From the Associated Press:
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The U.S. Department of Justice on Wednesday issued a strong condemnation of the way Iowa treats people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, telling the state it must find ways to care for people in community settings and not in institutions or be sued. A federal civil rights lawyer said in a letter and report sent to state officials that after a yearlong investigation the DOJ concluded Iowa likely violates the federal Americans with Disabilities Act by institutionalizing people who should be placed in community settings. The investigation focused on state-run institutions in Woodward and Glenwood. Iowa Department of Human Services Director Kelly Garcia says she is committed to ensuring people are able to live their most independent lives possible.
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Hospitalizations reported by the Iowa Department of Public Health increased Wednesday as the state continues to experience a surge in coronavirus cases leading to more people being treated in hospitals, higher numbers in intensive care and more deaths. Hospitalizations increased 7.5% from the Monday update to 777 patients with 185 people requiring ICU care, up 14%. The number of hospitalized patients is the highest since Dec. 14, 2020, and the ICU census is the highest in a year. Seven unvaccinated children age 11 or younger are hospitalized and the state reports 6% of children age 5 to 11 in Iowa are fully vaccinated. The state also reported an additional 105 COVID-19 deaths, which raises the state total to 7,550 deaths.
IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — A top-ranking female Iowa law enforcement officer is suing the state police department, saying she’s faced years of retaliation after reporting misspending and gender discrimination. Charis Paulson alleges that she’s the only director with the Iowa Department of Public Safety to work in a cubicle and not a private office, to not have an assigned parking spot, to be excluded from director meetings, and to report to someone with a lower rank. Paulson became the first woman to lead the Division of Criminal Investigation in 2012 and in recent years has served in department administrative roles. She filed a lawsuit this week alleging that she’s faced retaliation since reporting misspending and disparate treatment in 2016.
IOWA FALLS, Iowa (AP) — Police in central Iowa say a man who had been stopped by police Wednesday morning for reportedly stalking a woman he used to date was fatally shot by officers when he displayed a gun and tried to flee the stop. The Iowa Department of Public Safety said in a news release that the fatal encounter happened in Iowa Falls shortly after 7 a.m. Wednesday, when police, Hardin County sheriff’s deputies and the Iowa State Patrol responded to a call for help from the woman. Police say they saw the man run his vehicle into the woman’s car, then ordered him out of his vehicle. Police say the man refused, displayed a shotgun and tried to flee, and police shot him. His name has not been released.
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Police in Des Moines have identified suspect who died and an officer who was hurt when both were hit by a car as they ran into a street during an altercation. Police say 31-year-old Donald Hill, of Des Moines, was fatally injured and 48-year-old Officer Curt Brass was seriously hurt in the Monday night crash. Police have said the incident began when the officer stopped and questioned Hill, who fled on foot. Police say the two men struggled before Hill ran into SE 14th Street followed by Brass, and both men were hit by a vehicle. They were rushed to a hospital, where Hill died. Police say Brass is expected to recover.
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) — An Iowa man has been sentenced to 25 years in prison after taking a plea deal for the 2017 shooting death of another man in a Cedar Rapids parking lot. Television station KCRG reports that 29-year-old Quarzone Martin was sentenced Tuesday after pleading to voluntary manslaughter in the death of 26-year-old Andrew Meeks. Martin was convicted of second-degree murder in the case in 2017 and sentenced to 50 years in prison, but the Iowa Court of Appeals overturned the first conviction last year. Quarzone took prosecutors’ deal ahead of his second trial that had been scheduled for last month. Prosecutors have said Quarzone fatally shot Meeks and wounded a 30-year-old man on July 2, 2017, in the parking lot of a Cedar Rapids Walmart.
