Holy Cross plays UT Martin in the First Four of the NCAA women’s basketball tournament in Iowa City Thursday. Holy Cross is 20-12 and is making its second straight appearance in the tournament after winning the Patriot League Tournament.
That’s Holy Cross coach Maureen Magarity. The Crusaders win with defense. They give up a little over 56 points per game.
Thursday night’s winner advances to play top-seed Iowa Saturday afternoon.
(Radio Iowa) – A new report from the Alzheimer’s Association details some of the difficulties Iowa’s 100-thousand unpaid caregivers experience while trying to navigate dementia care for a loved one or friend. Lauren Livingston, spokeswoman for the association’s Iowa chapter, says it’s an intricate juggling act that requires patience and the ability to work with multiple doctors, to secure appointments, and to find appropriate doctors in the first place.
“About 70% of caregivers report that coordinating care is stressful, and over half say that navigating the healthcare system is difficult,” Livingston says. “We know dementia caregivers have more stress, face more depression and chronic health issues, and navigating care for their loved one just adds to that.” The cost of care is another tremendous worry. The report estimates the cost of caring for people living with Alzheimer’s and other dementias will reach 360-billion dollars this year, a 15-billion dollar increase from a year ago. She notes, that figure does -not- include unpaid care provided by family caregivers and friends.
“Last year in Iowa, family caregivers provided 125-million hours of unpaid care valued at over $2.2 billion,” Livingston says. “That’s really hard to wrap your head around, especially if you think about the fact there’s only 100,000 family caregivers providing all of these hours and value of care. That just really shows the burden of caregiving.” The report finds 60% of healthcare workers surveyed believe the U.S. healthcare system is not effectively helping patients and their families navigate dementia care.
“The Alzheimer’s Association is advocating state lawmakers for funding for a Dementia Service Specialist Program,” Livingston says, “and that would help families with a lot of these care navigation needs, including finding doctors, making appointments, and finding local care and support.”
The report estimates 6.9 million people age 65 and older in the U.S. are living with Alzheimer’s, and over 11 million loved ones are providing care. In Iowa, more than 62,000 people are living with the disease, and there are nearly 100,000 caregivers.
DES MOINES – The Iowa Department of Natural Resources is investigating a fuel spill at the East Nishnabotna River in Cass County.
On March 20, the DNR Atlantic Field Office was notified of a fuel spill that occurred at the Casey’s General Store located at 911 SW 7th Street in Atlantic on March 19.
A transport truck was filling an underground storage tank when an overflow of gasoline occurred. An unknown amount of fuel was released. The gasoline flowed across the parking lot to an unnamed tributary of the East Nishnabotna River.
An environmental consulting firm is on-site assisting with clean-up efforts. Residents are advised to avoid the area. The investigation is still ongoing.
To report a release after hours, please call the DNR’s emergency spill line at (515) 725-8694. Quick reporting can help DNR staff identify the cause of an incident. The DNR website has more information about spill reporting requirements.
IOWA CITY, Iowa – Fifty-nine University of Iowa student-athletes have been named to the 2023-24 Big Ten Winter Academic All-Conference team. The list includes student-athletes from men’s basketball (5), women’s basketball (10), women’s gymnastics (13), women’s swimming and diving (12) and men’s wrestling (19).
The 19 honorees for men’s wrestling are a school record, while the five men’s basketball and 13 women’s gymnastics accolades are the second most in program history. The women’s swimming and diving team’s 12 honorees are the most since 2021.
The Big Ten Conference recognized 1,032 winter sports student-athletes, including 81 men’s and 94 women’s basketball players, 58 men’s and 133 women’s gymnasts, 90 men’s hockey players, 147 men’s and 232 women’s swimmers and divers and 197 men’s wrestlers.
Thirty-five of these student-athletes have maintained unblemished cumulative GPAs, including Iowa’s Sharon Goodman (women’s basketball) and Kaia Vanney (women’s gymnastics).
To be eligible for Academic All-Big Ten selection, students must be on a varsity team, as verified by being on the official squad list as of March 1 for winter sports, who have been enrolled fulltime at the institution for a minimum of 12 months and carry a cumulative grade-point average of 3.0 or higher.
IOWA CITY, Iowa – University of Iowa senior guard, Caitlin Clark was named a First Team All-American by the Associated Press on Wednesday. Clark is the first player in program history to be named an AP First Team All-American in three consecutive seasons. Clark made the Second Team in her freshman year.
Clark owns a career 3,700+ points and she recently became the first Division-I player to record 1,000+ points in back-to-back seasons. A native of West Des Moines, Iowa, Clark is once again a finalist for every major national player of the year award. Clark leads the nation in assists (8.9 assists per game) and in scoring (31.9 points per game) after becoming the first player to finish No. 1 in both categories in back-to-back seasons. She is also the only player in NCAA DI men’s or women’s basketball history to lead her conference in scoring and assists in four consecutive seasons.
Clark was recently tabbed as the Big Ten Player of the Year and is the first player in program history to be named First Team All-Big Ten four times in four years of competition. She has also led the Hawkeyes to three straight Big Ten Championships for the first time in program history.
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No. 1 seed Iowa will take on the winner of 16-seeds Holy Cross and UT-Martin, which will take place in Iowa City on Thursday. The Hawkeyes (29-4; 15-3) will face the winner of the play-in game on Saturday.
The 16 teams remaining in the 2024 NAIA women’s basketball tournament have gathered in Sioux City to compete for the national championship. Tournament co-director Corey Westra says it’s Sioux City’s 27th year to host the event.
Five of the final 16 teams are well known to local basketball fans:
Play begins Thursday starting at 1pm with an earlier start Friday at 11 a.m. when a thousand local school children are expected to attend. Friday night Dordt plays at 6pm followed by Briar Cliff at 8pm, so a large crowd is expected. The final eight teams play Saturday, the final four on Monday, and the national championship takes place Tuesday on the Fleet Farm Arena floor in the downtown events center.
(Radio Iowa)- A proposed settlement of a lawsuit by the National Association of Realtors with home sellers clarifying sale details has drawn a lot of attention. The President of the Iowa Association of Realtors, Shaner Magalhaes, says there has always been a required disclosure for the seller, and the settlement would now require one for the buyer. “To just make it absolutely clear when I sit down with the buyer. I say, Okay, let’s go over this form. Here’s my responsibilities to you. Here’s what I expect out of you in the process. And here’s how the compensation will work,” he says.
Another issue in the settlement is the practice of the agents for the seller and buyer sharing the commission on a sale. Magalhaes says that this is done to bring in more potential buyers, and some reports have wrongly said that the practice will go away. “And that is absolutely not part of the settlement whatsoever. The settlement doesn’t say that they can’t continue to do that, it just has to be completely transparent and disclosed about how that system works,” he says.
Magalhaes says the settlement will not lead to a cap on the amount of commission for realtors. “I mean, that’s been in almost every headline I’ve seen is, you know, this notion that N-A-R can no longer require that agents charge six percent listing commission, whatever, that’s never been a thing,” he says. “I mean, N-A-R doesn’t require anything, you know, any agent can negotiate whatever commission with the seller that they think is reasonable.”
Magalhaes says this covers anyone who is licensed to sell a home, not just those are part of the Realtors Association. He says an update to Iowa’s real estate law to clarify these issues has passed the Iowa House and Senate, and is waiting for the governor’s signature. Magalhaes says clearing up these issues is a good thing. “Codifying this and having the settlement, assuming it’s actually approved by the court, will really force real estate licensees and realtors to be as clear as possible about how that whole system works So ultimately it will be good for the consumer,” he says.
He says it is likely the N-A-R settlement will be approved and completed by July.
(Harlan, Iowa) – The Board of Supervisors in Shelby County, Tuesday morning, met in a regular session. Auditor/Board Secretary Mark Maxwell said in the minutes of the meeting, that Jay Ring, Shelby County Weed Commissioner, requested the required Weed Notice be approved for publication. The Board accepted his report and approved it for publication. They also approved the appointment of Michael Brooks as Shelby County Deputy Sheriff.
Nick Preston, Shelby County Conservation Director, gave a report noting that the reconstruction of the storage building at Manteno Park is a current project being done by County employees and volunteer help. And, the stream mitigation credits for sale by his department now have another option to manage the sale of the credits. No action has been taken using that option. Supervisor Bryce Schaben suggested increasing the budget for the soon ending Beaver Bounty, as weather has prolonged the trapping season and the allotted funds are soon to run out. The Board approved an increase in the allotted funds by $2,000, or 80 more animals. It was noted that may encourage more trapping as only $150 is left for funding the program.
Auditor Maxwell read a statement from his office telling the Board about budget changes and the hidden costs to Counties, the Department of Management and software services. Supervisor Bryce Schaben advised the other supervisors that the Southwest Iowa Juvenile Department has increased their 2024 budget by 4.57%. Todd Valline of the Shelby County Chamber of Commerce and Industry gave a report, including events that his organization is planning and involved in around Shelby County. Valline’s organization recognized at the annual banquet last week, the non-profit of the year, Shelby County Fair Board. The new business of the year Scooters Coffee, Business of the year, Dr. Jays Family Eye Care; and volunteer of the Year Leslie Bielenberg.
Valline noted also, that there are Hotel Motel funds available for any events that may need to be publicized this summer. The deadline for submitting grants to his office is March 28th. A letter of fiscal sponsorship was presented to the supervisors for consideration. Van Wall Equipment will lease a tractor for $1.00 for use at the Shelby County Speedway this summer, for grooming the track. The Shelby County Fair Board needs a government agency to declare fiscal sponsorship for the lease to be completed. The Board passed a motion to allow the Auditor to sign the lease.
Secondary Roads Head, Chris Fredericksen, asked the Supervisors to approve changes in the road entrance policy to allow for safe and efficient enlargements of road entrances when approved. Parkhurst made a motion to approve the resolution. (Details can be found below)
RESOLUTION 2024-20: ROADWAY ENTRANCE APPLICATION MODIFICATION RESOLUTION
WHEREAS Shelby County sets out the procedure if a land owner wishes to install an entrance from their property to a county roadway. WHEREAS the nature of entrance application changes with time and developments in procedures and applications. WHEREAS, the Shelby County Engineer has recognized the need to amend and change the wording of the Shelby County Entrance applications. WHEREAS, the Shelby County Engineer has duly created procedure to extend existing roadway entrances by amending wording in the roadway entrance application to safely and efficiently modify existing entrances or create new entrances.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS OF SHELBYCOUNTY that the Board of Supervisors hereby accepts the changes to the Shelby County Entrance application. Schaben seconded the motion, the motion passed with ayes by Parkhurst, Schaben and Kenkel. No nays were cast. The application reads:
Realizing the above conditions and circumstances, and wanting to be as efficient in the use of road funds as possible, the Board of Supervisors has adopted the following policy:
Automobile Liability – &500,000 Combined Single Limits
Excess Liability – Each Occurrence / $1,000,000 Aggregate
Workers Comp. & Employers Liability: Part A – Statutory. Part B – $500,000/$500,000/$500,000
It is the present policy of Shelby County to maintain those driveways specified by the School Superintendents as school bus turnarounds. This may include granular surfacing from should of the roadway to the right-of-way line. The yearly required five year plan for Secondary Roads was then presented to the Supervisors for consideration. After an explanation by Chris Frederickson, Schaben made a motion to approve the plan as presented, Parkhurst seconded the motion, the motion passed with no nays being cast.
The Safety Director Position in Shelby County has been instrumental in keeping work injuries down, for the last few years. And in turn this has kept Workmen’s Compensation costs down, the costs are less than half of what they were 6 years ago. The County Engineer agrees that safety is very important and is willing to use secondary road funds to pay the compensation. Parkhurst made a motion to increase the yearly pay of the position to $7,000.00 to reward the performance and cost savings the County has enjoyed. The Safety Director will still receive the $500.00 a year bonus for getting the insurance modification rating under 1, this is the benchmark used by the insurance company for the future years workman’s compensation insurance rates. Shelby County has been under 1 for the last four years, greatly reducing the cost. Schaben seconded the motion, the motion passed.
The yearly liquor license for Shelby County Golf was then approved after a motion by Parkhurst and a second by Schaben.
(Radio Iowa) – Iowa cities would have to get Iowa D-O-T approval for speed cameras placed along highways and interstates under a bill that’s been introduced in the Iowa House. The D-O-T rolled out this policy over a decade ago, but in 2014 the Iowa Supreme Court ruled the agency didn’t have authority to regulate traffic cameras. This bill would change that and require cities to submit yearly reports to the D-O-T showing speed cameras are in spots along highways and interstates that are at high risk for crashes or unsafe for police to make in-person traffic stops. Frank Chiodo is a lobbyist for the Metropolitan Coalition that represents Iowa’s 10 largest cities. He says the bill is an alternative to a traffic camera ban that preserves speed cameras placed in positions based on evidence and the severity of traffic crashes in the area.
“Over the past several years we have pushed for a regulatory framework,” Chiodo says. “…House Study Bill 740 is a great start.” There are speed cameras along the Interstate-380 S-curve in downtown Cedar Rapids and Cedar Rapids Police Chief David Dostal says there’s been a reduction in serious injury crashes over the past three years. “There’s a change in traffic behavior, resulting in traffic safety,” Dostal says. Des Moines Police Chief Dana Wingert says the bill is long overdue. “There are jurisdictions out there that are doing it the right way, some that are not,” Wingert said. “…The things I see in this bill are things we’re already doing.”
The bill would not give the Iowa D-O-T authority to regulate traffic cameras that issue tickets for vehicles caught speeding or running red lights on city streets.
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