(Radio Iowa) – A University of Iowa clinic is offering free, short-term mental health counseling to rural Iowans who have limited or zero access to it, in addition to substance use prevention and treatment. U-I psychology professor Martin Kivlighan is co-director of the Telepsychology Training Clinic. He says they’re also providing a learning platform to teach the next generation of mental health professionals, who are in very short supply.

“It serves two purposes,” Kivlighan says. “It helps to train the future workforce within the state, while also providing really high quality services to folks who are in need of those.” Nearly 90-percent of Iowa counties are considered mental health care professional shortage areas by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, which ranks Iowa 46th in the nation in the number of psychologists per capita.

Prof. Martin Kivlighan (UI photo)

“There’s a lot of different factors that are contributing to the workforce shortage,” Kivlighan says. “What we’re focusing on is training. That’s where we feel like we can make the biggest impact. So we’re just trying to increase access to training, increase the quality of training, and hopefully keep folks here in Iowa, where they’re coming from, to go back and serve their communities.” In a recent success story, Kivlighan says one of the clinic’s third-year doctoral students has announced she plans to return to her hometown in rural Kossuth County to open a counseling practice after graduating.

“She is just a wonderful advocate of rural mental health. As soon as she’s a licensed psychologist, she plans to go back there and take over the family farm as well as open up a practice to offer services to that community,” Kivlighan says. “So, it’s really rewarding, and it’s great to see this pipeline serving the purpose that we’re hoping that it continues to serve.” They’re encountering no one who’s averse to the technology, as he says the pandemic taught many of us how to use and be comfortable with video chats on our computers or phones.

“I think we all know we’re living in a really technological era right now, and 99% of folks own a smartphone, so it really is something that’s just become part of our everyday life,” Kivlighan says. “Where we do run into some issues is areas that might not have broadband internet.”

Rural Iowans who’d like to use the free service can find a contact phone number and email address at the website:
https://education.uiowa.edu/research/research-centers-and-research-initiatives/rural-psychology-collaborative

(Creston, Iowa) – Police in Creston had a busy start to the Labor Day weekend, with nine arrests being reported. Sunday night, 37-year-old Jeffrey Michael Donald Drake, of Creston, was arrested for Driving While Suspended, and OWI/1st offense. Drake was released from custody after posting a $1,300 bond. Sunday afternoon 28-year-old Carlos Ivan Cortez, of Creston, was arrested for Driving Under Suspension. He was released on his Own Recognizance.

Three people were arrested early Sunday morning: 31-year-old Geronimo Romeo Gonzalez-Hernandez, of Osceola, and 41-year-old Ryan Lee Woosley, of Creston, were arrested at the Casey’s Store on W. Taylor Street, in Creston. Hernandez was taken into custody at around 2:30-a.m. and charged with OWI/1st offense. Woosley was arrested at around 1:54-a.m., and charged with Driving While Barred. Both men later posted bonds of $2,000 and $1,000 respectively, before being released. At around 12:25-a.m. Sunday, Creston Police arrested 34-year-old Thomas Legrand Wiggins, of Greenfield, for Driving While Barred. He was later released on a $2,000 bond.

A little after 3-a.m. Saturday, Creston Police arrested 18-year-old Liliana Aguilar Preciado, of Mount Ayr, for Driving While Suspended. She was cited and released at the scene on a promise to appear in court. At around 1:30-a.m., Saturday, 46-year-old Brian Wayne Zimmerman, of Creston, was arrested for OWI/1st offense. He later posted a $1,000 bond, and was released.

Late Saturday night, 18-year-old Tanner Dale Horacek, of Blair, NE, was arrested for Minor in Possession of Alcohol. He was cited and released on a Promise to Appear. And, Saturday afternoon, 32-year-old William Alwynn Bell, of Creston, was arrested for Domestic Abuse Assault. He was late released on his Own Recognizance.

(Wiota, Iowa) – Crews from Anita Fire & Rescue and Wiota Fire responded this (Monday) morning, to a reported fire on a porch attached to the residence at 115 Allen Street, in Wiota. The call was dispatched at around 8:42-a.m.

‘Everyone evacuated the home safely, and the residents had managed to extinguish the flames prior to Anita Fire arriving on the scene.

Anita Fire continued to the scene to make sure the situation was under control. Wiota Fire crews were then advised to disregard while they were en-route.

No injuries were reported. Additional details, including the cause of the fire were not immediately available.

(Radio Iowa) – A University of Iowa study finds a significant number of homeowners who qualify for low-interest government loans to rebuild after a disaster choose not to apply, or they reject the loan after they’re approved. Finance Professor Cameron Ellis, in the U-I’s Tippie College of Business, says they’ve done extensive research on people’s post-disaster borrowing habits dating back nearly 20 years, and the loans are an excellent opportunity. “Oftentimes they’re lower than Treasury rates, the government can’t even borrow at these interest rates,” Ellis says. “And it’s not even just people who don’t apply. It’s people who do apply and go through the application process decline the loan after learning more about it. It’s very odd, because there’s not a private alternative that would even come close to being as good of a deal.”

The study looked at loan activity following every natural disaster between 2005 and 2018, including the 2008 Iowa floods, hurricanes like Katrina and Harvey, Superstorm Sandy, and numerous western wildfires. Ellis says some people just have an aversion to going into debt, especially when the federal government is involved. “Most people’s experience borrowing money from the government comes through student loans, which, student loans are famously survived through bankruptcy. You almost always will pay back your student loans unless you get a hardship exemption,” Ellis says. “These loans are not like that. People don’t realize that they’re just like a normal loan, like a mortgage you would get where, if you go bankrupt, it’s discharged. You’re not stuck with it forever.”

The administrator of the U-S Small Business Administration was in Iowa recently to visit the town of Greenfield, which was hit by a major tornado in May. Part of the trip was dedicated to educating people about the S-B-A’s loan programs to help businesses, homeowners and renters rebuild after a disaster. The U-I study found about 25-percent of people who qualified for such loans rejected them, or didn’t bother to apply. Ellis says some people get jumpy over interest rates, when they shouldn’t be. “When the interest rate goes up by, say, one percentage point, and the average interest rate in the program over our timeframe, going back to Katrina, is about two and a half percentage points. If it goes up by one percentage point, acceptance goes down by another 25%,” Ellis says. “Maybe it’s some debt aversion reasons why people would just decline at all. But it’s very odd that they’re so sensitive to interest rates, even though they’re a much better deal than you would get elsewhere.”

Ellis says more than one-million households -did- apply for loans during the period the U-I studied, and more than 12-billion dollars was dispersed to more than 285-thousand approved households. Ultimately, Ellis says fewer participants puts more financial pressure on homeowners, and slows the pace of disaster recovery for individuals and the community.

Norwalk, Iowa — Police in the central Iowa town of Norwalk say a man target shooting with a compound bow in his backyard missed a target and struck a moving vehicle last Thursday.

Officers responded to the intersection of Shady Lane Drive and East 27th Street just after 7:30 p.m. Thursday after receiving a call about an arrow shot into a vehicle. According to a news release, authorities report “On arrival, officers located a resident who was target shooting with a compound bow in his backyard,” according to a news release from police. “Further investigation revealed that the resident apparently shot an arrow that missed the target and struck the front windshield of a vehicle being driven on East 27th Street.”

Police said the “arrow pierced the windshield and came to rest on the dashboard.” No injuries were reported. The archer was cited with shooting a bow within city limits without a permit.

In the release, police reminded locals that permits are required “to lawfully shoot arrows, paintballs, slingshots, air rifles, BB guns or other dangerous instruments within the city.”

(Radio Iowa) –  Ruth Harkin — the wife of former U-S Senator Tom Harkin — has written a book titled “When My Husband Ran for President and Other Short Stories” and proceeds from book sales will go to the Harkin Institute at Drake University. Tom Harkin served for a decade in the U-S House and for 30 years in the U-S Senate, but Ruth Harkin won elected office in Iowa before he did. As Story County Attorney, Ruth Harkin was one of the first women in the country to be elected as a local prosecutor. She also ran a government agency that managed billions in investments in other countries and served on the board of directors for an international corporation.

“Each job that I had, I really found myself just by happenstance, the only female in the room,” Harkin told Radio Iowa. “And my goal, aside from doing my job, was to get more women to join me in the room.” Harkin said the best part of writing the book was laughing at the memories and she hopes that’s conveyed to readers. “Really to understand the fun and adventure I had in trying to get more women into responsible positions within the workforce,” Harkin said. “I just hope that people who read the book have as much fun as reading it as I did writing it.” Harkin, who served as deputy legal counsel for the U-S-D-A during the last two years of the Carter Administration, describes the initial push back she got from the U-S Secretary of Agriculture.

“Bob Bergland called me over and he said: ‘I don’t want you to work here with me at the Department of Agriculture because when I look at you, I see my wife, and my wife could never do this job,'” Harkin said. “I started work there with a little uneasiness, but I just did my job and finally one day Bob Bergland called me over and he said: ‘I was totally mistaken about you…and I’m really sorry that I misjudged you.” Harkin, who celebrated her 80th birthday last week, has a chapter in the book about the day she and Tom Harkin met. They were both in Tokyo, at a shrine during a once-a-year carnival. She was on R-and-R from her job, working for the Army, running a service club along the D-M-Z in Korea, and Harkin was on R-and-R leave from the Navy.

“As I was walking along I started eating cotton candy and suddenly some guy comes up to me and says: ‘Say, could I have a bite of that cotton candy?’ And I looked at him and I said: ‘Where are you from?’ because of his Midwestern accent,” Harkin said. “We were in the largest city in the world at the time — Toyko — and he was from Cumming, Iowa, a town of 150, and I was from Vesta, Minnesota, a town of 350.” The couple married in 1968. Her book — as noted in its title — provides her perspective to Tom Harkin’s 1992 presidential campaign — starting her account with their discussion about whether to run. “I really was not keen on this idea at all, then the highs and lows of doing a presidential campaign — always raising money, getting ready for all of these different venues and juggling home,” Harkin said. “…I was working full time.” She, however, uses the word poignant to describe the decision to end the campaign and Harkin shares those details in her book.

Harkin laughs when asked if her husband has the patience to follow her lead and write his own memoir. “I wish he did,” Harkin said. “I would love to have him write a book about some of the challenges and battles he had working in the House for 10 years and in the Senate for 30. especially working on his trademark legislation, the Americans with Disabilities Act,” she said. “He has great stories to tell, but I just don’t think he has the focus and patience to do it.”

A “book launch” event for Ruth Harkin’s collection of short stories will be held this Thursday, September 5th at the Tom and Ruth Harkin Center at Drake University.

(Red Oak, Iowa) – Police in Red Oak arrested a man at around 2:20-a.m. today (Monday), on felony and simple misdemeanor charges. Officers arrested 44-year-old Brian Wayne Price (no city of residence given), in the 1300 block of Miller Avenue. Price was charged with Operating While Intoxicated (OWI)/3rd offense (a Class D Felony), and Driving While(License) Suspended. He was transported to the Montgomery County Jail and held on a $5,000 bond.

(Radio Iowa) – A 67-year-old man from the small southern Iowa town of Promise City has pleaded guilty to robbing a bank about 45 miles away in Princeton, Missouri. Court records indicate Phillip Michael Blink admits he put on a cowboy hat, a trench coat and a red bandana to cover his face when he robbed in May of last year. He pointed a semi-automatic handgun at a teller, left with over 41-hundred dollars in cash and drove north in a pick-up truck. The bank manager took pictures of Blink and his truck and Blink was pulled over by a Knoxville police officer later that day — with his cowboy get up, the gun and the money in the vehicle. He faces a mandatory 30 years in prison on the armed robbery and gun charges.