An Iowa State University research team is using a 400 thousand dollar ($400,000) federal grant to improve a physical activity tracking program for kids. ISU Professor of Kinesiology Greg Welk says the online tool provides a more accurate picture of how much exercise kids actually get each day. “Schools might say, ‘well, we provide PE and recess, and so therefore we’ve given kids 30 minutes a day.’ But, the reality is kids might not actually be getting that much physical activity, those are just opportunities they have,” Welk says. Youth Activity Profile is the online system that tracks a child’s time spent exercising or at play. Welk says the measurement tool focuses student’s patterns of physical exertion to encourage them to get up and moving. “Most schools measure fitness in children and kids are used to doing fitness assessments and those provide a lot of value. But, a key need in physical education is a way to help kids to learn about their physical activity habits because physical activity is how you eventually change your fitness,” Welk says. The online tracker is filled out once a semester by students. The students report whether they walk or bike to school and answer other questions about their amount of physical activity. Then, the researchers pair that information with data collected from physical fitness monitors worn by a sample group of students. Health and fitness experts generally recommend children get at least 60 minutes of physical activity a day.

Senator Tom Harkin says it’s time to focus on building better “public health infrastructure” on the African continent, to help local officials more quickly deal with health threats like the current Ebola epidemic. “So when an outbreak happens like this, they don’t have the labs, they don’t have the technicians, they don’t have the public health personnel that are culturally sensitive to people to go out and out and stop this as soon as it starts,” Harkin says. Since 1976 there have been 17 outbreaks of Ebola in Africa, but the current outbreak is the largest in history. The United Nations held a meeting in New York City yesterday (Thursdsay) to discuss the outbreak and the president of “Doctors without Borders” said the global response to the crisis is “moving at the speed of a turtle.” Harkin says while U.S. health care workers did get to Africa early on to try to contain the spread of the disease, they met resistance. “And if they weren’t denied access, they were threatened by local people who thought they were coming in to do something to them,” Harkin says. “I mean, you’ve got to think when you’re in a rural village and you don’t even have the basics and some people show up in a truck and they’ve got these space suits on, that can be pretty frightening and so what happened is that local customs like washing the dead like they do and everything — it just spread that virus.” Harkin is chairman of a senate committee that drafts the budget for the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and he is encouraged by last week’s vote in congress to approve 88 million dollars for C-D-C efforts to fight the Ebola outbreak. “We’re going to get on top of it,” Harkin says. “I don’t think we should be unduly alarmed in this country right now, but we’ve got to get on top of this in a hurry before it starts getting into more and more cities.” According to Harkin, the outbreak has been exacerbated because many Ebola victims in rural parts of Africa went to get help from relatives in urban centers. “That’s the place you want someone who’s tested positive for the Ebola virus to be,” Harkin says, “then it just started spreading like mad.” Harkin visited Africa last year to see for himself how health officials were responding to the AIDS epidemic on the continent. Harkin helped set aside six-million dollars in federal funds last year to start building facilities in Africa that are similar to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and later this fall the first two locations will be announced. I told my colleagues: ‘I’m leaving the Senate, but don’t drop the ball on this one,'” Harkin says. “We’ve got to build these laboratories and these institutions in these countries, so as soon as something break out, they’ve got the right personnel. It’s not me from America, it’s their people. They know how to test. They can do the laboratory work. They can do all that stuff right there.” The Ebola epidemic was first detected this winter in Guinea. It has spread to five West African nations and killed more than two-thousand people so far. Four medical missionaries who contracted the virus in Africa were flown back to the U.S. for treatment.

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Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press
WEST BRANCH, Iowa (AP) – A Tipton man is accused of looting his father’s bank account while his dad was being treated for rectal cancer. Court records say Timothy Gingerich is charged with theft, identity theft and 28 counts of forgery. Authorities say the 26-year-old wrote himself nearly $8,000 in checks from his father’s bank account.

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) – Crews have installed what Cedar Rapids officials say are Iowa’s first permanent green bike lanes. The work yesterday follows a June test on Third Avenue Southeast. City spokeswoman Emily Muhlbach says that after yielding to bicyclists, motor vehicles may enter the green lane when making turns, pulling into driveways or maneuvering to park.

DAVENPORT, Iowa (AP) – Officials say a rare Grant Wood sketchbook from 1929 is back in Davenport after it went missing from a museum about 50 years ago. The 100-page sketchbook signed by the painter of “American Gothic” is again in the possession of the Figge Art Museum. Collections and exhibitions manager Andrew Wallace says the small book was likely stolen during an open house in 1966.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has awarded $1.45 million in grants and nearly $3.9 million in loans to a host of projects across rural Iowa. USDA Rural Development Acting Under Secretary Doug O’Brien says that includes a $300,000 grant that’ll benefit the central Iowa town of Gilbert. The grant will help finance the construction of a building that will be used as a fire station, city hall, and community center. Other grants and loans will help build a fire station in Waukon, finance renovations to the Knoxville Hospital and Clinic, and help the Monogram Prepared Meats plant in Harlan expand its food processing capacity. The Iowa Foundation for Microenterprise and Community Vitality, headquartered in Boone, is also getting a $200,000 loan and a $50,000 grant to help what O’Brien calls micro-businesses. “Businesses with 10 or fewer (employees),” O’Brien says. “This is another example of how the USDA is able to partner with entities in a rural place and help serve small businesses, improve the quality of life, and create jobs.” O’Brien is a native of Dubuque County. He says, across the country, the USDA is awarding $59 million in grants and loans to projects similar to those in Iowa.

The state Office of Drug Control Policy is asking you to take some time and look through your home for outdated and unused medications. Spokesman Dale Woolery, says this weekend is the second “Drug Take Back Day.” This Saturday will provide Iowans with an opportunity to clean out medicine cabinets and get rid of medicines they may not be using, but could cause problems if left around,” Woolery says. Woolery says the U-S Drug Enforcement Administration started sponsoring the days about four years ago after prescription drug abuse started becoming an issue. The diversion of prescription drugs, in particular controlled prescription drugs like pain relievers, has led to an increase abuse and addiction. And unfortunately, tragically, event some overdose deaths. And we’ve had more of those than ever before,” Woolery says. “It can start innocently with someone who takes a pain reliever for a broken arm, but it can lead to a dependence. It depends on how it is used and for how long.” The Iowa Department of Public Health show overdose deaths in the state related to methadone, other opioids and other synthetic narcotics –primarily pain relievers– increased to an all-time high of 77 in 2013. Heroin deaths jumped from eight in 2012 to a record high of 20 in 2013. Woolery says the drugs have become a target. “We’ve had reports in Iowa of young people getting in to medicine cabinets of parents, grandparents, other relatives and friends and taking meds that weren’t theirs,” according to Woolery. “We’ve also had reports of people maybe going into and open house and pretend to be interested in buying a home that was for sale. Maybe go into the restroom and take medicine. Now, it doesn’t happen very often, but we are trying to safeguard against that.” The O-D-C-P’s concerns have been supported by the amount of prescription drugs turned in each year. The numbers have been rising. We’ve seen about 21 tons of unused medicines disposed of at these various Take Back events over these last three to four years. The most recent event this last spring, netted over four tons,” Woolery says. Woolery says this will be the last event that is sponsored by the D-E-A due to some changes in regulations. Most Iowa sites collecting unused medicines will be open Saturday from 10 a-m to 2 p-m. To find the Iowa Take Back drop-off site nearest you, or to get more information on how to prevent or get help for prescription drug abuse, go to: www.IowaMedicineTLC.org.

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