Dog owners in Iowa are being urged to have their pets vaccinated for canine influenza virus, or C-I-V, which was reported in more than 40 states in the past year, including Iowa. Veterinarian Dr. Natalie Marks says the so-called dog flu quickly caused an epidemic in 2015 and it’s hoped prevention can prevent it from spreading again this year. The symptoms are much like human flu.

“CIV is respiratory in dogs, so we see coughing, sneezing, runny nose, runny eyes, lethargy and fever,” Dr. Marks says. “In more severe cases, we can see a pretty bad pneumonia.” In the worst cases, it can be fatal, but Marks says there is a way to inoculate against the two strains.”There’s vaccination for both the original strain of flu, which was H3N8, and now there is an H3N2-specific strain,” Marks says. “Both are very safe and effective and we encourage all pet owners to talk to their veterinarian about their dog’s lifestyle risks and if the vaccine is appropriate for your dog’s vaccination protocol.”

C-I-V is highly contagious and can spread quickly in urban areas, doggie daycare’s, boarding facilities, dog parks and sporting events. The dog flu is a problem year-round, especially during warmer months as pets are outdoors more often and more likely to encounter other dogs if they are social.

(Radio Iowa)

Officials in the Iowa Department of Human Services are touting their new database that seeks to identify available hospital beds for psychiatric patients. Chuck Palmer, the director of the department, says the tracking system is a significant tool for law enforcement, doctors and others trying to find space in an emergency situation. “We now have 100 percent involvement of all the hospitals,” Palmer says. “Do they update it daily? Probably not. Do they update it on a regular basis? We believe so and we’re calling those that don’t.”

The database was started after Governor Terry Branstad closed two of the state-run Mental Health Institutes. Critics contend it’s difficult to find in-patient treatment for Iowans suffering from a severe mental illness. Palmer says by this summer, there were as many as 750 beds in Iowa hospitals for the treatment of patients with acute mental illnesses — but he says it’s still difficult to find available space for the toughest cases.

“There are certain people that certain hospitals do not feel at a point in time that they can take. ‘If I accept this person and they are a difficult, disruptive person,’ no one will take them and then they’ll be left,” Palmer says. “And that’s the case.”

Palmer says on average there are about 70 vacant hospital beds each day in Iowa for psych patients. However, it may require significant travel to get a patient to a hospital that has an opening.

(Radio Iowa)

“Community Housing Initiatives” has become the state’s largest NON-PROFIT housing organization. Communications director Matt Hauge says people involved in a community action agency in northwest Iowa were the instigators.  “They said, you know, we provide all kinds of assistance to people. We do great programs, but there’s not enough housing up here. It’s after the Farm Crisis. Nobody’s building housing in rural Iowa,” Hauge says.

Low income housing tax credits as well as tax credits for historic preservation are used to finance the developments. A couple of decades later, the organization has built or renovated affordable housing in 31 Iowa communities. That includes projects in downtown Sioux City, Clinton and Waterloo. “We always say we have kind of a strange name. To be called ‘Community Housing Initiatives’ people like we’re maybe an office of your city or something like that,” Hauge says.

The organization’s work has yielded a total of 14-hundred apartments throughout the state, with modestly-priced rent that someone in a low-wage job can afford. Community Housing Initiatives was founded in the small town of Graettinger in 1994. The corporate offices are now in Spencer and Des Moines.

(Radio Iowa)

One expert says Iowa history will “come to life” for the state’s students because of new guidelines for social studies classes in Iowa schools. Tom Morain of Graceland University served on the advisory panel that recommended the changes. Morain recently told a group of third and fourth graders they’ll soon be exposed to a “whole new way” of learning about history. “You’re not going to just read what other people tell you happened,” Morain said. “You’re going to get to ‘do’ history. You’re going to get to go to places where history happened. You’re going to get to read what people who were living those events really thought.”

Classroom time on history has been cut as teachers focus more on reading, math and science. Morain says students can develop critical thinking skills by comparing different versions of historical events. And Iowa has a rich history to review, according to Morain. “The computer, what you hold in your hand, was invented here in Iowa,” Morain says, “and the story of how it was invented was an incredible story.”

Morain says students ARE fascinated to learn about the place they call home. “What is exciting about history as we’re going to do it now is we’re going to make it come to life,” Morain says. Morain is the former administrator of the State Historical Society and he once served as director of history at Living History Farms in Urbandale.

A recent report found Iowa has been lagging other states in providing localized history resources for teachers. The states of Minnesota and Kansas, for example, have state-paid staff who work to develop course work on state history for all grade levels. There’s even a published Minnesota history textbook. Governor Branstad says the state budget is tight and there’s unlikely to be extra money to hire more staff or spend more on an Iowa history initiative.

(Radio Iowa)