(Radio Iowa) – Executives with a major health care provider in Iowa and Illinois are exploring a merger with a New Mexico health care system.

Des Moines-based UnityPoint Health and Presbyterian Healthcare Services in Albuquerque have signed a letter of intent to create a parent organization to manage the system, but keep the brand names on current facilities.

Four million patients are currently served by the two health care systems and 40,000 people are on the combined payrolls, including nearly 3000 physicians. UnityPoint Health and Presbyterian Healthcare currently operate more than 40 hospitals and hundreds of clinics.

In late 2019, UnityPoint and South Dakota based Sanford Health ended months of negotiations and called off merger talks.

“UnityPoint Health and Presbyterian are two organizations rooted in similar values,” Clay Holderman, president and CEO, UnityPoint Health, said in a written statement. “By lowering administrative costs, building new capabilities and increasing investments in innovation and clinical excellence, our intent is to help improve affordability and accessibility of care. We’re excited about the unique possibilities ahead.”

(Radio Iowa) – Sunday marks the one year anniversary of the deadly tornado outbreak that included one that dropped down just outside Winterset in Madison County and killed six people. Madison County Community Foundation manager Tom Leners says some people are still working on their insurance settlements.

“There’s been a few challenges that way. But I think, overall, for the 50 some properties that were affected in Madison County, we feel like we are making progress,” he says. “And at this point, now people at least have a plan of what they’re going to do to get back in their property or utilize their property again.” He says volunteers and residents got to work soon after the tornado hit.

“There’s been a lot of cleanup, a lot of new construction, a lot of repair work has been done. So, those are all good things. There’s been a lot of folks wanting to help us through donations or an unkind sorts of supplies and that sort of thing,” Leners says. The Foundation handled the donations in the aftermath of the tornado and Leners says there was a great outpouring of help.

“Through the generosity of people in our state and from other storm zones, we we raised over half a million dollars,” Leners says. “We had money coming in from really coast to coast and border to border and we were very grateful for that. You could see clusters of checks coming in from communities that had storm damage in the past five years where they donated to ours too.” He says it’s hard to total up all the donations made by people of services. Some in central Iowa brought in their own equipment paid their own fuel costs to work removing downed trees.

“That part of the county was a very mature tree stand. So a lot of trees a lot of damage that way a lot to clean up. And so, so much progress was made in the first week or 10 days of getting roads back open and getting driveways back open to where you could get back into the property,” Leners says. Leners says he’s gotten a few concerned calls from people back in their property when there are storms.

“There are still some folks that are concerned as we have storm warnings. And of course, now we’re getting back into that season,” he says. Leners say will continue to work to recover physically and emotionally from the deadly tornado. The Bridge Community Church is holding a service Sunday that Leners says it kind of the official recognition of the one-year anniversary. The church worked with those who were displaced when their homes where destroyed.

Another person who was camping at Red Haw State Park near Chariton in Lucas County was killed on the same day by a tornado. There were 15 tornadoes confirmed in the state on that day.

(Radio Iowa) – Today (This first Friday in March) is considered the National Day of Unplugging, where people are encouraged to disconnect from digital distractions. Monique Moore of Urbandale is urging Iowans to join her in what’s called Phones Down For Five, where everyone takes a break from their phones for five days, five hours or even five minutes in order to reset our relationship with technology.

“The experience is really intended to help people understand if they are addicted to their device and to develop healthier habits with their devices,” Moore says. “Technology isn’t a bad thing. It’s just when we get over-consumed with a technology, it takes us away from those other things that are also important in our lives.” Moore is the West Iowa Director of Sales for U-S Cellular. So why is she trying to get people not to use the company’s products for any period of time?

“As a technology company, we understand that the technology is important,” Moore says, “but we also understand how important it is to step away from our phones to connect to the people and the moments that matter most.” Moore is pledging to power down her device for five days, but acknowledges she may still have to use it for work emergencies.

“I’m not going to use my phone for anything that isn’t absolutely necessary during that time,” Moore says. “Social media, I’m definitely giving it up, and rather than spending time scrolling, I’m going to spend more time with my kids, get outside and try to do some things I can’t do if I’m stuck in my phone.” She says a recent study finds the average American spends more than five hours per day on their phones.

(Radio Iowa) –  Republicans on committees in the Iowa House and Senate have voted to let teenagers work longer hours and let them work at jobs that are currently off-limits for minors.

“It provides greater opportunities for our youth who want to — not being forced to….but greater opportunities for our youth who desire and aspire to take on and learn (the) responsibilities of having a job,” Senator Adrian Dickey, a Republican from Packwood, said Thursday, during a Senate Workforce Committee meeting.

The bill would let kids who have a permit to drive to and from school — drive to and from work. “To give teenagers the ability to have a job at the same time that their classmates are participating in sporting events or music events or doing other things,” Dickey said. “…It’s simply giving them opportunities to things that are of interest to them in the same time frame as their classmates have opportunities to do.”

Teenagers could get permission from their parents to serve alcohol in a bar or restaurant if the bill becomes law. The directors of the Workforce Development and Education Departments could grant waivers so teens could do some kinds of supervised work in places like factories and construction sites. Senator Molly Donahue, a Democrat from Cedar Rapids, said the changes would put kids in harm’s way.

“There are so many parts of this that are against the federal laws,” Donahue said. “That is also a concern to me.”

For example, federal rules prohibit 14- and 15-year-olds from working past 9 p.m. in the summer and 7 p.m. during the school year. The bill would let 14- and 15-year-olds work two hours longer at night. Senator Nate Boulton, a Democrat from Des Moines, said when it comes to children in the workplace, this bill is a step backwards.

“We have very low unemployment,” Boulton said. “We just don’t have enough workers right now and trying to correct that problem by putting more kids in the workplace just does not feel like the right path for Iowa.”

Senator Dickey accused Democrats of being hypocrites. “If you’re outraged against this bill because you don’t feel that your high school students in Iowa are mature or responsible enough to make these decisions or work with these restrictions, how you can grandstand and say that they should have the ability to request a sex change at that same age?” Dickey asked.

A bill approved by Republicans on a different Senate committee would ban minors from receiving gender reassignment surgery in Iowa.

(Radio Iowa) – Five northeast Iowa counties are hiring an attorney to respond to development of a carbon capture pipeline. Navigator’s proposed Heartland Greenway pipeline would run through 33 Iowa counties, covering about 800 miles. Delaware County Supervisor Shirley Heimrichs says it makes sense to unite with neighboring Bremer, Butler, Emmet and Floyd Counties.

“It’s going to be a more realistic, more responsible way of spending money through a collaborative effort just because we don’t have to do all of our own work. Basically they’re doing the same work for all of us,” she says. “I think that’s going to work well for us because we’re counties of similar size and the pipeline would potentially be looking at going through all of us.” The boards have hired Timothy Whipple, a Des Moines attorney who specializes in work with government boards.

“His representation is to assist with the drafting of any future ordinances and whatever representation we might need in Utility Board hearings,” Heimrichs says. The counties are filing what’s called a petition to intervene. Heimrichs says it would ensure the county is part of any government proceedings or public meetings about the Navigator pipeline.

Navigator CO2 map.

“It’s not an ordinance, but it allows us to be in Utility Board hearings and be able to have, basically, a seat at the table,” she says. “…We’re working on getting an inspector — this is in our petition to intervene, that if we need more than one and definitely we would need more than one. In past history, if you needed one, they were 10 miles down the line and that’s not OK for our landowners. We’re trying to be proactive.” Heimrichs says it appears the pipeline route through Delaware County impacts up to 80 property owners.

“We really feel it’s important to keep doing what we can for our landowners that will be affected and ultimately this will affect everybody because it’s a land use issue, It’s a right to own your own property and not be fearful of what’s going to happen to it,” Heimrichs says. “There’s people that would like us to do more and there’s people that would like us to not to much of anything.”

Navigator’s proposed pipeline would collect carbon from ethanol and fertilizer plants and would run through Nebraska, South Dakota, Minnesota, Iowa and end in Illinois, where the carbon would be stored underground.

(Radio Iowa) – Creighton University economist Ernie Goss says he was “shocked” by the progress shown in the latest economic survey for Iowa and eight other Midwestern states. While he expected another drop, Goss says the region’s overall index, or business barometer, rose to its highest level since July of 2022. That index is measured on a zero-to-100 scale and it bounded from 47 in January to just over 56 in February, a huge jump.

“We asked the supply managers about what they expect in terms of recession,” Goss says. “Thirty-five percent expect no recession, ten percent expect solid growth, and most of the others expect sort of flatlining across the region for the economy, the national economy, that is.” The regional wholesale inflation gauge rocketed to a six-month high, Goss says, and while hiring numbers were up, the survey found most companies are still hurting for help.

“Still seeing an inability to find and hire those qualified workers, particularly in rural areas of the region,” Goss says. “Difficulty again finding those workers who have the skills necessary for doing the job. Half the firms reported they were having to increase entry level wages to get workers to come in and interview.” The business barometer for Iowa jumped almost six points during the month, climbing from 47 in January to just over 53 in February. Goss says the Midwest’s numbers were similar and somewhat brightened the projections looking ahead.

“The outlook, at least our numbers now, are pointing toward sideways moving in the overall economy,” Goss says. “In other words, even with the really significant bounce for the month of February, we’re still talking about slow-to-no growth in the regional economy.” Goss says the residential housing market remains mired in recession, in Iowa and across the region.

“We’re probably going to record a sixth straight month of declining housing prices, and we’re seeing that across the board, and we’re also seeing, of course, higher interest rates,” Goss says. “I expect the long-term interest rates, mortgage rates, to rise above seven percent for the first time in many years.” For Iowa, Goss says machinery manufacturing continues to expand but at a slow pace, while non-durable goods manufacturers, including food processes, expect expanding economic conditions.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – The Cass County Board of Supervisors have meetings set for the next few business days, to discuss the County Budget. According to Cass County Auditor Kathy Somers, the Board will meet the following dates and times, with regard to budget discussion:

• Friday, March 3, 2023: 10:30-a.m.
• Monday, March 6, 2023: 9:15-a.m.
• Tuesday, March 7, 2023: following the regular Board meeting (Which convenes at 9-a.m.)

Budgetary discussion is the only thing on the agenda for those three days, with no action to be taken at this time.

(Glenwood, Iowa) – The Mills County Sheriff’s Office reports five arrests, with two individuals arrested on drug charges. Tuesday evening, 27-year-old Dakota John Allen, of Hastings (IA) was arrested at the Mills County Sheriff’s Office, on two-counts of Child Endangerment – Meth Exposure and Child Endangerment. Bond was set at $12,000. And, on Wednesday, 60-year-old Jeffrey Richard Pape, of Emerson, was arrested at Highway 34/365th Street, for Possession of a Controlled Substance.

On Feb. 28th, 32-year-old Brian David Benedict, of Glenwood, was arrested for Driving While Revoked. Wednesday afternoon, 32-year-old Randy Lee Rhode, of Bellevue, NE., was arrested on a warrant for Violation of Probation.

And, at around 2:33-a.m. today (Thursday), 38-year-old Richard Dean Anderson, III, of Missouri Valley, was arrested on a Pottawattamie County warrant for Failure to Appear.

(Radio Iowa) – The busy Spring Break travel season is just getting underway, and Iowans who want to fly someplace warm — and take along a firearm — are being reminded there’s a right way and a wrong way to go about it. The wrong way could cost you a lot of money and may very well ruin your vacation plans. Transportation Security Administration spokesman Mark Howell says guns on planes are fine, but they must be checked with baggage. Howell says, “TSA has no issue with passengers that want to take a firearm with them when they travel, as long as they pack it the right way and that they declared to the airline that they’re flying with — two important steps.”

Gun seizure numbers were up at several of Iowa’s largest airports last year, while the T-S-A confiscated more than 65-hundred firearms from boarding passengers nationwide, a new record. Howell is reminding Iowans who want to bring a firearm on board to make sure they follow the proper procedures. “The firearm needs to be completely unloaded with any ammunition stored separately inside the box, and then you need to secure that box with any place that has a lock on it, make sure that it’s completely secure,” Howell says, “and you take that directly to the airline’s ticket counter when you go to check in.”

Des Moines International Airport photo

Howell says the penalty for boarding with a weapon can reach nearly 15-thousand dollars, depending on the circumstances. The T-S-A says 22 guns were found at Iowa airport security checkpoints during 2022, an increase from the 14 guns found in 2021. Fifteen guns were found at the Des Moines Airport, up six from the previous year. Six guns were found at the Eastern Iowa Airport in Cedar Rapids, and one in Waterloo, which was an increase of one gun for each airport.

(Des Moines, Iowa) – Auditor of State Rob Sand today released a report on a special investigation of the City of Elgin located in Fayette County. The special investigation was requested by City officials as a result of concerns regarding certain financial transactions processed by the former City Clerk, Rhonda Dales, and covered the period October 1, 2017, through June 30, 2021.

Sand reported the special investigation identified $131,212.73 of improper disbursements and $7,531.67 of unsupported disbursements. The improper disbursements identified includes $104,282.70 of unauthorized payroll and additional checks issued to Ms. Dales and related payroll costs, $19,204.10 of unauthorized reimbursements issued to Ms. Dales, and $5,881.00 of excess insurance premium payments issued to Ms. Dales. Sand also reported the improper disbursements identified includes personal purchases made using the City’s debit card and interest and late fees to IPERS.

The $7,531.67 of unsupported disbursements identified includes $6,595.93 of reimbursements issued to Ms. Dales and $935.74 of purchases made with the City’s debit card. Sand reported it was not possible to determine the propriety of these disbursements because they were not supported by documentation sufficient to determine if they were for City operations or personal in nature.

The report includes recommendations to strengthen the City’s internal controls and operations, such as improving segregation of duties, perform bank reconciliations, and ensure disbursements are properly supported by sufficient documentation.

Copies of this report have been filed with the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, the Fayette County Attorney’s Office, and the Attorney General’s Office. A copy of the report is available for review on the Auditor of State’s web site at Special Interest Reports.