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Keep up-to-date with Fox News Radio, Radio Iowa, Brownfield & the Iowa Agribusiness Networks!
(Des Moines, Iowa) – As cases of COVID-19 have increased across the country, there have been more reported cases of the virus in Iowa in recent weeks, according to the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services. The Iowa Capital Dispatch says the DHHS report shows positive COVID-19 tests in the state were at 20.7% from the week of July 28 through Aug. 3 — the highest proportion in more than a year, according to department data, and significantly higher than the 9.7% in the same week in 2023.
While still low, COVID-19 cases were responsible for 2.2% of emergency room visits and 2% of inpatient visits in the reported time frame. That’s up from 1.2% of ER visits and 1.7% of inpatient visits during the same period last year. There were two reported deaths in the week, according to HHS data. Four deaths were reported during the same period a year ago.
The rise in COVID-19 numbers are still far below reported figures from earlier in the pandemic, but are an increase compared to recent months. The Iowa surge is part of a national trend, as COVID-19 is being reported at higher rates across all regions of the U.S. in the past month.
Health experts are expecting coronavirus cases to continue to rise. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) rated Iowa’s COVID-19 epidemic status as “likely growing,” one of 25 states where the organization says the virus is predicted to increasingly spread. The CDC labeled Iowa’s neighboring states of Minnesota, Illinois and South Dakota as having “growing” rates of COVID-19.
Iowa is also one of the states seeing an increase in COVID-19 wastewater viral activity, according to CDC data — one of the ways the national organization measures the spread of the virus. Wastewater treatment plants report data on coronavirus rates detectable in water, a way of monitoring that can detect the spread of viruses before a person goes to a hospital or undergoes clinical testing, according to the CDC, as well as in cases when infected people are asymptomatic.
There is currently “high” viral activity in Iowa, with nine wastewater sites reporting. As cases pick up, public health officials recommend staying up to date on COVID-19 vaccinations, with the CDC recommending people age 5 and older getting one dose of the updated 2023-2024 vaccine to protect against serious illness. According to Iowa HHS data, 15.6% of Iowans are immunized as of Aug. 8.
(Radio Iowa) – If you’ve been curious enough to taste Iowa-fried cicadas, you’ll have your chance this weekend. Ginny Mitchell, education program coordinator at the Iowa State University Insect Zoo, says one popular element of the annual “Bug Village” event is edible insects. Mitchell collected hundreds of the 13- and 17-year cicadas this spring which she plans to air-fry, sprinkle with seasoning, and serve to visitors to the Ames campus on Saturday.
Are insects “meat”? The issue of eating insects is subject of debate among vegetarians. Those who refuse to eat meat because of environmental reasons see the very small impact raising and eating insects has on the planet, so they may choose to consider insects as -not- meat, while other more strict vegans disagree. Whatever you call it, Mitchell says making a meal of insects can be extremely healthy.
While many of us may be hesitant to put an air-fried cicada in our mouths, no matter what sauce is on top, others are more adventurous. Mitchell has been studying — and eating — all sorts of insects for years and she plans to plate up a variety of cicada delicacies during the weekend event.
This spring, two broods of cicadas emerged in eastern Iowa (and across the Midwest) that had been slumbering underground 13 and 17 years. That simultaneous emergence only happens once every 220 years, so Mitchell took a four-day road trip to bag up hundreds of specimens of the six-legged creatures.
Others were using cicadas in tomato sauce over pasta, or even as a pizza topping. In addition to the edible insects at Saturday’s event in Ames, there will be a Bug Costume Contest and more than 150 species of living arthropods on display, with many available for hands-on inspection.
More info. at https://www.ent.iastate.edu/insectzoo/
(Radio Iowa)- A new state law to address chronic absenteeism requires notifying parents by certified letter if a student misses school for eight days in a semester. After additional absences, there must be an in-person meeting with a parent or guardian. Anne Discher, executive director of Common Good Iowa, says the most recent data shows absenteeism is remarkably widespread in Iowa schools.
Advocates of the new law say regular attendance at school is a habit that will carry over into adulthood — and much of what happens in a classroom cannot be learned through make-up work. According to a national group called Attendance Works, one in four Iowa students were chronically absent during the 2021-22 school year. Discher says that means they missed 10 percent or more of school days, for any reason.
Discher is hoping more recent data could show improvement, but she says some students just haven’t reconnected with school after the pandemic.
For younger students, like kindergartners, Discher says figuring out what’s happening with the parents is key.
Discher has a child in a Des Moines high school and she says before school started the family of every incoming ninth grader was offered an in-home visit from someone on the school’s staff.
Under Iowa law, if a student misses 20 percent of school days in a semester, a meeting of the student, a parent or guardian and the county attorney will be scheduled.
(Radio Iowa) – Iowa delegates to the Democratic National Convention cast their votes in a ceremonial roll call last (Tuesday) night. Party officials announced earlier this month that the Iowa delegation was unanimously supporting Harris as their party’s presidential nominee, but the chair of the Iowa Democratic Party’s Arab American Caucus voted present last night. All the other Iowa delegates supported the Harris-Walz ticket. Each state chose an upbeat dance tune for their time in the spotlight. Rita Hart, the chair of the Iowa Democratic Party, made the announcement as “Celebrate” by Kool and the Gang played.
Obama won Iowa in the 2008 and 2012 General Elections. Donald Trump carried the state in 2016 and 2020. Polls this year in Iowa have consistently shown Trump leading Joe Biden by a significant margin. Brian Jackson, a delegate from Solon, says having Harris at the top of the ticket could make a big difference.
Election Day is November 5th.
RHODES, Iowa — A teen from Marshall County died Tuesday afternoon, when the ATV he was driving collided with a pickup truck. The Iowa State Patrol reports the crash happened southwest of Rhodes, at around 2:30-p.m.
An initial investigation determined 17-year-old Kehgun Borton, of Rhodes, was riding a 2006 Polaris 500 ATV westbound on 320th Street, when he crossed the center of the road. The ATV collided with an eastbound 2016 Chevy pickup driven by 41-year-old Jeremy Gukert, of Rhodes.
Borton was transported from the scene to a hospital, where he died from his injuries. Multiple agencies assisted at the crash site. The accident remains under investigation.
DES MOINES, Iowa — Sixteen Iowa State Fair vendors have donated 6,000 pounds of surplus food to Food Bank of Iowa at the close of this year’s fair. (That’s half of last year’s 12,000 pounds, but not surprising given the fair attracted an all-time record number of visitors this year: 1,182,682.)
Food rescued is in addition to thousands of pounds of food donated by fairgoers on Sunday, Aug. 18. That will be sorted and weighed in the coming days. Emily Shearer, Food Bank of Iowa’s senior manager of food acquisition and advocacy said “With some vendors selling out of their most popular menu items by the last day of the fair, it only makes sense there would be fewer leftovers this year. We are grateful to these generous fair vendors who want to prevent waste as well as share food with neighbors facing hunger. We’re also thankful for our volunteers who helped pick up food today and collected donations from fairgoers at all the gates.”
Food Bank of Iowa has been collecting food that goes unsold at the Iowa State Fair since 2018. Among the food picked up by FBOI staff and volunteers Aug. 19, the majority was delivered immediately to metro partners Hope Ministries and Catholic Charities. 791 pounds of bulk Barksdale chocolate chip cookies (baked) will be frozen and repackaged at Food Bank of Iowa this week and placed on inventory for quick distribution across the 55 counties FBOI serves. In addition to cookies, other food items donated included:
The USDA estimates up to 40% of the U.S. food supply is wasted every year. According to Feeding America, that equates to more than $473 billion in food thrown away every year. Food Bank of Iowa annually diverts more than 8.3 million pounds of food from the landfill.
Food Bank of Iowa photo
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Thanks to these Iowa State Fair vendors for allowing Food Bank of Iowa to rescue safe, wholesome food for Iowans facing food insecurity:
(Des Moines, Iowa) – A Cass County nursing home with a history of abuse-related violations is again facing possible federal fines for failing to protect residents from abuse. The Iowa Capital Dispatch reports the state has proposed fines of $30,250 against Caring Acres Nursing and Rehabilitation in Anita. The proposed fines are tied to verbal abuse allegedly committed by a teenage caregiver. The fines are being held in suspension while the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services determines whether it will impose a federal penalty in place of any state fines.
The proposed penalty would have totaled $14,250 but a portion of the fines was tripled due to abuse being a recurring violation at Caring Acres. In 2023, Caring Acres was cited for resident abuse after a male a resident of the home, whose history of groping workers and residents had earned him the nickname “Captain McFeelypants,” was determined to have sexually abused residents. The more recent incident is detailed in state inspection reports about a female resident’s recent complaint that she waited two hours for the staff to put her to bed.
According to state inspection reports, the woman alleged that when she complained to the staff, a certified nursing assistant (CNA) – whom the resident and staff described as the 16-year-old daughter of the assistant director of nursing – refused to but the woman to bed and swore at her. She also allegedly berated the patient in the past, and had been physically rough with her. The teen also allegedly told another resident to shut up, and that she didn’t care about her issues. The same teen CNA also allegedly spent a lot of her time at work on her phone.
A charge nurse at the home allegedly told inspectors the teenage CNA could “be really nasty to residents, really mean,” and would respond to residents’ requests for assistance by saying, “I don’t care, it’s not my problem.” The charge nurse allegedly added that she and others at the home were fearful of retaliation for complaining “because all of (the CNA’s) family works at the facility.” A third employee of the home told inspectors that when she worked with the CNA, the teen was “awful,” was defiant when anything was asked of her, and was loud and sarcastic. The employee said the CNA would curse at her mother, the assistant director of nursing, while residents were present.
The staff at the home told inspectors a CNA was temporarily suspended and then, after returning to work, was barred from providing care for the woman who had complained. As a result of the 2023 incidents, CMS fined the home $21,356. The home currently has a one-star rating from CMS for both staffing levels and overall quality.
Caring Acres is owned by Anew Healthcare Operations of Blue Springs, Mo. The for-profit company operates 12 nursing homes in Iowa, Kansas and Missouri.
(Radio Iowa) – Iowa hunters took more pheasants last fall than they have in the last 16 seasons D-N-R wildlife biologist, Todd Bogenschutz says there was a 62 percent increase in birds taken.
Bogenschutz estimates more than 83-thousand hunters took to the fields — which is up 32 percent — and is probably due to surveys that showed bird numbers up.
He says hunting seems to follow cycles.
The drought that had spread across Iowa the last couple of years actually benefited pheasant numbers.
Bogenschutz says the 2024 roadside survey concluded on August 15th and the results are expected to show a pheasant population slightly lower in some areas due to spring flooding.
(Glenwood, Iowa) – The Mills County Sheriff’s Office reports a woman was arrested last Thursday for Willful Injury-Bodily Injury, and Child Endangerment. 41-year-old Rachel Christine Cruz-Davila, of Glenwood, was being held in the Mills County Jail on $7,000 bond.
Early Friday afternoon, Mills County Deputies arrested 35-year-old Krista Jo Lynn McKee, of Malvern, on a warrant for Failure To Appear. Her bond was set at $1,000.
Sunday afternoon, 40-year-old Colby Wayne Racine, of Essex, was arrested for OWI/1st offense, with bond set at $1,000.
And, Monday night, 74-year-old Terry Lee Stanley, of Glenwood, was arrested for OWI/1st offense. His bond was also set at $1,000.
(Radio Iowa) – The state is accusing a southeast Iowa man of failing to check for underground utilities before hitting a natural gas line as he was digging a trench. Iowa’s so-called “One Call” law requires anyone planning an excavation to provide 48 hours advance notice, so underground utility lines can be marked.
The state’s lawsuit accuses Eric Fortune, Junior, of failing to make the call and using equipment that hit and damaged a one-inch natural gas line in Fort Madison that’s owned by MidAmerican Energy.According to the lawsuit, Fortune tried to repair the gas line himself rather than report the breach.
The Iowa Attorney General’s Office has recently settled two other lawsuits with contractors who failed to follow Iowa’s “One Call” law.
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