(Radio Iowa) – Republican Chuck Grassley announced at 4 a.m. this (Friday) morning that he is running for re-election to an eighth term in the U.S. Senate. Grassley’s campaign account on Twitter features a photo of Grassley in a corn field, with a sentence quoting Grassley as saying he “has a lot more to do, for Iowa.” During an interview with Radio Iowa earlier this month, Grassley said he was gauging the opinions of Iowans on the topic. “It’s very difficult to determine because I don’t have just a few people say, ‘You ought to retire, ‘ and maybe those are people who want me to retire because they want to elect a Democrat,” Grassley said. “I don’t kow their motives, but I get a lot of people who encourage me to run and say: ‘We need your common sense there.’ That’s very encouraging.”

(R-IA) Sen. Charles Grassley

Grassley celebrated his 88th birthday on Friday. He is one of seven senators who are in their 80s and Grassley says his age is no reason to retire from the Senate. “Don’t you think octogenarians need some representation, too?” Grassley said, with a laughter. “That’s kind of a tongue in cheek answer, but don’t you think you need a little institutional knowledge around?”

Grassley says he’s had a physical, is healthy and goes for a run before sunrise six days a week. Grassley could face a G-O-P Primary challenger next year, as Republican State Senator Jim Carlin of Sioux City announced earlier this year he’s running for the U.S. Senate. Two Democrats have announced they’re seeking a spot on the 2022 ballot to challenge Grassley. Abby Finkenauer of Cedar Rapids is a former member of the U.S. House. Dave Muhlbauer of Manilla is a former Crawford County Supervisor.

(Radio Iowa) – Republican Governor Kim Reynolds confirmed in June that she plans to seek reelection in 2022, but she does not intend to use her campaign fundraiser tomorrow (Saturday) to formally kick off her bid for a second full term. Two Democrats have been actively campaigning for the chance to challenge Reynolds. State Representative Ras Smith of Waterloo compares his decision to run to his grandmother’s decision to move from Mississippi to Iowa in 1957 when she couldn’t make the rent as a sharecropper.

“As I’ve been on this campaign trail, I’ve encountered some of our party’s most influential folks who are afraid to be named publicly, who are afraid to make their voices heard, see, because they’re afraid of a vindictive Governor Reynolds, but like my grandmother, I’m not waiting,” Smith said. “You see, like my grandmother, I’m not asking for permission because in this moment is our greatest opportunity for change.”

Smith made his comments Saturday at the Polk County Democrats’ Steak Fry fundraiser. Deidre DeJear, the Iowa Democratic Party’s unsuccessful nominee for secretary of state in 2018, is the other Democrat currently running for governor. She says Democrats shouldn’t loose sight of what’s possible. “The things that we need to overcome, the challenges we see facing us, the requests that we have are not unreasonable requests. In fact, they’re not even dreams. We’re at a point where they’re basic needs,” DeJear said. “…When you’re asking for clean water, you’re not asking for too much…When you’re asking for your governor to believe in science and consider science, you’re not asking for too much.”

Both DeJear and Smith were active in 2020 presidential campaigns in Iowa. DeJear was the statewide chair for the Kamala Harris campaign. Smith was hired in November of 2019 as an advisor for Joe Biden’s campaign.

(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa State Patrol reports a woman was struck and killed by a school bus this (Thursday) morning, in Guttenberg.

The Patrol report says 66-year-old Judy Puls of Guttenberg was crossing a street when a school bus driven by 73-year-old Ronnie Moser was attempting to make a turn and struck her. Puls died at the scene.

No charges have been filed as the State Patrol continues to investigate.

(Radio Iowa) – Iowans are hearing plenty about flu shots and COVID-19 boosters, but a lung doctor says another vaccine needs to share the spotlight. It’s called T-Dap, for tetanus, diphtheria and pertussis. Dr. Panagis Galiatsatos, a spokesman for the American Lung Association in Iowa, says pertussis or whooping cough can lead to life-threatening problems. “In Iowa, there were 244 cases in 2019 which is roughly about eight cases per 100,000 which puts Iowa in the middle of all 50 states,” Galiatsatos says. “Those are 244 cases too many. Those are preventable diseases for adults and we want to make sure they understand how to prevent the disease.”

While you may have had a T-Dap or similar vaccine as a child, he says the effectiveness wears off as the years go by and most grown-ups could use another vaccine. “As adults, who should be strongly considered to get it are those who are most vulnerable to pertussis,” Galiatsatos says, “those having underlying lung conditions, asthma, COPD or emphysema or chronic bronchitis.

Dr. Panagis Galiatsatos. (Lung Assoc. photo)

Those are the adult Americans we want to protect.” Pertussis is a serious respiratory illness that’s easily spread from person to person. It can lead to severe and even life-threatening problems, especially for people with chronic lung conditions.

“As a lung doctor, I tell patients I can help stop the progression of your disease, but any respiratory infection is going to unravel that,” Galiatsatos says. “Infection control is always a key strategy to helping people with lung conditions.” The Lung Association says people with asthma are four times more likely to have increased risk of infection and complications if diagnosed with pertussis.