Iowa Governor Terry Branstad Wednesday, signed a proclamation designating Thursday, November 15th, as Rural Health Day 2012.

Pat Markham, CEO and Emily Krengel, Food Service Director, of Cass County Memorial Hospital, were part of a group of rural health representatives who gathered in the Iowa Governor’s office to sign a National Rural Health proclamation.

National Rural Health Day is an opportunity to honor small towns, farming communities and rural areas, and also to highlight the unique challenges the individuals who live in these areas face. In Iowa, 90 percent of the land mass is considered rural, and approximately half of Iowans live in an area that is considered rural.

Iowa Department of Public Health (IDPH) Director, Dr. Mariannette Miller-Meeks says “Iowa’s rural communities are wonderful places to live and work – they are places where people know each other, listen to and respect each other, and work together to benefit the community. However, rural communities face a lack of healthcare providers, an aging population with a greater number of chronic conditions, and larger percentages of uninsured or underinsured residents.” Meeks says “It’s important that private and public partnerships continue to tackle these issues while meeting the unique needs of these areas.”

About 21 percent of Americans live in rural areas, but only about 10 percent of all physicians and 11 percent of all pharmacists practice in rural areas. The Iowa rural health workforce reflects much of the national trend; however, in Iowa there are 19.5 physicians per 10,000 persons compared to 25.7 per 10,000 in the U.S.

To get more information on National Rural Health Day, visit http://celebratepowerofrural.org

The Iowa Transportation Commission, Tuesday, approved an amendment to the fiscal year 2013-2017 Iowa Transportation Improvement Program that will advance the bid letting of some highway projects into FY 2013 and add new projects to the program. The amendment advanced three interstate stewardship projects to FY 2013. In addition, nine new projects involving investments in non-interstate pavement modernization and safety were added to the program in FY 2013, with construction expected to begin in 2013.

In Mills County a slightly more than $8-million Interstate Stewardship pavement rehabilitation project covers I-29 southbound, from the Mills County line to Highway 92. And, in Page County, a $5-million pavement rehab and widening project will occur next year from Highway 2, from the Middle Tarkio River, to Clarinda.

The projects were chosen because they can be developed and let for construction yet this fiscal year. The program amendment was made possible because additional funding was made available after the program was approved in June. Those funds are the result of favorable construction project lettings, Iowa Department of Transportation budget savings and receipt of federal funding in excess of forecasted amounts.

The Iowa Department of Transportation’s Council Bluffs Construction office reports work to replace a dynamic message sign will require restricting lanes on eastbound Interstate 80 at the Missouri River bridge (milepost 0.0) near Council Bluffs to one lane at 9- p.m. Thursday, Nov. 15th, until 3-a.m. Friday, Nov. 16th, weather permitting.  Officials say there will be a complete closure of eastbound I-80 for 20 minutes between 12:30- and 1:30-a.m. The Iowa DOT reminds motorists to drive with caution, obey posted speed limits and other signs in the work area, and be aware that traffic fines for moving violations are at least double in work zones. As in all work zones, drivers should stay alert, allow ample space between vehicles and wear seat belts.

Iowa Lt. Gov. Kim Reynolds and University of Northern Iowa President Ben Allen today (Wednesday) announced a series of community conversations featuring science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education and economic development that will take place across the state in November and December. This series of community conversations is the second installment. The pair held 14 town hall meetings in September and October seeking feedback on the Governor’s STEM Advisory Council priorities as the STEM initiative continues to build across Iowa.

Locally, a Cass County Community Conversation on STEM will be held in Atlantic Tue., Dec. 11th, beginning at 11-a.m., at the Rock Island Depot at 102 Chestnut Street, and, later that afternoon at 2:30, in Council Bluffs, in the auditorium of Looft Hall at Iowa Western Community College.

The Cass County Sheriff’s Office reports a Cumberland man was arrested last week on an assault charge. Officials said Wednesday, 53-year old Jerry Lee Edwards was taken into custody November 8th on a charge of Assault Causing Bodily Injury. Edwards was taken to the Cass County Jail where he was released later that day on $5000 bond. That same day, 54-year old Timothy Dayle Meyer,  of Cumberland, was arrested on a charge of Public Intoxication. Meyer was released the following day on $300 bond.

This past Tuesday (November 13th), deputies in Cass County arrested 23-year old Andrew Gaston Nickum, of Atlantic, on a charge of Public Intoxication. Nickum pled guilty to the charge the following day. On Wednesday (Nov. 14th), 52-year old Mark David Carroll, of Griswold, was arrested for Driving While Revoked. Carroll was taken to the Cass County Jail where he was being held on $1000 bond.

The family of a southwest Iowa soldier who was killed in Afghanistan earlier this month has issued a statement, saying Brandon Buttry’s childhood dream was “to be a U.S. soldier.”

Pfc. Brandon Buttry, U-S Army (Photo courtesy Col. Greg Hapgood)

Private First Class Brandon Buttry of Shenandoah was 19 years old when he was killed on November 5th. He enlisted in the Army in 2011 and was deployed to Afghanistan this past July. Buttry had eight sisters and five brothers and his siblings, along with his mother and father. The family says Buttry had “an infectious smile” and enjoyed playing board games with his family. The family’s written statement says Buttry “had a big heart for others” and “was not afraid to stand up for what he believed in.” A visitation will be held this evening (Wednesday) at the First Baptist Church in Shenandoah. His family says “Brandon was a born-again Christian and loved the Lord.” His funeral will be held Thursday at the same church.   Governor Branstad has ordered all flags in Iowa to be flown at half-mast Thursday in honor of Buttry. Rows of American flags already line several streets in Shenandoah, as a tribute to the fallen soldier. People in the community also are bracing for the arrival of a family from a Kansas church who stage protests at military funerals. A group of motorcyclists called “The Patriot Guard Riders” have assembled at other military funerals in the state, to shield soldiers’ families from the protest.

w/ Jim Field

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The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office says a Colorado man was arrested Tuesday night, near Stanton. 56-year old Richard Miles Best, of Ft. Collins, was taken into custody at around 10:30-p.m., for Public Intoxication. His arrest followed an incident which occurred at M Avenue and Highway 34. Best was brought to the Montgomery County Jail and held on $300 bond.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Former prosecutor Stephanie Rose is now the nation’s youngest federal judge and the first female federal judge in Iowa’s Southern District. The 39-year-old former U.S. attorney for Iowa’s Northern District took the oath of office at a Tuesday ceremony in Des Moines. U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder attended the swearing-in at the federal courthouse.

Rose, of Center Point, received attention during her Senate confirmation hearing in September for her role in prosecutions stemming from a 2008 raid by federal immigration officials on Agriprocessors, Inc., in Postville. Critics alleged that hundreds of workers at the kosher meatpacking plant, many in the country illegally, were rushed through the court process. Despite that, she was overwhelmingly confirmed

Rose became the Northern District’s U.S. attorney in 2009.