(Atlantic, Iowa) – Retail Coach, a recruitment firm hired by the City of Atlantic, will be in town Tuesday, April 5th for a site visit of the community as well as to share crucial data they have collected. Bailey Smith, Executive Director at the Atlantic Area Chamber of Commerce, said “Austin Farmer, our representative with Retail Coach, has been gathering a lot of amazing data explaining our retail leakage, and areas Atlantic is currently lacking when it comes to retail and restaurants. The data will be shared with current business owners to highlight possible inventory areas they could add to not only grow their business but also provide items consumers are currently leaving town to buy.”

The data is purchased from an outside company and is collected through cell phone data. The data shows where consumers are shopping while they’re in Atlantic, how far they travel to come to Atlantic and where consumers are shopping outside of Atlantic. The data collected from outside Atlantic helps show what retail and restaurant styles to focus on. Smith says “Everyone has ideas and dreams of shopping experiences and restaurants they’d like to see in Atlantic. Getting our hands on this data will help solidify the need and help show potential businesses the community can and will support them if they come.”

Aside from data collection, Retail Coach is also working with individuals who are interested in being a franchisee. Retail Coach has a list compiled of businesses who would be interested in opening up shop in Atlantic if a franchisee came forward. Anyone interested in investing as a franchisee is encouraged to attend the workshop as well.

The workshop will be help April 5th at 6 PM at the Cass County Community Center. Dinner will be provided. Business owners, interested franchisee investors and interested community members are encouraged to attend. To RSVP, contact the Atlantic Area Chamber of Commerce at 712-243-3017 or email bailey@atlanticiowa.com.

(Iowa City, Iowa) – The Iowa Department of Corrections, Sunday, said an inmate serving a 10-year prison sentence for Sex Abuse in the 3rd Degree, died last week. 75-year-old Lloyd Harlan Schlumbaum died March 23rd at the U-Of-I Hospitals and Clinics. His death was listed as being from natural causes. Schlumbaum was serving the sentence from out of Sioux County that began April 25, 2018.

(Radio Iowa) – A study from the University of Iowa Post-COVID Clinic research team shows damage to the small airways in the lungs is a potential long-lasting effect of COVID-19. Doctor Alejandro Comellas says their C-T scans in the study found no difference based on the severity of a person’s COVID-19 case.  “That was the surprising part — that we found the same degree of involvement in the lungs independently of how severe was the acute illness,” he says. Comellas says they are trying to figure out why there’s no difference.  He says they don’t know, but speculate the virus infects and causes similar damage to the airway and the severity of the disease is dependent on how a person’s immune system responds.

Comellas isn’t sure if the lung damage can be treated.”That is the next question we are trying to assess,” according to Comellas. “We are now analyzing and studying what is happening to patients who have this finding and whether many months later some of them are recovering or are they staying the same or progressing.” He says they are trying some treatments such as inhalers that they use with asthma or C-O-P-D. The symptoms can be shortness of breath, a cough, scatter wheezing, sometimes chest tightness, but very nonspecific. Comellas says the lack of specific symptoms can let the problem go unnoticed.He says the regular type of testing could turn out to be normal unless you do the specific test where the patient exhales during the C-T scan to get a lung image.

Comellas says they are trying to find out if this will be a long-term problem following COVID. “We do not know whether the findings are due to lung inflammation in the airway — or whether these are damaged airways like a scar,” he says. He says this may be something you want to have checked out.  Comellas says if you continue to have some of these symptoms two to three months after having COVID, you should see a doctor if you have any type of damage.

Comellas says they hope to have more information as they continue to study COVID patients.

(Ames, Iowa) – Here’s a reminder from the Iowa Department of Transportation: Public input is now being accepted for the next two-weeks, with regard to a proposed reconstruction of existing pavement in Guthrie County on Iowa Highway 25, from Pecan Avenue to Nice Avenue (a 1.76 mile stretch of road).

The pavement is in need of replacement, and the guardrails for a bridge located within the construction area will be replaced. Construction is expected to start in June 2022.

Officials have said a detour will be in place during construction, which will include I-80 west of Iowa 25 to Antique County Drive, then north to County Road 325 (White Pole Road) in Casey. The approximate detour length is 6 miles.

Visit the Iowa DOT’s project-related public involvement event website at www.iowadot.gov/pim for information about scheduled public meetings and hearings, or view and offer input on any DOT project using the new “Map Search” feature. Comments and questions regarding the project should be received by April 11.

DES MOINES, Iowa (KCCI) — Food banks and pantries across Iowa are preparing for an uptick in clients as expanded SNAP benefits come to an end by April 1st. According to Iowa DHS, SNAP benefits were increased by a minimum of $95 a month at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic to address food insecurity. Now, people will be losing anywhere from $95 a month to upwards of $250.

Last April, the USDA announced the expansion of benefits for people on SNAP. However, when Iowa’s emergency proclamation was not extended in February, it also impacted the federal money coming to Iowa for those expanded SNAP benefits.

The Food Bank of Iowa CEO says that equates to about $27-million less per month coming into Iowa’s economy, from the federal government. Food banks and pantries across the State are still doing their best, despite inflation and supply chain issues, to stock up on supplies.