(Atlantic, Iowa) – The Cass County Board of Supervisors held their regular weekly meeting this (Tuesday) morning. Cass County Engineer Trent Wolken started-off his report by saying due to the fact they are expecting an increase in road rock prices next month, they’ve been stockpiling for next Spring before the prices jump. The jump is likely to be 10-percent, but possibly as much as 13-percent.

Wolken updated the Board on a bridge project. Bridge 302 on 680^th Street, he said is a DOT project. A.M. Cohron and Son is the contractor for the project. He anticipates they’ll be starting in about a week or so. Work continues on a bridge that collapsed last September, after an overweight crane used for Wind Turbine installation caused the bridge to break apart.

The nine beams for the project arrived last week. They weigh about 34,000 pounds each. The Board once again tabled action on approving a five-year lease agreement with the Cambridge Law Firm, for use of the County’s building on S. Poplar Street. The firm currently uses the upper half of the building, with the lower half occupied by the Cass County Communications Center.

By a vote of 3-to 2, the Cass County Supervisors opted to continue with the use of ZOOM as a means to view and interact with the Board during their meetings electronically, at the appropriate time on the agenda. Supervisors O’Brien and Pettinger voted Nay. Green, Richter and Baier voted in favor. Pettinger was of the opinion it should be shut-down, with certain exceptions.

Supervisor Wendy Richter said she’s her from people who are fans of the technology. Supervisor Mark O’Brien said he just “Wants to simplify it,” and made a motion to get rid of the Zoom.” Richter asked Pettinger what the downside to using Zoom would be, in his opinion.

Supervisor Steve Green pointed out the media and others appreciate the use of Zoom, which enables them to multitask during times when the meeting begins to drag.

Board Chair Steve Baier said Zoom was necessary during COVID, and that having the technology is worth something, and he’s willing to continue using it.

The Board approved 2023 County Holidays, including Veterans Day, November 11^th. Since that falls on a Saturday, the day will be observed the preceding Friday. And, it includes the day after for Thanksgiving. In other business, the Supervisors approved the appointment of Drew Williams as Victoria Township Clerk, effective March 1, 2023.

(Des Moines, Iowa) – Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate is encouraging Iowans to wear blue on Wednesday, January 11 in recognition of Human Trafficking Awareness Day. This day is specifically dedicated to increasing awareness and preventing this horrific crime. Human trafficking occurs when men, women, or children are forced to perform labor services or sexual acts and it happens across the world, including here in Iowa. Trafficking is a crime that can occur behind closed doors, in plain sight, at a workplace, and in any community.

“By wearing blue on Wednesday, January 11, we can show support for survivors of human trafficking and also hopefully open people’s eyes to a crime that might be happening in their community,” Secretary Pate said. “I challenge you to join us in raising awareness by wearing your blue shirt, tie, socks, or whatever you have on Wednesday.”

Secretary Pate’s office oversees Iowa’s Safe at Home program which provides address confidentiality for survivors of trafficking and other violent crimes. He also launched the Iowa Businesses Against Trafficking initiative in January 2022. It has grown to more than 620 members.

“If we aren’t aware of human trafficking-what it is, what it looks like, and what to do-how can we identify those being victimized by it or assist them to freedom, and if we don’t help them, who will?” asked Teresa Davidson, CEO of Chains Interrupted, a Cedar Rapids-based organization that focuses on preventing human trafficking and has specific programs to educate organizations and the community at large on the issue.

Iowans wearing blue on Wednesday to raise awareness and show support for survivors of human trafficking are encouraged to post pictures on social media using #HumanTraffickingAwarenessDay and #IowaSAH.

(Greenfield, Iowa) – The Adair County Board of Supervisors, Monday, heard four requests for FY 24 funding. Adair County Auditor Mandy Berg reports…

• Treasurer Brenda Wallace presented the FY24 budget request of $370,547.  This an increase of last year’s approved amount of $328,760; The increase is due to salaries & benefits, a printer purchase, and an increase in postage/supply prices.
• Leesa Lester, Southern Iowa Trolley, presented the FY24 funding request of $8,394.  This is an increase of last year’s approved amount of $7,933.
• Janelle Schneider, Recorder, presented the FY24 budget request of $235,953.  This is an increase from last year’s approved amount of $213,932; Increase due to salaries & benefits, change in holiday pay of part-time employee, education/training costs.
• Rich Wallace, Courthouse Maintenance, presented the FY24 budget request of $136,935. This is an increase from last year’s approved amount of $113,387.; Increase due to salaries & benefits, increase in telephone/internet, electric, and heating costs and retirement of Wallace at the end of this calendar year.  The Board & Wallace discussed putting in additional funds in order to hire a replacement for Wallace prior to his retirement.

(Radio Iowa) – UnityPoint says two of its largest Iowa hospitals will start using telemedicine physicians to help with overnight shifts. Iowa Methodist Medical Center and Iowa Lutheran, both in Des Moines, will use the service between 7 P-M and 7 A-M. Jonathan Senkler, an associate medical director at UnityPoint, says telemedicine doctors will assist with less urgent matters.”What this does is, those calls now go to the telemedicine provider,” Sinkler says. “It unburdens the admitting provider at the hospital to focus more time on doing admissions, which can take a lot of time.” Senkler says using the telemedicine physicians will shift away less pressing concerns so the doctors on-staff can zero in on more serious matters.

“I might not have time to get back to some of these lower urgency things, like a Tylenol, until everything else is resolved,” Senkler says. “So what it does is, this telemedicine provider can offload that and focus just on those things, and so you’re able to respond to things much faster.” The program is being instated as hospitals across Iowa are facing staffing shortages while hospitalizations for respiratory virus infections remain high.

(reporting by Natalie Krebs, Iowa Public Radio)

(Glenwood, Iowa) – The Mills County Sheriff’s Office reports a Glenwood man, 52-year-old Kenneth Michael Coyle, was arrested a little after 6-p.m., Monday,  Domestic Abuse Assault. Coyle was being held without bond, in the Mills County Jail.

(Radio Iowa) – This is an unexpected day off for the 33-thousand students in Iowa’s largest school district. Officials with the Des Moines Public Schools cancelled classes for the day after what’s described as a possible cyberattack on Monday. The suspected breach forced the district to shut down its computer networks as a precaution while I-T staffers investigate what happened. Classes were called off as those networks support both online and in-person learning, though sports and activities are still scheduled.

Last year, Cedar Rapids schools were hit by a cybersecurity attack and paid an undisclosed ransom after losing a week of summer school.

(Anita, Iowaa) – The CAM School Board, Monday evening, approved two resignations and contract for a Junior High Wrestling Coach. Shared CAM/Nodaway Valley School District Superintendent Paul Croghan tells KJAN News…

Croghan says Green Hills AEA representatives made a presentation to the School Board.

The CAM School Board heard Administrative reports, and approved a portion of the 200 Series Board Policies dealing with the Board of Directors, and a Mid-Term Graduate. In other business, the CAM School Board and the CAM Education Association (CAMEA) shared their respective opening proposals for contract negotiations.

And, they received an overview of the Facilities Committee meeting that took place on January 4th.

Croghan said the Board agreed to begin the process of hiring an architectural firm as part of the process needed in order to bond for any future facilities changes that may take place with voter approval. Mr. Croghan said also, District patrons should be on the lookout in the coming weeks, for a survey with regard to Daycare possibilities.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – Officials with Cass Health, in Atlantic, have announced AMC Rapid Care has officially moved back into their remodeled clinic at Cass Health. For the last several months, AMC Rapid Care has been working temporarily out of space within Atlantic Medical Center while their location was under construction to expand the number of patient exam rooms.

AMC Rapid Care Director Tabetha Smith, RN, says “AMC Rapid Care has surpassed everyone’s expectations. It’s been overwhelmingly popular with our patients and community. Now that we are through the initial growing pains, we’re excited to be back at home in our clinic and welcome several new providers. Our goal going forward is to always have two providers working every day to keep up with our patient volumes. In the very beginning, we started with just two providers, and we’ve steadily recruited all along. Now we have a team of seven providers who regularly work in Rapid Care. We’re also lucky that our Family Medicine team can usually step in to assist as well.”

AMC Rapid Care is staffed by a team of nurse practitioners and physician assistants. While initially only staffed with a single provider each day, demand for care has increased dramatically over the last two years.

AMC Rapid Care is located next to the Emergency Department by Parking Lot C. AMC Rapid Care is open Monday through Friday from 8 am to 1 pm, and 2 pm to 8 pm. They are open Saturday and Sunday from 10 am to 1 pm, and 2 pm to 6 pm.

(Radio Iowa) – The Sioux City Public Library is one of 15 in the nation to receive federal funding to help schools and libraries address the gap for those who currently lack necessary internet access, or the devices needed to connect online. Library director Helen Rigdon says Sioux city’s library has received more than one million dollars in funding from the emergency connectivity fund. “This program was available for all eligible schools and public libraries and they covered the reasonable costs of laptops, tablets, Wi-Fi hotspots, modems and routers. And then of course the cellular connectivity is available for 12 months on those,” she says.

The library is using the funding to launch the “Internet forAll” initiative, a program that provides 19-hundred internet-enabled devices connected on t-mobile’s nationwide network available for checkout through the Sioux City Public Library. Residents have already started checking out the devices from the library. Rigdon says there is a time limit for their use. “For individuals, it’s three months their Chromebooks and the iPads, then you can bring it back in — and if we have availability — then you can renew it and check them out again,” Rigdon says. “But you’d have to bring them back in just so we can make sure they’re still functioning properly. The routers and hotspots are 12 months.” Chris Kuchta is with the Connections Area Agency on Aging, which hopes to have check out devices to use for their older adult technology series.

“So we’ll be going and doing technology training with those programs for seniors. The purpose isn’t to help build their skills but to help them use those devices in everyday life,” Kuchta says. All Sioux city residents with a public library card in good standing are eligible to check out an internet-enabled device from the library while supplies last.

(Radio Iowa) – The F-D-A is granting what’s called accelerated approval for a new drug that shows promise in clinical trials to slow the progression of Alzheimer’s disease. Lauren Livingston, spokeswoman for the Iowa Chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association, calls the announcement “exciting” and says the drug Lecanemab isn’t a cure, but it’s certainly a step in the right direction. “During the clinical trial, it slowed the cognitive decline of those in the trial by nearly 30% over 18 months, so that’s a huge improvement,” Livingston says. “It gives people more time with their families, more time to drive and take care of their finances and participate in the things they love, so it’s great news.” There are several downsides, however. In some patients, the drug caused serious side effects. Plus, it will be difficult to obtain, and then there’s the cost.

“It is a very expensive treatment. I believe I saw it is close to $30,000 for one year of treatments from the drugmaker,” Livingston says. “That is why it is so important for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid to change their decision that they made almost a year ago to cover this drug.” Under current regulations, the drug wouldn’t be covered unless the patient is taking part in a clinical trial, and there are no such trials underway in Iowa.

“You’d have to pay for it out of pocket to go to a healthcare system that offers it,” Livingston says. “If you want to take the drug and have it be covered under Medicare at this time, you would have to travel somewhere that has a clinical trial. So either way, it’s either hard to access because of location and time or hard to access because of finances.” Patients in the trial had moderate cognitive impairment or early-stage Alzheimer’s so it’s still unclear what impact it might have on those with more advanced stages of the disease. More than 66-thousand Iowans are living with Alzheimer’s.

www.alz.org