(Radio Iowa) – Iowa will no longer require experienced physician assistants — known as P-As — to be work under the direct supervision of doctor in order to practice medicine. P-As who are newly licensed, though, will have to have an agreement with a supervising doctor for two years before they may practice independently. Governor Kim Reynolds signed the bill making those changes into law today (Wednesday).

“This is a game changer for rural hospitals and it really makes a difference to be able to provide that access to Iowans who need it,” Reynolds says. “We want to make sure that we do everything we can to maintain health care in rural Iowa.” Over half of the licensed P-As in Iowa today are working in rural communities. Representative Josh Turek, of Council Bluffs, says about 40 percent of the P-As who graduate in Iowa, though, leave to practice elsewhere. “Allowing the PAs to operate independently I think will lead us to keeping more of our PAs here as we are the Harvard of the PAs,” Turek says.

The first class of P-As graduated from the University of Iowa in 1974. The P-A program at Des Moines University has been operating nearly four decades. In the past decade, St. Ambrose University in Davenport and the University of Dubuque started P-A training programs. The P-A program at Northwestern College in Orange City started in 2020.

Onawa, Iowa – The Iowa Department of Public Safety reports that at around 1:50-a.m today (Wednesday), the Monona County Communications Center responded to an individual suffering from being stabbed and was subsequently receiving medical treatment at the Burgess Health Center, Onawa.  The individual was flown Mercy One in Sioux City, Iowa.

After an investigation by the Monona County Sheriff’s Office and the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, the stabbing victim has been identified as 32-year-old Derek Webster Jr., of Monona, Iowa.  Webster Jr is currently in stable condition at Mercy One.

Inessa Lyons, 30 year old, of Monona, Iowa was arrested by the Monona County Sheriff’s Office and has been charged for Attempted Murder and Willful Injury.

Court documents indicate Webster told investigators he’d been attacked outside a bar by a white man on a motorcycle, but Lyons later admitted Webster had repeatedly asked her to take him to a store to buy more booze and she stabbed him with a knife in their kitchen.

Inessa Lyons

Note: A criminal charge is merely an accusation, and a defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty.

[UPDATE 7:48-A.M. 5/11] – Mr. Brown was located on 05-10-23 at approximately 6:00 pm in Tarkio Missouri. According to Council Bluffs Police, he was located by an Atchison County Missouri Deputy. He was found healthy and the family has been notified.

(Council Bluffs, Iowa) – Police in Council Bluffs are asking for your help in locating man who hasn’t been seen since Sunday. Clint A. Brown, of Council Bluffs, was last seen driving a dark blue 2000 Chrysler Town & County Mini Van with Iowa License Plate IZG-974.

Clint Brown

The family is very concerned about his safety. If you have had any contact with him, or know of his possible location, please call 911 or make contact with the Council Bluffs Police Department at 712-328-4728, thank you.

(Radio Iowa) – A report on tax collections since July 1st of 2022 shows state revenue is up nearly two percent compared to the previous 10 month period. In March, the State Revenue Estimating Conference predicted state tax revenue would drop by half a percent this fiscal year. The uptick in ACTUAL tax receipts happened despite the state paying out 107 million dollars MORE in state income tax refunds than it did through the end of April last year.

Jeff Robinson of the Legislative Services Agency says there’s been a bit of a slow down in overall state tax collections since April 3rd, though. That includes a dip in sales tax payments to the state. Iowans who filed their 2022 STATE income tax returns by May 1st and are owed a refund should get it within the next two weeks according to Robinson.

Atlantic, IA—Officials with Cass Health say “During National Nurses Week and National Hospital Week is the perfect time to celebrate and announce that for the third year in a row, Cass Health is one of the nation’s overall top 20 critical access hospitals as determined by the Chartis Center for Rural Health.”

Cass Health CEO Brett Altman says “Though the award is called ‘Top 20,’ we understand that for each of the past three years we have actually been in the Top 10 on that list of hospitals. This puts Cass Health in the top 1% of 1,353 critical access hospitals in the country, which is a remarkable accomplishment. What really amazes me is that our team has achieved this status for three years in a row; Cass Health is one of only four hospitals in the country to have ever accomplished that feat.”

This esteemed group of hospitals was selected from the Chartis Center for Rural Health’s 2023 Top 100 Critical Access Hospital list, which was released earlier this year. The determining factors for the top hospitals are based on the results of the Hospital Strength Index and its eight performance measures, based solely on data for: inpatient market share, outpatient market share, quality, outcomes, patient survey results, cost, charge, and financial efficiency.

Altman says “Our vision is to be the best rural hospital in the country, and each year we are growing closer to that goal. By staying committed to delivering a superior experience to every patient and family, we hope to continue this trend. Not only are we grateful for our incredible staff, but also, we are thankful for our patients. Every time our patients give us top scores on patient surveys it helps us attain recognition such as this.”

The rankings were recently announced by the National Rural Health Association (NRHA), and an awards ceremony will be held during NRHA’s Critical Access Hospital Conference.

(Radio Iowa) – The state’s Enhance Iowa Board has awarded one-point-eight MILLION dollars worth of grants to help finance four community projects. The small southeast Iowa town of Keota is getting a half million dollar state grant toward a project to build an outdoor heated pool that will have a splash pad, a diving board and an area for lap swimming. Another half a million dollar grant is going to the Y-M-C-A of Washington County for an indoor aquatic center, which will include spectator seating around six lanes for lap swimming.

The Enhance Iowa Board has awarded a half a million dollar grant toward improvements around West Okoboji’s Terrace Park Beach, which has a public swimming area in the lake, and the nearby Alex Danborn Memorial Park. The small northwest Iowa town of Marcus is getting a 300-thousand dollar grant for a facility that will include a golf course clubhouse, a recreation center, a restaurant and event venue as well as an area for virtual sports.

The Enhance Iowa Board has awarded sports tourism marketing grants to Carroll for its Kick It Up youth soccer tournament next month and to two groups promoting events during the Register’s Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa’s overnight stop in Des Moines. This is the 50th anniversary year for RAGBRAI.

(Harlan, Iowa) – Sheriff’s officials in Shelby County have issued a report on arrests that occurred between May 1st and the 6th. Beginning with the most recent:

• Mamuch Diw Guin, age 40, of Harlan, was arrested May 6th for Public Intoxication; and, Trenton Jay Hundt, age 19, of Avoca, was arrested for Possession of Controlled Substance, and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia.
• On May 5th, 39-year-old Kirby David Stoneking, of Harlan, was arrested for Poss. of a Controlled Substance, Poss. of Drug Paraphernalia, and Public Intoxication.
• There were three arrests on May 4th, in Shelby County:
  • 39-year-old Christopher A Cue, of Schleswig, was arrested on an active Shelby County Sheriff’s Office warrant. Cue was transported to the Shelby County Jail and charged with 4 counts of Forgery.
  • 35-year-old Justin Michael Levell, of Irwin, was arrested for Domestic Abuse Assault, and,
  • 35-year-old Nichole Annmarie Healey, of Dunlap, was arrested following a traffic stop in Shelby County, and charged with Possession of Controlled Substance, Unlawful Possession of Prescription Drugs, Operating a Non-Registered Vehicle, Failure to Provide Proof of Financial Liability, and having No Valid Driver’s License.
• On May 3rd, 41-year-old Chad Joseph Ewing, of Irwin, was arrested following an investigation, and charge with Indecent Exposure.
• On the 2nd, Deputies in Shelby County arrested 29-year-old T’Chall Wayne Berg, of Earling, for PCS, Keeping a Vehicle for a Controlled Substance, interference with Official Acts, Poss. of Paraphernalia, and he was cited for Speeding. Also arrested on the 2nd, was 34-year-old Thuy Duc Le, of Harlan, for Driving While Revoked, OWI/3rd Offense, and Failure to Provide Proof of Financial Liability (vehicle insurance).
• On May 1st, 27-year-old Emily Emealia Fidone, of Harlan, was arrested for Domestic Abuse Assault.

(Radio Iowa) – Iowa faces a critical shortage of nurses and under the legislature’s proposed budget awaiting the governor’s signature, the University of Iowa nursing program would get nearly three-million dollars to hire more staff. Julie Zerwic, dean of U-I’s College of Nursing, says with the extra funding, they’ll launch a program where people who hold a master’s degree in another field will be able to graduate with a Master’s in Nursing in just 20 months. “We believe that that’s a critical new program. We don’t have one like that here in Iowa,” Zerwic says. “That program will graduate 48 new nurses when we’re at capacity.” Zerwic says by hiring additional faculty, the program on the Iowa City campus will be able to increase admissions.

“One of the problems is that we have more individuals who are interested in coming into nursing than we are able to actually admit,” she says. Studies show Iowa hospitals will be short hundreds of nurses in the coming few years, due in large part to retirements and nurses quitting due to burnout.

Zerwic made her comments on the Iowa Public Radio program “River to River.”

(by Natalie Krebs, Iowa Public Radio)

(Washington, D-C) – U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona today (Wednesday) announced the 59th class of U.S. Presidential Scholars, recognizing 161 high school seniors for their accomplishments in academics, the arts, and career and technical education fields.  The Iowa scholars include (hometown, scholar, school, location):

IA – Cedar Rapids – Tejas Kishan Gururaja, Linn-Mar High School, Marion, Iowa.
IA – Diagonal – Alaina Marie Whittington, Diagonal Jr-Sr High School, Diagonal, Iowa. 
**IA – Johnston – Eshaan S. Chandani, Johnston High School, Johnston, Iowa. (**U.S. Presidential Scholar in Career and Technical Education)
IA – West Des Moines – Claire Gu, Valley High School, West Des Moines, Iowa.

Secretary Cardona says “U.S. Presidential Scholars have always represented the future of our country and the bright promise it holds. I want each of these remarkable students to know: your passion and intellect, pursuit of excellence, and spirit of service are exactly what our country needs. On behalf of President Biden, I am delighted to join your family, friends, and communities in celebrating your accomplishments. Aim high, share your talents, and continue embracing opportunities to lead as your exciting future unfolds.”

The White House Commission on Presidential Scholars selects scholars annually based on their academic success, artistic and technical excellence, essays, school evaluations and transcripts, as well as a demonstrated commitment to community service and leadership.  Of the 3.7 million students expected to graduate from high school this year, more than 5,000 candidates qualified for the 2023 awards determined by outstanding performance on the College Board SAT or ACT exams or through nominations made by chief state school officers,  other partner recognition organizations and YoungArts, the National Foundation for the Advancement of Artists.

As directed by Presidential Executive Order, the 2023 U.S. Presidential Scholars are comprised of one young man and one young woman from each state, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, and U.S. families living abroad, as well as 15 chosen at-large, 20 scholars in the arts and 20 scholars in career and technical education.  Created in 1964, the U.S. Presidential Scholars Program has honored over 8,000 of the nation’s top-performing students. The program was expanded in 1979 to recognize students who demonstrate exceptional talent in the visual, literary and performing arts. In 2015, the program was again extended to recognize students who demonstrate ability and accomplishment in career and technical education fields.

The Presidential Scholars Class of 2023 will be recognized for their outstanding achievement this summer with an online recognition program.

A complete list of 2023 U.S. Presidential Scholars is available at http://www.ed.gov/psp.