In Illinois, new legislation is designed to keep the cannabis market safe and growing.

Senate Bill 3222 prohibits the sale of certain intoxicating hemp products to anyone under 21.
Beginning in November, some products will be required to have child-proof packaging.
Misleading marketing and packaging will be banned. The law also allows all Illinois cannabis retailers to register as medical dispensaries and allows curbside and drive-thru pickup until 2:00 a.m. for all customers. The law also expands conditions to qualify for a medical card, which can now be certified through telehealth.

For more information, click here.

WESTFIELD, Ind. (WISH) — Two women are facing criminal charges following a prostitution investigation at an apartment complex in Westfield.

According to a news release Thursday, the investigation began June 23, stemming from a Crime Stoppers tip about suspected prostitution and possible human trafficking at The Farmhouse at Lantern Commons Apartments, near the 16000 block of Gleam Way.

On June 25, detectives arranged a meeting, entered the residence and encountered two adult women. One of the women agreed to engage in sexual activity in exchange for $300. Both women were detained at the scene.

Detectives searched the apartment and found evidence of sexual activity and prostitution-related activity.

Yanyi Zhang faces five charges:

• Two counts of Promoting Prostitution, a Level 5 Felony.
• Identity Deception, a Level 6 Felony.
• Class A Misdemeanor for prostitution.

Linxia Shi was charged with a Class A Misdemeanor for prostitution.

Zhang and Shi were offered victim assistance resources during the investigation, Westfield Police said.

A jury trial for Zhang is scheduled for Nov. 2, according to online court records.

This case marks the second prostitution investigation by the Westfield Police in the past two months, both of which were initiated by tips submitted anonymously through Crime Stoppers. The department encourages residents to continue to report suspicious activity.

INDIANOLA, Iowa (ICD) – After being convicted last year of 10 felonies including theft and dependent adult abuse, a central Iowa nurse is facing sanctions from the state’s Board of Nursing.

Registered nurse Holly Renee Carlson of Indianola is charged by the board with being convicted of a criminal offense that directly relates to the duties and responsibilities of the nursing profession, and failure to notify the board of a criminal conviction within 30 days. A hearing on the charges is scheduled for Oct. 16, 2026.

Court records indicate that in December 2025, a Warren County jury found Carlson guilty of one count of ongoing criminal conduct, six counts of first-degree theft against an older individual, one count of second-degree theft against an older individual, and two counts of dependent adult abuse.

According to prosecutors’ court filings, The Iowa Medicaid Fraud Control Unit and the Indianola Police Department launched an investigation into Carlson in 2024.

Prosecutors alleged Carlson financially exploited her parents while also working as a “legal nurse consultant and case manager” for her own company, Carlson & Associates. Prior to 2019, prosecutors said, she had worked as a case manager for the Des Moines office of the Veterans Administration.

According to the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, Carlson was granted power of attorney over the affairs of her mother and father in 2016. In 2019, her father entered Vintage Hills, an Indianola senior living facility, due to issues with dementia.

In December of that year, Carlson allegedly submitted a change-of-beneficiary form to John Hancock Insurance, switching the beneficiary of her mother’s life insurance policy from her father to herself. When her mother passed away a few weeks later, Carlson submitted a claim for her mother’s life insurance and was paid $251,027.70, prosecutors alleged.

According to MFCU investigators, Carlson also transferred the family farm, and all of its land, out of her mother’s name, preventing Vintage Hills from placing a lien on the property to collect money owed from the mother’s stay at the facility, and deposited loan proceeds into her own bank account rather than using the money to improve the farm.

Investigators also alleged Carlson regularly withdrew money from her father’s bank account, and also sold two of his vehicles, without paying the bills for his care at Vintage Hills. “ln the end, after reviewing all of the bank records and various other records, it was determined that Carlson had financially exploited (her parents) for $456,829.09,” a Medicaid Fraud Control Unit investigator told prosecutors in a sworn affidavit.

Court records show that after her conviction, Carlson was sentenced to three years of probation tied to a 25-year suspended prison sentence.

Carlson referred the Iowa Capital Dispatch to her attorney, Trent Nelson, who declined to comment other than to say the criminal convictions are being appealed and the allegations against Carlson had nothing to do with her practice as a nurse.

Other Iowa-licensed nurses facing charges recently disclosed by the board include:

— Susan Louise Peden of Bondurant, an advanced registered nurse practitioner who is charged by the board with professional incompetence including a lack of knowledge, skill or ability to discharge her professional obligations; deviation from the standards of learning, education, or skill ordinarily possessed by a nurse; committing acts that might adversely affect a patient’s welfare; prescribing or distributing drugs in an unsafe manner, and prescribing or distributing drugs without assessing or evaluating the patient. A hearing on the matter is scheduled for Oct. 16, 2026.

According to the board, Peden, also known as Susan Louise Deo, has been an advanced registered nurse practitioner since May 2018. State records indicate the investigation into her conduct was initiated in 2024, the same year Peden founded Bondurant Dermatology.

Iowa Capital Dispatch was unable to reach Peden for comment.

— Nicolette Rae Lovitt of Coon Rapids, a registered nurse who is charged by the board with deviating from the standards of learning, education or skill ordinarily possessed by nurses; engaging in behavior that constitutes unethical conduct or practice harmful to the profession; and engaging in unethical conduct or practice harmful or detrimental to the public by violating professional boundaries. A hearing on the charges is scheduled for Oct. 16, 2026.

Iowa Capital Dispatch was unable to reach Lovitt for comment.

— Jaci M. Moore of Preston, a licensed practical nurse who is charged by the board with misappropriating or attempting to misappropriate medications or supplies of a patient or clinic; committing an act that might adversely affect a patient’s welfare; and failing to assess or evaluate a patient or client. A hearing on the charges is scheduled for Oct. 16, 2026.

Iowa Capital Dispatch was unable to reach Moore for comment.

Iowa Capital Dispatch is part of States Newsroom, the nation’s largest state-focused nonprofit news organization.