ATLANTIC—The Cass Health Foundation is hosting their inaugural Handbag Bingo Night on Thursday, November 14 at Bluebird Hill. This new event will wrap up the Cass Health Foundation’s 2024 campaign to purchase endoscopy equipment. 

Cass Health Community & Guest Relations Director Beth Spieker spoke on the anticipation of this new event saying, “This is a unique, fun ladies’ night out complete with delicious food, bingo, and great prizes including designer purses. Best of all, this final event wraps up our successful 2024 campaign, and we’re so close to our goal thanks to the generosity of our community.” 

Each $50 ticket for the evening includes dinner, six bingo cards per game for all ten “regular” games throughout the night, and five raffle tickets for the purse raffle. Bingo game winners will earn extra raffle tickets to enter for a chance to win a purse of their choice at the end of the night. Registration begins at 5:30 pm, with dinner at 6:00 pm, and bingo to follow. Stay tuned to Cass Health on social media to see the prizes that will be featured at the event.

Tickets to the event are limited; both single tickets and table sponsorships are available. For more information, please call Beth Spieker at 712-243-7545 or visit casshealth.org/bingo to view the details or pay online. 

(Radio Iowa) – Iowa now has a second Safe Haven baby box where an unwanted newborn baby can be turned over. Safe Haven founder Monica Kelsey says the box adds something to Iowa’s existing law. “The Safe Haven baby box program allows anonymity where the Safe Haven law that was passed 25 years ago allows for confidentiality, but not anonymity,” she says. “And so having a box that allows anonymity for a parent that doesn’t want to walk in and hand their child to a person, but still wants to surrender their child is important to some of these women.”

The new Safe Haven baby box is at MercyOne Medical Center in Des Moines and it follows the first that was installed at the Fort Dodge Fire Department in 2023. Kelsey started Safe Haven baby boxes out of her own beginnings.  “I was abandoned as an infant, and so when I started this organization, I knew that I wanted to start it as a nonprofit, because I never wanted to profit off of the backs of babies that were being saved or babies that were being dumped,” Kelsey says. “And so I started as a nonprofit. We do everything by donations and fundraising. We don’t take any government funding from the state or the federal government.” Kelsey says the national abortion fight has brought some attention to her organization.

“It has brought more awareness to the safe haven law. Some good, some bad, of course, because of the controversy between the abortion debate and parenting or placing for adoption. But you know, the states that have the highest number of abandonments are actually the states where abortion is legal through all nine months of pregnancy. You know, New Mexico is one, California is one, Illinois is one,” she says. Kelsey says Safe Haven boxes and Safe Haven laws aren’t really an issue.

“It really doesn’t have a lot to do with abortion, you know and abandonment together. We’re dealing with a different type of crisis from these women,” Kelsey says. “These babies are born, you know, these babies are going to go in an unsafe place or in one of our boxes. And so I think we all can agree that a baby in a box is a better option than a baby in a dumpster.” Kelsey says the Safe Haven box in Fort Dodge hasn’t been used yet.

The Safe Haven Baby Box. (photo from SHBB)

“But we have helped women do hand-off’s in your state, and that’s just as important as the boxes. You know, these are the women that will walk into the fire stations and hand their child to a person, and we have helped multiple women do that,” she says. She says they will likely get more boxes installed here.

“Well, we are working with multiple locations in Iowa right now. You know, we’re working in almost every state trying to get women these options, given this option that’s available to them, and and so I would say, probably, within probably six months, you’ll probably see a second and a third box coming into Iowa,” according to Kelsey.

You can find out more about Safe Haven boxes, or make a donation to the organization at shbb.org.

(Radio Iowa) – Iowans who have loved ones in central Florida are being encouraged to give blood in their honor, as hospitals in that region are overwhelmed following Wednesday night’s strike by Hurricane Milton. Shay Willis, at LifeServe Blood Center, says one shipment was rushed south before the big storm came ashore. “We have sent more than 250 blood products, red cells and platelets both, to the area being impacted by Hurricane Milton,” Willis says. “We’ll see today if there’s any additional need, but this is just one way that we can help our fellow community blood centers, but also the hospitals down there that may need to be able to treat patients.”

Blood supplies are very scarce in Iowa, Willis says, while the entire nation is seeing a worrisome shortage. “So when we have these emergencies like this, that obviously puts an additional strain on the supply,” Willis says. “So what we’re encouraging Iowans to do is to find a local LifeServe Blood Center Donor Center, or mobile blood drive near them, schedule an appointment, and keep that appointment, and come out and give the gift of life.” Blood centers across Iowa are urging people to donate a pint, whatever their blood type.

LifeServe photo

“Type O-negative most commonly is in the critically low level, because it is the universal blood donor,” Willis says, “but I truly think the message is, all blood types matter, because no matter your type, the product that we’re able to receive from you is going to help someone.” LifeServe provides blood products to 175 hospitals primarily in Iowa, South Dakota, Nebraska, and Illinois. LifeServe has donor centers in Ames, Des Moines, Fort Dodge, Mason City, Marshalltown, Sioux City, and Urbandale. Call 800-287-4903 or visit www.lifeservebloodcenter.org.

(Radio Iowa) – Iowa Senator Joni Ernst says she’s willing to return to Washington to approve more funding for FEMA, but Ernst says there’s been no request from the agency for more money. “These folks are facing horrible, horrible consequences because of these storms,” Ernst says. “…Just provide us the documentation…so we know we’re doing the right thing.”

There’s currently 11 BILLION dollars in FEMA’s Disaster Recovery Fund and FEMA’s administrator says that is enough to support the on-going response to Hurricanes Helene and Milton. FEMA provides funding for search and rescue operations and emergency shelter after disasters. Ernst, who’s among the Republican leadership group in the U-S Senate, says the head of the Small Business Administration told her this (Thursday) morning that the S-B-A is quickly running out of loan money.

“I want to see numbers, O.K.? I was a county auditor. The numbers matter,” Ernst says, “so present us with the information, the facts and most certainly if you do need those dollars, we want to ensure that you get those dollars.” But Ernst says the Office of Management and Budget has not presented congress with documentation that the S-B-A or FEMA need emergency funding now. Congress is set to reconvene November 12th.

DES MOINES– The boil advisory issued on Oct. 7 for the communities of Greenfield, Fontanelle and Orient in Adair County has been lifted.

The advisory was issued following a water main break. Repairs have been completed, and the affected area has been disinfected and flushed. Water samples have tested negative for bacteria.

(Red Oak, Iowa) – Montgomery County Auditor Jill Ozuna is reminding residents of the county, and the general public, that the deadline to request an absentee ballot by mail is 5-p.m. Monday, October 21st. That is also the voter pre-registration deadline. If you do not register to vote before October 21, 2024, you can register on Election Day or if you vote absentee in-person at the Auditor’s office.

You must provide proof of both your identity and residency. If your license has an old address on it, you can use the license as proof of identity and use one of the following as proof of residence if it contains your name and current address: Current residential lease, Property tax statement, Utility bill (including a cell phone bill), bank statement, paycheck, government check, or other government documents (vehicle registration, tax assessment, etc.). If you do not have an Iowa driver’s license, you can provide another form of ID if it contains your photo, is current, valid, and hasn’t expired or lists “None” as the expiration date. Temporary paper licenses or IDs issued by the IDOT are acceptable.

Montgomery County Auditor’s Office hours & election notes:

Saturday, November 2, 2024 – Auditor’s office is open from 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. for absentee voting and election business.
Monday, November 4, 2024 – Last day to vote an absentee ballot in-person at the Auditor’s office during regular office hours.
Tuesday, November 5, 2024, ELECTION DAY– Polls are open from 7 a.m. – 8 p.m.

If you have any questions, please contact the Montgomery County Auditor’s office at 712-623-5127, or the Auditor in your county.

(Radio Iowa) – FEMA plans to close the state’s last two Disaster Recovery Centers in Clay and Sioux County this Saturday at 5:30 p-m. FEMA spokesman Chad McCormick says there has been a lot of work done. “It’s been a significant year with tornadoes this year, flooding events across the Midwest, all the way down into Texas area, and then, as you see with the two current hurricanes that are coming in,” he says. Iowa residents still have until October 22nd to apply for federal disaster assistance.

McCormick says at one time there were almost 25 centers open to help Iowans. “We try to provide grants. Those are monies that do not have to be paid back. FEMA can’t come in and make you whole,” he says. “We can’t duplicate benefits relating to insurance. So, a lot of folks may receive a denial letter, and that’s usually because we’re waiting to see what the insurance is going to pay out.”

So far, FEMA has approved almost 70 million dollars in aid for about 85-hundred Iowa residents after tornadoes in Minden and Greenfield and historic flooding in northwest Iowa.

McCormick says that starting next week, flood victims in northwest Iowa will have access to long-term disaster recovery centers operated by the state, where residents can get help with FEMA applications and state and local aid. There is already one open in Pottawattamie County. McCormick says hurricanes Helene and Milton will create more calls and that could cause delays for people trying to contact FEMA’s call center.