(Radio Iowa) – Hundreds of dogs from across the U-S will be wagging their tails in Colfax this weekend as the Central Iowa Kennel Club celebrates its 75th year of dog shows. Club president Kelley Frary, of Des Moines, says at least 150 breeds will be represented by some 13-hundred canine competitors from all across Iowa and as far away as Florida. Admission to the show is free and Frary says it’s a great event for spectators of all ages. “Even if you don’t know anything that’s going on, the dogs are there and you can definitely pet them and meet breeds that you don’t regularly see, so that’s a really great aspect,” Frary says. “For those who have a little bit more trained eye, it is also fun to kind of watch ringside and see how dogs move and learn a little bit about each individual breed because every breed is different.”

If you can’t distinguish a poodle from a Pekingese, she says this is a great place to learn. “A lot of people, you can approach and ask them, ‘Hey, what do you love about your breed,’ or ‘Tell me a little bit about your breed,’ and most people are super open and will educate you because they love their dogs and want to talk about them,” Frary says. “It’s a really great event for spectators to come out, especially if you love dogs, or even if you don’t, it’s still fun to watch.” The event is a confirmation-style contest, so judges will be singling out the best hounds, sporting dogs, toys, and other categories.

“Each breed has a standard set forth by the AKC, so that judge is looking at a dog and comparing it to the breed standard,” Frary says. “So at the end of the day, ‘best of breed’ means that that dog is the best representation of that dog’s standard.” One part of the competition is just for owner-handlers and their pets, while even puppies will be getting started in the sport, as well as junior handlers. Frary says the dogs will be prancing around the grounds, much like you see them do at the famed Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show. “Each one of those dogs is basically doing a down-and-back, so the judge is looking at the movement of the dog. They’ll have the dog move around and look at the side gait,” Frary says. “The judge will put hands on the dogs and just kind of go over them. A lot of dogs have a lot of coat so they’ll actually get under that coat and look at the actual structure of the dog.”

The event runs Saturday and Sunday at the Jasper County Fairgrounds in Colfax. More info. at  https://cikc.net/

(Radio Iowa) – Another colorful mural is being painted in Sioux City over the next week. This one will celebrate the community’s Hispanic cultures by portraying a local traditional Mexican dance troupe. Neighborhood services manager Jill Wanderscheid says the new mural on West Seventh Street is a way to build community pride in the neighborhood’s rich past. “It’s had such a long history of just being welcoming to new business owners and a lot of locally owned businesses on that street,” Wanderscheid says. “It’s been welcoming to different immigrants and those that are new to our country.”

The mural will depict the dancers from Ballet Folklorico Estrellas de Jalisco, a group of local Hispanic folk dancers. The artist, David Manzanares moved to the Midwest from Mexico and says he’s excited for the opportunity for immigrants like him to be celebrated in art. “You see many Hispanic population, we are here but we are maybe not at the front, you know?” Manzanares says, “so that’s a big part of also what the mural is, it’s bringing visibility to us.”

It’s the third mural painted in the corridor in the past year. It’s also the third in a series of public art investments to celebrate the street’s history of being home to diverse communities.

(reporting by Kendall Crawford, Iowa Public Radio)

(Adair County, Iowa) – Families of persons living at the Good Samaritan Society in Fontanelle and Postville were notified on Wednesday, that those care facilities will be closing in less than two months. KCCI in Des Moines and KWWL TV in Waterloo, reports the notice said both facilities would be closing on Nov. 19th.

Officials said the closure is due to multiple challenges seen by the facility like hiring more staff, low resident numbers and complications due to COVID-19. Inadequate Medicaid reimbursement rates are also playing a role in the closures, along with increased operating costs, which combined, officials say, have led to a situation that is not sustainable.

In Eastern Iowa, the Good Samaritan Society in Postville is also closing on Nov. 19, but their independent living apartments will stay open.

(Radio Iowa) – Third district Congresswoman Cindy Axne of West Des Moines is one of the Democrats who pressed for votes on a package of public safety initiatives that cleared the U.S. House Thursday. “I think it dispels that lie about ‘defunding’ the police,” Axne says. The package would provide money to recruit and retain officers and would set aside funding specifically for small police departments.

“To ensure that cities like Atlantic, Red Oak, our sheriffs’ departments that are under 125 people or less have their own system to go through,” Axne says. “We’re not going to compete with the Chicago’s and the New York’s anymore to make sure that they get the funding that they need.”

The House passed four different law enforcement measures. One would provide money to hire social workers to respond to 9-1-1 calls involving people in a mental health crisis. “So that our police officers aren’t engaged in those issues, they can focus on the job, and we can have experts who deal with those,” Axne says. The House also voted to increase federal funding for crime victim support services and provide grants to police and prosecutors to investigate sexual assaults, shootings and homicides.

“Just to ensure that, quite honestly, we start solving more of these crimes,” Axne says, “and making sure that we’re addressing victims’ needs at the same time.” There were some tense moments yesterday (Thursday) as a few progressive Democrats refused to support bringing the bills up for votes, but after months of internal negotiations, a majority of House Democrats got the bills passed. Republicans in the House voted for some of the bills and opposed others.

All three Republicans from Iowa voted for the Invest to Protect Act, to provide federal grants to police departments.