(Des Moines, Iowa) – The Iowa Department of Public Health is asking Iowans to make healthy and safe choices when it comes to alcohol. The IDPH says between 2008 and 2019, the number of alcohol-related deaths in the state increased by more than 73%. Alcohol use in the past 30 days is higher for Iowans compared to the rest of the country, IDPH reports.

April is National Alcohol Awareness Month. The Health Department asks Iowans to be mindful of how much they drink to alleviate stress or cope with other problems, and to find help if they realize there is a problem.

In the 2018 Iowa Youth Survey, 10% of Iowa youth reported that they had at least one drink of alcohol in the past 30 days. Also, 3% of 6th graders, 7% of 8th graders, and 20% of 11th graders reported having at least one drink of alcohol in the past 30 days.

The Iowa Department of Public Health encourages Iowans to be aware of excessive drinking to alleviate stress or to cope with isolation or concerns. Keep these tips in mind for alcohol awareness:

• Know what a standard “drink” is: 12 ounces of beer (5% alcohol content); 5 ounces of wine (12% alcohol content); 1.5 ounces of distilled spirits or liquor (40% alcohol content).
• Know the alcohol consumption guidelines for healthy adults: one drink a day for women of all ages and up to two drinks a day for men under age 65.
• Don’t binge drink. Binge drinking is defined as consuming four or more drinks for women and five or more drinks for men in a single occasion.
• How the brain and body are impacted by alcohol depends on the amount and frequency of the use, more information can be found here: https://yourlifeiowa.org/alcohol/about-alcohol

Iowans who think they or a loved one may have a problem with alcohol use, should reach out to Your Life Iowa for free, confidential support: https://yourlifeiowa.org/alcohol.

(Radio Iowa) – The health clinic at the Rock Island Arsenal has been named in honor of a black medic who’s credited with saving dozens of soldiers on D-Day. Army Staff Sergeant Waverly Woodson, Junior, was a member of the only African American unit to storm Omaha Beach on June 6th, 1944. Woodson was seriously wounded, but the recently retired commander of the Rock Island Arsenal says what Woodson did next was heroic.

Woodson is also credited with saving four soldiers who were drowning, pulling them to shore and administering C-P-R.

That’s Lieutenant Colonel Thomas James, Junior, the former commander of the Rock Island Arsenal who spoke at a dedication ceremony yesterday (Thursday). James says Woodson had a long career in health care and retired in 1980 after working at the National Institutes of Health for 38 years.

Woodson’s official US Army portrait, taken while he held the rank of sergeant.

The Health Clinic in the Quad Cities that now bears Waverly Woodson’s name serves hundreds of active duty soldiers and their families in the region, as well as the hundreds of civilians who work at the Arsenal. The author of a recently-published book about Woodson’s World War II unit found a note from a general saying Woodson had earned the Medal of Honor.

Woodson died in 2005. His family has asked the Army to award Woodson the Medal of Honor posthumously.

(Radio Iowa) – The Republican National Committee has unanimously voted to have the Iowa REPUBLICAN Party’s Caucuses be the first voting event in the next presidential election.

That’s Governor Kim Reynolds. She joined Iowa G-O-P chairman Jeff Kaufmann to discuss the decision national party leaders made Thursday. Kaufmann was chairman of a panel that made the recommendation that Iowa, followed by New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina retain their positions at the front of the G-O-P’s presidential selection process.

This G-O-P decision comes as the DEMOCRATIC National Committee launched a plan to have five states with racially diverse populations that may be toss ups states in the 2024 presidential election go first. Kaufmann says Iowa Democrats have a chance to make the case that their party’s Caucuses should remain in the lead-off position,

And Kaufmann argues Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada represent geographic and racial diversity and feature face-to-face, retail campaigning rather than just a barrage of ads.

Governor Reynolds says the Iowa Caucus campaign isn’t about big party donors or influencers on the east or west coast.

Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, a potential 2024 candidate, was in Council Bluffs yesterday. And President Biden — the presumptive nominee for Democrats in 2024 — was in Iowa this past Tuesday.