(Radio Iowa) – A public health collaboration in central Iowa is trying to close health disparities among Latinos seeking care for cognitive health. Jimmy Reyes, a professor at the University of Northern Iowa Department of Nursing and Public Health, says Latinos statistically have more uncontrolled chronic health conditions. Reyes says they also tend to have less access to health care and they tend to be more skeptical of it. This extends to cognitive conditions like Alzheimer’s disease.  “Many times in our Latino community, we know who the big hospitals are. We know the systems. We know that they exist,” Reyes says. “And many times we are very hesitant to go into those places because we don’t feel safe but having ‘promotoras,’ community health workers, who are lay individuals. They are the ones that are actually opening the doors to the community.”

Reyes is partnering with Broadlawns Medical Center in Des Moines and the Polk County Public Health Department to lead events in places like churches which are designed to increase access, and to get attendees thinking about their cognitive health. Dr. Yogesh Shah, director of the Broadlawns Memory Clinic, says it’s important to catch early signs of dementia before the symptoms manifest more critically. “It’s very significant. Stage wise, they might have more grade dementia but never been diagnosed,” Shah says. “And because of that, they end up in emergency rooms or end up in hospitals not knowing that some of the symptoms are related to their dementia diagnosis.”

Studies find Latinos in the U-S have a one-and-a-half times greater risk of developing dementia than their white counterparts. Reyes and Shah made their comments on the Iowa Public Radio program “River to River.”

(Contributed by Zachary Oren Smith, Iowa Public Radio)

(Radio Iowa) – The director of the Iowa D-O-T gave the state Transportation Commission an update on flood recovery efforts during their meeting Tuesday. Director Scott Marler says one of the big jobs was helping haul debris away. He says Spencer for example had five-thousand homes damaged by the flooding and needed to have the material pulled out of those homes hauled away. The D-O-T brought in its large dump trucks and other equipment to help move the Spencer material to a dump site. “In total we hauled over 28-hundred loads of removed material to this location,” he says.

Marler says the floodwater kept people away for some courthouses, so they couldn’t renew driver’s licenses. “We actually mobilized some of our remote issuance kits, and our staff in one example, went up to Clay County and they started issuing replacement licenses in Clay County with our forces temporarily operating in the Sheriff’s Department to issue those licenses,” Marler says.

Marler says they also help out with inspected flooded buildings.”Some of our engineering staff had gotten a brief training with the Department of Inspections and Appeals. We actually were able to assist them in evaluating structures,” Marler says. “We sent five of our staff up to do that over the Fourth of July holiday.”  They also worked on getting flooded roadways back open. D-O-T Chief Engineer Tony Gustafson says at the height of the flooding there were 49 highway closures. Some highways had multiple closings. “Rapid fire rundown here, Iowa 3, Iowa 4, Iowa 9, Iowa 10, Iowa 12, Iowa 15. U-S 18, U-S 20, Iowa 31, U-S 59, Iowa 60, U-S 71, U-S 75, and U-S 169, as well as Interstates 29 and 680 north of Council Bluffs,” he says.

Gustafson says there were three highways still closed as of Tuesday. They include U-S 18 west of Spencer. “Iowa 4 south of Emmetsburg, that is still under water. That bridge there at the Des Moines River. The Des Moines River is not going down as quickly as the the Little Sioux is,” he says. “We still don’t know what the damage is there on Iowa 4 south of Emmetsburg. And then they are working on U-S 75 south of Rock Rapids.”

He says they are still working on a culvert that was blown out on U-S 75.

(Radio Iowa) – The mother of the Algona man accused of shooting a policeman to death last year has testified at her son’s murder trial. Video from Algona Officer Kevin Cram’s police camera was played in the courtroom, showing the shooting happened just minutes after Cram arrived to arrest Kyle Ricke for a misdemeanor. The shooting happened at Irene Ricke’s house and the prosecutor asked her questions about the incident. “Was Officer Cram ever rude to your son?” the prosecutor asked. Irene Ricke replied: “Not at all and they were joking back and forth. Everything was fine. That’s why I know he snapped because that’s not in his character to do something like this.”

Dickinson County jurors also heard the interaction between Cram and Ricke from the officer’s body camera. It was only about 100 seconds before Ricke shot and killed Cram as he tried to serve the warrant.

Ricke left to put away a skid loader he was using to clear a trail. He returned from the garage with a gun, firing eight shots, hitting Cram three times in the head. The prosecution says after firing on Cram, Ricke tried to shoot himself, but there were no bullets left in the gun. Ricke fled to his sister’s home in Minnesota, where he was taken into custody four hours later.

His sister also took the stand, saying her brother admitted he did a “terrible thing” and he wanted to end his life. Algona Assistant Police Chief Mark Bacha testified that he was worried when Officer Cram did not signal dispatch or tell other officers the warrant had been served.

The trial was moved from Kossuth County to Dickinson County due to concerns about finding an impartial jury.

(Contributed by Sheila Brummer, Iowa Public Radio)

DES MOINES, Iowa [WHO-TV] — Drake University filed a trademark infringement lawsuit in federal court on Monday against Des Moines Area Community College. WHO-TV in Des Moines reports, in the lawsuit Drake claims DMACC’s recent rebrand contains signature elements that have been a part of Drake’s brand identity for decades. DMACC’s rebrand includes a standalone ‘D’ in block-style lettering as part of their new logo, which Drake claims in the lawsuit looks similar to its standalone vintage-style ‘D’ logo that the university has used since at least 1902.

As part of the rebrand DMACC also changed its color scheme from navy blue and red orange to lighter blues and white. The lawsuit claims the new color scheme closely resembles Drake’s color scheme.

According to the lawsuit, officials at Drake contacted officials with DMACC to address concerns over the similarities and attempted to find a resolution. Drake claims in the lawsuit that in March DMACC assured the university that the college would only use the logo where the acronym ‘DMACC’ was under the standalone ‘D’. The lawsuit claims that when that email exchange occurred DMACC had already been selling merchandise with the standalone ‘D’ logo.

The lawsuit also claims that the similarity in the two logos and color schemes adds unnecessary confusion for future students and others. Drake is asking for the Court to deem DMACC’s rebrand an infringement on Drake’s trademarks and for an order directing DMACC to cease using the logo and other aspects of their rebrand that resembles Drake’s. The university is also asking for monetary relief and a jury trial.

DMACC released the following statement about the suit:

We’re disappointed that Drake University has chosen to protest DMACC’s new logo — the DMACC & D. Drake University has been a great partner throughout the years, including strong transfer options for our students. Both names for our outstanding institutions have always started with the letter D — you can’t say DMACC without it, and we both have always had blue as our primary color. Drake University simply does not own the letter D. In fact, multiple universities use the letter D in their branding and many own federal trademark registrations for the same. Our hope is that we can quickly resolve this issue amicably with a minimum of legal expense and move forward with our joint mission of providing students with a high-quality education.

(Greenfield, Iowa) – Adair County Auditor Mandy Berg has released the unofficial results of Special School elections held in the County, Tuesday, July 9th. In the West Central Valley (WCV) Community School District (CSD), Dustin Foster received 20 votes to fill a vacancy in Director District 6. Laura Weber garnered 10 votes. In Director District 7, Jeff Dudley won 29 votes in Adair County to fill a vacancy. There were two write-in votes, but no other declared candidates.

WCV CSD voters in Dallas and Guthrie Counties also elected Dustin Foster and Jeff Dudley to their respective seats in District 6 and 7.

In Dallas County, unofficial results show Foster with 13 votes, and Weber with 2. In Guthrie County, Foster received 73 votes, and Weber 33. Dudley – who as mentioned was unopposed – received 16 votes in Dallas County, and 103 votes in Guthrie County.

Adair County votes

Dallas County votes

Guthrie County votes

(Statewide News) – Three separate crashes Tuesday in Iowa claimed four lives. According to the Iowa State Patrol, one person died during a collision northeast of Carroll, between a tractor-trailer and a pickup truck Tuesday afternoon, in Carroll County. A 2014 International truck driven by 63-year-old Michael O’Keefe, of Kingsley, was traveling north on Noble Avenue at around  1:50-p.m., at the same time a 2019 Chevy Silverado pickup driven by 65-year-old Ronald Eischeid, of Carroll, was traveling east on 150th Street. When the International truck failed to stop at the posted intersection, it was struck by the pickup on the driver’s side trailer portion of the vehicle. Ronald Eischeid died at the scene. Michael O’Keefe was not injured.

An accident in eastern Iowa, near Blessing, Tuesday afternoon, resulted in the death of a person from Mondamin. The State Patrol says a Chevy pickup was traveling east on Tama Road at around 3:50-p.m., when the 20-year-old driver from Cedar Falls stopped at Highway 63, but then failed to yield to a southbound Kenworth tractor-trailer. The semi struck the pickup on the left front side, causing the semi to go out of control before it tipped-over and entered the west ditch.  The 37-year-old driver of the semi died from their injuries. No names were released.

And, at around 7:30-a.m. Tuesday, two-people died in a crash in eastern Iowa’s Wayne County. The State Patrol says 84-year-old Larry Gene McDaniel and 70-year-old Linda Darlene McDaniel, both of Exline, died, when a pickup driven by 19-year-old Adrian Cooper Boggs, of Humeston, crossed the center line of Highway 2 as it was traveling eastbound and rounding a curve. The pickup and a westbound Toyota Camry driven by Larry McDaniel collided head-on. Larry and Linda McDaniel died at the scene. Their bodies have been taken to the State Medical Examiner for autopsies. Boggs was flown by medical helicopter to Mercy Hospital in Des Moines for treatment of his injuries. All of the accident victims were wearing their seat belts. The crash remains under investigation.

(Des Moines, Iowa) – You’ll have no shortage of food – favorites and new additions – to pig out on, during the 2o24 Iowa State Fair. Officials today (Tuesday), announced 84 new food selections for you to indulge in, including some out-of-the-box Iowa eats such as a BLT on a stick and bacon cheeseburger egg roll. The 2024 fair begins Aug. 8th.

The full list is available HERE. A food judging contest is scheduled for 1 p.m. July 16. Last year’s “Best new food” contest winner was What’s Your Cheez – Deep-Fried Bacon Brisket Mac-n-Cheese Grilled Cheese.

What’s Your Cheez – Deep-Fried Bacon Brisket Mac-n-Cheese Grilled Cheese

WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Representative Zach Nunn (IA-03) today introduced bipartisan legislation to prevent another infant formula shortage. The Investing in New Families and Newborns Through (INFANT) Tax Credit Act, which is co-led by U.S. Representative Chrissy Houlahan (PA-06), will diversify the formula supply chain by supporting small-sized manufacturers based in the United States.

“Just two years ago, millions of parents were scrambling to feed their babies – some even traveling miles or paying out-of-this-world prices just to get the formula their child needed,” said Rep. Nunn. “We may be past that crisis now, but we should work to stop this from ever happening again. By supporting small-sized American manufacturers, we can prevent another shortage and keep children fed and happy.”

In May 2022, the infant formula shortage hit critical levels as nationwide out-of-stock rates reached 70% with just two brands accounting for 60% of the shortfall. This shortage was the result of not only the pandemic but also a February 2022 recall from a facility estimated to produce 43% of the total consumption of formula in the U.S. The shutdown immediately skyrocketed out-of-stock levels of infant formula to 25%, up from 11% in December 2021, and continued to increase into the summer.

“It wasn’t long ago that the infant formula crisis had parents across America worried about meeting their babies’ nutritional needs,” said Rep. Houlahan. “While that immediate concern has abated, we must address weaknesses in our supply chain to ensure we never find ourselves with empty shelves of infant formula again. One way we do that is by supporting small, domestic infant formula manufacturers. Creating tax credits for these manufacturers would promote competition, sustain production growth, and ensure greater access to infant formula options for families nationwide. The INFANT Tax Credit Act is a crucial step toward improving supply chain resiliency, and I’m proud to work with Rep. Nunn on this bipartisan effort.”

Infant formula is the most highly regulated food. In the U.S., oversight and regulation of infant formula is akin to pharmaceuticals rather than food products. As a result of the high and costly barriers to entry, until 2022 there had not been a single new manufacturer registered with the FDA in 15 years.

“ByHeart is proud to support the INFANT Tax Credit Act—an important step in fortifying our country’s supply chain to help prevent future infant formula shortages and ensure that families never have to worry about finding formula for their babies again,” said Ron Belldegrun, ByHeart Co-Founder and CEO. “As the first new U.S. formula manufacturer in decades, with facilities in Iowa, Pennsylvania, and Oregon, ByHeart is committed to making the highest quality infant formula in the world, with a mission of helping all parents feel confident about how they feed their babies. But we’re also working to encourage more companies to join us in innovating on behalf of babies and doing better for their health. This bill will support more companies in building manufacturing facilities and offering parents more options. This is a critical step in building a stronger infant nutrition industry and creating healthier futures for our babies. We applaud Representative Nunn’s and Rep. Houlahan’s leadership on this critical issue.”

The bipartisan INFANT Tax Credit Act would create a transferrable tax credit for small, domestic infant formula manufacturers across the nation. For any taxable year, manufacturers may receive a credit equal to 25% of their qualified investment, including manufacturers impacted during the height of the infant formula shortage crisis in 2022. Additionally, this bill provides a production tax credit to allow companies to receive $1.50 per pound of infant formula produced.

The INFANT Tax Credit Act would also require the Secretary of Agriculture to develop a plan to ensure existing business development programs at the Department of Agriculture encourage competition in the infant formula supply chain.

Text of the bill can be found here.

(Radio Iowa) – The State Racing and Gaming Commission fined the Tippico sports book five-thousand dollars for allowing a bet on how many interceptions the quarterback would have in the Super Bowl. They issued a second fine of 15-thousand dollars for allowing a bet on how many points Caitlin Clark would have in an N-C-A-A tournament game. Both type of bets are not allowed by Iowa law. Tippico spokesman Brian Schroeder says they made adjustments to put a warning in the system, but they were ignored.

“The trader disregarded the pop up and the lead did not see the alert,” he says. Schroeder says the company has since been acquired by M-G-M and ended its business in Iowa. The Prairie Meadows Casino was fined 45-thousand dollars for two violations. One violation involved an 18-year-old male who got onto the gambling floor. Prairie Meadows security director Jake Hedgecock says the teen had been turned away twice.

He says the male was denied entrance to the casino and went out and changed his clothes and came back to another door where he was stopped denied entrance again. Hedgecock says they then review video surveillance to see if the individual had been at the casino before. “We used our license plate reader to do due diligence to see if this person did come back on the property. Surveillance conducted an audit, the audit confirmed he did come back on the property. We shared those results with the commission,” he says.

The casino agreed to a 20-thousand dollar fine for that violation. Hedgecock says they did more training with security on identifying underage gamblers. There was a second violation when an 18-year-old female was allowed onto the gaming floor with an adult and played a slot machine. Hedgecock says the security guard was disciplined for not stopping the teen.

The casino played a 20-thousand dollar fine for that violation, and was fined another five-thousand dollars for being one day late in updating the list of self-banned gamblers.

(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa Business Council’s (IBC) second-quarter Economic Outlook Survey shows some declines in what members are expecting in the next six months. I-B-C president Joe Murphy says there are some concerns. “Expectations across sales, capitol spending and employment expectations all declined from the previous quarter’s report,” he says. Murphy says much of the concern in those three measures stems from what’s going on at the national economy, including inflation and other issues.

“While we do have these perpetual concerns around the economy, the Iowa Business Council is one again projecting a positive six-month outlook for Iowa’s economy,” Murphy says.

Concerns about workforce attraction and retention remain the number one concern, with 63 percent of the surveyed executives listing it as a primary business challenge. An unfavorable business climate (national supply chain, infrastructure, and federal regulations) was cited by 47 percent of I-B-C executives while challenges surrounding inflation and growing concerns about the domestic economy tied with 32 percent to round out the top three primary business concerns. Murphy says the overall positive outlook is based on Iowa’s economy that has been stronger than other states.

“Revenue receipts continue to perform well from a tax standpoint. Companies are expanding, and that fact that we have a well diversified economy enables us to weather some of these economic conditions much better than our neighbors in the Midwest, and certainly around the rest of the country,” Murphy says.

The Iowa Business Council has 22 members who are the chief decision makers of major Iowa employers which have more than 160-thousand workers.