(Radio Iowa) – The state’s largest school district is the first to reinstate a requirement that students, staff and visitors wear face coverings. On Monday, a federal judge issued a temporary order that blocks enforcement of the Iowa law that bans mask mandates in schools. Early Monday evening, Des Moines Superintendent Thomas Ahart said he’s heard concerns from families in the district and school staff about the ban and the judge’s ruling was welcome news. The mask mandate will go into effect in the Des Moines district Wednesday.

The school board in Iowa City was set to meet tonight (Tuesday), to consider issuing a similar requirement.

Atlantic, IA— As of Sunday, September 12, 2021, the Atlantic Evangelical Free Church is now officially known as GracePoint Church. According to Senior Pastor Donald McLean, “There are many reasons to refresh and rebrand. While we are proud to continue our partnership with the Evangelical Free Church of America, we’ve come to realize some parts of our name are confusing for people. For example, the term ’evangelical’ has taken on different connotations in recent years that have little to do with what we mean by the term. We’ve also noticed that the word ‘free’ means different things to different people.

“And even having ‘Atlantic’ in our name isn’t entirely accurate. We certainly love the city of Atlantic, and the majority of our congregation lives here. But more than 25% of our people come from other towns in the area. We want those people to know they are welcome, too!”

Pastor McLean said “We decided on the name GracePoint Church, because it captures the essence of who we are as a church. Our church’s mission is to connect real people to the Real God by engaging our communities with the hope and love of Christ. And that’s what God’s grace is all about – He connects real people to Himself through the grace of His Son, Jesus Christ. We see our church as a point (or place) where people can connect with God’s grace for themselves. And once we’ve experienced this grace in our own lives, we then have the joy of pointing other people to Jesus Christ. Hence the name – GracePoint Church.”

GracePoint Church is a member of the Evangelical Free Church of America, an association of about 1500 Bible-believing churches throughout the United States. GracePoint’s ministries include an active youth program led by Andrew Johnson, Pastor of Student & Worship Discipleship, as well as a wide selection of small group Bible studies and many other opportunities to be involved. The church also offers AWANA, a children’s program for pre-K through grade 5 that runs on Wednesday evenings during the school year.

GracePoint Church is located at 1 East 22nd Street, on the corner of Chestnut and 22nd Street, in Atlantic, Iowa. Sunday worship is at 10:30 a.m. and all are welcome. You can learn more about the church at VisitGracePoint.com or on Facebook at GracePointAtlantic.

(Radio Iowa) – A federal judge has blocked enforcement of the Iowa law that bans mask mandates in schools. A group of parents of disabled Iowa students filed a lawsuit, arguing their children face a greater threat of contracting Covid and the state law on mask mandates in schools is discriminatory. Federal Judge Robert Pratt cited the recent drastic increase in Covid cases among Iowa children and he issued a temporary injunction, barring the law from being enforced, until the lawsuit is decided.

Governor Kim Reynolds says the ruling takes away parents’ ability to decide whether their children wear masks at school and the state will appeal the federal court ruling.

Last week, a judge in state court declined to issue a similar order in connection with a different lawsuit that challenges Iowa’s ban on school mask mandates. That one was filed by a Council Bluffs woman who’s the mother of two first grade boys.

(Radio Iowa) – The president of the state teachers union says some Iowa school districts plan to require that students and staff wear face coverings if state law banning mask mandates is overturned. “District administrators and school boards and educators know what’s best for the communities and they would like to do that and so if there’s a change in the law, it would happen immediately in several districts that I know of,” said Iowa State Education Association President Mike Beranek.

Beranek hosted an online news conference with the National Education Association’s president late this morning, In answer to a reporter’s question, Beranek said masks can help prevent the recent increase in Covid cases among Iowa students. “We are hurting our children and it hurts our heart and we hope that the numbers will not continue to increase,” Beranek said.

Mike Beranek.(ISEA photo)

Late last week, a state judge declined to temporarily block Iowa’s ban on mask mandates in schools. A federal judge has yet to rule on a similar request to at least temporarily block the law. The U.S. Department of Education also is considering action against Iowa’s mask ban. Some school officials in Florida have implemented mask mandates, contrary to Florida policy, but Beranek said that’s unlikely here.

“I do know that there are several districts — administrators and boards of education — who would like to do this, but because the bill is in place and there could be consequences to implementing a mask mandate I know there are locals who are hesitant to do so,” Beranek said.

The Iowa Department of Public Health is updating Covid case numbers on Wednesdays. Last Wednesday’s data showed 29% of the Iowans who had tested positive for Covid in the previous week were under the age of 18.

(Radio Iowa) – Many college freshmen across Iowa are getting their first taste of freedom on new computers this fall, but they need to be careful with trying to find free files and programs online. Consumer protection specialist Lara Sutherlin says file-sharing programs can leave your computer open to being hacked.  Sutherlin says, “So talking to your kids about knowing when they’re sharing files and when they’re downloading shared files that they’re from a secured and trusted source.” Having up-to-date malware protection and firewalls on your P-C or tablet is a good first start to keeping yourself safe.

“It can prevent things that shouldn’t be mined out of your computer from being mined,” she says, “and it also can prevent improper things from being downloaded and we encourage you to do that.” Sutherlin says improperly setting up file-sharing programs could leave parts of your computer open to the internet that you’d rather have kept private.

“You could accidentally provide people with access to your private files if you’re doing some software sharing online and you’re not protecting yourself,” Sutherlin says. Many websites that claim to host pirated games or movies also pack malware alongside those files, she warns, so downloading from them could put your files — and privacy — at risk.