(Radio Iowa) – Iowa’s obesity rate is soaring and a new federal report says the number of American adults diagnosed with diabetes has more than doubled in the past 20 years. Diabetes is a potentially life-altering condition that affects nearly 40-million people nationwide. Dr. Donna O’Shea at UnitedHealthcare is concerned the growing prevalence of diabetes could affect human longevity.

“Many people attribute that to the weight changes that we are seeing,” O’Shea says. “Obesity, starting in childhood and then, of course, getting worse as you become an adult and very high in the adult population. That obesity can affect all different disease states, but significantly diabetes.”

A state study in 2017 found nearly 232-thousand adult Iowans with diabetes. Type 2 diabetes is when your body cannot use the insulin it produces, resulting from poor nutrition. It accounts for nearly 95-percent of all cases. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study also found an increase in the number of people under age 20 developing diabetes, which O’Shea says is a disturbing trend.

“We know, first of all, that the risk of childhood obesity is increasing. It’s now up to one in five young people,” she says. “The number of adults with diabetes has more than doubled in the last 2 decades, so, this is really becoming a significant health problem.”

According to a report released this fall by Trust for America’s Health, Iowa is among 22 states with an adult obesity rate at or above 35%, with Iowa reaching 37%. O’Shea says the steady rise in diabetes cases is why it’s important to stay active and eat a nutritious diet. “Even when you have diabetes, you need to control those blood sugar surges. For example, you want to be eating healthy proteins such as chicken, fish, or turkey, as well as non-starchy, fibrous vegetables like broccoli, green beans or carrots, and a moderate amount of carbohydrates.”

Carbs in the food you eat raises those blood sugar levels. The CDC recommends you keep track of how many carbs you eat and set a limit for each meal, as it can help keep your blood sugar levels in your target range. The Mayo Clinic says a person who eats two-thousand calories a day should be eating about 225 grams of carbs a day.

(Radio Iowa) – The state’s first-ever Iowa Black Farmers Conference is planned to be held in Des Moines later this month. Conference co-founder Todd Western the Third says his family has owned a farm in near Waterloo for more than 150 years. Western says growing up, he only knew of one other black farmer in the state. He says it’s important for black farmers to know they’re not alone.

“This is significant because it’s bringing together farmers of color who are scattered across the state to foster a sense of belonging and community,” Western says. “It’s also supposed to be information sharing. This platform will provide access to crucial information from agriculture industry officials that might not typically come to smaller or more remote farm communities. And lastly, celebrating our contributions.” After attending an event in North Carolina focused on black farmers, Western says he wanted to bring black farmers together in Iowa.

Western says, “Because I know how important it was for my son, who’s going to eventually — along with my nieces and nephews — take over the farm at some point, it’s important for them not to have the same experience that I had, thinking that we were the only ones.”

The conference is scheduled for December 16th. U.S.D.A. data from 2017 shows black farmers make up less than one-percent of the farmers in Iowa. Western says he hopes the Iowa Black Farmers Conference becomes an annual event and that it helps establish a network of black farmers that people can turn to in the future.

(Radio Iowa) – Congressman Zach Nunn, who represents Iowa’s third district, is inviting the top two Republicans in the U-S House to Iowa. “The Farm Bill right now needs direct leadership support,” Nunn says. “…As a member of the Ag Committee, I want to make sure that the leadership team knows what a priority this is not just for Iowa, but for the entire country.” The 2018 Farm Bill expired September 30th and last month congress voted to extend it to September of 2024.

“It is foundational to the future of America’s national security and our growers. We need to the speaker to have the opportunity to come here and get a good deep dive on this,” Nunn says. “Let’s not forget, the speaker has gotten to be on the job for just about a month and there is a steep learning curve here. Let’s be one of the first ones to give him a tutorial on the advantages of what a Farm Bill can do not just for Iowa, but for the whole world.”

House Speaker Mike Johnson AND House Republican Leader Steve Scalise are both from Louisiana, where the main crops are sugar cane, rice and cotton. “While I salute my Cajun brothers from Louisiana, I want to make sure they get to spend a little bit of time in the heartland, talking with the men and women who are actually feeding the bulk of the country, who are fueling a third of the country,” Nunn says.

The 2018 Farm Bill has provided about eight BILLION dollars in federal subsidies for crop insurance every year. The insurance covers revenue and yield losses in more than 100 crops, but the main ones are corn, soybeans, wheat and cotton.

DES MOINES – Governor Kim Reynolds and First Gentleman Kevin Reynolds invite Iowans and their families to join them for Christmas at Terrace Hill on Sunday, December 17, from 1-until 3-p.m. Guests are encouraged to explore the historic property and enjoy several activities including photos with Santa Claus and the first family, ornament decorating, carolers, Christmas cookies and a letter-writing station to send correspondence to deployed Iowa National Guard service members.  

At this year’s event, as an additional way to say “Thank You” to our men and women who are currently deployed, Terrace Hill will be collecting donations for deployed service members. A list of suggested items can be found here.  The event will conclude with Governor Reynolds reading No Company for Christmas, a story which centers around Terrace Hill and was written by local children’s author, Susan Maupin Schmid, with illustrations created by local artist, Tara Gartin.  

Tickets are $25 per individual or $50 per household + processing fees and must be purchased in advance. To purchase tickets, call our office at 515-281-7205 or click here.  Proceeds from the event benefit the Terrace Hill Partnership, the non-profit organization that supports necessary conservation and restoration projects at Terrace Hill. Last year’s event raised over $5,000 that went toward the upkeep of the 154-year-old building and grounds. 

(Radio Iowa) – North Dakota Doug Burgum has ended his presidential campaign.

Burgum did not meet the polling threshold for Wednesday’s debate for GOP candidates. Burgum, who did not qualify for the debate in November, either, said the Republican National Committee’s requirements are “nationalizing the primary process and taking the power of democracy away from the engaged, thoughtful citizens of Iowa and New Hampshire.”

North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum appeared on Iowa Press on Iowa PBS in October. (Iowa PBS photo)

Burgum did participate in the first two televised debates. He met the fundraising requirement for the first one by offering $20 gift cards to donors who gave at least $1 to his campaign. The Des Moines Register Iowa Poll in late October showed Burgum with three percent support here, behind former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, who has not campaigned in Iowa this year.

Burgum launched his campaign in June.

(Radio Iowa) – The 2023 Iowa Teacher of the Year teaches English language learners at Des Moines Hoover High School. Ann Mincks says Hoover is one of the state’s most diverse high schools in the state with around 25 percent of students who are English learners. Mincks plans to focus on English language efforts as she travels the state for the Iowa Department of Education in the next year.

“I will really be working to be an advocate for those students. In addition, I’ve really been exploring literacy practices,” she says. “So I will be discussing evidence based practices and how to improve literacy instruction throughout the state.” Mincks gives credits her colleagues and family for allowing her to receive the honor.

2023 Iowa Teacher of the Year Ann Mincks. (Dept. of Education photo)

“For me the really important thing is that it’s kind of shining a light on Des Moines Public Schools and the good work that we’re doing here,” Mincks says. “And in addition just kind of honoring my family and all they have given me.” Mincks says her mother, aunt, grandmother and her grandmother’s four sisters were all in education. Mincks has been teaching for 15 years at Des Moines Hoover High School.

The Iowa Department Education announced her as the teacher of the year at a ceremony at the school this (Monday) morning.

(Glenwood, Iowa) – Police in Glenwood report seven arrests took place over the past week. On Saturday (12/2): 43-year-old Barbara Riley, of Glenwood, was arrested on an Audubon County warrant. Riley was being held without bond; 36-year-old Michael Ramsey, of Big Sandy, TX, was arrested for OWI/1st offense. He posted a $1,000 bond and was released; and, 36-year-old Antwan Burton, of Omaha, was arrested Saturday in Glenwood, on an Omaha Police Department warrant. Burton was being held without bond in the Mills County Jail.

There were two arrests last Friday in Glenwood: 18-year-old Jayden Jensen, of Council Bluffs, was arrested on a Mills County warrant. Jensen posted a $1,000 bond and was released. And, 36-year-old Cameron Ford, of Omaha, was arrested for OWI/2nd offense. Ford posted a $2,000 bond before being released.

On Nov. 30th, Glenwood Police arrested 24-year-old Tyler Bascue, of Glenwood, of Possession of a Controlled Substance, and, Child Endangerment. He posted a $3,000 bond and was released. On the 27th, 28-year-old Elijah Fritz, of Glenwood, was arrested for Theft in the 5th Degree, Public Intoxication, and Interference with Official Acts. Bond was set at $900. Fritz was later released on his Own Recognizance.

Fritz had previously been arrested on Nov. 26th, for Public Intoxication. He posted a $300 bond and was released.

(Radio Iowa) – Iowa Congressman Zach Nunn is co-sponsoring a bill that would make members of the U-S House and Senate who are expelled ineligible for a congressional pension. “No one should be serving in congress, be excommunicated and removed from congress and still be able to draw on a pension,” Nunn says. Former New York Congressman George Santos, who was expelled last week, will not be getting a pension because he hadn’t served long enough to be eligible for one, but Nunn says two House members who were expelled in 1980 and 2002 were able to get pension checks from the government.

“Going forward I think it’s very important that we have a clear roadmap for individuals who violate the public trust and are removed for congress, that they can’t access any of those benefits,” Nunn says. Nunn, a Republican from Bondurant, is co-sponsoring the legislation with a Democrats from Minnesota and New Hampshire and a Republican congressman from New York. Nunn says members of the military are ineligible for benefits if they’re dishonorably discharged. “We absolutely should be holding our members of congress to the same standard,” Nunn says, “that they don’t get to walk away with money in their pocket from the taxpayer after they’ve been fired from their job.”

Nunn and the other three Republicans from Iowa who serve in the U-S House voted late last week to remove Santos from office. Some House Republicans opposed the move, saying it sets a dangerous precedent because Santos has been charged, but not yet convicted of a crime. Nunn says a House Ethics Committee report on Santos was damning evidence that Santos should be expelled. “He stole from the voters,” Nunn says. “He embezzled from the voters and it was repeatedly improved in the ethics committee that he was well aware of it and admitted to doing as much.”

Santos is accused of using campaign funds for personal expenses, like Botox treatments, and racking up charges on credit cards that were used to make donations to his campaign.

(Update 12:03-p.m.: Atlantic and Marne Fire told to disregard their previous page requests)

(Walnut, Iowa) – Firefighters from Atlantic and Marne were requested at around 11:51-a.m. today (Monday), to assistant Walnut Fire with a residential structure fire. The call went out for mutual aid to the scene at 50596 Highway 83. Additional information is currently not available.

(Des Moines, Iowa/via the Iowa Capital Dispatch) – An Iowa bank is facing a potential class-action lawsuit claiming it has charged “crippling” overdraft fees to its customers’ accounts. The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Iowa, challenges Bankers Trust’s alleged practice of charging overdraft fees on debit-card transactions that have been authorized by the bank itself due to the availability of sufficient funds in the customers’ accounts. The Iowa Capital Dispatch reports the lawsuit centers on the controversial use of fees applied to so-called “Authorize Positive, Settle Negative” transactions, or APSN transactions.

The alleged practice works like this: The moment a purchase is made from a merchant using a debit card, the bank immediately reduces the customer’s checking account balance by the amount of that purchase. The bank also sets aside the full dollar amount of the purchase, holding that money in reserve for the merchant. However, the bank will then impose a $33 overdraft fee on the transaction if, days later when the bank forwards the reserved funds to the merchant, the customer’s funds are depleted and the account shows a negative balance. Essentially, the overdraft fee isn’t simply applied to transactions for which there are no funds; it’s imposed on transactions for which the bank is actually holding a customer’s cash in reserve to ensure payment.

The lawsuit alleges these “crippling” overdraft fees are unwarranted because a customer’s balance is always adjusted, in real-time, to account for every debit-card transaction at the precise instant the transaction is made. “Indeed,” the lawsuit alleges, “the entire purpose of the immediate debit and hold of positive funds is to ensure that there are enough funds in the account to pay the transaction.” The lawsuit alleges that while many banks and credit unions “that employ this abusive practice require their accountholders to expressly agree to it” when they open an account, Bankers Trust never did. Bankers Trust, the lawsuit claims, was fully aware that its customers believed they couldn’t be assessed overdraft fees for debit-card purchases given that the funds needed to cover those purchases were instantly set aside by the bank and held in reserve to ensure payment. “Besides being deceptive, unfair, and unconscionable, these practices breach contract promises” made to customers, the lawsuit claims. “In breach of these promises, (Banks Trust) assesses $33 overdraft fees when there is enough money in the account to cover the transaction.”

While some banks, including Bank of America, Capital One, Wells Fargo and others – have taken steps to eliminate such fees – some have not. The lawsuit claims Bankers Trust continues to assess overdraft fees on APSN transactions and that the bank “has made substantial revenue — to the tune of tens of millions of dollars — seeking to turn its customers’ financial struggles into revenue.” The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has called APSN fees “unfair” and “deceptive,” noting that consumers typically have no reason to anticipate such fees since they aren’t always disclosed to consumers. In October 2022, the bureau warned that even if a consumer closely monitors their account balance and carefully calibrates their spending, they can easily incur an overdraft fee. When a customer checks their account balance online or at an ATM, the amount displayed may be sufficient to cover their planned purchases — but the balance in the account may not be sufficient to cover the purchases days later when the bank chooses to process the transactions.

In some cases, depending on the order in which a bank structures debit-card purchases, a customer can be charged multiple overdraft fees in quick succession, driving their account balance even further into the red. The lawsuit notes that banks can protect themselves from true overdrafts by simply rejecting transactions once an account shows insufficient funds. Instead, the lawsuit claims, banks process the transactions, hold the money for the purchases in reserve, and then impose the APSN overdraft fees as a way to generate millions in revenue at the expense of customers who can least afford such fees. The lawsuit seeks class-action status to represent not only Jones but all other Bankers Trust customers who have been subjected to APSN overdraft fees. It seeks unspecified damages for breach of contract and violations of the federal Electronic Funds Transfer Act.

Bankers Trust is headquartered in Des Moines and is the state’s largest privately held community bank. In addition to 12 branches serving central Iowa, Bankers Trust has branches in Cedar Rapids and Phoenix, Arizona, as well as an office in Omaha, Nebraska.