(Radio Iowa) – Iowa politicians and the pork industry are taking another shot at California’s law banning the sale of pork from the offspring of pigs kept in spaces smaller than 24 square feet. Iowa Congresswoman Ashley Hinson says she’s reintroducing her bill which would ban state and local governments from imposing standards on the production or manufacture of ag products like pork that are sold across state lines.

The U-S Supreme Court recently upheld the California law. Hinson calls it a “bacon ban.” Iowa Pork Producers Association president Trish Cook says there are still many unknowns if the law stays in place.

California accounts for 15 percent of the U-S pork market and 87 percent of that comes from outside the state. The Iowa Pork Producer Association say the state’s regulations have an outsized impact on business in states like Iowa.

(reporting by Zachary Smith, Iowa Public Radio)

(Atlantic, Iowa) – Officials with Cass Health in Atlantic, have announce that Brenna Irlmeier, RN was honored with the DAISY Award during Nurses Week.  Irlmeier has had her sights set on becoming a nurse since she was in kindergarten. Brenna was inspired by her dad, who was a volunteer EMT and firefighter in the Elk Horn community. She became a nurse in January of 2019, and after working in Omaha at a large hospital, she returned to the area and began working in the Cass Health Surgery Department in August 2021.

“It is an honor to receive the DAISY award. The hard work you put in going to school, the hard work you put in each day, it’s just awesome to have someone remember what you did for them,” said Irlmeier. This case in particular was special. “I was shocked, because of the nature of our job most people don’t remember us. This was an on-call case, and knowing it was a pediatric case, it pulls at the heart strings more. As a mom, it’s hard to put your child in someone else’s care,” she said.  She says being in surgery is a great fit for her, and she loves the team she works with. “It takes all of us a whole to do what we do, and it’s something new every day. I love it,” she said.

Brenna Irlmeier

Irlmeier’s nominator wrote: “Rising above all the amazing caregivers we encountered that day, was Brenna Irlmeier. Brenna was the surgery nurse that took my daughter down for her appendectomy. She came to the room, gathered a quick report, did the time out, the whole nine yards. She made sure to explain to my daughter what was going to happen and addressed her directly making sure she didn’t have any questions. Although my daughter is stoic and brave, it was then that the tears began to well and reality hit her. I looked into her eyes and could tell that she was scared, nervous, and crying. As her mother, I had to say goodbye and release her into Brenna’s care trusting that she would be in good hands. In that moment, I could see Brenna making it her highest priority to make my little girl feel safe. Although I couldn’t be present with her in the OR, I am confident that Brenna gave her best to my little girl. The first thing my daughter said to me when she woke up after surgery was, “that nurse was so nice mommy, she held my hand the whole time.” That is when the tears started welling in my own eyes because I knew in my heart that my baby felt safe and was well cared for. I’ve been to larger organizations with my children before and I never felt that they were cared for with the same compassion and empathy as was shown to us here at Cass Health and especially shown to my daughter by Brenna.”

Nurses at Cass Health are honored twice annually with The DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurses.® The award is part of the DAISY Foundation’s mission to recognize the extraordinary, compassionate care nurses provide to patients and families every day. The DAISY Award committee at Cass Health thanks all nominators for their submissions. Each nurse who was nominated will be presented with a special pin and a copy of the nomination.

The DAISY Foundation is a not-for-profit organization, established in memory of J. Patrick Barnes, by members of his family. Patrick died at the age of 33 in late 1999 from complications of Idiopathic Thrombocytopenic Purpura (ITP), a little known but not uncommon auto-immune disease. (DAISY is an acronym for Diseases Attacking the Immune System.)  The care Patrick and his family received from nurses while he was ill inspired this unique means of thanking nurses for making a profound difference in the lives of their patients and patient families.

This is one initiative of The DAISY Foundation to express gratitude to the nursing profession.  Additionally, DAISY offers J. Patrick Barnes Grants for Nursing Research and Evidence-Based Practice Projects, The DAISY Faculty Award to honor inspiring faculty members in schools and colleges of nursing, and The DAISY in Training Award for nursing students. More information is available at http://DAISYfoundation.org. An online nomination form is available at https://www.casshealth.org/daisy.

Sioux City police found several hundred fentanyl-laced pills on a man who was stopped following a chase. Sergeant Tom Gill says the chase started in Nebraska and ended in Iowa when they used “stop sticks” to disable the car.  “Upon searching the driver, officers located a plastic baggie that contained 434 pills — they were blue pills. The officers tested the pills and it came back positive for fentanyl,” he says. Gill says the number of pills seized is a concern.

“It’s becoming a problem and it’s becoming a concern because it’s very dangerous drug. We’ve had several fentanyl related overdoses just in the past year, people that we’ve had to Narcan to bring back to life,” Gill says. “I was on scene of a 17 year old girl that she didn’t know she was taking fentanyl. She thought she was taken another type of drug, illegal drug, and turned out it was fentanyl. She overdosed and it took four doses of Narcan to bring her back to life.”

Benito Curiel

The driver, 23-year-old Benito Curiel was already wanted on fentanyl charges. He was charged with possession of a controlled substance, failure to affix drug stamp, felony eluding, no drivers license or registration, interference with official acts and several traffic related counts. He is being held in the Woodbury County jail on 55-thousand dollar bond. A passenger in the car, 19-year-old Carson Klassen, is charged with interference with official acts and is free on bond.

(Glenwood, Iowa) – The Glenwood Police Department reports one arrest took place, Thursday. 44-year-old Joseph Jack, of Glenwood, was arrested on a Council Bluffs warrant. Joseph Jack was released to the custody of the Council Buffs P.D.