(Benton County, Iowa) – A man from eastern Iowa died Wednesday afternoon, after the bicycle he was riding was struck by a car on southbound Highway 218 at 51st Street, south of  La Porte City. The Iowa State Patrol reports the bicycle, occupied by 83-year-old John R. Rice, of Cedar Falls, was hit by a Nissan Altima at around 2:24-p.m. Rice died at the scene.

The driver of the car was identified as 77-year-old Dewayne L. Arends, of Oxford Junction. The accident remains under investigation.

(UPDATED) – The latest Iowa Drought Monitor shows drought conditions have worsened. State Climatologist Justin Glisan says there’s been an 18 percent increase in extreme drought conditions since last week’s report. “The big standout that we see on the map this week is a big expansion of that D3 extreme drought category across north central into northeastern Iowa,” Glisan says. There’s a persistent area of extreme drought in southeast Iowa as well. Some farmers have begun chopping corn for silage because most leaves on the stalks have died. “Corn is drying up out there. Soybeans are dropping pods because of the heat and the dryness,” Glisan says. “Harvest is going to come at us fast given the drier conditions and the warmer temperatures that we’ve seen.”

Small sections of Fremont and Ringgold Counties are the only areas of Iowa considered to be drought-free and Glisan says nearly 99-and-a-half percent of the entire state is now in some level of drought. The U-S-D-A began issuing Drought Monitor reports 23 years ago. “This is going into the 166th week of at least D1, that moderate drought category somewhere in the state, so the longest drought that we’ve had since the Drought Monitor came into inception,” Glisan says, “but also longer term than the 1988 and 2012 droughts.” Those two drought years were more intense because of particularly warm temperatures in the upper Midwest, according to Glisan. Glisan says the statewide average rainfall is about three and a quarter inches in August — about an inch below normal, but Glisan says there’s wide variation in sections of the state.

“If you look at the climate divisions in eastern Iowa, so climate division 3 is the northeastern corner and then east central is where the nose of Iowa is — it’s the top 10 driest August on record,” Glisan says, “so that statewide average is skewed where we see higher precipitation totals across the southern part of the state.” The southern two tiers of Iowa got an average amount of rainfall during the past month. On this last day of August, there is no rain in the forecast anywhere in Iowa.

In southwest Iowa:

Parts of northern and eastern Pottawattamie County, all but the northeastern part of Cass County, along with the southern half of Adair County, most of Adams, and all of Union Counties, are considered Abnormally Dry.

Severe drought conditions exist in mainly the western half of Pott. County and the northern tier of Mills County, while other area counties are seeing a variety of Moderate to Abnormally dry conditions.

Extreme drought conditions are being experienced in a large portion of northeastern Iowa, and parts of seven southeastern Iowa counties.

(Radio Iowa) – Iowa-based LifeServe Blood Center is appealing for donors as it’s on-call through a national network to provide blood anywhere it’s needed as the hurricane that hit Florida on Wednesday is now a tropical storm heading up the East Coast. LifeServe spokeswoman Danielle West says they’ve been in close contact with blood centers across Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas, all of which felt — or are feeling — the impact of Idalia (ee-DOLL-ee-ah). “They did not mention as many injuries as much as damage, so it’s more about if the blood center can continue to function and collect blood, then they may not need ours,” West says. “They’re assessing that right now and ensuring that all of their team members can still make it into work and they can still function as a blood center.”

In addition to widespread power outages, there’s damage from the powerful winds, as well as heavy rains and flash flooding. West says blood centers in cities that were hit by the monster storm are regrouping and determining what they need.  “They want to make sure that they can sustain what they’ve already worked out with their local hospitals,” West says. “They’re keeping us posted. As far as we know, we have not sent blood products to them yet, but we still have O-positive and O-negative set aside, and we’re technically on call through Sunday of this week.”

Monday is a holiday and LifeServe offices won’t be open for donations, so they’re working to continue stocking up now, as the summertime has been challenging for donations. “We have not seen the number of blood donors that we would like to see to support our hospitals,” West says. “We’re lower in almost every blood type then we’d want to be, A-positive, B-positive, all of our negative blood types, of course the Os, so truly if you’re a blood donor, if you’ve never donated blood before, we absolutely need you.”

LifeServe has multiple offices in the Des Moines metro, as well as in Ames, Fort Dodge, Marshalltown, Mason City, Pella and Sioux City. LifeServe provides blood products to 161 hospitals primarily in Iowa, Nebraska and South Dakota. To schedule a visit, call 800.287.4903 or log on to lifeservebloodcenter.org.

(Red Oak, Iowa) – Police in Red Oak report the arrest at around 8-a.m. Wednesday, of a woman on a drug charge. 30-year-old Antonia Jashae Hudson, of Red Oak, was arrested after officers were called to the 400 block of E. Coolbaugh Street, following a complaint. She was charged with Possession of a Controlled Substance/1st offense. Hudson was being held at the Montgomery County Law Enforcement Center on a $1,000 bond.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – Officials with the Atlantic Community School District (ACSD), say more than 120 District staff were hosted to lunch August 18th at the United Methodist Church in Atlantic. A group of approximately 15 ladies, made up of members from both the United Methodist Church and the 1st Presbyterian Church of Atlantic spent the morning preparing a feast of food for all ACSD staff to enjoy. Communications Specialist Mallory Robinson says “This group of ladies arrived early the morning of Aug. 18th, to prepare homemade sloppy joes, bringing with them an assortment of salads and deserts, prepared and ready to go for the day’s luncheon.

“The buffet was arranged in such a manner, [and] with such great attention to detail,” she says, “that one could not help but wish for multiple plates to accommodate the many delicious offerings available for lunch that day!”

Photos courtesy Mallory Robinson

Atlantic Community School District staff filtered in throughout the lunch hour in shifts – providing a seamless flow the entire lunch hour. While sitting with new and familiar faces, ACSD current staff spent time talking with these ladies, hearing stories and remembering school years of the past.  “According to Robinson, “The luncheon preparation and meal offering is a sacrifice of work and love and one that all Atlantic Community School District employees have eagerly anticipated every year, for the last 8 years!”

Many of the ladies, she says, helped raise the current generation of teachers they prepared the meal for, in one one or another,  With a meal made from love, a prayer over the school year, and hugs and high-fives, ACSD Staff are sent on their way that final Friday before the new school year begins, knowing the generation before them is cheering them on.

Robinson says “It’s a tremendous opportunity for our ACSD Staff to be supported and fed a delicious meal by the ladies of the United Methodist and 1st Presbyterian Churches of Atlantic.  What a great example of our district’s yearly theme: Trojan CommUNITY!”

(Radio Iowa) The University of Iowa’s Stead Family Children’s Hospital is joining a growing trend in bringing in dogs to work with young patients. Dog handler Emily Bradley says the goal of dogs Nacho and Corrin is to help kids understand their diagnosis and reduce the fear and anxiety they may feel. “We kind of use that unique human animal bond between, you know, people and dogs, that sometimes we can’t provide human to human to meet those goals for patients and family. So really just advancing that standard of care,” she says. There are a lot of different types of comfort dogs, but she says these two do something the others aren’t trained for.

“They really are able to be a part of clinical care and a part of procedures and providing therapeutic interventions that are helping patients meet their specific treatment goals as part of their medical plan,” Bradley says. Aly Humphrey handles Nacho and explains how the dog could help an anxious child. “Nacho could either be sitting on a chair next to the bed, or it could be laying next to the patient in their bed while the nurses are starting their I-V. And maybe we’re just talking about things about Nacho to kind of provide that distraction and procedural support,” she says. “Or if you know, they maybe really like engaging in deep breathing, then they can put their hand on nacho’s belly and kind of match his breath as they feel his chest and belly kind of rise with each breath. And they can match their breath to his. She says the dog could also help a child who is anxious about getting their C-T scan by riding through the C-T scanner and showing the patient exactly everything that will happen to them. Some kids might be afraid of a dog, and Bradley says they have child life specialists that will help out.

“Do they’ll kind of help us navigate if that patient might be comfortable with the dog or would be interested in that visit. Or even as handlers ourselves, before we go in a room before we get in an elevator even, like we’ll ask everyone in that room, like, ‘are you comfortable with the dog coming in the room’, and kind of assessing from there,” Bradley says. Bradley says they have protocols in place for those who might be concerned about animals in the hospital. “Based on the research and benchmarking with other hospitals around the country, the dogs are very clean, and they get weekly grooming. Professional grooming and baths, so there’s a lot of policies in place to keep them clean and keep them from bringing things in the hospital ,” she says. Bradley says one aspect of bringing in the dogs that’s been an extra benefit is the uplifting impact the dogs have already had on the rest of the staff.

Emily-Bradley,-Nacho,Aly-Humphrey,Corrin-(UI-PHOTO)

“Almost all of our staff are very excited that the dogs are in house, it’s been hard this first week in the hospital just to like contain the staff even like they’re so excited to meet our dogs and for them to be here,” she says. She says they did quite a bit of preparation this summer for all employees about the dogs do and their purpose. Both Nacho and Corrin are just under a year and a half old and will likely work for six to eight years before they are ready to retire.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – The postponed Fourth of July Fireworks show in Atlantic takes place Saturday night at the Little League Sports Complex across from the KJAN Studios, in Atlantic. The “Saturday night Bash at the Ballfields” event runs from 5-until 10:15-p.m., with the Wild Wayne’s Fireworks show taking place at around 9-p.m.

Other activities Saturday, include a beer garden and food trucks from 5-until 10-p.m., as well as bounce houses, face painting/balloon artist, a punt-pass and kick contest, bags and games, from 5-until 8-p.m. Live music presented by “Gut Feeling” is from 7-until 9-p.m., and again from 9:30-until 10:15-p.m.

The “Bash at the Ballfields” is sponsored by Camblin Mechanical, Incorporated.

(Radio Iowa) – A decade and a half after Cedar Rapids was swamped by the flood of 2008, the city’s landing millions of dollars to revitalize and build new homes in the historic Oak Hill neighborhood. Cedar Rapids’ economic development manager Caleb Mason says they worked with residents and businesses to create collaborative neighborhood plans.

The city just received one-point-eight million dollars in workforce housing tax credits for Oak Hill, along with a three-point-eight million dollar package from the Iowa Economic Development Authority.

Vacant lots across from the Linn County Public Health Department will soon be the site of new two-story townhomes. The money will finance several other projects, all of which are intended to meet the demand for the city’s growing workforce.

(Red Oak, Iowa) – A man from Red Oak was arrested Wednesday night on a drug charge. The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office reports 28-year-old Tommy Elwood was taken into custody at around 10:30-p.m., following a traffic stop in the 1000 block of 200th Street. Elwood was booked into the Montgomery County Jail on a charge of Possession of Marijuana/1st offense. His cash bond was set at $1,000.

(Waukon, Iowa) – A collision that occurred at around 6:50-p.m. Wednesday in northeastern Iowa, claimed the life of a motorcyclist. The Iowa State Patrol reports a pickup truck and a motorcycle were both traveling north on Highway 76 in Allamakee County, when the pickup left the road to make a U-turn in order to proceed southbound. The motorcycle,  operated by 60-year-old Kerry Gene Nuehring, of Waukon, collided with a trailer the pickup was pulling, causing Nuehring to be ejected from the cycle. He died at the scene.

The driver of the pickup, 32-year-old Cody Gene Bauer, of Dubuque, was not injured. The crash remains under investigation.