(Radio Iowa) – Printing the state’s 211 suicide crisis line on student I-D cards would be required under a bill getting bipartisan backing in the Iowa legislature. Senator Bill Dotzler, a Democrat from Waterloo, grew emotional as he thanked his colleagues for supporting the bill.

“I was there at one time in my life, but didn’t have the courage to go through it. At times, you don’t have people to talk to or you just want to hold it in,” Dotzler said. “I mean even though I’m 60 years past that, it’s still there.”

Senator Jeff Taylor, a Republican from Sioux Center, said the bill applies to student IDs issued by public schools in Iowa, but he’s hoping private schools offer the same information if they provide ID cards to students.

“All of us have been children. All of us remember that it’s not always easy being a kid. the struggles that we have whether it’s with depression or bullying or anxiety — all of that,” Taylor said. “This bill is not going to solve all the problems, but I think it’s a step in the right direction to provide some kind of access for a child who feels alone, struggling with something that’s beyond what he or she can handle.”

Sen. Bill Dotzler. (IA Legislature)

The bill passed the Senate unanimously today. It passed the House on a 91-4 vote a month ago. Republican Representative Ray Sorenson of Greenfield said the Your Life Iowa program has an app for smart phones — and kids can text or call 211 to reach the program’s counselors. “For me, if it can save even one life, maybe a kid looking for help, for a lifeline,” Sorenson said, “it’s worth the small amount of ink to simply print it on student IDs.”

Representative Timi Brown-Powers, a Democrat from Waterloo, said for the past three years a group of Waterloo students has been lobbying for the bill. “One of the things to remember is this number on the back of the ID can help them with any…mental health crisis they may be in, any bullying that they may be experiencing,” Brown-Powers said.

Representative Jeff Shipley, a Republican from Fairfield, said recent surveys show a troubling and dramatic increase in kids saying they feel persistently feel sad and hopeless. “In general, I tend to be pretty uneasy about unfunded mandates on school districts, but given the scope of the problem I think a mandate is definitely appropriate,” Shipley said.

The House must approve a slight change the Senate made in the bill before it goes to the governor.

ATLANTIC, IOWA – April is Volunteer Recognition Month, which is the perfect time to highlight the dynamic role that volunteers play in every community. Volunteers in the Cass Health Auxiliary contribute their talents, time, and financial support in a variety of ways.

“We are extremely fortunate to have such active and caring volunteers who choose to share their time and talents with Cass Health. They make the lives of our patients better, and they truly embody our slogan, Neighbors Caring for Neighbors,” said Kolton Hewlett, Chief Human Resources Officer. “Not only do our volunteers have a great impact within the walls of Cass Health, but they also make an impact through several community-based volunteer programs. We are also grateful for the volunteers on our hospital board, auxiliary board, foundation board, and county board of health.”

Photos from the annual volunteer appreciation reception

Over the last year, Cass Health’s nearly 100 active volunteers have assisted in the surgery waiting room, covering 1,169 surgeries and accumulating more than 500 hours of service. Library service volunteers delivered 2,351 items to local homes. In the Gift Shop, volunteers worked 3,396 hours. Transportation volunteers drove 23,499 miles to help take patients to appointments. Senior Health Insurance Information Program (SHIIP) volunteers saw 111 clients between July and December 2022. Volunteers also assist by crocheting baby hats, coordinating the “Hello Baby” gift program for parents of newborns, transporting laboratory materials, calling community members signed up for the telecare program to check in on them, and making walker bags for patients at Cass Health and local nursing homes.

“We are always thankful to have new members – both active and inactive. I think many of our volunteers would say that volunteering is beneficial for their own mental and physical health, too, so we do encourage anyone interested to talk with us and see where we can best use their talents. It’s a win-win,” said Beth Spieker, Director of Community & Guest Relations.

The Cass Health Auxiliary also raises funds through the Gift Shop, membership dues, and fundraisers. The proceeds from their efforts are used for scholarships for local students pursuing healthcare careers, as well as funding equipment, training, or other items for Cass Health. Recently the Cass Health Auxiliary purchased heated massage chairs that patients use while receiving infusions and treatments in the Tyler Family Cancer Center.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – Cass EMS along with Atlantic Fire and Rescue were dispatched early this (Thursday) afternoon, to the scene of a single-vehicle accident, southwest of Atlantic. The incident occurred just north of Lansing Road on Highway 6. The page went out at 12:46-p.m.  According to scanner traffic from Cass County Communications, two elderly people were said to be in the vehicle, one with lacerations to their face. The vehicle was reportedly in the east ditch.

Additional details are currently not available.

(Radio Iowa) – A trade group that represents the oil industry is calling on Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds and seven other governors to drop their push to get gas with 15% ethanol available in the Midwest all year long. Patrick Kelly is with the American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers, which used to be known as the National Petroleum Association. He says fewer than five percent of U.S. gas stations are able to sell E15 today. “Retail stations must ensure that all of their underground infrastructure including tanks, seals, pumps, vapor and liquid lines are all compatible with E15,” he says.

Making those adjustments will be expensive for gas stations, according to Kelly. Susan Grissom, the group’s vice president, says some oil refineries would face costs, too, if E15 is to be sold in the Midwest all year. “They would need to make capital investments at a cost of $50-75 million per facility,” she says. “Such projects typically take two years to complete and that’s if permitting goes smoothly.”

Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds and a bipartisan group of governors have asked the EPA to grant a waiver, so E15 can be sold through the summer months in eight Midwestern states.
Reynolds and the other governors said E15 is a lower cost alternative for consumers and keeping gasoline with a higher blend of ethanol on available year round would address some potential fuel shortages caused by the war in Ukraine.

(Radio Iowa) – A pilot program that will study the effect of providing a monthly basic income on reducing poverty will make its first payments next month to a group of central Iowa residents. The project called UpLift will give 110 people in Polk, Dallas and Warren counties 500 dollars each month for the next two years. Project coordinator Michael Berger says there are no restrictions on how the money can be used as financial emergencies are unpredictable. “So that’s why our approach to it and our perspective is, okay, if you give people the money to meet their needs and then let them determine how best to meet those needs, what is the result and outcomes of that approach?,” Berger says.

Des Moines University is leading the study, and their public health chair, Rachelle Reimer says they will be conducting surveys every six months with participants and will also follow a control group of residents who don’t receive the money. “These community members are living in very complex systems and it’s hard to isolate the impact of one thing, and so the only way we can really know for certain the impact of this unrestricted basic income is to compare it with another group of similar individuals,” Reimer says.

The UpLift participants were randomly selected from six-thousand applicants for the program. Payments begin going out on May 15th. The funding for the program comes from federal pandemic relief money, as well as local private and nonprofit foundations.

(West Des Moines, Iowa) –  The Iowa housing market took small steps in the positive direction in March. Officials with the Iowa Association of Realtors (IAR) say while listings and sales continue to fall below metrics from last year, they are consistently climbing month-to-month in 2023, showcasing the strength of the early spring market across the state. Krista Clark, IAR president, said “Each metric in Iowa’s housing market for March showed an improvement upon the previous month, proving our optimism in the spring market was well warranted. Although interest rates have continued to tick up, putting pressure on sales prices, we expect homeowners to see the thawing of the Iowa market as a sign to list their homes, creating a more balanced market in terms of inventory.”

Sales and listings for single-family homes in Iowa once again saw a decrease in March compared to the prior year. However, the measures provide a slight upswing in month-over-month housing markets, bringing promise that later spring and summer months will see a plentiful housing market.   March saw 3,410 new single-family listings, the Iowa market saw a decrease of 14.9% compared to the same month in 2022 when 4,009 homes listed. Those figures are a stark contrast to the month-over-month progress, as Iowa’s market saw a 47.6% increase from February’s 2,310 homes sold.

The story was the same year-over-year for Iowa’s home sales. Sales dropped 15.7% in March with just 2,543 homes sold compared to the 3,017 sold in March 2022. Again, the monthly stats are a stark contrast, as home sales increased 54.4% from those sold last month. Year-to-date, closed sales of single-family homes remained down 22%, with 5,891 sales closed compared to the 7,588 during the same three month period of time in 2022. The pending sales of 2,892 homes represents a 17.5% decrease year-over-year, but a 32% increase from the 2,175 homes sold last month.

The days on the market remained the same month-over-month at 52 days in March, but represented an increase from the 42 days homes remained on the market in March of last year. Median sales prices increased 5% year-over-year to $210,000.

The sales and listing of townhomes and condos in Iowa continue to follow the trajectory of single-family homes with nearly all markets continuing to represent decreases year-over-year.  New listings decreased 11.5% with 587 properties listed, compared to the 665 on the market one year ago. February’s market also represents a decrease of 6.7% month-over-month. Much like single-family homes, March’s listing of townhomes and condos represented an increase – 36% – compared to last month’s 430 listed properties.

The 367 townhomes and condos that sold in March represent a 17.9% decline compared to those sold one year ago. The sales did represent an increase when monthly stats are explored, with about 123 more homes sold since February 2023.  While pending sales of townhomes and condos had remained mostly the same year-over-year in recent months, they took a bit of a dive in March. The 427 pending sales for the month represent a 24.4% decrease year-over-year. The opposite was true for monthly statistics, with 24.1% more pending sales taking place since February.

Days on the market increased significantly for townhomes and condos. On average, the properties were listed for 62 days, an increase of 24% compared to the 50 days on market last year. Median sales price once again increased, this time by 9.1% year-over-year to an average of $240,000. The information used to create the IAR March Housing Trends Report was current as of April 17. The information is subject to change due to the dynamic nature of the IAR’s housing statistics system, which is based on data from the local participating MLS (multiple listing service) systems.

(Radio Iowa) – The budget for the governor’s office is getting a half a million dollar boost under a bill Senate Republicans have approved. A spokesman for Governor Reynolds says it pulls Iowa closer to the office budgets for governors in states like Utah that have similar populations. Democrats in the Senate objected and asked Republican Senator Tim Kraayenbrink of Fort Dodge — chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee — what the money was for.

“We asked the same question of the governor,” Kraayenbrink said, “but I’m not positive what the answer was coming out of that.” Senator Janet Petersen, a Democrat from Des Moines, asked Kraayenbrink if the money would be used to provide bonuses or raise the salaries for the governor’s staff. “Do you believe that might be what that money will be used for?” Petersen asked. Kraayenbrink responded: “I’m pretty sure that is not what this is for.”

After Senators debated the bill, a spokesman for Governor Reynolds said the 500-thousand dollars will help recruit and retain the talent necessary to support the significant work Iowans expect the Governor to lead.

(Carter Lake/Iowa-Nebraska) – Authorities in Omaha say a crash Wednesday night on Shore Drive on the Nebraska side of Carter Lake, resulted in the death of a Nebraska woman. According to Omaha Police, 37-year old Tiffany Brayman, of Omaha, died, when the pickup she was a passenger in, went out of control and rolled over. Brayman was ejected as the vehicle rolled.

The vehicle crashed near Cornish Boulevard, on the west side of Carter Lake, just south of Ames Avenue. Police said the driver of the vehicle ran from the scene and had not been identified as of the latest information released.

Investigators say speed and alcohol were factors in the crash. They also said seat belt use was being investigated.

(Glenwood, Iowa) – Police in Glenwood report a Malvern man, 20-year-old Connr Gray, was arrested this (Thursday) morning, for Possession of a controlled substance, keeping premises or vehicle for controlled substance, and possession of drug paraphernalia, Gray posted a $3,300 cash bond, and was released.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – The Atlantic School Board, Wednesday, received a nearly hour-long report from District Technology Director Roger Warne, who says Atlantic, like most school districts in the State, has a Cyber Security rating that is “inadequate,” at least according to a questionnaire Warne filled-out during a series of Cyber Security meetings that took place over six-weeks.

There were approximately 25-to 30 school districts that participated in the session. One thing everyone came away with, was that a chance of a cyber attack is unavoidable… it’s just a matter of when. The security sessions were sponsored by Green Hills AEA, and provided by Security Studio.

Roger Warne said while the AEA sessions from Security Studio were free, the Atlantic School District can continue to use the company’s services for about $3,600 per year. Warne said there are four different areas of control a district can secure against a cyber attack: Administrative, Physical, Internal/Technical and External. With regard to the latter…

The District’s Physical Controls – access control entry into the building, etc. – he said, are good, but there is still room for improvement. Cyber attacks are something every district needs to plan for, he says, and it’s not necessary to “panic.”

An Action Plan includes updating some of the District’s antiquated security systems to the newer standards, which equates to about $5,000 per building. The plan would also call for swapping out Chromebook laptops every eight-years or so, even with incremental changes in which grades get the current laptops each year, as classes graduate.

School Board Vice-President Kristy Pellet asked Warne what he estimated the District should set aside each year for cyber and physical security systems, noting that, before Roger became the Technology Director, the District budgeted $100,000 every year, for technology.

Many school, districts began to take a more serious look at what needs to be done to avert a cyber attack, when the Des Moines Public School District systems were breached, leading to the cancellation of classes for two days.