GRINNELL, Iowa — Traffic on Interstate 80 was shut down for hours Friday night after a tractor-trailer crashed and burst into flames. There were two people inside the vehicle, but no injuries were reported. KCCI reports the crash happened in the westbound lanes near Grinnell. The Iowa State Patrol says the semi hit a guard rail. Some motorists were reportedly stuck on the interstate for more than three-hours, while others were detoured around the crash site.

As thousands of people visit this year’s Walcott Truckers Jamboree near the Quad Cities, they can get vaccinated against COVID-19. Through today (Saturday), Healthy Trucking of America will work with the Scott County Health Department to offer free vaccines and boosters at the I-80 Truck Stop. Jon Slaughter, from Healthy Trucking, says truckers can ask questions, learn about COVID vaccines, and then get a shot.  “Because a trucker will stay on the road upwards of 11 hours a day and 14 days at a time,” Slaughter says. “Whenever they come home, they usually have three days off, and they’re doing what I call ‘honey-dos’ around the house and so it’s not convenient for them.”

He says truckers are particularly susceptible because 60-percent are morbidly obese. Their immune systems aren’t in good shape either, because truckers usually don’t have access to healthy food.  “You’ll hear a lot of them, if you go to our website, you’ll see testimonials from drivers and they’re talking about how much they want to protect their family and the public and they’re in and out of different towns,” Slaughter says. “They don’t want to be a part of something like a spreader event or something. So they’re very responsible. We just want to be where truckers are, so that they can get that vaccine.”

Other health information will also be available to truckers and everyone who visits the Healthy Trucking booth at the jamboree. The group will also offer free scans for diabetic retinopathy. The Walcott Truckers Jamboree runs through today (Saturday) at the I-80 Truck Stop. It’s free and attracts more than 40,000 people to enjoy: antique trucks, a Super Trucks Beauty Contest, an Iowa Pork Chop Cookout, a Trucker Olympics, exhibits, shopping and more.

(Mapleton, Iowa) – The 13-year-old male operator of an ATV from Mt. Sterling, KY, was critically injured Friday night, when the four-wheeler went out of control and rolled several times, ejecting the teen. The accident happened at around 8:30-p.m. on a private farm access road at18288 Redwood Avenue, near Mapleton, in Monona County. The Iowa State Patrol reports the unidentified juvenile was on a 2003 Honda TRX450E.

The victim suffered life-threatening injuries and was flown from the scene by MercyOne Air Med, to the UNMC, in Omaha.

(Radio Iowa) – The new nationwide 9-8-8 mental health helpline goes live tomorrow (Saturday) as some questions remain about the sustainability of the plan. The idea is to give you an easy number to remember when you need immediate mental health support from a trained counselor or local crisis intervention services. Mental health advocates and law enforcement leaders have pushed for the number. Black Hawk County Sheriff Tony Thompson says it can take people directly to the source of help without having to go through law enforcement.

“It helps divert a significant portion of the people that otherwise might end up in the criminal justice system for no other reason than the fact that they are mentally ill,” Thompson says. But rolling out the service is proving to be complicated. The federal legislation left 9-8-8 up to states to implement with federal funding. But it also allows states to impose a new tax on phone lines to fund call centers and even crisis services. Many states, including Iowa, use this kind of tax to help fund 9-1-1 services, but Iowa has not introduced any legislation to fund 988.

Marissa Eyanson with the Iowa Department of Human Services says the state is relying on federal funding to see what real-time demand for it will look like after it launches. “We’re accounting for what we know today to be additional funding available from the federal level. But we’re also looking to detect what that means going forward. Because there’s an ongoing conversation at the federal level for how the effort will be supported. It is a nationwide effort, and it’s important,” Eyanson. Eyanson says it’s unlikely that D-H-S will have enough data available to review in time to come up with a legislative plan by the next session.

Organizations contracted by the state to set up the statewide 9-8-8 call centers have concerns about this — including Community C-E-O Sarah Nelson in Iowa City. “We’re building a massive infrastructure to do this and without knowing if there’s sustainable funding moving forward,” Nelson says. Emily Blomme at is C-E-O of Foundation 2 Crisis Services in Cedar Rapids. She says it’s been challenging to recruit the extra crisis counselors they need with the funding she has. “It’s really hard to say, Hi, you need to have a bachelor’s degree and two years of experience, and I’m going to pay you 17 dollars an hour,” according to Bloome.

Both organizations currently run call centers for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. But Blomme says estimates provided by the national lifeline projects calls to jump significantly under 9-8-8. And so far she’s hired less than half the additional staff she would like to have in place by the launch date. Eyanson of D-H-S says the agency has worked with Vibrant to review that estimate and provide its two contractors with enough funding for the first two years.

“What we’ve told them is that we think we’re sufficiently funded to start, but if their experience tells us otherwise, we will shift and that is a, that’s a promise that we’ll make real,” Eyanson says. If you need help you can 9-8-8 starting tomorrow (July 16th).

(reporting by Natalie Krebs, Iowa Public Radio)

(UPDATED) (Radio Iowa) – Nearly a dozen Iowa nursing homes have closed in the past seven months for financial reasons. Iowa Health Care Association president and C-E-O Brent Willet says like any industry, nursing homes face rising operating costs — but cannot raise daily and monthly rates because those are set by the government for Medicare and Medicaid patients.

“Medical supplies are up 35%. Certainly wage pressures are significantly higher than that. Long-term care facilities just don’t have the option that the rest of the economy does, which is either limiting our hours, (but) can’t shut down; we can’t raise our prices because those prices are controlled by the federal and the state government,” Willet says, “and so we are incurring ongoing and devastating financial losses which has unfortunately has begun to result in the closure of nursing homes.”

Willet says it means families and patients seeking long term care have fewer options. At least 45 percent of Iowa nursing homes are limiting or freezing admissions due to a lack of staff according to a recent survey by Willet’s organization.  “I was speaking with an administration the other day in the north central part of the state and I asked him: ‘Why are you still doing this?’ There’s an easier way to make a living,'” Willet says. “…He looked me in the eye and said: ‘I’m doing this because I don’t want my kids to see me as a quitter, because this is the hardest time I can imagine.'”

Willets made his comments during taping of “Iowa Press” which airs tonight (Friday) on Iowa P-B-S.