(Radio Iowa) – Agencies that provide temporary staff for Iowa long-term care facilities are calling on lawmakers to table a plan to limit how much they charge. A bill that’s cleared the Iowa House would cap charges for so-called traveling nurses at 150 percent of the statewide average wage for nurses who working in nursing homes. Bob Livonius is on the board of directors for Grapetree Medical Staffing agency in Milford. He says temp agencies will stop doing business with Iowa nursing homes if there’s a cap on what they can charge, just like what’s happened in the only two states that currently cap pay for traveling nurses working in nursing homes.

“They’ll simply abandon the work that’s being done here in Iowa…they’re just not going to make any money on it,” he says. “That’s what’s happened in Minnesota. That’s what’s happened in Massachusetts.” Others warn the move would lead to staffing shortages in nursing homes. Greg Opseth is chief operating officer for Hiland Medical Staffing in Gowrie.

“We are an integral part to the matrix that sustains health care deliver in rural Iowa,” Opseth said. “We have and provide crucial support in times of staffing shortages and fluctuations in patient volume.”A lobbyist for the Iowa Nurses Association says nurses feel singled out, since there are other traveling medical professionals, like doctors, who aren’t included in the proposed pay limitation.

Brent Willett, president and C-E-O of the Iowa Health Care Association, says if the cap were implemented on traveling nurses, Iowa long-term care facilities would be able to redirect an estimated 22 million dollars on full-time staff. “Our health care system desperately needs more direct care workers and we need to pay them more,” Willett said. The proposed cap is advancing in a bill that cleared a senate subcommittee today (Monday).

Senator Jason Schulte, a Republican from Schleswig, says some temp agencies appear to be pocketing a lot of money and, while that’s capitalism, a lot of tax dollars are being spent on nursing home care through the Medicaid program and he’s not ruling out some sort of limits on what temp agencies can charge. “The stress in the long term care industry is very real,” Schultz says. “I think everyone understands that.”

A senate committee will review the proposal later this week.

[Update 3/18/24] – The Black Hawk County Sheriff’s Office identified the victim as 23-year-old Daniel Van Brocklin, of Raymond.

LA PORTE CITY, Iowa (KCRG) — A canoer spending the night at a campsite along the Cedar River in Black Hawk County died after likely tripping and falling into a bonfire, the Black Hawk County Sheriff’s Office reports, according to KCRG.

Deputies were called on Sunday to a sandbar of the Cedar River between Gilbertville and La Porte City for a report of a body found there.

Investigators determined the man was canoeing alone on the Cedar River and had made a campsite, including a bonfire, on a sandbar to sleep overnight. Investigators said the man likely tripped and fell into the bonfire and caught fire.

The name of the person has not been released at this time. An autopsy is expected to be conducted by the Iowa State Medical Examiner.

(Radio Iowa) – Iowans may be grouchier than usual this week, as they’re not getting enough sleep due to the time change, but there’s also a greater health risk from springing forward an hour. Dr. Denise Sorrentino, a cardiologist with the Iowa Heart Center in Ames, says it’s only 60 minutes, but that can be enough to cause serious troubles.

“We see the big rise in atrial fibrillation rates, heart attack, stroke, and even motor vehicle accidents,” she says, “often related to inadequate sleep and just bad decision making while driving the vehicle for that first seven to ten days.” Some of us adjust to the shift in time more quickly than others. Sorrentino says our bodies get used to going to bed and getting up at a certain time, and it’s a jolt to our system to move it.

“That 60 minutes can change what we call the circadian rhythm, which is the rhythm at which our blood pressure and heart rate change in the early morning hours to help wake us up,” Sorrentino says. “And people can have difficulties with sleep, blood pressure can become elevated, and a lot of people can also feel very groggy, have poor decision making and jetlag.” One thing that can help us to adjust is to start shifting our bedtime for a week or so before the time change, though that doesn’t do us any good right now.

Radio Iowa (photo)

“Usually, it’s a week for adults to adjust,” she says, “and to really make an effort to be out in sunlight, if available, while the day is ongoing to help that body’s circadian rhythm adjust for this hour change.” The best remedy at this juncture is to simply try and get more rest, and if your schedule permits, a power nap here and there.

(Red Oak, Iowa) – Police in Red Oak report 53-year-old Tracy Lynne Hill, of Red Oak, was arrested Monday afternoon, for Harassment 3^rd Degree. Authorities say the charge stems from an incident that took place Sunday, March 10th, in the 700 block of N. 3rd Street, with regard to animal nuisance codes, which officials said “should be handled by proper authorities.”

Hill was transported to the Montgomery County Jail and held on a $300 bond.

(Glenwood, Iowa) – Sheriff’s officials in Mills County report three arrests:

On Sunday, at around 3:18-p.m., Deputies arrested  Jacob Emilio Valverde, of Omaha, on Highway 34 in Mills County. Valverde was taken into custody under authority of an out-of-state warrant. Bond was set at $2,000.

Last Saturday, 42-year-old Raymond Jimenez, of Omaha, was arrested at around 5-a.m. on I-29, for Eluding (25 mph or more) over the speed limit. His bond was set at $5,000.

And, at around 4:20-p.m. Friday, Mills County Deputies arrested 43-year-old Renne Lynn Adams, of Hastings (IA), for Driving Under Suspension. Adams was taken into custody and the Mills County Sheriff’s Office.

The Sheriff’s Office says also, a woman from Malvern reported on March 7th, an incident of Burglary. And, representatives with JG Highland Properties, LLC, of Colorado Spring, CO. reported an incident of Trespass/1st Degree, Sunday afternoon in Malvern.

(Radio Iowa) – The U-S Bureau of Labor Statistics did some tweaking of Iowa’s unemployment numbers at the end of the year leading to a revised rate for both December and January of three-percent. Iowa Workforce Development director, Beth Townsend, says it’s something they do every year. “They do revisions based on either additional information they collected or I would not pretend to explain why how B-L-S does this,” Townsend says. December and January unemployment rates were first announced at three-point-two percent until they were revised down. Townsend says that’s positive news.

“It tells us that we stayed consistent in January from December, which is a good sign that it didn’t increase because, you know, the winter months in Iowa are generally the months that we see less activity in the workforce, just because, you know, we’re a seasonal state,” Townsend says. The number of people in the workforce dropped down slightly in January. “We saw trade and transportation shed jobs, but we did see an increase in January and construction jobs. They gained 600 jobs in the month, and they’re up over the course of the year by two-thousand-700. So that’s good news,” she says. Unemployment numbers for February will be out next week, giving more information on how the year is starting out.

“We’ll have much more context for these January numbers based on what we see in February,” Townsend says. The state’s unemployment rate was slightly lower one year ago in January at two-point-nine percent. The U-S unemployment rate remained at three-point-seven percent in January.

ESSEX, Iowa [KETV] — An Iowa group looks to raise millions of dollars to help meet the needs of the families it serves. Essex Childcare Center is currently licensed for 59 kids for a population of 700 people. Its board is now looking to construct a new building after years of band-aid repairs to its space. The building is over 100 years old. In one of the basements, you can still see some of the old coal shafts from businesses that used to stand there. Despite thousands of dollars of repairs, water and moisture continuously seep into the basements.

The old brick walls have also deteriorated over the years. A wall that collapsed in the basement recently, caused the center to shut down for two weeks. A building that used to be next door burned down years ago, leaving behind smoke damage. According to the Department of Health and Human Services, Page County only had seven child care centers to serve the population of over 15,000 residents in 2022. Essex Childcare Center has served generations of children in this building.

The space limits capacity. The goal is to leave the building as soon as possible. Official said they need an estimated $2 million for a new building. They hope to fund-raise the money and apply for grants to fund the cost over the next few years. They plan to kick off their fundraising on April 6 with autograph signings by Rebekah Allick at the Essex Community School. There will also be pancakes and a silent auction. The event runs from 8 a.m. to noon. Admission for adults is $10 and for kids $5.

You can also find details for other upcoming fundraisers on the Essex Childcare Center’s Facebook page.