From the Associated Press:
NORTH PLATTE, Neb. (AP) — Authorities identified a woman who drowned while kayaking on the North Platte River near Scottsbluff. The woman was identified Monday as 65-year-old Linda D. Schledewitz, of rural Scottsbluff. She and her husband overturned a kayak on Friday afternoon near Scottsbluff’s wastewater treatment facility. The Scottsbluff Star-Herald reports the man initially struggled to reach his wife in the water, but once he did he administered CPR.
DAVENPORT, Iowa (AP) — A Davenport woman has pleaded guilty to leaving the scene of a fatal accident in the hit-and-run death of a pedestrian in May. The Quad-City Times reports that 54-year-old Michelle Fix agreed to the deal in which prosecutors agreed to drop a speeding violation. She entered the plea last week and faces up to five years in prison when she’s sentenced in January. Prosecutors say Fix was behind the wheel on May 1 when she hit 48-year-old Alfonso Reid Jr., of Davenport, as he walked across the road. Reid died from his injuries on May 8. Police say Fix did not stop to render aid to Reid and instead sped off. Her vehicle, which had front-end damage, was found abandoned May 6.
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — An Iowa woman faces criminal charges after a baby girl who had been in her care died and was found to have illicit drugs in her system. Television station KCCI reports that Des Moines police arrested 40-year-old Nicole Ghee on suspicion of child endangerment and drug possession in the April death of a 2-month-old girl. Investigators say an autopsy showed the baby had methamphetamine in her system. Ghee is scheduled to appear in court on the charges on Oct. 20.
WEST UNION, Iowa (AP) — A lawsuit filed against an Iowa hospital alleges that a 77-year-old man who was being treated for pneumonia died after the oxygen machine feeding his nasal tube was shut off. The Des Moines Register reports that David Hackley’s relatives sued Gundersen Health System on Friday over his January 2020 death. They say Hackley had been improving and that the Gunderson Palmer Lutheran Hospital in West Union was making arrangements to discharge him to a skilled nursing home for rehab before his supplemental oxygen was turned off. Within two days, he was dead.
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Races for local school board seats have emerged as intense political battlegrounds in the upcoming Nov. 2 elections across the U.S. Parental protests that started during COVID-19 lockdowns are evolving into full-fledged board takeover campaigns. National conservative groups offering training academies for right-leaning candidates are helping stoke the challenges, which could have a dramatic effect on public education if they succeed. Takeover supporters say school boards and teachers unions have lost touch with parents, while some sitting board members say the challengers are political extremists. National education groups say the races are being used to test messaging ahead of the 2022 midterm elections.
