(Radio Iowa) — The U-S Health and Human Services Secretary and advisor to the president, Ivanka Trump, toured the Hy-Vee Innovation Center near Grimes Friday morning, to see how the company is expanding and retaining its workforce. H-H-S Secretary Alex Azar, says the tour is part of America’s Workers Month. “It’s the one-year anniversary of the launch of the Pledge to America’s workers. This is an extremely important initiative — and it’s one that everyone across the Trump Administration cold not be more proud of,” Azar says.

He says the goal is to bring more support to workers. “Supporting workers means everything from getting that first job to upscaling,” Azar says, “providing childcare and parental leave and other needs, all of which are focuses of the administration’s cross agency council on economic mobility.”

Ivanka Trump

Ivanka Trump says part of the effort is getting jobs for people who have been left out. “In the last quarter — of all the new jobs secured in America — 74 percent of those new jobs went to people who are outside the formal economy. Not even on unemployment. They were literally on the margins and they came into the workforce,”Trump says.

She says there are several reasons for the increase in people coming into the workforce. “Because wages are up, because there’s opportunity, because companies such as Hy-Vee are getting creative and they’re hiring. And they are reaching out to populations that been marginalized and are providing them pathways to creating career success,” Trump says.

Iowa has one of the lowest unemployment rates in the country and Trump says that has led the state and employers like Hy-Vee to do more in seeking out new workers. She says there has been a lot of success. “The rate of unemployment for disabled American is at the lowest level in the history of our country. So we are creating growth that benefits all — we are just at the beginning of that and it’s exciting to be out here in Iowa and West Des Moines to really see it on a personal level,” according to Trump.

Governor Kim Reynolds says the state is involved in partnership with Hy-Vee and other companies in several programs to help grow the workforce. “The workforce continues to be a top priority, it’s one of our biggest challenges in this state to really see the economy grow, at the capacity that we have. But it is also one of the biggest opportunities that we can provide to Iowans and people coming to the state,”Reynolds says.

She says there are plenty of jobs of all types they would like to fill. “Right now if you go onto the Iowa Workforce Development website, we have 82-thousand jobs open in the state of Iowa today, and that’s across the sector. And again that’s a ton of opportunity,” Reynolds says.

Trump and the governor heard from Hy-Vee employees about the training programs within the grocery store chain that allows employees to start and build their careers. They both also shot baskets at a hoop inside the facility as the took a tour.

(Radio Iowa) — The four Democratic presidential candidates who spoke at a forum in Sioux City Friday agree the nation’s health care system needs reform, but they differ on how aggressive the effort should be. Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren says “Medicare for All” will provide maximum coverage at a minimum price. “It’s about health care from our babies to our seniors,” Warren said, “so that no one has to go bankrupt over a medical problem.”

Warren is calling for the elimination of private insurance. “Look at the basic business model,” Warren said. “It’s charge the maximum amount you can in premiums and pay out the least that you can in health care coverage and last year, following exactly that model, insurance companies sucked $23 billion in profits out of the system and that’s before you even count the tens of millions that they paid the corporate CEOs, how much people had to spend on time, on paperwork and hours fighting with insurance companies.”

Former Texas Congressman Beto O’Rourke calls his effort “Medicare for America” — allowing Americans to buy into Medicare — on a sliding scale, based on income, but O’Rourke does not support ending private insurance.  “So we get to universal, guaranteed care while still preserving choice,” O’Rourke said, “and we avoid the false choice between the status quo — what we have today, the Affordable Care Act – and something that would force tens of millions of American off private insurance and into Medicare.”

Entrepreneur Andrew Yang supports moving to a “Medicare for All” system that would also cover non-traditional treatments, too, like acupuncture. “Different things work for different people,” Yang said. “…Our health care programs should cover different types of holistic treatments that people find constructive and helpful and beneficial.”

Marianne Williamson, an author and spiritual adviser who was the other candidate to speak in Sioux City Friday, opposes Medicare for All. “I want to be an agent of change. I don’t want to be an agent of chaos,” Williamson said. “I’m afraid if go in there and think: ‘Medicare for All! Get rid of private insurance right away, etc,’ I’m afraid the brakes are going to lock.”

On Monday, A-A-R-P and The Des Moines Register began hosting 17 Democratic presidential candidates at forums in five cities, all focused on senior issues. Three candidates will appear at the final forum this (Saturday) afternoon in Council Bluffs.

Thousands of bicycle enthusiasts and their entourages will be descending on Council Bluffs this weekend for the start of the 2019 Register’s Annual Great Bike Ride Across Iowa (RAGBRAI). Each year, RAGBRAI riders are treated to the best hospitality Iowa has to offer in cities along the route. Some riders are early risers and take to the roads early to get to the next town. Others sleep a little later and take a more leisurely pace, moving from town to town. With so many riders moving at different times of day, the Iowa Department of Transportation is alerting motorists to be extra cautious of bicyclists over the next week, especially in the area of that day’s route.

Tips for motorists

• Do not honk your horn at bicyclists. They may be startled and lose control.
• Use extra caution when passing bicycles. Move entirely into the left lane; on a two-lane road, do not pass a bicycle if oncoming traffic is near.
• Bicyclists might swerve to avoid road hazards. Common road hazards for bicyclists are potholes, debris, drainage grates, railroad tracks, and narrow bridges.
• Be careful when opening your vehicle door. Road widths often force bicyclists to ride close to parked vehicles where they may be injured by an opening door.
• When in doubt, yield to bicycles.

Tips for bicyclists

• Always wear a helmet.
• Ride on the right. Ride in the right lane except when passing another vehicle, preparing for a left turn, or avoiding hazards.
• Never ride against traffic. Always ride with the flow of traffic.
• Obey traffic signs and signals. Use hand signals to advise motorists you plan to turn, change lanes, or stop.
• Make eye contact with motorists. Never assume a motorist sees you or that you have the right of way.
• Expect the unexpected. Watch for vehicles pulling into traffic from a parking spot; vehicle doors opening into your path; and debris on the road.
• At night use a headlight, taillight, and reflectors.

Even though the RAGBRAI route is taking bikers south of Interstate 80, many bicyclists in other parts of the state are getting motivated to get out and ride. The Iowa DOT reminds motorists to share the road. Remember that bicycles have the same rights and responsibilities on our highways as motorists.

Minden Fire and Rescue was called to assist Neola Fire and Rescue following an accident early this (Saturday) morning on Interstate 80 westbound, just south of the I-80/I680 split, at mile marker 27. At least one person was transported by LifeNet helicopter to an area hospital. No other details are currently available.

Police in Atlantic say a man from Anita was arrested on an OWI/1st offense charge following an accident at 10th & Poplar Streets that took place at around 2:56-a.m. today (Saturday). Officer Christian Holzapfel said a red Kia Sportage collided with a power pole. The driver, 50-year-old Randall Lewis of Anita, and the vehicle, left the scene. The accident caused downed power lines, resulting in a brief outage. Officials said all power had been restored as of 4:40-a.m.

When Police arrived at the scene of the accident, they found the bumper of a red SUV.  The suspect vehicle was located at around 3-a.m. near 10th Street and Hospital Drive. The SUV’s airbag had deployed. Officer Holzapfel said the driver suffered minor injuries. He refused treatment and was transported to the jail, in Atlantic.

An SUV crashed into a power pole early this morning at 10th and Poplar in Atlantic, resulting in downed power lines and a loss of power to some area residences. The accident happened at around 2:50-a.m.

When Police arrived, the found the bumper of a red SUV, but the vehicle and driver was not on the scene. The suspect vehicle was located at around 3-a.m. near 10th Street and Hospital Drive. A 50-year old male had been injured and the vehicles’ airbag had deployed.

The individual was transported by Medivac Ambulance to nearby CCMH. Additional details were not immediately available.

Police in Red Oak arrested a man late Friday evening, following a traffic stop. 51-year old Gregory Allen Riley, of Red Oak, was taken into custody at around 7:42-p.m., for Driving While Revoked, and failure to have SR-22 insurance. Riley was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on a $1,000 bond.