There are many ways to serve in your community: volunteer to serve a meal at a shelter; donate items to a food bank, or spend time with someone who would otherwise be alone on the holidays.”

Culver also encouraged Iowans to remember the men and women of the military during the holidays.

Filed Under: Human Interest, Politics & Government Tagged With: ,

UI med researchers look to save soldiers’ lives with nanotechnology

November 25, 2010 By

Researchers at the University of Iowa are studying new treatments to help heal soldiers who are wounded on the battlefield. Dr. Randy Kardon, a U-of-I professor of ophthalmology, says they’re focused on getting more immediate care to stop the bleeding in troops who have specifically been wounded in explosions.

“It would involve injecting a substance into the bloodstream,” Dr. Kardon says. “It would home to small areas in the circulation that have been disrupted from trauma to the brain that are causing micro-areas of bleeding in the brain and to other areas of the body.”

Kardon is director of the Iowa City Center of Excellence for the Prevention and Treatment of Visual Loss. When a fired rocket, shell or bomb explodes, there can be significant damage to the body from shrapnel and flying debris, but Kardon says just being near the concussion of air in an explosion can bring serious or deadly injury.

“When a blast occurs, there’s a wave of pressure that goes through the body, not just the head but the rest of the body,” Kardon says. “That is a wave of energy that puts pressure internally on different organs, it can disrupt the structure of those organs to cause these micro-bleeding sites and further damage to the structures.”

The U-of-I researchers are working with what are called nanoparticles that could be injected by a first-responder medic. Kardon says those particles are incredibly small.

“These are particles that are microns in size, so you can’t see them with a naked eye,” he says. “They’re a thousandth of a millimeter. They’re engineered at a ultra-microscopic level and certain substances are engineered to attach to them so they can be delivered to the right site.”

The team is trying to determine whether the slow release of steroids from the nanoparticle might also improve the outcomes. The U-of-I research project recently received a $1-million dollar grant from the Department of Defense.

Filed Under: Health & Medicine, Technology

Accused double-killer found guilty, sentenced, in Clinton

November 25, 2010 By

An eastern Iowa jury returned a verdict Wednesday in the case of Clinton man charged with two counts of first-degree murder.

A Clinton County jury has found 23-year-old Dameon Tucker guilty on all counts in the deaths of 22-year-old Angel Herman and setting fire to her apartment and her two year old son died in the fire.

Tucker had been charged with two counts of first degree murder and one charge of arson and in the sentencing. The arson charge was merged with the murder charge of two year old Cyrus Shoup. After the verdicts were announced, Tucker requested immediate sentencing.

The charge of first-degree murder carries a life sentence with no parole.

Judge Sivright said it may be only symbolic-but he ruled the sentences should be served consecutively, even if it was only symbolic. The judge due the nature of the crimes that sentence “just felt right.”

Thanks to Dave Vickers, KROS, Clinton

Filed Under: Crime & Courts

Council Bluffs man sentenced in beating death of Omaha man

November 25, 2010 By

A Council Bluffs man was sentenced Wednesday to a maximum of five-years in prison for his role in the beating death of his girlfriend’s ex-boyfriend.

Twenty-one-year old Chad Fortner pleaded guilty to felony charges of involuntary manslaughter and willful injury in connection with the August 21st death of 28-year-old Alejandro Sanchez-Rojas.

Fortner had been charged with first-degree murder, but reached a plea bargain with the County Attorney based on differing witness accounts. According to court documents, Sanchez-Rojas and 22-year-old Iyair Solis-Marin, both of Omaha, drove to the home of Brandy Kermoade, so Rojas could visit with his ex.

Pottawattamie County Attorney Matt Wilbur said the woman sent text messages to Fortner indicating Sanchez-Rojas was sexually assaulting her. When Fortner, his sister and her boyfriend arrived on the scene, Fortner found Kermoade and Sanchez-Rojas in the side yard of the residence. Rojas tried to explain what was happening, but Wilbur says Fortner hit Rojas about 20 times with a tire iron, before hitting Solis-Marin and breaking several bones in his face.

Fortner’s attorney asked Judge Greg Steensland for a structured probation for his client, who he said has a low IQ. He also told the judge that his client took action to protect another person again Sanchez-Rojas, who was legally intoxicated and had methamphetamine in his system at the time of his death.

Because of what he called “unique factors” in the case, Steensland gave Fortner a deferred judgment on the involuntary manslaughter conviction, which means it could be erased from his record. However, the judge sentenced him to up to five years in prison on the willful injury charge.

Thanks to Ric Hanson, KJAN, Atlantic

Filed Under: Crime & Courts

ISU grad, spacewalker ponders NASA’s future as shuttle program ends

November 25, 2010 By

The countdown clock is winding down on America’s space shuttle program, but astronaut Clay Anderson says he isn’t giving up on space. Anderson, the first and only Iowa State University graduate ever to reach orbit, says he hopes as this era of NASA space shuttles comes to an end, another better program will soon be coming along.

“I’m hopeful for the space program,” Anderson says. “The administration has been working to extend the life of the space station to at least 2020.” Anderson traveled aboard a shuttle twice and spent months living aboard the International Space Station. The 51-year-old is hoping for one more assignment that’ll rocket him into space but he isn’t optimistic it will happen.

“I’m not sure, I don’t know if I’ll get another chance to go up,” Anderson says. “The line is very long and with only a few shuttle flights left to go, the ability to send a crew of seven up into space on a regular basis is going to go away pretty soon.” Only two more shuttle missions are planned.

Anderson says for the sake of technology alone, the space program has to continue. He says there are many items we use on a daily basis that were originally developed for space travelers.

“In the Apollo era, as we prepared to go to the moon, portable drills and cell phones took time to develop and those were figured out as we went along the way to go to the moon,” Anderson says. Some other items include smoke detectors, Teflon, satellite TV, pace maker batteries, GPS trackers and even invisible braces for dental care. Anderson says there are endless possibilities.

“As we get ready to go to the moon or to an asteroid or to Mars, aren’t going to show up for a while,” Anderson says. “I don’t know what they will be. I can only hope they will be hugely exciting and beneficial to the folks on the planet.”

He says there’s one question everyone who grew up in the Apollo generation wants to know: Do astronauts still drink Tang? “Absolutely,” he says. “Now we can drink orange smoothie, peach-mango. There are all sorts of great flavors.”

Anderson spent 15 days in space this past April and in 2007, he spent five months living aboard the International Space Station, his first assignment in space. Anderson is a native of Ashland, Nebraska, and now lives in Houston, Texas. He earned a Master of Science degree in aerospace engineering from Iowa State University in 1983.

Filed Under: Human Interest, Technology

Winter holidays a busy time for Iowa firefighters

November 25, 2010 By

State Fire Marshal Ray Reynolds is reminding Iowans not to leave cooking food unattended on this holiday. “Thanksgiving is actually one of the busiest days for firefighters because of cooking fires,” Reynolds said. “I think in the last couple years we’ve had nearly 30 different fires throughout the state on Thanksgiving as a result of people trying to cook.”

The months of October, November and December are traditionally the busiest of the year for firefighters statewide. Many Iowans will be putting up Christmas decorations this weekend and Reynolds is asking they avoid plugging several cords into the same electrical outlet. “Christmas lights themselves are typically not the problem,” Reynolds said. “It’s more the number of items that’re plugged into an outlet that creates the problem.”

A number of home fires this time of year are also caused by unattended candles, fireplaces and space heaters. Reynolds says most importantly, all homes should be equipped with a working smoke detector. “Go get a smoke detector and make sure you put it in, because even if your property becomes damaged, a smoke detector will still give you those precious seconds to get out during a fire,” Reynolds said.

So far this year, there have been 27 fire-related fatalities in Iowa. Reynolds calculates that 128 lives have been saved in fires because the homes or businesses involved had working smoke detectors. Last year in Iowa, 46 people died in structure fires.

Filed Under: Fires/Accidents/Disasters
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