A nonprofit group is honoring a number of individuals, schools, businesses and towns today (Tuesday) with the 2012 Iowa Character Awards. Among the recipients, is the Atlantic Coca-Cola Bottling Company, which won the “Partner of the Year Award.” Amy Smit is with the Des Moines based Character Counts in Iowa organization. She says the highest honor, the Robert D. Ray Pillar of Character Award, is being presented to Drake University President David Maxwell. “President Maxwell has definitely been a huge advocate for us, both on campus and off campus,” Smit said. “I personally think he is just a great guy and he has really shown great character throughout his presidency.” Maxwell has been president at Drake since 1999.

The mission of Character Counts in Iowa, which is housed at Drake University, is to promote what the group identifies as the six “pillars” of character: caring, citizenship, fairness, respect, responsibility and trustworthiness. Smit said Fort Dodge is this year’s Community of Character recipient. “They have great community initiatives from having local events to (displaying) the six pillars on their police cars,” Smit said. “They’ve taken some great ownership of the six pillars and wanting to promote that throughout their community.”

The Iowa Character Awards will be presented at a dinner scheduled for August 3 in West Des Moines. Learn more online at www.charactercountsiniowa.org.

(Radio Iowa)

Officials with the Cass County Memorial Hospital, say CCMH Inpatient Services will move into the new addition this Friday, June 29th.  Inpatient Services include the medical/surgical, intensive care and obstetrics units.  The move will take place throughout the day, with patients being moved in shifts. Diann McLaren, IP Services Director, says they will begin the process of moving their patients after they have had their breakfast and morning medications. The patients will be moved in small groups, with the goal to provide the least inconvenience possible. 

Visitors coming to see patients in the new Inpatient Services addition, are encouraged to enter from the North or East entrances, and use the elevator at the end of the Atrium, next to the newly relocated CCMH Auxiliary Gift Shop.  Effective Friday, June 29^th, the North Entrance (in front of the large staircase) will be open from 6 am – 9 pm daily to accommodate visitors into the evening.  The West Entrance along 10^th Street, formerly used to visit inpatients, will be open from 6 am – 6 pm.  The East Entrance is also open 6 am – 6 pm, but there is an intercom to allow access 24 hours a day. 

With the completion of the hospital addition, work now begins on renovating the existing building to expand space and services for the Outpatient Clinics, Cardiac Rehab, Rehabilitation Services (physical, speech and occupational therapies), Respiratory Care, Diabetes Center, and Wound, Ostomy, Continence Care.

The Atlantic Airport Commission will meet Wednesday morning at the Airport Terminal. During the New Business portion of their meeting, the Commission  will receive information pertaining to two grants. One of the grants, which comes from the F-A-A, was announced by Senator Tom Harkin’s office on May 31st.

The $510, 763 grant will be used to help the facility meet design standards. Snyder and Associates Engineer Tim Teig told KJAN News the funds will be used for grading of the parallel taxiway and paving around the fuel lane, for better access by aircraft to the pumps. Teig says the funds for improvements to the Atlantic Airport, and 26 other municipal airports around the State, come from airline ticket sales and the sale of aviation fuel. He says no taxpayer monies are being used to pay for the improvements, other than those associated with user fees.The grant requires a 10-percent local match.

The second grant, of $36,000, would come from the State of Iowa. Teig says the City had applied for a new, hydraulic hangar door, to replace the City’s’ aging, manual sliding hangar door currently in use. That particular hangar houses a number of aircraft. An application was made for the grant, and after having been deemed eligible, is currently under consideration. A previous application failed to make the cut for State funds, according to City Administrator, Doug Harris.

The Atlantic Airport Commission will also discuss a drainage obstruction at the south end of the runway, the anticipated use of the facility for the “Fly Iowa” event, and other business.

The Iowa Department of Public Health (IDPH) announced today that 12 Iowa water systems have been awarded fluoride certificates by the Association of State and Territorial Dental Directors on behalf of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and American Dental Association (ADA). In our listening area, DeSoto, Treynor and Stanton each received a 2011 Community Fluoridation Reaffirmation Award.

Fluoridation is the adjustment of fluoride in the water to an optimal level for preventing tooth decay. The award recognizes communities that maintained a consistent level of optimally fluoridated water throughout 2011. The CDC has recognized community water fluoridation as one of the ten great public health achievements of the 20th Century and recommends water fluoridation as a safe, effective, and inexpensive method of preventing tooth decay. The IDPH says it is a strong supporter of fluoridation programs.

Fluoride’s benefits for teeth were discovered in the 1930s. Dental scientists found low tooth decay rates among people whose water supplies contained natural fluoride. In communities of 20,000 people, every $1 invested in water fluoridation results in $38 of savings in dental treatment costs.

To see the fluoridation status of Iowa counties and towns, visit www.idph.state.ia.us/hpcdp/fluoride_search.asp. For more information on fluoride, visit www.idph.state.ia.us/hpcdp/common/pdf/oral_health/benefits_fluoride.pdf.

A Council Bluffs woman was being held in the Pottawattamie County Jail on a Charge of Child Endangerment, after deputies were alerted to a child in a van at a local shopping mall. Pottawattamie County Sheriff Jeff Danker told KJAN News a citizen reported the incident to deputies at around 7:20-p.m. Monday, as they were leaving a local pizzeria in the 1100 block of North Broadway. A woman approached the deputies and told them a baby was in a conversion van she thought was locked. The deputies investigated and found a child in a van in the parking lot of a Super Saver Store. The van’s windows were rolled-down slightly, and one of the doors was unlocked. The deputies took the child out of the vehicle. Danker said it was crying, upset and sweating.”

The 9-month old female was in the van for an estimated 25-30 minutes. The outside temperature at the time was 86-degrees. Danker said deputies placed the child in an air conditioned patrol car. He said the child’s mother came out of a store and spoke with the deputies. He says she was visibly upset. When asked why she left the baby in the van, the woman told deputies “She forgot.” She said also that she would never have left the baby in the van, but she forgot about her when she went to get some money and food for her supper. After speaking with the woman, deputies learned she had four other children, but that they were with a aunt playing in a water fountain at Bayliss Park.

The woman, 30-year old Tiffany Tunney, of Council Bluffs, was arrested for Child Endangerment. She remained in the Pott. County Jail this (Tuesday) morning on $5,000 bond. The child did not require medical attention, but Danker says “There was the real potential,” for medical problems related to the heat. The girl was placed in temporary protective custody. The Sheriff says people need to use common sense with regard to children and animals being left in vehicles during the sweltering Summer heat. He says “You just can’t leave them in a vehicle.” Make sure children are either taken into the store if you are shopping, or in some one else’s care, in an air conditioned location.

w/ Ric Hanson

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (8.7MB)

Subscribe: RSS

w/ Ric Hanson

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (5.8MB)

Subscribe: RSS

More than 700 members of the tourism industry have voted Iowa’s Loess Hills Region as the “Best of the West,” in the category of “Watchable Wildlife.” Nominations were solicated in nine categories on the Western Iowa Tourism Region’s website, Survey Monkey, e-mails and community announcements. The winners were announced during the WITR’s annual meeting in Wall Lake. The Loess Hills Region received 150 nominations and 798 votes.

Shirley Phillips, President of the Western Iowa Tourism Region and Director of the Sac County Economic Development Office, said in a press release, that “Tourism is a proven economic driver for Iowa, generating more than $6-billion in revenue and more than 62,000 jobs.” The 200 member WITR organization works to connect communities, attractions and businesses interested in developing and promoting tourism and travel in western Iowa.

WITR is funded by the Iowa Economic Development Authority, County Boards of Supervisors in the region, and private memberships from chambers of commerce and other organizations. Regional bi-monthly meetings, which are held throughout the 36-county area, are open to the public. For more information, visit www.visitwesterniowa.com.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Topsoil in more than half of Iowa’s fields still needs more rain to reach adequate levels.  The U.S. Department of Agriculture says in Monday’s weekly report that topsoil in 54 percent of Iowa’s field rated very short or short of adequate moisture. The east-central part of the state was the driest, with 78 percent of the topsoil moisture rated short to very short.  The USDA says 68 percent of the corn crop, which is silking in most parts of the state, is in good or excellent condition.   The soybean crop is rated 63 percent good to excellent.   The USDA report says 98 percent of the state’s oat crop has headed, which is nearly three weeks ahead of normal progression.

Beginning July 2^nd and continuing through July 8^th, law enforcement in Iowa and across the nation will step up their enforcement efforts to curtail impaired driving during the Independence Day holiday week, as part of the ongoing “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over” crackdown.  The goal is to find and arrest impaired drivers who put themselves and others at risk.

During last year’s four-day STEP (or, Special Traffic Enforcement Program) enforcement wave, Iowa officers made 455 drunken driving contacts, and more than 12,700 traffic violations were reported by 225 law enforcement agencies across the state.   During the official three-day holiday, six fatalities occurred on Iowa roadways.

Iowa law enforcement agencies across the state are strongly urging all motorists to buckle up; slow down; and if you decide to drink, be responsible and designate a sober driver so everyone can enjoy a safe 4^th of July holiday.   The goal is to make the roads safer for everyone.

For more on the national Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over mobilization, please visit www.nhtsa.gov.