(Radio Iowa) – Iowa parents are encouraged to make a few proactive moves this week that may help their kids make a smoother transition back to school. Autumn Hartman is a counselor who works with youth at Rosecrance Behavioral Health in Sioux City. She suggests starting the school-year routines right away, including a nightly bedtime and an earlier wake-up time. “When we have a set routine, our body adjusts to that, and then it just becomes like a normal pattern. If we’re not in that pattern by the time that school returns, sometimes our sleep might be affected by that,” Hartman says. “Maybe our moods are going to be affected by that. And ultimately, we know that when we don’t have a good night’s sleep, it affects our productivity.” If the family has moved over the summer or if it’s a new school for the child, Hartman says it may help to arrange a tour of the school in advance.

“A lot of schools have been doing this. They do an open house, and that gives them the opportunity to tour their classrooms, get their schedule, find their locker — if they use lockers, get to meet some of their teachers,” Hartman says. “It really helps not only ease the child’s anxiety, but also parents’ anxiety about, ‘This is a brand new school district. What is this going to look like for my child?'” If you haven’t bought school supplies yet, Hartman says to bring the child along for the shopping spree and get them involved.

“You’ll learn a little bit more about them, but then it also gets them really excited, ‘I’m getting this type of thing, I’m going to be excited to use this. I’m going to have that memory of when I went shopping with my mom or my dad,'” she says. “It really just gets their creativity flowing. It gets them in that mindset of going back to school, and can even be very exciting.” Parents should also talk to their kids about school before — and after — it starts, giving them a chance to express their concerns and goals.

Hartman says, “Just ask them, ‘Hey, I know school is coming back up. What are some things you’re looking forward to? What are some classes you’re taking? What are some of the things that maybe are making you a little anxious about going back to school?’ or if it’s a new school, ‘What can I do as a parent to help?’ and make sure that you’re listening to them all the time.” Focusing on mental preparedness and emotional support can pave the way for a smoother and more positive start to the school year, she says.

Rosecrance facilities in Iowa serve more than 7,000 teens and adults every year at outpatient treatment clinics in Sioux City, Cherokee, Davenport, Estherville, Le Mars, Spencer and Sheldon.

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa — In late August, the Council Bluffs Fire Department will be recognized in Washington at the Pentagon for their support of National Guard and Army Reserve members. KETV in Omaha reports the award is the highest U.S. government honor for employers supporting current and former service members. The Council Bluffs Fire Department is one of 15 recipients of the 2024 Secretary of Defense Employer Support Freedom Award, being selected from over 17,000 nominations from employers across all 50 states.

Firefighter Anthony Wojtalewicz, who also serves as a First Sergeant in the U.S. Army Reserve, led the effort by nominating the Council Bluffs Fire Department for the 2024 Freedom Award. Fire Chief Justin James says over 20 employees in his department are current or former service members.

Photo from the CBFD Facebook page

Chief James says that there is really no downside to hiring service members. Whether that be active military members or veterans, saying they bring a unique set of skills to the team, and it only benefits the Council Bluffs Fire Department.

CBFD has a rich history of excellence and hard work dating back to the 1800s. Wojtalewicz and two others will head to Washington, D.C., in late August to accept the award.

(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa Department of Natural Resources is planning to reintroduce paddlefish into the Iowa Great Lakes. D-N-R Fisheries Biologist Mike Hawkins says paddlefish are native to the area. “We have good historical record of these fish being caught within the lakes region,” Hawkins says. “Unfortunately…around 1919 the last paddlefish was seen here and we think that their numbers dwindled shortly after the dams were put on the Little Sioux River, which prevented some of the fish migration upstream.”

Paddlefish eat microscopic plants and animals called plankton. They thrive in slow-moving, deep freshwater and Hawkins says paddlefish could grow quite large in the Iowa Great Lakes. “Around 1916 there was a report in the Spirit Lake Beacon of a 180 pound paddlefish being caught and then two weeks later in the Beacon it was reported a 210 pound fish was caught,” Hawkins says. “If those records are true, those would have been the largest paddlefish ever caught in the world.”

Paddlefish look a bit like a shark with a gray body and a blade-like snout.  “Paddlefish just have a really cool structure on their head, which is what they get their name from — this long paddle…and they don’t have any scales,” Hawkins says. “They have a smooth skin to them.” The head of a paddlefish is covered with pores that can detect electrical signals in the water and Hawkins says that’s how they find the plankton they feed on.

Paddlefish catch(DNR-photo)

The D-N-R has acquired paddlefish from Missouri and they’re being raised at the state fish hatchery at Lake Rathbun. About 19-hundred will be stocked in the Iowa Great Lakes in the next month or so. “We know that not all of them are going to make it to adulthood. They are about 10 to 12 inches in size, so we hope a bunch of them do,” Hawkins says. “Then we’ll do the biology thing and start figure out what kind of a maintenance stocking would be necessary to sustain a small population in the lakes.”

While Paddlefish have been absent from Iowa’s largest natural lakes for over a century, the D-N-R says Paddlefish can be caught in the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers that form the west and east borders of Iowa AND near the points where the Des Moines, Iowa and Skunk Rivers drain into the Mississippi.

(Iowa News Service) – Results of a poll by the Save the Children Action Network show that voters of all backgrounds are struggling with the cost of living and want the government to do more to address these needs. Iowa mirrors the national numbers. The poll shows a large, bipartisan majority of voters want help affording food and grocery prices, and child-care costs. Tiffany Welch, with the Save the Children Action Network’s Iowa chapter says these issues are especially crucial in rural parts of the state, and that overall in Iowa, food banks and assistance programs are seeing record-breaking numbers of people in need.

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Save the Children executive director Christy Gleason says the group is calling on lawmakers to expand SNAP benefits and other policies that affect kids in the Farm Bill, and says the survey shows that voters are making their decisions based on those issues, even during a time of intense polarization.

The latest Farm Bill, which has already been extended for a year, remains stalled in Congress.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – The Atlantic School Board held their regular monthly meeting Wednesday evening (Aug. 14).  During the meeting, the Board discussed and then approved an Attendance Policy that will be included in the 2024-25 Student Handbook. And, a Girls Wrestling Program. It’s estimated there could be as many as 12-17 participants in the program.

With regard to the Attendance Policy, the Iowa Legislature on May 9th, signed into law Senate File 2435 with an effective date of July 1, 2024.  SF2435 details public school attendance requirements. SF2435 requires specific school actions based on a student’s rate of non-exempt absences. Districts must adopt an attendance policy and, as necessary, collaborate with county attorneys, conduct school engagement meetings, and work with county truancy officers. Select exemptions are allowed at the student level.

Superintendent Dr. Beth Johnsen said Chronic Absenteeism is defined as 10-percent of the assigned school days.

Johnsen said District Administrators have established check-points for letting parents/guardians of students know when the days absent are starting to build-up.

Dr. Johnsen discussed also, the status of kindergarten enrollment.

Washington Elementary Principal Stacey Hornung mentioned the Kindergarten class continues to grow, even as the beginning of the school year is a little more than a week away. Following discussion, the Atlantic school board approved a recommendation by Dr. Johnson to hire an additional Kindergarten teacher, if one can be found this late in the Summer. Dr. Johnsen said the goal is to reduce the class sizes to 18- or-19 students.

The District she said, still has some other positions to fill.

The Atlantic School Board, Wednesday, voted to end the District’s sharing agreement with the S.W.A.T. girls wrestling team, and instead proceed with organizing the District’s own team. Dr. Johnsen says Activities Director Andy Mitchell has met with the Atlantic Girls Squad members and their parents several times.They also agreed to advertise for a Girls Wrestling Coach, the position for which is budgeted for during negotiations, according to Board Secretary Lisa Jones. Superintendent Beth Johnsen said the Lincoln School Gym will likely be used for practices.

The S.W.A.T. team in the past has included C.A.M. (The host district), along with Atlantic, Griswold, Nodaway Valley, and Southwest Valley. Southwest Valley opted out last season to form its own program, while Griswold left the team to share girl’s wrestling with Red Oak.

In other business, the Atlantic School Board approved the following resignations:

• Mallory Kirchhoff, ISS Para
• Sierra Parker, Preschool Para
• Arla Clay, Nutrition Cook
• Carmem Ligia Ferreira-Cohrs, Driver

And they approved these Contract Recommendations to Hire:

• Laura Millar, 4th – 8th Grade Therapeutic Classroom Para
• Lucas Mosier, High School Football Coach, Volunteer
• Nathan Block, High School Assistant Football Coach
• Naela Thornton, Middle School Assistant Volleyball Coach
• Brooke Lamp, Middle School Assistant Volleyball Coach
• Dillon Cox, High School Boys Assistant Wrestling Coach
• Cody McCreedy, High School Boys Swimming Coach
• Anna Pauley, National Honor Society Advisor
• 24-25 Winter Sports Coaching Recommendation

The Board’s next meeting is a WORK SESSION on Aug. 28th at 5:30-p.m., in the Achievement Center. The next REGULAR meeting is Sept. 11th at 5:30-p.m., in the High School Media Center.

(Radio Iowa) – The fire chief of a central Iowa town hopes a solution is getting closer that would stop deadly fires involving people who use oxygen.

Nevada Fire Chief Ray Reynolds. (Nevada FD photo)

Nevada fire chief Ray Reynolds says he started pushing for thermal fuses on oxygen devices after oxygen fires there that killed two people and left two others badly burned.

“Kind of got looking at this, and when we did the math, we figured out that Medicare paid one-point-two million dollars to keep those two people alive, and they could have purchased 239,000 thermal fuses that would have wiped out about ten percent of our country’s oxygen fires,” he says.

Reynolds now leads the national Home Oxygen Therapy (H.O.T.) working group that’s trying to cut the number of oxygen fires. He says the thermal fuses are inexpensive and keep the oxygen from feeding the fire and making it worse. “We just think for $4.45 cents stopping the secondary fires of clothing, couches and you know, different fuel loads that are inside homes, it might give us an opportunity to avoid some of these disasters,” Reynolds says. Reynolds says a majority of oxygen fires are started by people who smoke while using oxygen, and there’s some who say installing the fuses just encourages smoking. But he says it’s not as simple as telling someone not to smoke.

“I tell anybody, if you think you and I are going to change any smoking behavior over a four-dollar engineered solution, we’re sadly mistaken because addiction and nicotine goes way beyond what we’re doing,” he says. Reynolds says he knows from experience that people would like to stop smoking after they get sick, but struggle with it. “I’ve had a lot of people that I’ve gone in their homes to put thermal fuses in, and they’re embarrassed. They’re embarrassed they smoke. There’s social stigma to smoking. We are seeing a 50 percent reduction in smoking, but yet the same number of fires, if not more. So that tells me that we’re smoking even more unsafe,” he says.

Reynolds says another issue is the oxygen machines are a certified medical device and it takes federal approval to add the thermal fuses. “One of the things we realize is that this is going to have to be a policy decision of our country. And so we’ve actually met with the senior administrators of Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services in April in Washington, D.C, and we presented a case on implementing mandatory thermal fuses for all people on oxygen,” he says. Reynolds says the meeting went well and their case is under consideration.

Reynolds says it could be a big change. “We think it’ll reduce our U.S. fire deaths by 15 percent. It’ll certainly save Medicare about $500 million that they’re currently spending on burn care,” Reynolds says. “And we’re seeing some state success. Iowa was the first state to reimburse thermal fuse installation on the Medicaid side, which is the state side of Medicare.”

The state of Washington also pays for the thermal fuses and the Department of Veterans Affairs requires their use. Reynolds says he is optimistic the issue will eventually be addressed on the federal level.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – Cass County Deputy Auditor Sheri Karns today (Wednesday), released an updated list of candidates who have filed to run for county offices in Cass County, as well as the Public Measures that will be on the ballot for all Cass County residents, and one Public Measure for patron of the CAM Community School District.

County Office candidates (I= Incumbent, R= Republican, D= Democrat)

Supervisor – District 1

Stephen S. Green (I); R – from Atlantic

Supervisor – District 4

Steve Baier (I); R – Griswold

Supervisor – District 5

Bernard Pettinger (I); R – Anita

Phyllis Stakey (D) – Massena

County Auditor

Kathy Somers (I); R – Atlantic

County Sheriff (vote for 1)

John Westering (R) – Atlantic

Non-Party Political Organization (NPPO)

Cass County Ag Extension Council (Vote for 4)

Marcy J. Dorsey (R) – Atlantic

Soil & Water Conservation District (Vote for 3)

Terry Langan (R) – Griswold

Hospital Board (Vote for 3)

Leanne Pellet (I) (R) – Atlantic

Linda L. Pelzer (I) (R) – Griswold

Ned Brown (I) (R) – Atlantic

Union Township Trustee

Delmar South (R) – Cumberland

PUBLIC MEASURE A: EMS FUNDING via Local Option Income Surtax & Assessed property valuation tax

Shall the Cass County Board of Supervisors, upon recommendation by the Cass County EMS Advisory Council, for the purpose of funding emergency medical services in Cass County, including, but not limited to, ambulance service, personnel, and equipment, be authorized, for a period of 15 years, to 1) levy and impose a local option income surtax of one percent upon the state individual income tax of each individual taxpaper who is a resident of Cass County on December 31 for each calendar year commencing with the calendar year 2025, and 2) levy and impose an ad valorem tax not exceeding seventy-five cents per one thousand dollars of assessed valuation on all taxable property within Cass County commencing with the levy of property taxes for collection in the fiscal year ending June 30, 2026?

PUBLIC MEASURE B: CAM CSD General Obligation Bond issuance

Shall the Board of Directors of the CAM Community School District in the Counties of Adair, Adams, Audubon, and Cass, State of Iowa, be authorized to contract indebtedness and issue General Obligation Bonds in an amount not to exceed $22,500,000 to provide funds to construct, furnish and equip a classroom addition to the High School building; to remodel, repair, improve, furnish and equip exterior and interior portions of the existing High School building, including mechanical, electrical, and fire systems improvements, secure entry improvements, and technology and security improvements; and improve the site?

Due to recent legislation and House File 718 public notice is required for any question of issuing bonds or other indebtedness.  The Cass County Auditor’s office will be sending out these notices on Public Measure B to all registered voters in the CAM School District.  The notice will have the full text of the public measure and will be sent out in October (10-20 days before the election).

Both Public Measures need 60% to pass.

(Radio Iowa) – The University of Iowa’s sexual assault support service will close in a month and a half and the Iowa City-based Domestic Violence Intervention Program says its new sexual assault support division be fully operational. The services changing hands caused an initial outcry as U-I Vice President of Student Life Sarah Hansen says news of the change was leaked before plans were ready to be announced.

“When that announcement came out, and like the telling of the staff, was not handled the way that we would have wanted that to happen,” she says. Hansen says details are nearing completion and D-V-I-P has secured federal victim services funding. She says the university plans to directly fund D-V-I-P at a similar level to what it gave to the original provider.

“From the University we’re funding two campus advocate positions. We’ve also, on campus added a prevention position to the sexual assault prevention team, so there’s three positions there now,” Hansen says.

The Rape Victim Advocacy Program’s final day of operation is September 30.

(Radio Iowa) – Temporary housing for flood victims is now available on the Clay County fairgrounds in Spencer. Kevin Robinson, the deputy city manager in Spencer, says R-Vs have been set up in the camping area of the fairgrounds. “There’s one complete row of trailers in there right now — RV trailers,” Robinson says, “and then once all of those fill up, there’s room to put another row to the east of that.”

In mid-July, federal officials approved Iowa’s request for FEMA’s Temporary Housing Program, which can provide assistance to residents in Iowa counties that have been declared presidential disaster areas. Some of those property owners may be waiting to see if their home might be part of a buy-out program. FEMA provides 75 percent of the money to buy homes and businesses in floodplain areas — and the state and city must provide the rest.

“The city will go through a process of determining which areas make sense to acquire from a maintenance standpoint, from an adjacency standpoint to the river,” Robinson says. “There’s lots of different variables.” The program has been used in several other Iowa cities in the past 30 years. Officials in Cedar Rapids approved the first batch of 28 property buyouts 18 months after flooding in 2008 wrecked many areas of Cedar Rapids. Ultimately 14-hundred properties in Cedar Rapids that were flooded in 2008 were voluntarily sold, cleared and cannot be redeveloped.