Atlantic, IA—For the fourth year in a row, the National Rural Health Association named Cass Health one of the Top 20 Critical Access Hospitals in the country.

“There are 1,361 critical access hospital in America, this places Cass Health in the top 99.7% in the U.S. We can proudly say that we are one of only a handful of hospitals to earn this distinction repeatedly. What gets us to this point each year is data —for quality, outcomes, market share, patient satisfaction, cost, and financial stability. But it’s really the story behind the data that we’re proud of because it’s made possible by our team living our mission of providing superior experiences to everyone that we are privileged to serve, and we are grateful for each one of them,” said Cass Health CEO Brett Altman.

The National Rural Health Association names the Top 20 Critical Access Hospitals from a larger set of Top 100 winners, which is evaluated and produced by The Chartis Center for Rural Health. Recipients are evaluated and identified through the Chartis Rural Hospital Performance INDEX® that utilizes publicly available data to provide a comprehensive comparison of all rural and Critical Access Hospitals. By assessing performance across 36 individual indicators and eight pillars of performance, the INDEX is the foundation for many of rural health care’s most prominent awards and is used by organizations such as the National Rural Health Association in support of its advocacy and legislative initiatives.

An awards ceremony will be held during the National Rural Hospital Association’s Critical Access Hospital Conference this fall.

(Cedar Rapids, Iowa) – While the Iowa D-C-I continues to investigate a shooting by Cedar Rapids police officers that left one man dead and another wounded, authorities with the DCI, today (Monday), said the deceased has been identified as 40-year-old David Vanderhamm, of Cedar Rapids.  A male bystander who was also shot during the incident has been identified and his name and information will not be released at this time.

The involved CRPD officers are scheduled for interviews and they remain on critical incident leave pending the completion of the investigation. The names of the officers will be released upon completion of the interviews and no other information will be released at this time.

As previously reported: Cedar Rapids police were called to a residence on the northeast side around 6:30 Saturday evening on the report of a man who was armed and making homicidal and suicidal statements. Officers found the man (Vanderhamm) and a bystander who had called requesting assistance. Police say [Vanderhamm] had a weapon and he refused commands to drop it, and three officers fired when pointed the weapon at them. [Vanderhamm] died at the scene and the bystander was taken to the hospital with multiple gunshot wounds.

(Radio Iowa) – Federal tax returns are due one week from today, and Iowans who think they’re not going to have their forms filled out by then should file for an extension. IRS spokesman Christopher Miller says it’s a simple process.

“By going to our website, irs.gov, and using the Free File system, you just choose whatever software program works best for you, and you’re able to file a request.”

Miller says you don’t even need to give the agency a reason to file for an extension, you can just do it.

“Maybe you don’t have some of the paperwork together,” he says. “Maybe life is just getting in the way and you don’t think you’re going to be able to make that April 15th deadline.”

Miller says the first request you make for an extension is automatically granted.

“It’s easy to file for an extension, and you get an automatic six months,” he says, “and that takes you all the way through October.”

If you owe taxes, be sure to make a payment before next week’s deadline, because Miller reminds — an extension on filing is not an extension on paying.

(Radio Iowa) – Groups of Iowa Capitol insiders gathered outside the statehouse this afternoon to view a partial solar eclipse.

A group of high schoolers who are House pages and paid to run errands for lawmakers stood on the Capitol’s west steps, passing around pairs of the special glasses necessary for eclipse viewing.

This is the second time Charlie Timm of Windsor Heights of has seen an eclipse from Iowa’s Capitol Hill. He and his mother were at the Capitol in 2017 to see a partial solar eclipse. “I thought it was pretty cool, but I was kind of disappointed that the sky didn’t go dark,” Timm said of his 2017 experience. “I thought it would be: ‘Oh, the whole thing’s covereed.’ Apparently that’s not how it works.”

2024 House Page Charlie Timm of Windsor Heights saw the partial solar eclipse from the steps of the statehouse.

In the eclipse Timm saw in 2017, about 95% of the sun was eclipsed by the moon. Today, at 1:58 p.m. in Des Moines, about 84% of the sun was obscured by the moon. Depending on where you were in Iowa today, the moon blocked 70-85% of the sun in Iowa for about three minutes.

(Radio Iowa) – A coalition that supports Iowa’s long-standing “Bottle Bill” says 29 counties are now “redemption deserts” where there is nowhere to take an empty beverage can or bottle and redeem the deposit fee.

Iowa lawmakers changed the Bottle Bill in 2022. Retailers that sell pop, beer and other beverages can opt out of the requirement to accept empties and pay deposits if there’s a redemption center nearby. The Cleaner Iowa coalition surveyed hundreds of Iowa retailers that sell beverages and collect the nickel deposit. It found only18.4% of Iowa grocery stores that responded continue to accept empties and pay back the deposits.

R.G. Schwarm, a spokesman for Cleaner Iowa, says most of the “redemption deserts” are in rural areas. “The Bottle Bill works and it will continue to work as long as convenient redemption opportunities are available,” Schwarm says.

Cleaner Iowa’s survey did connect with 143 retailers that were not allowed by the new law to opt out -and just eight were still accepting empty containers. The 2022 law established a civil fine for retailers that failed to follow the law, but Schwarm says the Iowa Department of Natural Resources hasn’t set up a system to investigate complaints.

“I think a big part of this with the changes is education,” Schwarm says. “I don’t think a lot of folks recognize where they can redeem and also how they can contact the Department of Natural Resources if they are non-compliant.”

The 2022 law increased the per container handling fee for redemption centers. There have been 43 new redemption centers open, but most are in the state’s largest counties according to Cleaner Iowa.

(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa Board of Medicine’s rules for enforcing a six-week abortion ban in Iowa have cleared final review by a legislative committee. Governor Reynolds signed the Fetal Heartbeat Act into law in July, but it’s been on hold due to a legal challenge. The Iowa Supreme Court will hear legal arguments over the law this Thursday. Senator Cindy Winckler, a Democrat from Davenport, says the rules aren’t clear and could make in vitro fertilization illegal in Iowa.

“Because so much of this bill did really not include medical terminology when it was passed,” Winckler said. The rules for the law will technically go into effect April 24th, but a deputy attorney general says the rules won’t be enforced until the Iowa Supreme Court upholds the law. Winckler was the only committee member to raise an objection.

“I think that it is unfortunate that we have these rules in place and will be in effect before the court case is determined,” she said. If Iowa’s six week abortion ban is ruled constitutional, the Board of Medicine’s rules say a physician could be disciplined for performing an abortion after fetal activity is detected, usually about the sixth week of a pregnancy, but the rules do not specify whether that means the doctor would be fined or lose their license to practice medicine in Iowa.