BURNSVILLE, North Carolina (KCRG) – Members of the Iowa National Guard on Tuesday rescued 34 nursing home residents who were isolated because of floodwaters and storm damage in North Carolina. The Iowa National Guard members deployed to Yancey County, North Carolina this week to help out after Hurricane Helene caused the devastating flooding and storm damage there. Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds authorized the deployment of the National Guard members. The seven National Guard members and a water rescue team, which are being funded by North Carolina, will be helping out there until at least Oct. 8.
TAMA COUNTY, Iowa (KCRG) – A special investigation into the Tama County Conservation Department revealed its former director may have misspent nearly $77,000. State Auditor Rob Sand said maintenance staff with the department found Stephen Mayne was using county money to make purchases on his personal Menards account. Mayne was put on administrative leave. Auditor Sand’s investigation found Mayne did not provide proper documentation for more than $75,000 in purchases. It’s unknown how much of that money was actually used for department operations or personal use. However, some of the funds were improperly spent, including purchases of a fuel pump, 50 rounds of ammunition, and a battery. Mayne is no longer the director of Tama County Conservation.
CENTERVILLE, Iowa (KYOU/KCRG) – A judge has ruled Centerville’s school board violated Iowa’s Open Meeting Law when it held a closed meeting it said was for the purpose of evaluating an employee but instead discussed other things. The employee in question had already resigned before the meeting, so instead of an evaluation of his job performance, the board discussed “terms of the resignation agreement, avoidance of lawsuits, the leak of the Level 2 report, and how to handle fallout from the resignation that was expected.” A lawsuit against the district brought by the Iowa Freedom of Information Council alleged the district held the closed meeting to keep students, parents, residents and taxpayers in the dark about the allegations of improper conduct with a student by a guidance counselor. The guidance counselor the lawsuit referred to is Ryan Hodges, who was accused of trying to groom a high school student. The student filed a lawsuit in November 2023 against the district, saying she was bullied after accusing Hodges of inappropriate conduct and that the high school failed to step in. KCCI reports the student was also taking classes at Indian Hills Community College. She claimed her instructor there, who was Hodges’ wife, retaliated against the victim for reporting her husband. Hodges was placed on administrative leave in November 2022 and then resigned from his position at the high school in February 2023. In a statement, Executive Director of the Iowa FOI Council Randy Evans said the Centerville district withheld facts about its actions. The ruling does not impose any penalties against the district, but it will be required to pay the attorney fees for the Iowa Freedom of Information Council, which filed the lawsuit.
IOWA CITY, Iowa (KCRG) – Police in Iowa City are asking for information as they investigate a report of an assault that happened in the parking lot of West High School on Monday. Iowa City police said at around 6:55 p.m., a high school-aged female reported being approached from behind and assaulted by a dark-skinned male, wearing jeans and a dark-colored hoodie. Anyone with information about this incident is asked to contact the Iowa City Police Department. Anyone with area security camera footage is asked to review the recordings and contact the Iowa City Police Department with any potential footage or information that could be useful to the investigation.
