(Radio Iowa) – Iowa is mirroring the national trend with a slight drop in deaths due to alcohol, drugs, and suicide, according to a report from a non-partisan public health policy organization.

Dr. Nadine Gracia, president and CEO of Trust for America’s Health, says figures for 2022 show the first substantial drop in those deaths in five years, though there’s still much work to be done. She says the long-term trend is still alarmingly high.

“In the state of Iowa, the data show that there were over 1,600 individuals who died due to alcohol, drugs and suicide,” Gracia says. “That was about a 1% decrease from the previous year. We saw decreases in alcohol induced death and drug overdose deaths, but there was actually an increase in suicide deaths by 6%.”

Over the past two decades, the study finds deaths from alcohol, drugs, and suicide in the U.S. increased by 142 percent. Gracia says drug overdoses, in particular, rose relentlessly in the past ten years as synthetic opioids gained in popularity. She says rural residents appear to be especially at risk.

Trust for America’s Health graphic

“We do see, for example, higher death rates among people who died from suicide from people who are living in rural areas, people who are men,” Gracia says. “For drug overdose deaths, we also see higher rates for adults who are ages 35 to 54, as well as males.”

In the report, “Pain in the Nation 2024: the Epidemic of Alcohol, Drug, and Suicide Deaths,” researchers found a slight drop in the combined rate of alcohol, drug, and suicide deaths, but that rate is still more than double what it was 20 years ago. Gracia points to a lack of access to treatment options.

“You look at the state of Iowa, for example, about 59% of the state’s residents actually live in an area that has a mental health care shortage,” Gracia says, “so we need to assure that we’re bolstering and increasing access to mental health care services for anyone and everyone who needs them.”

To save lives, she says more work needs to be done to implement prevention and harm reduction strategies, and to ensure access to mental and behavioral health care.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – Cass County Deputy Auditor Sheri Karns, today (Wednesday), said the first person to file as a candidate for the November General Election, is Linda L. Pelzer, who is running for one of three positions as a member of the Cass County Hospital Board Trustees. Candidates running for that Board may file their papers any time.

As a reminder:   the filing period for candidates for Non-party political organization (NPPO) and Non-Affiliated persons for the upcoming General Election to be held November 5, 2024, are as follows:

• Non-Party candidates and Township Trustees- August 5^th-August 28th
• Soil & Water Commissioners and Agricultural Extension-August 5^th – August 28th
• Hospital Board of Trustees- Anytime with a deadline of Wednesday August 28^th.

County positions open are:

1. Board Of Supervisors District 1, District 4 & District 5
2. County Auditor
3. County Sheriff
4. Edna Township Trustee
5. Union Township Trustee
6. Soil & Water Commissioners (3)
7. Hospital Board of Trustees (3)
8. Ag-Extension (4)

For more information and for the number of signatures required for each office, please contact the Auditor’s office at 712-243-4570

(Bagley, Iowa) – The 16-year-old male from Bagley escaped injury, after the vehicle he was driving struck a bull on the road north of Bagley early Tuesday morning, in southern Greene County. According to the Guthrie County Sheriff’s Office, the accident happened on Quail Road/K Avenue just north of the intersection with 100th, at around 4:45-a.m., Tuesday.

The truck, a 2015 Dodge Ram 2500 was traveling northbound when it struck the bull owned by Christopher Laws, of Bagley. The Sheriff’s report said the pickup’s driver swerved to avoid the collision but was unable to do so. The bull ended-up in the west ditch after it was struck. The pickup sustained disabling damage amounted to an estimated $8,500. The bull was valued at $2,000.

(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa Utilities Commission heard public testimony Tuesday on proposed changes to its rules on hazardous liquid pipeline. Several of the people who commented were involved in the process for the Summit Carbon Solution’s carbon dioxide pipeline permit that was ultimately awarded despite their opposition. Sheri Webb, a landowner in Shelby County, says holding hearings during the harvest leaves people out of the process. “If they’re 24-7 and a lot of those combines are going 24-7, they just switch operators or they’ve got chores to do they didn’t make it to those meetings,” she says. “that is so wrong those people were left out in the dark in many instances.”

Webb also said many older landowners don’t use computers and trying to file things online was not easy. “I even hesitated the first time I was getting on the I-U-B site, which now is our utilities commission. I didn’t know what I was doing,” Webb says. “The website’s not super friendly. And now it’s I think it’s even worse now. But I guess the point is, is when you’ve got senior citizens that either don’t have a computer or don’t have the skills, they are left in the dark and that is wrong.” She says posting public notices in newspapers is not a good way to get information out, as many people no longer take the paper. “Most counties now have a website and a lot of them have a Facebook presence so I would suggest that they also be asked to put notifications in those areas,” Carter says.

Kathy Carter of Rockford also talked about using the Iowa Utilities Commission website. “One of the first things that I would like to bring to the attention of the commission is how very hard and frustrating it was to try to find on the I-U-B website the revised rules that showed not only the red lining but additions,” she says.

The hearing is part of the Governor’s executive order requiring all state agencies to review administrative code and an update and streamline rules and regulations. The I-U-C will consider any changes to the rules and then will host public hearings before the rules are adopted.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – AtlanticFest, presented by First Whitney Bank & Trust, will be held Saturday, August 10th, rain or shine. AtlanticFest is an annual festival that serves as a fundraiser for the Atlantic Area Chamber of Commerce. Atlantic Area Chamber of Commerce Program Director Kelsey Beschorner, says “AtlanticFest is the largest fundraiser of the year for the Chamber. Our sponsors help cover a lot of the costs of the event, allowing us to raise funds through registration fees, pop stand sales and raffle ticket sales. We use the funds from AtlanticFest to continue to grow community events while also supporting business-based programs.”

Downtown Atlantic, she says, will be filled with fun activities for the whole family to enjoy. Come early and start the day with a pancake breakfast or a run/walk in the Annual Road Race with chip timing. There will be crafters from all over Southwest Iowa, as well as some of the best food vendors to help satisfy any appetite. Kids can enjoy bounce houses, face painting, pedal pulls, and games throughout City Park. The 26th Annual Car Show and 10th Annual Motorcycle Show will be taking place once again this year. New this year, Dirt Road Divide will fill Chestnut Street will live music from 11-3PM.

The 3rd Annual Bag Tournament will return to City Park. Teams of two can enter for $50 and try their chance to win $500, $300 or $200 guaranteed. Registration begins at 10 AM at the City Park Shelter.

AtlanticFest file photos courtesy the Atlantic Chamber of Commerce.

Day-of registrations are accepted for events including: car show, motorcycle show, road race and bags tournament. Maps of the event, Atlantic merchandise and more will be available at the Chamber booth in City Park. To learn more about AtlanticFest, visit www.atlanticiowa.com.

Beschorner says the Chamber thanks their partners for making the event possible. Those partners include: First Whitney Bank & Trust; A.M. Cohron & Son; Gregg Young- Atlantic; Atlantic Municipal Utilities; Atlantic Coca-Cola Bottling; Armour Insurance; Brocker, Karns & Karns; Brown’s Shoe Fit; Camblin Plumbing & Heating; The Downtowner Cafe; McAtee Tire; Nishna Valley Family YMCA; Roland Funeral Home; Rolling Hills Bank; Rush, CPA & Associates; Salute Gymnastics, and the Wiota Steakhouse.

(Adair, Iowa) – An accident early this (Wednesday) morning, north of Adair, resulted in the death of 18 hogs, some of which were badly injured and had to be put down by law enforcement. Guthrie County Sheriff Marty Arganbright told KJAN News the accident happened at around 3:30-a.m. as the semi tractor trailer was heading west/southbound on White Pole Road. When the semi came to the intersection with Frontier Road, the driver slowed down, but didn’t get slowed-down enough to stop at the posted intersection. As he turned right onto Frontier Road, a load of about 160 fat hogs being taken to market, shifted, causing the trailer to tip over into the ditch, taking the semi cab with it.

Sheriff Arganbright said the hogs loaded on the top, inside deck of the trailer, went through the roof of the trailer and became piled-up onto of one another. The animals – he said – were scared and traumatized. They had lived most of their lives on a concrete pad and were already stressed by the road trip. The driver, and his young son (Whose names were not immediately available), were not hurt.

photo submitted to KJAN

The Sheriff and Deputy Blake Michelson worked traffic control while the remaining hogs were being rounded-up and loaded into another livestock trailer. The whole process took about six-hours. Richter and Son Towing removed the semi from the scene.

(Greenfield, Iowa) – The Adair County Board of Supervisors, today (Wednesday), agreed to hire a former custodian as a part-time custodian. Rich Wallace had retired as full-time custodian in January of this year (2024). Auditor Mandy Berg and Maintenance Director/Custodian Scott Roberts, both said Wallace has been helping out as needed since his retirement.

The Board agreed to make Wallace’ pay of $22.58/hour retroactive to May 21st. He’ll be asked to help out as needed. In other business, the Adair County Supervisors acknowledged the receipt of two Manure Management Plans, Rose Acres Winterset Egg Farm and Prestige Farms in Anita (Nichols’ Hog Farm). The Board approved two appointments to the Compensation Board, pending their being willing to hold those seats again. Both appointments were of former Comp Board members. Auditor Mandy Berg…

The Supervisors accepted a bid from Murphy Heavy Contracting out of Anita, in the amount of $92,610 for the County Road G-61 pipe repair/revetment project. Hungry Canyons Alliance will pay for a portion of that amount. There were two bidders out six requested quotes for the work. And, the Board authorized Chairman Jerry Walker to sign the final voucher for an FY25 Farm-to-Market road rock contract with Schildberg’s, in the amount of $251,436.95.

Adair County Engineer Nick Kauffman updated the Board on some of the various county road projects that are currently underway.

Kauffman said they’re still waiting on culvert liners for one of the projects, and they’ll be using a grinder to work out some bumps in certain roads to smooth them out.

(Creston, Iowa) – The Creston Police Department reports officers detained, and then released on a citation, a man who allegedly allowed an animal to run at-large. 48-year-old Mustafa Bin Beyyette, of Creston, was detained at his residence in the 500 block of S. Vine St. at around 1:18-p.m., Tuesday, in Creston, until he was issued his citation on a Promise to Appear in Court.

(Harlan, Iowa) –  Officials with Practical Farmers of Iowa, a nonprofit organization with more than 8,000 members that equips farmers to build resilient farms and communities, says Rosmann Family Farms in Harlan (at  1222 Ironwood Rd.), will host a Practical Farmers of Iowa (PFI) field day on August 10th. The event – which takes place from 3-until 5-p.m., covers pasture management with rotational grazing and cover crops, is free to attend and open to the public. Attendees can RSVP by visiting the event page or calling PFI at (515)-232-5661. More information about the field day is below and full details can be found on the event’s webpage.

David Rosmann operates Rosmann Family Farms in Harlan, along with his wife Becky and their children, his parents, and brother. Their 700-acre certified organic farm is a mixture of field crops, pasture, popcorn, small grains and hay as well as cattle and hogs.

The Rosmanns (Photo supplied by PFI)

Strong proponents of rotational grazing, the Rosmanns pay close attention to the health of their pastures at all stages of their grazing calendar. At the Aug. 10th field day, you’ll learn about the systems-based approach the Rosmanns take that can work on any farm, showcasing grazing, row crops, small grains and cover crops.

David will discuss the cool- and warm-season planting mixes that accompany each grazing period, as well as cattle maintenance and using hogs for fertilizer. He’ll share how the farm lowers its overall inputs by composting manure. You’ll also hear how the Rosmanns seed rotational cover crops, such as hybrid rye, for livestock feed and as a supplement for cattle and hogs.