SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) – A brush with death inspired an Iowa man to start a group dedicated to organ donor awareness and assistance. Doug Lehman was given less than two weeks to live back in 2012 because of kidney failure. But he received a kidney transplant at the University of Nebraska Medical Center after being on the waiting list for three and a half months.

Lehman says that while he in the hospital, he said he had a vision to help people. Lehman soon founded the non-profit, Sioux City-based Doug’s Donors. It gives support to patients who need a transplant, helps them get on transplant lists, transports them to medical appointments in Sioux Falls and Omaha and provides information to those interested in becoming a living donor.

The state treasurer’s office handled more than 21-and-a-half BILLION dollars in receipts in the last state fiscal year. That 21-and-a-half BILLION dollars is a combination of taxes paid to the state, along with payments to Iowa from the federal government, to run programs like Medicaid. The state treasurer paid out 20-and-a-half BILLION of that to cover state government operations, including construction of new state buildings, plus new roads and bridges. State Treasurer Michael Fitzgerald says the state made six-and-a-half million electronic payments last year. That includes paychecks to state employees as well as payments for goods and services.

“We had, as of June 30, had $26 billion under custody which is of course IPERS and all the state funds and such,” Fitzgerald says. “And if you asked about that today, it’s up probably $3 billion or $4 billion from that, because IPERS has done so well.” IPERS is the acronym for the Iowa Public Employees Retirement System. Fitzgerald also manages the College Savings Iowa program, which has over four-point-two billion ($4.2 billion) in assets.

As for the other side of the ledger, the state has nine-hundred-20 million ($920 million) in outstanding debts. Those debts are in the form of bonds that are being off in yearly increments. Iowa is one of only nine states with the top “Triple A” bond rating from all three rating agencies. “We’re a very low debt state. Our pension funds aren’t perfect, but they’re solid,” Fitzgerald says. “We have a surplus. Reserve funds are full, so we’re in solid shape — if the farm economy will hold up.” Fitzgerald says dropping corn prices cause concern that farm income will drop significantly in the coming year and depress state tax collections.

(Radio Iowa)

A meeting is scheduled next month in Des Moines to help develop more programs in Iowa that encourage kids to walk or bike to school. Alana Croco, director of the Safe Routes to School Program, says her organization is making “good headway,” but there’s a lot more that can be done. “I think a lot of people are hesitant about building walking school bus programs because they feel that the infrastructure in their community is not up to par,” Croco said. There are ways to work around a lack of sidewalks or traffic signals, according to Croco. A “walking school bus” simply involves kids walking together to school with designated stops along the way.

“There are two adults walking with the kids and they just pick kids up along the way to school,” Croco said. “It’s a lot of fun and kids seem to love it.” The Iowa Safe Routes to School meeting will take place on the morning of January 24 at the Iowa Events Center. One of the presentations will involve a pair of injury prevention specialists from the University of Iowa who are preparing a study which will utilize GPS-enabled helmet cameras to capture the bicycling experience of children and adults.

“It’ll help us kind of see what kids see and how they react to certain situations, so I think it’s going to be a really cool program,” Croco said. Getting kids to be more active and healthy will improve their performance in the classroom, according to Croco.

(Radio Iowa)