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KJAN News can be heard at five minutes after every hour right after Fox News 24 hours a day!
Keep up-to-date with Fox News Radio, Radio Iowa, Brownfield & the Iowa Agribusiness Networks!
The Cass County Civil Service Commission Board of Directors will meet 10-a.m. Friday, Feb. 5th, in the basement meeting room at the Cass County Courthouse. On their agenda is a review of a list of potential hires for Sheriff’s Deputies, and Certifying the Civil Service List to Sheriff Darby McLaren. The process will include an opportunity for Public Input.
The Shelby County Sheriff’s Office has released a report on recent arrests. Authorities say on Saturday, 24-year-old Merari Eduviges Perez, of Manilla, was taken into custody following a traffic stop for speeding, on Highway 59. Upon further investigation it was determined that Perez driving privileges have been revoked through the State of Iowa. Perez was placed under arrest for driving while barred (aggravated misdemeanor) and cited for no insurance and a speeding violation. He was transported to the jail without incident and held under bond until released by the magistrate a short time later.
And, last Thursday, Shelby County authorities were dispatched to a location about one-mile north of Irwin on Highway M-47, for a vehicle in the ditch. Upon locating the vehicle and further investigation, 33-year-old Tyler Douglas Schechinger, of Manilla, was taken into custody and charged with Operating While Intoxicated/2nd offense (an aggravated misdemeanor), and possession of dangerous weapon while under the influence (a serious misdemeanor). Schechinger was additionally cited for failure to maintain control, and open container as a driver. He was transported to the Shelby County Jail where he was held until later that morning and released after posting bond.
DES MOINES, Iowa – Health disparities in the United States are getting more attention, between the pandemic and last year’s social-justice protests. In Iowa, certain barriers are being addressed, including mistrust of health agencies and providers. State health officials have said Iowa mirrors national data for people of color experiencing negative health outcomes. They have noted that the state’s Black population has the highest rate of mortality in almost every cause of death, not including suicide.
Izaah Knox, executive director of Urban Dreams, a statewide nonprofit that helps reduce racial barriers, said he feels that, in terms of outreach, the health-care industry has lacked a strong presence in marginalized neighborhoods. “I think the biggest thing,” he said, “is that too many times organizations, hospitals – or anybody that all of a sudden wants to reach out – only comes out every once in a while, and if it’s of benefit to them. ” He said that’s why his group is partnering with others, such as the American Heart Association, to maintain a consistent presence. The Heart Association is advocating for increased state funding for a program to help marginalized Iowans get healthier foods at a lower cost. The group has said expansion of tele-health is another priority in closing these gaps.
Nalo Johnson, division director of health promotion at the Iowa Department of Public Health, agreed that improved engagement can help make these communities more resilient, especially during public-health emergencies. She said the state is trying to ramp up support for lower-level agencies in this area. “Providing resources around translation; providing connections from what we are hearing or seeing at the federal level, in terms of resources or information,” she said.
Through grant opportunities, the department also is trying to reduce disparities for diseases such as hypertension. Community groups have said policymakers need to bolster infrastructure in poorer neighborhoods, so residents can be more mobile and improve their physical health. On its website, the American Heart Association has more information on efforts to end structural racism and other initiatives to improve health outcomes in states such as Iowa.
(By Mike Moen/Iowa News Service)
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The area’s latest and/or top news stories at 7:06-a.m. From KJAN News Director Ric Hanson.
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The Iowa Department of Public Health (as of 10-a.m. Wednesday, 1/27), reported a total of 315,170 confirmed COVID-19 cases statewide since Iowa’s outbreak began, with an additional 1,104 cases confirmed since 10-a.m. Tuesday. There were eight additional deaths reported today, leaving the statewide death toll at 4,500. Of Iowa’s pandemic-related deaths, COVID-19 is reported as the underlying cause for 4,103 deaths. For 397 Iowans, COVID-19 was a contributing factor to their deaths. The website said 4,128 of the state’s deaths involved Iowans with preexisting conditions. One additional death was reported over the 24-hour period in Cass County, where the total since the beginning of the pandemic, now stands at 44.
The Iowa DPH today (1/27) reports there are two more COVID-19 outbreaks among long-term care facilities in the state, for a total of 62. LTC’s account for 1,961 of Iowa’s current positive cases. COVID-19 outbreaks at long-term care facilities account for 1,873 of the state’s total deaths. Health officials say 1,137 LTC patients have recovered.
Iowa DPH today reports 408 hospitalizations, 7 less than Tuesday. Officials say 81 patients are in intensive care units, 76 COVID patients were admitted to hospitals since Tuesday’s report, and 37 people are on a ventilator. In RMCC Region 4 (Western/southwest Iowa hospitals): 27 are hospitalized w/Covid; 6 are in an ICU; three people were admitted since Monday, and one person is on a ventilator.
Iowa’s average reported 14-day positivity rate is down from 10.3% Tuesday to 10.2% today. The past 7-day average is 7.8%. Of the state’s confirmed cases, 277,830 Iowans recovered.
In the KJAN listening area, here are the current number positive cases by County; The # of new cases since yesterday {+} – if any; and the total number of deaths in each county to date:
(Radio Iowa) – Committees in the Iowa House and Senate have approved a bill to require 100 percent in-person classes in Iowa schools. Republican Representative Phil Thompson of Jefferson says parents in some districts haven’t had the choice to send their kids to school every weekday. “As Iowa reopened its schools in the fall, the learning experiences have not been equitable for our children,” Thompson said. “National studies show that keeping children out of the classroom has resulted in significant learning loss.”
The bill is a priority for Republican Governor Kim Reynolds. Representative Tracy Ehlert, a Democrat from Cedar Rapids who is a teacher, says the bill is being fast-tracked before adequate safe guards are in place for students and educators. “We are telling you what is going on and what is happening in these schools,” Ehlert said.
The Centers for Disease Control released a report this week showing there’s little evidence in-person classes in K-through-12 schools are contributing to the rapid spread of Covid-19. The C-D-C researchers did recommend schools require face masks, maintain social distancing and improve ventilation systems to keep infection rates low.
(Radio Iowa) – It would be illegal to use a hand-held smart phone while driving under a bill that’s being proposed again in the Iowa House. Susan Cameron Daemon is a lobbyist with the Iowa Sheriffs and Deputies Association — a group that’s been supporting a “hands-free” law for years. “Iowa is one of the few states that does not have this law,” she said, “and we know that it works and saves lives.”
Michael Triplett, a lobbyist for the Alliance for Automobile Innovation, says the companies in the alliance developed the technology in dashboards that now makes hands-free driving while talking on a cell signal possible. “You can access your phone while keeping both hands on the wheel and both eyes on the road,” he says. Matthew McKinney, a lobbyist for Nationwide Insurance, asked legislators to consider also banning the use of other types of electronic devises, like Kindles, that could be held to read while driving.
“Whether it’s a communication device that actually communicates or whether it’s an electronic device and you’re distracted, you shouldn’t be,” he says. Matt Eide, a lobbyist for the ride-sharing company Uber, asked legislators to make an exception for Uber drivers. “They have to press some buttons to accept rides,” Eide says, “and they are going to use their phones, generally.”
The Governor’s Traffic Safety Bureau first proposed a ban on handling a cell phone while driving in 2015, and former Governor Terry Branstad lobbied lawmakers, but the bill has repeatedly failed to pass the legislature. Iowa *is* among the 48 states that ban texting while driving.
(Radio Iowa) – Governor Kim Reynolds says any NEW fuel pumps installed in Iowa should be able to dispense gas with at least a 10 percent blend of ethanol — and the governor says B-11 — 11 percent biodiesel — should be the standard for diesel pumps. “As we look forward to this year’s legislative session, I am excited to advance policies that will grow the biofuels and ag industry,” Reynolds says. “…That means making biofuels the clear choice for Iowa drivers.”
Many retailers offer two, three or even four blends of fuel from one pump and this would not require that EVERY option be a higher blend of biofuel, but it would require E-10 and B-11 at least be offered from newly-installed pumps. A spokesman for the governor says a draft of the legislation Reynolds proposes will be released soon. Reynolds says governors in Illinois, Nebraska and South Dakota are considering similar requirements for new fuel pumps.
“Minnesota has already taken some steps to help drive higher blends and so I think collectively we have a responsibility,” Reynolds says. “We’re better together.” Reynolds also is asking Iowa legislators to expand the state grant program for installing fuel pumps that dispense higher blends of biofuels. The program has a three million dollar budget this year. Reynolds suggests it should be 10 million dollars next year.
“That will help accelerate and help fund the installation of higher-blend compatible infrastructure,” Reynolds says. State records indicate there are more than 40-thousand gas pump meters in Iowa. Two years ago, Reynolds issued an executive order requiring the use of biodiesel in state-owned vehicles with engines that run on diesel. She’s asking legislators to pass a law this year to make that permanent state policy.
(Radio Iowa) – Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley and his colleagues will be sworn in this (Tuesday) afternoon as jurors in the impeachment trial of former President Trump, even though it may be the second week of February before the proceedings get underway. “In a sense, the trial starts today, but then there’s been a gentleman’s agreement on all sides with all senators that we would give the president’s defenders two weeks,” Grassley says. “They’ve gotta’ have time to prepare the case.”
House leaders delivered the single article of impeachment to the Senate last night, charging Trump with incitement of insurrection in the January 6th attack on the U-S Capitol. The Constitution stipulates the U-S Supreme Court’s chief justice, currently John Roberts, would be in charge of such proceedings. However, as the former president pro tem of the Senate, Grassley, a Republican, says he’ll be swearing in the chamber’s longest-serving Democrat, Vermont Senator Patrick Leahy, who will instead preside over the trial.
“For a president, it’s very clear that the chief justice must preside and a year ago, he did preside,” Grassley says. “Now, it isn’t President Trump that’s up. It’s Citizen Trump.” Some are questioning whether a -former- president can legally be impeached. “I suppose we’re going to be discussing among ourselves the legitimacy of even having an impeachment of a citizen,” Grassley says, “when the Constitution always talks about the president being impeached.”
Grassley says it’s a “reasonable argument” but he adds, “I’m not a lawyer” and says he’ll listen to the constitutional experts who will be testifying about how to move forward.