Gazette Daily News Podcast: Wednesday, Feb. 21, 2024

– Hiawatha man accused of kidnapping woman found dead in Amana

– Iowa House passes bill to block code from tracking gun store purchases

– Alcohol could be tied to Iowa’s fastest-growing cancer rate

Episode Transcript

You are listening to The Gazette’s Daily News Podcast on Wednesday, February 21. This podcast gives quick bites from the latest headlines coming out of The Gazette newsroom. I’m Bailey Cichon.

Coming up, a Hiawatha man has been charged with kidnapping a woman who was found dead

And later, a bill that prohibits using a merchant code meant to detect suspicious firearms and ammunition sales advances

Plus, Iowa has the second-highest and fastest-growing rate of new cancers. Hear what the annual “Cancer in Iowa” report found.

First, a Hiawatha man has been charged with kidnapping a woman who was found dead in Amana on Sunday. 23-year-old McKinley Louisma is charged in Linn County with first-degree kidnapping and conspiracy to commit a forcible felony. Louisma admitted to law enforcement that he and another person kidnapped 20-year-old Melody Hoffman from Morgan Creek Park in Linn County Saturday evening. According to the criminal complaint, Louisma and the other person bound Hoffman with duct tape around her wrists, put her in the trunk of Louisma’s car and drove to multiple locations before taking off her clothes and leaving her at a pond at 220th Trail and 38th Avenue in Amana. This is where Hoffman’s body was discovered Sunday morning. Louisma told police he had been in an intimate relationship with Hoffman, but was also in a relationship with another woman. A preliminary investigation by the Iowa State Medical Examiner’s Office indicated Hoffman’s cause of death was by strangulation, although she also had numerous stab and slash wounds in her body. Data from Hoffman’s iPhone and Apple Watch indicated she was at Morgan Creek Park Saturday night when her heartbeat intensified before it either stopped or the watch was deactivated. When investigators searched Louisma’s car with a warrant, they found Hoffman’s phone case, a white Apple Watch band with blood on it, a bungee cord, a towing rope, gloves and clothing matching what Hoffman had been wearing at the park.

While Louisma admitted the details of the kidnapping, he didn’t say whether he had caused Hoffman’s death. According to the complaint, he said Hoffman was beaten while she was with Louisma and the other person and that she was begging to be let go. At the time of recording this podcast, the other individual has not yet been arrested. Louisma was arrested Tuesday and is being held in the Linn County Jail.

Next, Iowa House Republicans advanced a bill that would prohibit the use of a code for credit card transactions at gun retailers that is meant to detect suspicious firearms and ammunition sales. Rep. Phil Thompson, a Republican from Boone and chair of the House Public Safety Committee, said that House File 2464 aims to prevent financial institutions from effectively creating a gun registry. The bill would prevent banks and credit card companies from using a merchant code that classifies businesses by the goods and services sold. The code would differentiate a gun shop from a sporting goods store, for example.

The U.S. Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network has sent guidance to financial institutions to encourage the use of new merchant category codes that would help them monitor and report suspicious activity connected to illegal firearms trafficking and other criminal activity.

Visa, Mastercard and American Express have paused implementation of the new code because some Republican-led states are working to block its enactment. Opponents say the code is an infringement on privacy and Second Amendment rights.

Gun safety advocates say the code would be used as a tool to help financial institutions report suspicious gun purchasing activity to law enforcement.

Additionally, the bill would prohibit banks and credit card companies from declining a transaction solely based on the firearms code attached to the store. It would also bar state and local governmental agencies from keeping a record or registry of privately owned firearms. This excludes records kept during a criminal investigation or prosecution or court case or otherwise required by law. The bill passed the house Tuesday 68-27, with Democrats opposed. Now it heads to the Senate for consideration and approval.

Next, University of Iowa released the 2023 “Cancer in Iowa” report Tuesday. Iowa ranks second, behind Kentucky, for the highest cancer rate. Plus, Iowa is the only state where cancer cases are rising. Another 21,000 cases are estimated this year, according to the report. While multiple risk factors are believed to contribute to Iowa’s rising rates, Iowa’s high rates of alcohol use and abuse stand out.

Alcohol is a risk factor for cancers like colon, liver, prostate and breast cancer to name a few. Iowa has the fourth highest incidence of alcohol-related cancers in the country–and the highest in the Midwest.

Mary Charlton is the Director of the Iowa Cancer Registry at the University of Iowa. Charlton said quote, “Alcohol is one modifiable risk where Iowans stand out from the rest of the country, and that may be contributing to our high cancer rates. My main message today is meant to be a literal buzz kill.” end quote.

As always, you can find a link to each of the stories featured in today’s episode in this episode’s description or at the gazette dot com.

Finally, let’s take a look at today’s weather in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Today will be cloudy with a high of 58 degrees and a low of 40 degrees. Thursday will be mostly sunny. Anticipate a high of 57 degrees and a low of 31 degrees.

Thank you for listening to The Gazette’s Daily News Podcast. Stay up to date with the latest news from Eastern Iowa at the gazette dot com. I’m Bailey Cichon.

Comments: bailey.cichon@thegazette.com