The annual Iowa Mission of Mercy (Iowa MOM) free dental clinic is set for the end of this week in western Iowa. Kathy Salisbury with the Iowa Dental Foundation says this is the eighth year for the clinic. “It is the first time we have been in Council Bluffs. What we try to do is choose a different city in the state of Iowa each year, so that Iowans from all over the state can benefit from the services that we are providing,” Salisbury says. Those attending the clinic can have a variety of dental work done.

“Everything from cleanings, we do fillings, we extract teeth — in fact that’s probably the number one thing that we do — we also do some root canals, and we do some lab work,” Salisbury says. “We can provide for front teeth that are missing, what we call flippers. It’s not a partial, it’s a removable piece. So, we are really a full-service clinic.” Salisbury says it’s a big effort made possible by donations.

She says all of the dentists and dental professionals donate their time, the supplies are all donated and many others donate their time to help. The clinic is free and all you have to do is show up. “We’re not going to ask any financial questions or anything of people. Our philosophy is to treat everybody who is having a challenge receiving dental care. And the only thing we tell people is, it is a first-come, first-served basis, and the lines start very early,” Salisbury says, “We open the clinic at six a-m and often times we have people there at 10 o’clock the night before starting to get in line. So, people have to get there early and be prepared for a long wait.”

Salisbury says they’ve seen more than 95-hundred patients and done six-point-five million dollars of dental work in the eight years of the missions. She says the dental work can help prevent a lot of other issues. “I don’t think a lot of people realize that when your mouth is not healthy — it can affect other parts of your body and it can affect other diseases — such as diabetes, heart problems. Recently there’s been a study that poor oral health care can actually accelerate dementia in some people,” according to Salisbury. The Mission of Mercy is this Friday and Saturday at the Mid America Center in Council Bluffs. For more information, go to the Iowa Mission of Mercy website at: www.iowamom.org.

(Radio Iowa)

DES MOINES, Iowa – With alcohol being the substance most frequently abused by children and adolescents in the U.S., parents are being urged to talk to their children about the dangers before they take their first sips.  According to a new report from the American Academy of Pediatrics, children start to think positively about alcohol between the ages of nine and 13.

Licensed addiction counselor Sheena Williams says for most children, their parents are the biggest influence. “So if a parent has a very flexible idea about alcohol or they’re frequently engaging in alcohol use, the child kind of picks up that that’s a normal behavior,” she explains. “So they’re going to kind of follow down the parent’s footsteps.”

The report also warns about binge drinking in adolescence, which can interfere with important aspects of brain development and lead to cognitive impairment and alcohol-induced brain damage.  In Iowa , nearly one-fourth of high school students take part in binge drinking. Williams notes that the earlier the age that a person starts to drink, the higher risk that he or she will have lifetime addiction.

“Addiction starts out with experimentation and that’s kind of what start to see in adolescence,” he says. “It progresses into abuse when there starts to become problems because of their use, but those problems aren’t enough to make the person quit.”

September is National Recovery Month.

(Iowa News Service)

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (AP) – Authorities say a bicyclist has been killed in a collision with a sport utility vehicle on the west side of Council Bluffs. The accident occurred around 6 a.m. today (Tuesday) near a railroad bridge over South 35th Street.  The names of the bicyclist and the SUV driver and other details about the collision have not been released.

Police in Creston say a local woman reported Friday sometime had taken her purse from a store at 109 N. Maple Street. The purse contained several checks, cash and personal identification. The incident happened sometime between 10-a.m. and 11-a.m. Friday. The loss was estimated at $1,800.

And, a Creston man reported to police on Friday, that someone damaged a fence on his property at 508 W. Adams Street. The incident, which happened sometime between Aug. 23rd and Sept. 4th, resulted in a $400 loss.

The Creston Police Department reports today (Tuesday), several people were arrested over the past few days. On Labor Day, 37-year old Lonny Brown, of Creston, was arrested on charges of Possession of Drug Paraphernalia and Driving While Suspended. And, 36-year old Tobias Newton, of Shakopee, MN, was arrested Monday night for Public Intoxication. Brown and Newton were being held in the Union County Jail on $300 bond, each.

On Sunday, 38-year old Robert Hiatt, of Creston, was arrested for Driving While Revoked. He was later released on $1,000 bond. And, 35-year old Ryan Feldhacker, of Creston, was arrested Sunday for Driving While Barred, and on a Union County warrant for Failure to serve his jail sentence on a 3rd offense Public Intoxication charge. Feldhacker was being held in the Union County jail pending completion of his sentence.

On Saturday, 23-year old Casey Weicher, of Winterset, was arrested on a Union County warrant for Failure to serve a jail sentence on an original charge of OWI/1st offense. Weicher was released from custody after the balance of his sentence was served.

On Friday, Creston Police arrested 18-year old Keegan Williams at the Union County Jail, on a Polk County warrant for Failure to Appear on an original charge of Possession of a Controlled Substance/Marijuana-1st offense. Williams was subsequently transferred to the custody of Polk County authorities. And, 32-year old Erin Wallace, of Creston, was arrested Friday near her home, on two Union County warrants for Failure to serve a jail sentences on charges of Driving While Revoked, and Probation Violation. Wallace was being held in the Ringgold County Jail to serve the balance of her sentences.

Republican Congressman David Young suggests the rule of law should be followed, whether it’s a so-called “sanctuary city” refusing to deport undocumented immigrants or the Kentucky clerk who has refused to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. “I’m sympathetic with her views and I understand there are people who feel that way about same-sex marriage,” Young says, “but at the same time she is a public official.”

Kim Davis, the Kentucky clerk who has refused to issue same-sex marriage licenses, has been held in contempt of court and she’s been in jail since last Thursday. Congressman Young says he’s interested to see how her case plays out in the courts. “Also interested to see what the nexus is when it comes to private institutions like churches and mosques and synagogues, if there’s ever a challenge there, how that would play out,” Young says. “So this is still fluid, this issue. It very much is.”

Young, a first-term congressman from Van Meter, represents Iowa’s third district. He made his comments during taping of the “Iowa Press” program that will air this Friday night on Iowa Public Television.

(Radio Iowa)