The area’s latest and/or top news stories at 7:06-a.m. From KJAN News Director Ric Hanson.
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The area’s latest and/or top news stories at 7:06-a.m. From KJAN News Director Ric Hanson.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (5.3MB)
Subscribe: RSS
(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 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
Tips for bicyclists
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.
CLASS 1A District Finals
District 13: Lamoni @ Martensdale-St. Marys 7:00pm
District 14: Logan-Magnolia @ St. Albert 7:00pm
District 15: Audubon @ Southeast Warren 7:00PM (ON KJAN)
District 16: Woodbine @ Coon Rapids-Bayard 7:00pm
CLASS 2A District Finals
District 13: Kuemper Catholic @ Ogden 7:00pm
District 14: I-35 @ Van Meter 7:00pm
District 15: Underwood @ Treynor 7:00pm
District 16: Alta/Aurelia @ Hinton 7:00pm
Today: **Excessive Heat Warning continues until 7-p.m.** Partly cloudy w/scattered showers & thunderstorms possible late. High 93. Heat Index as high around 107. SW @ 10-20.
Tonight: P/Cldy to Cldy w/scattered shwrs & tstrms. Low 70. N @ 5-10.
Tomorrow: Partly cloudy w/scatt. showers/thunderstorms. High 76. N @ 10-15.
Monday: P/Cldy. High 80.
Tuesday: P/Cldy. High 82.
Yesterday’s High in Atlantic was 92. Our Low this morning 78. Last year on this date our High was 83 and the Low was 61. The record High in Atlantic on this date was 109 in 1934. The Record Low was 44 in 1953.
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.
Here is the latest Mid-America sports news from The Associated Press
CINCINNATI (AP) — Jose Martinez homered and singled during a 10-run rally in the sixth inning and the St. Louis Cardinals overcame a seven-run deficit for a wild 12-11 win over the Cincinnati Reds. Down 7-0, the Cardinals put together their biggest inning of the season on the way to their sixth win in seven games. Journeyman catcher Ryan Lavarnway hit two homers, doubled and drove in a career-high six runs for Cincinnati in his first game in the majors this season.
CLEVELAND (AP) — Rookie Oscar Mercado went 5 for 5 and drove in two runs as the Cleveland Indians won their sixth straight game by defeating the Kansas City Royals 10-5. Mercado had an RBI double in the third inning and a run-scoring single in the sixth. He is batting .423 with three home runs and eight RBIs over the last eight games. He was called up from Triple-A Columbus on May 14 and became the 12th Indians rookie since 1913 to have at least five hits in a game.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The NFL will not suspend Chiefs wide receiver Tyreek Hill under its personal conduct policy. The league had been investigating his involvement in a domestic violence case involving his 3-year-old son. The league says it has not been given access to information in the court proceedings. A district attorney said last month an investigation was dropped because officials couldn’t prove who injured the boy.
NEWTON, Iowa (AP) — IndyCar points leader Josef Newgarden has spent much of the season holding off Alexander Rossi. Indianapolis 500 winner Simon Pagenaud looks poised to make the chase for the championship a three-car affair. Pagenaud and the No. 1 Chevrolet now trail Newgarden by just 39 points and Rossi by 35 heading into the race at Iowa Speedway this weekend.
NEWTON, Iowa (AP) — Simon Pagenaud will start first in the IndyCar race at Iowa Speedway after winning the pole for the second week in a row. Pagenaud, who won in Toronto last weekend starting from the front row, posted an average speed of 180.073 mph to capture his third pole of 2019 and his 13th overall.
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.