(Radio Iowa) — We are only in the second week of October — but the state’s top doctor is recommending you get your flu shot. Iowa Department of Public Health Medical Director Caitlin Pedati (puh-DOT-ee) says the time is right. “We like to suggest that people get it between two and four weeks before they are exposed,” Pedati explains,”so that’s where this recommendation for trying to get this done before the end of October comes from.” She says if you get a flu shot now you don’t have to worry about being protected. “It takes your body a little bit of time to develop immunity once you’ve gotten the vaccine. So, you want to give your body that time before you would ever be exposed to the virus,” according to Pedati.

Doctor Pedati says the warmer weather we’ve had lately probably doesn’t make people think about winter and the flu. “I think sometimes people do kind of think ‘oh gosh is it a little bit early,’ but again the idea is that you really want to get the vaccine in time to give your immune system that time to build the immune response so that when you do come up against the real virus you’ve got that protection in place,” Pedati says. She says others might worry getting the vaccine too early would allow it to wear off. “There’s been research on whether or not your immunity kind of goes down over the course of the season — and so people wonder is it too early, too late, where is that sweet spot?,” Pedati says. “It’s a little bit hard to say exactly where that right time is — but we do think that probably the ideal time is by the end of October to give yourself that time to get that immunity built. And I can tell you I got mine at the mid to end of September.”

Doctor Pedati says there should be an ample supply of the vaccine. She says if you wonder where you can get the flu shot you should check with your health care provider, your insurance company or your local health department should give you the information you need. Pedati says the shot is often covered by insurance. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends everyone six months of age or older get the flu vaccine.

Police in Creston said today (Thursday), that 39-year old Amanda Carney, of Creston, was arrested at around 6-p.m. Wednesday, for Disorderly Conduct. Carney was later released from the Union County Jail on a $300 bond. And, a hit-and-run accident occurred at around 3-a.m., Wednesday, in Creston. Authorities say a 2016 Ford Escape was legally parked on S. Maple Street when it was struck by an unknown southbound vehicle. That vehicle then left the scene. Damage from the collision amounted to $2,000.

The Creston P-D said also, no injuries were reported when a 2014 Chevy pickup driven by 67-year old Frederick Franklin, of Creston, backed out of a business driveway in front of a 2006 Chevy SUV. The SUV, driven by 51-year old Michelle Riley, of Bedford, struck the pickup on the rear-end, causing a total of $1,800 damage. Franklin was given a warning for unsafe backing.

The area’s latest and/or top news stories at 7:06-a.m. From KJAN News Director Ric Hanson.

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IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — University of Iowa officials say they’ve temporarily suspended nine fraternities for incidents with alcohol. The chapters suspended Wednesday pending further investigation are accused of violating a university moratorium on alcohol at fraternity and sorority parties. The nine are: Pi Kappa Alpha, Beta Theta Pi, Pi Kappi Phi, Acacia, Sigma Pi, Phi Delta Theta, Sigma Phi Epsilon, Sigma Alpha Epsilon and Delta Chi.

University vice president Melissa Shivers says “the blatant and systemic failure to curb holding dangerous open events with alcohol, including tailgates, will stop.” At a news conference Wednesday, Shivers didn’t describe any specific events or incidents that led to the suspensions.

The suspensions mean the chapters cannot participate in some organization-sponsored meetings, programs, social events, intramural sports or homecoming activities.

(Radio Iowa) — Federal officials are considering a plan to move two divisions of the U-S Department of Agriculture out of the nation’s capitol. It could mean Iowa has a shot to become the new home to the Economic Research Service or the National Institute of Food and Agriculture. Iowa Rural Development Council executive director Bill Menner says it would be a tremendous lift for the state to land either division, or both. “In my mind, as someone who’s involved in economic development, that makes perfect sense,” Menner says. “The reasons for the decision to want to move the agencies out of Washington D.C. not withstanding, any time you have a chance to find a good fit when you’re looking for businesses and creating jobs, you take advantage of it.”

Menner, who used to work at U-S-D-A Rural Development, says Iowa would be a good fit for both offices and the state’s in a good position to compete. “The resources that exist at Iowa State University and, to some degree, at the University of Iowa are a good fit for what these two agencies do,” Menner says. “Iowa State’s a land grant institution and they have folks who study these things and do this kind of work every day.” He notes, it won’t be a slam-dunk for Iowa. “There would be a number of other states that would also be competitive because they have institutions similar to Iowa State and Iowa and that have strong land grant histories,” Menner says, “but Iowa certainly has to be in the running, if this indeed is going to happen.”

He says the National Animal Disease Center and Veterinary Diagnostic Lab located in Ames are a good demonstration of the fit that exists between Iowa and the U-S-D-A. He says those should be considered in any possible relocation efforts.

ANKENY, Iowa (AP) — An Iowa farmer says thousands of his honeybees died after someone vandalized their hives. Jake Knutson said Wednesday that someone removed straps holding down three of his hives near the Ankeny airport last week and then damaged them with logs, bricks and cinder blocks, knocking off the tops. That left the bees to die in the rain that’s been covering central Iowa over the past several days.
When he returned to the hives, he found that one had been knocked over again and another was teetering on its stand.

No arrests have been reported. In another incident of hive vandalism , Sioux City police arrested boys 12 and 13 after 50 hives were knocked over in December, killing at least 500,000 bees.

(Radio Iowa) — A southwest Iowa boy who’s being treated for brain cancer got a video message of encouragement this week from one of his Hollywood heroes, actor Robert Downey Junior. Amy Tijerina of Council Bluffs, says her seven-year-old, Jackson, was diagnosed in 2016 and was told he needed immediate chemotherapy.   “When they do that, they put a port in their chest and his port is right in the middle of his chest,” Tijerina says. “When his doctor put it in, he told Jackson, ‘Oh, you look just like Iron Man,’ and that he’ll get special strength from his port just like Iron Man gets strength from his button.”

She says that’s where the boy’s obsession with the Marvel superhero began — and Downey has played Iron Man in several blockbuster films. “His biggest wish was that he got to meet Iron Man and he didn’t just want to meet Iron Man in a costume, he wanted to meet the Robert Downey Junior,” Tijerina says. “I put it out there on Facebook, if anybody knew somebody that I could contact, and I had a couple of friends get back to me and say, ‘I have connections in Hollywood, let me see what see what I can do’.”

One of those friends came through and got Downey to record a 27-second video message of hope especially for the ailing second-grader. “Jackson, is that you? Hi, it’s Robert Downey Junior, but you can call me Tony,” Downey says. “I’m thinking about you. Stay strong and know that my prayers are with you and also, life is challenging and you’re just the man for the job, so, lots of love.”

Tijerina says it’s a dream come true for her son to have gotten the video from the actor who plays Tony Stark, the man inside the Iron Man armor. She says her son has other items on his bucket list, but this checks off a big one. “He does want to go to an Iowa Hawkeye game, he’s toured the stadium but he’s never gone to an actual game,” Tijerina says. “He wants to go to an Atlanta Falcons game. He wants to meet Peyton Manning because he’s another huge hero of Jackson’s and he’s the hero that really got him through his first major brain surgeries.”

She says her son is taking an experimental oral chemotherapy drug which the family gets through St. Jude Children’s Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee. Tijerina says they aren’t sure how well the treatment will work, but they keep making sure Jackson is the happy seven-year-old he deserves to be.

Video link: https://www.facebook.com/amy.holbentijerina/videos/10217912913162303/

(KCCI via Radio Iowa) — Republican Governor Kim Reynolds and Democratic challenger Fred Hubbell met in their first televised debate last (Wednesday) night to make their case to Iowa voters. The hour-long forum was broadcast by K-C-C-I T-V in Des Moines. “We can’t afford to go backwards and that’s the direction that Fred wants to take the state,” Reynolds said in her closing statement. In his closing, Hubbell said: “She promises more of the same and I promise to bring change.”

Private management of the state’s Medicaid program was the major flash point of the evening. Hubbell has pledged to start unraveling the managed care contracts Reynolds has signed if he’s elected governor. “The costs are out of control,” Hubbell said. “We now find out that the per-member cost of Medicaid is rising faster now than it did before privatized Medicaid.”

Reynolds says the old system was not sustainable. “You’re telling everybody what they want to hear and not talking about how you’re going to fund the system,” Reynolds said. “…We have two years of experience. We now know what it costs to take care of our most vulnerable Iowans.”

The candidates were given a chance to ask one another questions. Hubbell questioned a campaign check Reynolds took and Reynolds questioned Hubbell’s personal finances. “I’m transparent with the contributions that I’m taking,” Reynolds said. “Why don’t you release your tax statements so Iowans can see maybe what you’re hiding or what you’re embarrassed of?” Hubbell responded: “I think the governor is questioning my motivation to run for governor. It’s never been about the money. I’ve even offered to not be paid as governor. The only special interest I have is Iowans and I’m going to work every day to help their lives be better.”

Reynolds has released 10 years of the personal income tax returns she and her husband filed. Hubbell released the front pages of the tax return he and his wife filed last year, showing their income and how much they donated to charity. During last night’s debate, both of the candidates said they oppose reinstating the death penalty. Both oppose legalizing marijuana for recreational use. Both said local governments should decide when fireworks may be sold and set off. And Hubbell said “yes” to term limits, while Reynolds said “no.” The two candidates are scheduled to participate in two other televised debates this month. Libertarian Party candidate Jake Porter sat in the audience for last (Wednesday) night’s debate. His supporters protested outside before the event, chanting: “Let Jake debate.”

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 3:40 a.m. CDT

ANKENY, Iowa (AP) — Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds and Democratic challenger Fred Hubbell traded sharp exchanges Wednesday over the state budget and privatization of the Medicaid program as they met together on a debate state for the first time. Reynolds aggressively challenged Hubbell, interrupting him and moderators several times to get her points across. Hubbell with a more subdued demeanor scored points that the economy she boasts of isn’t working for everyone and the Medicaid program is hurting vulnerable Iowans.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The National Weather Service says nearly a dozen tornadoes touched down in rural areas across Iowa as strong storms swept the state Tuesday. Service meteorologist Mike Fowle in Des Moines says 10 tornadoes were confirmed in the central third of the state, with the strongest hitting near Creston in south-central Iowa. Fowle says that EF-2 twister brought winds of up to 120 mph, destroying a garage and pulling off part of a mobile home roof. No injuries were reported with any of the tornadoes.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The chief justice of the Iowa Supreme Court says a disputed appointment of a district court judge by Gov. Kim Reynolds in June will stand unless the courts determine otherwise. Justice Mark Cady says in a statement Wednesday he has no constitutional authority to confirm or ratify the governor’s appointment of Judge Jason Besler. Reynolds says she appointed Besler in June within the 30-day deadline by verbally telling her chief of staff her choice but there’s no proof she met the deadline.

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (AP) — A Division of Criminal Investigation agent in western Iowa is confirming that she’s on paid administrative leave amid a disciplinary investigation. Special Agent Ashley Goodsell says that she has done nothing wrong but cannot comment further since the investigation is ongoing. She says she’s being represented by the State Police Officers Council, a union representing sworn officers.

The Harlan Police Department, Wednesday, issued a statement concerning the number of narcotics-related arrests. They said “You’ve probably noticed an up-swing in recent narcotic related arrests (in both the media and social media). As you may know, this is a broad sweeping problem across all communities in the Midwest and across the country. The Harlan Police Department has been taking steps to curb this problem within our community.”

Officials went on to detail some statistics from the last couple months of summer. The statement said “With information from concerned citizens and cooperating individuals, the Harlan Police Department made multiple arrests, served several search warrants and filed for a couple arrest warrants. The charges ranged from possession of drug paraphernalia, possession of controlled substances and up to multiple delivery charges and even manufacturing charges. These narcotic related charges included multiple drugs, including but not limited to, marijuana, methamphetamine, and cocaine.”

The H-PD says during the month of August, there was a total of 27 different narcotic related charges filed with the Shelby County courthouse, with the month of September netting 43 different narcotic related charges. The ended by saying “With the continued support and information from the citizens of Harlan, the Harlan Police Department will strive to continue the fight on illegal drugs within our fine community.”