Iowa regulators have now sanctioned a second state‑employed nurse in connection with the 2024 death of a Storm Lake man who was incarcerated at the Newton Correctional Facility.
The Iowa Board of Nursing has disciplined both Penny Lynn Daniels of Newton and David Arterburn of Altoona for their roles in the death of 23‑year‑old Malga Harun Yanga, a former Storm Lake High School basketball standout who died from a perforated ulcer in September 2024.
Board records say Daniels was repeatedly informed that Yanga’s symptoms were worsening — including fever, nausea, vomiting and later vomiting blood — but failed to conduct a full assessment or request a physician evaluation. Instead, she added electrolyte fluids to his medication order and told colleagues he likely had a virus. Yanga died hours later. Daniels agreed to a settlement last fall that suspended her nursing license for three months, placed her on three years of probation and required additional ethics training.
The board recently finalized a similar settlement with Arterburn. Regulators say he also failed to assess Yanga despite being told of his declining condition, and did not document related calls until after learning of the inmate’s death. His license is suspended for six months, followed by three years of probation and required ethics training.
A civil lawsuit filed by Yanga’s estate provides a detailed timeline of his final days. Court filings say Yanga had been reporting stomach pain, diarrhea and vomiting blood for nearly a week before his death. By the time he twice saw Daniels on Sept. 3, he had reportedly vomited so much blood that it covered his hands and the floor of his cell, and other inmates had to clean it up. The lawsuit claims Daniels was told Yanga could no longer speak or walk but still did not perform additional assessments or request a doctor.
Just after midnight on Sept. 4, Yanga’s cellmate reportedly begged correctional officers for help, saying Yanga was unresponsive and seizing. The lawsuit alleges an officer refused, saying Yanga had already been seen in the clinic. Around 5 a.m., officers found Yanga unresponsive and attempted CPR for roughly 45 minutes before pronouncing him dead. The state has denied wrongdoing, and the case is scheduled for trial on May 4, 2027.
Yanga graduated from Storm Lake High School in 2019 and was a standout guard for the Tornado basketball team, averaging nearly 19 points per game during the 2018–19 season and earning Lakes Conference First Team honors.
His criminal case stemmed from a 2019 Storm Lake Police Department investigation that uncovered evidence of third‑degree sexual abuse, along with burglary‑related theft charges. He was convicted in August 2020 on charges including third‑degree sexual abuse, second‑degree theft and first‑degree harassment, and received a 10‑year prison sentence along with special sentence requiring lifetime probation after release. Yanga had served just over four years of that term at the Newton Correctional Facility when he died in September 2024.
Daniels has been licensed since 2012 and previously worked at the Glenwood Resource Center before joining the Department of Corrections in 2018. Arterburn has been licensed since 2009 and worked in multiple clinical settings before joining the DOC.
The Department of Corrections has not announced any internal policy changes related to the case, but state records show Newton Correctional Facility has faced multiple medical care complaints in recent years, including two unrelated wrongful death claims that were settled by the state in 2023 and 2024. The DOC says it does not comment on pending litigation.
