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New law about chronic absenteeism in Iowa schools

News

August 21st, 2024 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa)- A new state law to address chronic absenteeism requires notifying parents by certified letter if a student misses school for eight days in a semester. After additional absences, there must be an in-person meeting with a parent or guardian. Anne Discher, executive director of Common Good Iowa, says the most recent data shows absenteeism is remarkably widespread in Iowa schools.

Advocates of the new law say regular attendance at school is a habit that will carry over into adulthood — and much of what happens in a classroom cannot be learned through make-up work. According to a national group called Attendance Works, one in four Iowa students were chronically absent during the 2021-22 school year. Discher says that means they missed 10 percent or more of school days, for any reason.

Discher is hoping more recent data could show improvement, but she says some students just haven’t reconnected with school after the pandemic.

For younger students, like kindergartners, Discher says figuring out what’s happening with the parents is key.

Discher has a child in a Des Moines high school and she says before school started the family of every incoming ninth grader was offered an in-home visit from someone on the school’s staff.

Under Iowa law, if a student misses 20 percent of school days in a semester, a meeting of the student, a parent or guardian and the county attorney will be scheduled.

Iowa delegates cast ‘ceremonial’ votes at Democratic National Convention

News

August 21st, 2024 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) – Iowa delegates to the Democratic National Convention cast their votes in a ceremonial roll call last (Tuesday) night. Party officials announced earlier this month that the Iowa delegation was unanimously supporting Harris as their party’s presidential nominee, but the chair of the Iowa Democratic Party’s Arab American Caucus voted present last night. All the other Iowa delegates supported the Harris-Walz ticket. Each state chose an upbeat dance tune for their time in the spotlight. Rita Hart, the chair of the Iowa Democratic Party, made the announcement as “Celebrate” by Kool and the Gang played.

Obama won Iowa in the 2008 and 2012 General Elections. Donald Trump carried the state in 2016 and 2020. Polls this year in Iowa have consistently shown Trump leading Joe Biden by a significant margin. Brian Jackson, a delegate from Solon, says having Harris at the top of the ticket could make a big difference.

Election Day is November 5th.

Skyscan Forecast for Wednesday, August 21, 2024

Weather

August 21st, 2024 by Ric Hanson

Today: A slight chance of showers this morning; Partly sunny. High near 78. South southeast wind 5 to 10 mph.

Tonight: Partly cloudy. Low around 59. SE winds 10-20 mph.

Tomorrow: Mostly sunny. High near 80. South wind 15-25 mph.

Tom. Night: Mostly cloudy w/a slight chance of showers & thunderstorms after midnight. Low 61.

Friday: Mostly cloudy, with a high near 79.

Friday Night: Partly cloudy.Again a slight chance of showers & thunderstorms after midnight. Low around 66.

Saturday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 89.

Sunday: Sunny, with a high near 93.

Teen dies from injuries in a Marshall County ATV collision

News

August 21st, 2024 by Ric Hanson

A teen from Marshall County died Tuesday afternoon, when the ATV he was driving collided with a pickup truck. The Iowa State Patrol reports the crash happened southwest of Rhodes, at around 2:30-p.m.

An initial investigation determined 17-year-old Kehgun Borton, of Rhodes, was riding a 2006 Polaris 500 ATV westbound on 320th Street, when he crossed the center of the road. The ATV collided with an eastbound 2016 Chevy pickup driven by 41-year-old Jeremy Gukert, of Rhodes.

Borton was transported from the scene to a hospital, where he died from his injuries. Multiple agencies assisted at the crash site. The accident remains under investigation.

Rights group calls for review of meatpacking plants

Ag/Outdoor

August 21st, 2024 by Ric Hanson

(A collaborative report from Sentient/Iowa News Service) – A U-S Department of Labor investigation this spring found the number of minors employed in livestock slaughterhouses nearly quadrupled between 2015 and 2022. An animal rights group says the conditions in these plants are dangerous for workers, and inhumane for the animals killed there. Iowa slaughters more pigs than any other state. Sean Thomas, with the group Animal Equality, says there have been cutbacks in the number of inspectors at pork processing plants, where more than a thousand hogs are slaughtered in an hour, meaning workers are at greater risk and the hogs face inhumane conditions.

Livestock producers say they are constantly looking for more environmentally friendly ways to keep up with consumer demand. They offer as evidence federally funded programs they use to reduce the impacts of large livestock operations. Thomas argues that increased consumer demand and the commercialization of livestock production means producers are moving the industry in the wrong direction.

Processing facilities reportedly have an effect on their communities, too. A university study has shown a correlation between domestic and sexual violence in places that are home to meatpacking facilities, a link that doesn’t exist in manufacturing sectors that don’t involve killing animals.

Male workers cutting pieces of meat with knives at the meat cutting department of the slaughterhouse

Food Bank of Iowa receives 6,000 pounds of food from Iowa State Fair vendors

News

August 20th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

DES MOINES, Iowa  — Sixteen Iowa State Fair vendors have donated 6,000 pounds of surplus food to Food Bank of Iowa at the close of this year’s fair. (That’s half of last year’s 12,000 pounds, but not surprising given the fair attracted an all-time record number of visitors this year: 1,182,682.)

Food rescued is in addition to thousands of pounds of food donated by fairgoers on Sunday, Aug. 18. That will be sorted and weighed in the coming days. Emily Shearer, Food Bank of Iowa’s senior manager of food acquisition and advocacy said “With some vendors selling out of their most popular menu items by the last day of the fair, it only makes sense there would be fewer leftovers this year. We are grateful to these generous fair vendors who want to prevent waste as well as share food with neighbors facing hunger. We’re also thankful for our volunteers who helped pick up food today and collected donations from fairgoers at all the gates.”

Food Bank of Iowa has been collecting food that goes unsold at the Iowa State Fair since 2018. Among the food picked up by FBOI staff and volunteers Aug. 19, the majority was delivered immediately to metro partners Hope Ministries and Catholic Charities. 791 pounds of bulk Barksdale chocolate chip cookies (baked) will be frozen and repackaged at Food Bank of Iowa this week and placed on inventory for quick distribution across the 55 counties FBOI serves. In addition to cookies, other food items donated included:

  • Fresh produce including peppers, limes, lettuce, tomatoes and onions
  • Hard-boiled eggs
  • Milk
  • Cheese
  • Assorted bread (pita, buns)
  • Pulled pork

The USDA estimates up to 40% of the U.S. food supply is wasted every year. According to Feeding America, that equates to more than $473 billion in food thrown away every year. Food Bank of Iowa annually diverts more than 8.3 million pounds of food from the landfill.

Food Bank of Iowa photo

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Thanks to these Iowa State Fair vendors for allowing Food Bank of Iowa to rescue safe, wholesome food for Iowans facing food insecurity:

  • Midwest Dairy
  • Iowa Sheep Industry Association
  • Iowa Pork Producers Association
  • Jalapeno Pete’s
  • West Des Moines United Methodist Church
  • Biscuit Bar
  • Veggie Table
  • Stockman’s Inn
  • JR’s SouthPork Ranch
  • The Depot
  • Iowa State Fair
  • Versova
  • Smith’s
  • Fair Fare LLC
  • Iowa State Fair General Store
  • Brafford

CAM Football is looking to leaders for 2024 Season

Sports

August 20th, 2024 by Asa Lucas

CAM Cougar football will be back next week and they’re ready to top the (10-1) 2023 season which ended in a 26-16 loss to Bishop Garrigan in the 8-player quarterfinals. To improve from last year’s respectable efforts, CAM head coach Barry Bower wants his players to keep their focus on character and respecting one another. Coach Bower believes that the way his team interacts, will be a good gauge for how the year will play out.

The Cougars have a strong supply of seniors returning to help bolster intensity on both sides of the ball. Players like senior Chase Jahde who recorded 33.5 tackles and 11 tackles for a loss in 2023. Also, senior Kegan Croghan with 54 tackles and 2 sacks. Both players will be relied on to help guide the CAM team.

One major change for coach Bower and the Cougar football season will be the absence of senior quarterback Chase Spieker. Spieker threw for over 1600 yards and 26 touchdowns a year ago, before he was injured in postseason baseball a few months ago. Most coaches would be sweating without their predicted starting quarterback, but coach Bower has faith in senior Makade Paulsen who had 154 rushing yards in 14 carries last season.

Coming up for the Cougars is a scrimmage on Friday August 23rd at Lenox. The Tigers were also knocked out of the playoffs back in 2023 in the quarterfinals against the (12-1) Bedford Bulldogs. Coach Bower is hoping the scrimmage will help shake off summer rust for his squad.

CAM’s scrimmage against Lenox will not be the only matchup that coach Bower is looking forward to. The Cougars are hosting the Audubon Wheelers on August 30th and coach Bower sees these next two weeks as a way to refine his team.

KJAN will bring you the coverage of August 30th contest between CAM and Audubon starting at 6:30pm.

Cass County (IA) Care facility cited for teen’s ‘disgusting and horrible’ abuse of residents

News

August 20th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

(Des Moines, Iowa) – A Cass County nursing home with a history of abuse-related violations is again facing possible federal fines for failing to protect residents from abuse. The Iowa Capital Dispatch reports the state has proposed fines of $30,250 against Caring Acres Nursing and Rehabilitation in Anita. The proposed fines are tied to verbal abuse allegedly committed by a teenage caregiver. The fines are being held in suspension while the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services determines whether it will impose a federal penalty in place of any state fines.

The proposed penalty would have totaled $14,250 but a portion of the fines was tripled due to abuse being a recurring violation at Caring Acres. In 2023, Caring Acres was cited for resident abuse after a male a resident of the home, whose history of groping workers and residents had earned him the nickname “Captain McFeelypants,” was determined to have sexually abused residents. The more recent incident is detailed in state inspection reports about a female resident’s recent complaint that she waited two hours for the staff to put her to bed.

According to state inspection reports, the woman alleged that when she complained to the staff, a certified nursing assistant (CNA) – whom the resident and staff described as the 16-year-old daughter of the assistant director of nursing – refused to but the woman to bed and swore at her. She also allegedly berated the patient in the past, and had been physically rough with her. The teen also allegedly told another resident to shut up, and that she didn’t care about her issues. The same teen CNA also allegedly spent a lot of her time at work on her phone.

A charge nurse at the home allegedly told inspectors the teenage CNA could “be really nasty to residents, really mean,” and would respond to residents’ requests for assistance by saying, “I don’t care, it’s not my problem.” The charge nurse allegedly added that she and others at the home were fearful of retaliation for complaining “because all of (the CNA’s) family works at the facility.” A third employee of the home told inspectors that when she worked with the CNA, the teen was “awful,” was defiant when anything was asked of her, and was loud and sarcastic. The employee said the CNA would curse at her mother, the assistant director of nursing, while residents were present.

The staff at the home told inspectors a CNA was temporarily suspended and then, after returning to work, was barred from providing care for the woman who had complained. As a result of the 2023 incidents, CMS fined the home $21,356. The home currently has a one-star rating from CMS for both staffing levels and overall quality.

Caring Acres is owned by Anew Healthcare Operations of Blue Springs, Mo. The for-profit company operates 12 nursing homes in Iowa, Kansas and Missouri.

Pheasant numbers show best harvest in 16 years

Ag/Outdoor, News

August 20th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

(Radio Iowa) – Iowa hunters took more pheasants last fall than they have in the last 16 seasons D-N-R wildlife biologist, Todd Bogenschutz says there was a 62 percent increase in birds taken.

Bogenschutz estimates more than 83-thousand hunters took to the fields — which is up 32 percent — and is probably due to surveys that showed bird numbers up.

He says hunting seems to follow cycles.

The drought that had spread across Iowa the last couple of years actually benefited pheasant numbers.

Bogenschutz says the 2024 roadside survey concluded on August 15th and the results are expected to show a pheasant population slightly lower in some areas due to spring flooding.

Glenwood woman arrested for Willful Injury & Child Endangerment

News

August 20th, 2024 by Ric Hanson

(Glenwood, Iowa) – The Mills County Sheriff’s Office reports a woman was arrested last Thursday for Willful Injury-Bodily Injury, and Child Endangerment. 41-year-old Rachel Christine Cruz-Davila, of Glenwood, was being held in the Mills County Jail on $7,000 bond.

Early Friday afternoon, Mills County Deputies arrested 35-year-old Krista Jo Lynn McKee, of Malvern, on a warrant for Failure To Appear. Her bond was set at $1,000.

Sunday afternoon, 40-year-old Colby Wayne Racine, of Essex, was arrested for OWI/1st offense, with bond set at $1,000.

And, Monday night, 74-year-old Terry Lee Stanley, of Glenwood, was arrested for OWI/1st offense. His bond was also set at  $1,000.