Officials with the Fremont County Sheriff’s Office report they received a call this (Thursday) morning with regard to threats made at the Sidney High School. Deputies determined that a 16-year-old female student, made a general threat against the lives of students, causing them to be in fear of their safety. The student has been charged with Harassment 1st Degree, an Aggravated Misdemeanor and has been placed at the Juvenile Detention Center in Council Bluffs. Deputies determined that incident is not directly connected to the previous threat that took place Wednesday.

During that incident, a 14-year old female student allegedly threatened to make a shooting at the Sidney High School. The student was also arrested and transported to the Juvenile Detention Center in Council Bluffs. They were charged with Threats of Terrorism.

No names were released in connection with either incident.

A new report finds the number of cases of Alzheimer’s disease in Iowa is growing rapidly, as is the cost of care. Greg Woods, a program specialist with the Alzheimer’s Association of Greater Iowa, says the annual report isn’t very encouraging as there’s still no effective treatment and no cure. “This year, we looked at three main things,” Woods says, “the prevalance and incidence of the disease, so how common is it, we looked at the cost of care and we looked at the effect of caregiving, as well.”

Alzheimer’s deaths have more than doubled in the last 15 years while deaths from other major illnesses and medical conditions, like heart disease, have significantly decreased. The report finds about five-point-seven million people nationwide are now living with Alzheimer’s, while the figure in Iowa is about 64-thousand, and both numbers are escalating. “By 2025, the number of people aged 65 and older is expected to reach 7.1-million, that’s an increase of almost 29% from this year,” Woods says. “In Iowa, we will see that as well, so we’re looking at that 64,000 number becoming upwards of 73,000.”

If a treatment isn’t found, the annual number of new cases of Alzheimer’s and other dementia’s is projected to double by 2050. In Iowa, the report projects a 14-percent growth in the number of people with Alzheimer’s or another dementia. Woods says the number of Alzheimer’s deaths have more than doubled in the last 15 years nationwide. “We know that Alzheimer’s is the 6th leading cause of death in the U.S. and that is interesting to some people because they don’t often think of it as an actual cause of death,” Woods says. “In fact, here in Iowa alone, we have the 5th highest death rate from Alzheimer’s in the whole United States.”

The national cost of caring for people with Alzheimer’s is projected to surpass a quarter-trillion dollars ($277 billion) this year, an increase of nearly 20-billion since last year. In Iowa, the Medicaid costs to care for people with Alzheimer’s are expected to reach 630-million dollars this year. The cost is expected to grow by nearly 24-percent by 2025. In Iowa, 136-thousand caregivers provided a total of 154-million hours of unpaid care for Alzheimer’s patients, valued at 1.95-billion dollars. The difficulties associated with providing that care are estimated to have resulted in 98-million dollars in additional healthcare costs for caregivers last year. See the full report at: www.alz.org/facts

(Radio Iowa)

GARNER, Iowa (AP) — A car driver has been imprisoned for the crash death of a motorcyclist in northern Iowa. Hancock County District Court records say 34-year-old Shannon Gamble, of Garner, was sentenced Tuesday to 25 years in prison. She’d pleaded guilty to vehicular homicide while under the influence.

The collision occurred June 18 near Klemme in Hancock County. Authorities say Gamble was driving south on U.S. Highway 69 and trying to pass another vehicle when her car struck the northbound motorcyclist, killing 31-year-old Nathan Wadsley. He lived in Belmond.

Sheriff’s officials in Union County report 30-year old Kenneth Lyle Williams, of Creston, was arrested 9-p.m. March 13th at the Union County Law Enforcement Center. Williams was arrested on a Department of Corrections warrant for violation of parole. He was transported to prison. And, at around 8:15-a.m. Tuesday, 33-year old Justin Levi Brown, of Clearfield, was arrested on High & Dry Road in Union County, for driving while barred. Brown was later released from the Union County Jail on $2,000 bond.

The Glenwood Police Department reports 21-year old Jacob Wilson, of Glenwood, was arrested Wednesday, on OWI/1st offense, and Possession of a Controlled Substance, charges, following an accident that happened at around 7:30-p.m.  Authorities say a 1993 Chevy SIlverado pickup driven by Wilson, hopped a curb at Coolidge and South Elm Streets in Glenwood. The pickup struck a house at 911 Coolidge, damaging the house and its foundation. Wilson, and his passenger, both told police the accident happened due to malfunctioning brakes, but there was no evidence at the scene to indicate attempted to brake for the accident happened. Wilson was cited for failure to maintain control, and arrested for OWI. No injuries were reported. Wilson was being held in the Mills County Jail on a $2,000 cash or surety bond. The house sustained about $5,000 damage. Damage to the pickup was estimated at $2,500, and a street sign that was struck by the truck sustained about $150 damage.

And, an accident last Saturday night in the Glenwood High School parking lot caused a total of $4,000 damage. Glenwood Police say an investigation revealed 16-year old Lanie Marie Brule, of Malvern, backed into a parked 1996 Chevy Suburban, after an incident in the parking lot led her to step on the accelerator too hard while she was backing up a 2000 Pontiac Grand Am. The event unfolded after Brule and her passenger  antagonized some Glenwood students, who, in-turn, antagonized them back. As Brule was attempting to leave the parking lot, her vehicle was blocked by another vehicle. Brule told Police several students told her to turn around and go the other way. As she tried backing-up, she stepped on the gas and ran into the Suburban, which was pushed up over the curb and struck the concrete base of a parking lot light pole. The driver of the Suburban was sitting in another vehicle several stalls away. No injuries were reported, and no citations were issued.

Administrators at the University of Iowa and Iowa State University must cut nearly 11 million dollars in spending between now and June 30th. Last (Wednesday) night, Republicans in the Iowa Senate sent the governor a package of state budget cuts to avoid a deficit caused by lower-than-expected state tax revenue. Democrats like Senator Joe Bolkcom of Iowa City railed against the cuts at the two public universities. “Despite the Regents only representing approximately seven percent of the state general fund this puts over 44 percent of tje proposed general cuts on the backs of Iowa State kids and kids that go to the University of Iowa,” Bolkcom said. Senator Rick Bertrand, a Republican from Sioux City, responded.

“Senator Bolkcom, doom and gloom,” Bertrand said. “…It’s the old playbook of, you know, you’re talking about scaring ’em. Iowans are smart enough to understand how it works down here.” Bertrand says with tax collections falling below expectations, lawmakers have to “reel back” the state budget. The budget-cutting package outlines nearly 25-million dollars in spending reductions to the universities as well as the Department of Human Services, courts, prisons and other state agencies. Another 10-million dollars in unspent economic development awards is being used to cover the state budget shortfall and create a “cushion” in the bottom line in case state taxes fall farther below predictions.

(Radio Iowa)

The Iowa Senate has sent the governor a bill designed to address some of the fault lines in Iowa’s mental health care system. “This bill is really important…This is a transformative piece of legislation.” That’s Republican Senator Mark Chelgren of Ottumwa. The bill is the culmination of a lobbying effort by advocates and work by legislators who agree that the full array of treatment options aren’t available within the state for mentally ill Iowans. Senator Amanda Ragan, a Democrat from Mason City, says that’s an important change. “This is about serving people in the place they need to be served,” Ragan said. Governor Kim Reynolds tweeted her thanks to legislators for passing the bill. Reynolds says it’s a “strong step to improving compassionate care for all Iowans.”

Six “access centers” will be created around the state where health care professionals will assess patients in an acute mental health crisis — so those patients aren’t stuck waiting in a jail cell or an emergency room for hours or days before getting appropriate care. Senator Jeff Edler, a Republican from State Center, says a bipartisan coalition worked hard for months and months to develop this plan.”This is an issue where politics should not even be involved. We’re dealing with some of the most delicate needs that Iowans have,” Edler said. “…When we’re dealing with mental health, we need to lay politics aside and do what’s right for Iowans.” The bill cleared the Senate unanimously yesterday (Wednesday). It passed the House unanimously in February. Some Democrats have raised concerns that the money required to implement these changes might not materialize. Senator Chelgren predicts the legislature and the governor will follow through.

“This is something that I think we can all be very proud of,” Chelgren said, “and I don’t think anyone in this chamber would like to see that success fail because we failed to fund it correctly.” The plan has the support of groups ranging from the National Alliance on Mental Illness to the Iowa Sheriffs and Deputies Association. Advocates say there’s still a need to address gaps in the mental health care system for Iowa children and teenagers.

(Radio Iowa)

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Magazine and broadcasting company Meredith plans to eliminate 1,000 jobs over the next 10 months as it integrates the operations of Time Inc., which it bought six weeks ago. Meredith CEO Tom Harty said Wednesday 200 employees have been notified their positions were eliminated. That’s in addition to an announcement last month that 600 jobs in a Time subscription fulfillment center in Tampa, Florida, would be eliminated with the center’s closure. Iowa-based Meredith bought Time for $1.8 billion and expects to save $500 million in the first two years by combining operations.

Harty says the company is exploring the sale of Time, Sports Illustrated, Fortune and Money magazines after concluding they have different audiences and advertising targets than Meredith’s traditional lifestyle, food, and women’s titles including Better Homes & Gardens.

Officials with the Iowa Department of Corrections report two correctional officers were assaulted by two inmates at the Fort Dodge Correctional Facility (FDCF) in Fort Dodge, at approximately 5 p.m., Wednesday.  The incident began when an inmate approached and began an attack against an officer. When another officer attempted to pull this inmate away, all three of them fell to the ground. While the officers were attempting to restrain the aggressive inmate, another inmate in the area approached and began kicking the officers that were on the ground. Additional correctional officers were called into the unit and quickly restrained the attackers.

The two staff members that were attacked were sent to the Unity Point Hospital in Fort Dodge. The staff members had sustained scratches and bruising, but were released form the hospital that night, and returned to FDCF for a short time before being released from duties for the remainder of their shifts. The incident remains under investigation.

The Cass County Memorial Hospital Emergency Department in Atlantic, has been recognized as a 2018 Women’s Choice Award recipient. The CCMH Emergency Department scored in the top 10% of hospitals nationwide, based on hospital size. CCMH is in the 100 beds or less category. CCHS CEO Brett Altman said “We couldn’t be more pleased to receive this recognition of the superior care our ED team provides every day. This award is particularly significant because it measures objective data based on the criteria women have indicated is most important to them. Women tend to be the healthcare decision makers for the entire family, so it is very rewarding to know we are meeting their expectations on a consistent basis.”

According to their website, the Women’s Choice Award’s goal is to help women make smart healthcare choices. The organization states their understanding of what matters most to women is based on extensive surveys of women to determine the most important factors in their healthcare decision-making. They have also conducted research on this topic in conjunction with the Wharton School of Business. The organization utilizes publicly reported patient experience and clinical data to evaluate hospitals on those factors.

Criteria for the Emergency Care award include the following measures as reported by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS):

Average number of minutes before outpatients with chest pain or possible heart attack got an ECG;
Average time patients spent in the Emergency Department, before they were admitted to the hospital as an inpatient;
Average time patients spent in the Emergency Department before they were seen by a healthcare professional;
Average time patients spent waiting in the Emergency Department, after the doctor decided to admit them as an inpatient, but before leaving the Emergency Department for their inpatient room;
Average time patients spent in the Emergency Department before being sent home;
Average time patients who came to the Emergency Department with broken bones had to wait before receiving pain medication;
Percentage of patients who came to the Emergency Department with stroke symptoms who received brain scan results within 45 minutes of arrival;
Percentage of patients who left the Emergency Department before being seen.