(Radio Iowa) – This week’s deadly collapse of Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge may have significant ripple effects in Iowa, as that Maryland port is a vital link in the supply chain for getting Iowa’s commodities and a range of products to overseas markets.

Iowa U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley says he’s concerned that as long as that port is blocked by the wreckage and out of commission, the effects will be widespread.

“There’s a lot of heavy manufacturing and even some grain leaving Iowa through the Baltimore port,” Grassley says, “so it’s going to have a catastrophic impact on the economy.”

Grassley says it’s possible Iowa companies that need to ship their commodities or products overseas via the East Coast can use another port, but most of them are farther away which would likely mean higher costs.

“There’s alternatives, but those alternatives, like Philadelphia, someplace in New Jersey, maybe New York, are possibilities, maybe even Charleston, South Carolina,” Grassley says, “but it’s just going to be a detrimental impact and it’s not going to be short term.”

It’s still unclear how many people died when the bridge fell, perhaps six. Recovery operations are underway. There are calls for Congress to pass an emergency spending measure to pay for rebuilding the bridge, which collapsed early Tuesday after a support tower was slammed by a massive cargo ship, which was apparently malfunctioning.

“I would vote yes on this,” Grassley says. “One question we have, is there any insurance that the shipping company might have that ought to pay for that bridge? I think it’s worth looking into, so we don’t spend the taxpayers’ money. If somebody’s at fault for doing this and they have insurance, they ought to pay for it.”

Early estimates say rebuilding the bridge could cost $2-billion dollars and take a minimum of two years, possibly much longer.

(Radio Iowa) – Lawmakers in the Iowa House are making another attempt to change benefits for first responders covered by Iowa’s municipal retirement system.

Under current law, firefighters, police and EMTs are eligible for disability as well as death benefits if they’re diagnosed with one of 14 types of cancer. Earlier this year, the House unanimously approved a bill to extend disability and death benefits for Iowa police and firefighters diagnosed with any type of cancer, but the plan failed to pass a senate committee by a mid-March deadline. Today, the same bill cleared the House Ways and Means Committee. Representative Bobby Kaufmann of Wilton is the committee’s chairman.

“Our sixth and hopefully final time at attempting to provide parity in the 411 system for our police officers and firefighters,” Kaufmann said. “This is not an exercise in futility. I have expectations of a real hearing in the (Senate), which is something we have not received in the past five years.”

Brandon Pflanzer, secretary/treasurer of Iowa Professional Firefighters, thanked House lawmakers for taking this step.

“What it really is about is fairness. It’s about making sure that we are public employees — firefighters, police officers, EMS providers cross the state of Iowa have the same workers compensation benefits as those in the private sector. Right now that’s not true,” he said. “It also is about fairness in recognizing the risks that our members take and how it lives with them throughout the rest of their life for the service they provide.”

Waterloo Police Captain Jason Feaker, second vice president of Iowa State Police Officers Association, said the group’s pleased the bill also requires local governments to cover the costs of mental health evaluations as part of the annual physicals for first responders. The bill also says police and firefighters qualify for accidental disability benefits if a mental injury is linked to an on-duty incident.

“This will help us get on track with the PTSD that a lot of our members deal with daily,” he said.

According to the National Institutes of Health, about a third of first responders have PTSD at some point in their careers.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – The Cass County (IA) Extension Office is excited to be partnering with Leah Brooke, Extension Food and Health Specialist, to host a Gardening with Children childcare provider training on Thursday, April 25th, 2024. The training will be offered from 6:30 – 8:30 PM and will be held at the Cass County Community Center, 805 W 10th Street in Atlantic, IA.

Can digging in the dirt be good for children? Yes, when it encourages children to taste new vegetables that they’ve helped to grow. Gardening with children promotes a healthy lifestyle, early learning experiences, social development, and environmental stewardship. Participants will engage in hands-on-learning gardening activities through stations featuring crafts, literacy, container gardening, and taste testing.

Partial funding for this training is provided by Boost 4 Families Early Childhood Iowa. All participants will receive a FREE kids’ gardening tool set for attending! Participants can register for the training at: https://go.iastate.edu/YUEA6U. Registration deadline: April 22nd. Cost is $10.00 per trainee. Registration in I-PoWeR is also required.

Iowa State University Extension and Outreach offers regular professional development training for childcare providers, outlining best practices relative to nutrition, physical activity, health, and safety for children in their care. The trainings are appropriate for staff at childcare centers, preschools, and home childcare providers. Each training offers 2 hours credit for childcare license renewal approved by Iowa Department of Human Services (DHS) and Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP). A full list of all upcoming trainings, offered both online and across the state, can be found online at https://www.extension.iastate.edu/humansciences/cc-provider.

To learn more or to ask questions, contact Leah Brooke, Food and Health Specialist, at lbrooke@iastate.edu or call (712) 623-2592. You may also contact the Cass County Extension Office at (712) 243-1132 or visit www.extension.iastate.edu/cass.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – Last week it was announced an Atlantic resident was the victim of a BitCoin scam, now another Cass County resident has come forward to say they too have become a victim of the same type of scam. Rural Atlantic resident Denise O’Brien told KJAN NEWS she wants to warn people that the scam started with a message on her personal Facebook page that resulted in O’Brien’s page being hacked.

She says anyone who goes to her personal Facebook page is seeing an imposter. She says you can help her deal with the scammers, by simply blocking the page.

A message on her now fake Facebook page says “Congratulations to me!!! So this just came in today after months and months of endless study and training. I’m happy to announce that I’ve been certified as an Expert Crypto Trader after undergoing the rigorous training which lasted for over 24 months. I’ve been keeping this secret for a long time. Getting here wasn’t that easy but l’m not a quitter. I always work hard so I can achieve my goals . I’m really thankful to my family for supporting me throughout the whole process . A CERTIFIED CRYPTOCURRENCY EXPERT (C.C.E)”

It also shows a fake Trading Certificate. O’Brien says people may think she’s selling BitCoin, but that is absolutely NOT TRUE. She does however, have a legitimate business on her farm.

She says if you’re a Facebook user and you see a suspicious message pop-up on your timeline, don’t click or respond to it.

Atlantic business owner Ann Bruck was also the target of a BitCoin scam. She wants her customers, prospective clients and followers of her business “Designer Portraits,”to know both her personal and business Facebook paged were hacked. Scammers began sending similar messages and tagging her customers and friends about BitCoin. Like Denise O’Brien, Bruck has been trying to get her pages back but she faces the same brick wall.

If any of her followers have been affected by the scam, an FBI form is available to fill out to try and clear things up. She too, stressed Ann Bruck and Designers Portraits are still in business, but she is not selling cryptocurrency, and that she is currently unable to book appointments through social media.

(Radio Iowa) – The longest-serving member on the state board that oversees the operation of the Iowa Lottery is retiring. Mary Junge is a certified public accountant and practicing tax attorney from Cedar Rapids who didn’t expect to end up with the longest tenure on the board when she started in May of 1999. “I don’t know, it just happened I guess, it’s just I came to enjoy it so much it was something so different than what I was doing in my work,” she says “… and the knowledge just kept building year after year and then…. it takes a while to really think that you kind of understand what’s going on. And then you get to that point and then you get to that point and you want to continue to contribute.” She served until 2014 and then was off the board for a time before being reappointed in 2016. Junge says a lot changed through those 23 or so years.

“Technology and just the, I mean I was just commenting to some people just the changing locations…first there was the old really old building on Grand Avenue and then moved into the Insurance building and then here, all that progression and the growth that went with that,” Junge says. She says there’s one thing she will really miss about being on the Board. “Well definitely the people, I mean you can’t be on the board this long and that develop friendships and relationships with people here it’s just been really monumental,” Junge says. Junge was honored at this week’s Lottery Board meeting.

Iowa Lottery C-E-O Matt Strawn told Junge the Iowa Lottery is grateful and it “is stronger and improved because of your service.”

(Glenwood, Iowa) – The Mills County Sheriff’s Office reports two arrests:

On Tuesday (March 26th), 72-year-old Daniel James McDermott, of LaVista, NE, was arrested at the Mills County Sheriff’s Office, on a warrant for Failure To Appear. His bond was set at $2,000.

On Wednesday (March 27th), 41-year-old Jeffrey Dale Hankins, of Malvern, was arrested at the Mills County Sheriff’s Office, on a warrant for Violation of Probation. His bond was set at $10,000.

(Mills County, Iowa) – The former Superintendent for the Atlantic Community School District is among three Superintendent finalists for the shared East Mills and Sidney School Districts. In a press release (shown below), school officials with the two districts announced Thursday they had narrowed their search to Steven Barber, Michael Brown, and Troy Damman. Barber served as the Atlantic School District Superintendent for six-years before resigning in June, 2023. He currently serves as the interim superintendent of the Grinnell-Newburg School District.

Barber holds superintendent licensure in advanced studies and a master’s degree in education from Iowa State University.

Michael Brown previously served as superintendent of Boyd County Public Schools in Spencer, Nebraska. He currently the director of the Quest Forward High School in Omaha, and holds an education specialist degree in school administration from Wayne State College and a master’s in education from the University of Nebraska-Kearney.

Troy Damman is currently superintendent of the Erie-Galesburg School District in Erie, Kansas and was also previously superintendent of the Waconda School District in Cawker City, Kansas. He holds a master’s degree in educational administration from Baker University.

Both school boards contracted with Grundmeyer Leader Services to assist in the search and plan to conduct final interviews with the three candidates on Wednesday. The boards plan to discuss and reach a final decision soon after the formal interviews.

The next superintendent would officially begin leading the two school districts July 1st, succeeding Tim Hood who announced his retirement as superintendent of the two schools last month.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – The Cass County Board of Supervisors met in special session Tuesday morning, and held a public hearing on the proposed property taxes. Members of the public expressed interest in how to interpret the School, County and City Budget Year Statement to Owners and Taxpayers mailing sent as required by Iowa Code (24.2A).

The board explained that the mailing does not reflect the actual amount the taxpayer will pay for the coming fiscal year.

The hearing concluded with no action taken on the proposed taxes.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – The Atlantic School Board, during their Work Session, Wednesday evening, discussed the prospect for Summer Program & Summer School. Superintendent Dr. Beth Johnsen said she spoke with the District’s Principals, and decided they would NOT recommend Summer School for grades K-through-6, but it would likely be available for certain High School classes if the student needs them for credit recovery.

Dr. Johnsen said “School if ends on May 22^nd and we start-up Summer School, and they come in and let’s do the same thing. we’re not seeing any improvement or increase in their skill set from having that Summer School.” She says studies have shown students need that Summer break.

Having the break, she said, also puts less stress on parents who might otherwise have to adjust their routine to get their kids to Summer School for an hour of reading four-to five-days a week. Board member Josh McLaren said it doesn’t make sense to him, but he trusts those who have a better understanding of productive education, to make the right decision.

Atlantic High School

Dr. Johnson says the other reason for not holding Summer School, has to deal with funding, especially with regard to ESSER (Elementary and Secondary School Emergency [Pandemic] Relief) funds.

She said they would have their breakfast and lunch programs. School Board member Laura McLean said she’s frustrated by the idea there would be no Summer School, because they want to be able to support their staff and district leaders, but are getting mixed messages about the importance of those types of classes.

She said she is oriented towards those who need more support. Board President Kristy Pellett agreed. No action was taken on the recommendation to not hold Summer School, during Wednesday’s meeting, only discussion. Dr. Johnsen said she would take comments by the Board back to the District’s Principals, and have something for the regular meeting in April.

(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa House has passed a bill that would require health insurance plans to cover biomarker testing that can help doctors more effectively treat medical conditions. Republican Representative Brian Lohse, of Bondurant, says biomarker testing lets doctors avoid unnecessary and invasive tests and ineffective treatments.  “Such testing has proven itself vital in improving patient care when they have been diagnosed with cancer, rheumatoid arthritis, preeclampsia and many more,” Lohse says. “In doing so, patients benefit from more effective care.” Lohse says it also reduces costs.

“A study sponsored by CVS revealed that patients who underwent a proven, broad panel biomarket testing saved an average of $8500 per person per month, based on a single test that could only average between $1500 and $5000,” Lohse says. “That’s god for Iowa. That’s good for Iowans.” Democratic Representative Megan Srinivas, of Des Moines, who is also a physician, agrees. “This is a crucial bill that can really truly save lives here in Iowa,” Srinivas said. “It’ll save lives without actually costing any extra money which is also the beauty of this, so it’s a win win win all around.”

Republican Representative David Young of Van Meter also worked on the legislation. “I think this bill here, getting it through the finish line, can be very, very consequential in terms of outcomes for Iowans and their health,” Young said. “…Detecting these things early can really go a long way.”

The bill passed the House on a vote of 96 to one. It now goes to the Senate for consideration.