(Radio Iowa) – A non-profit that worked to bring concerts and other music events to central Iowa has shut down. The Greater Des Moines Music Coalition started in 2005 and announced on its webpage that it is dissolving after what it says were many years of passionately trying to grow central Iowa’s music scene. The announcement says things have changed dramatically with dozens of venues, successful events, and a sophisticated pool of local talent.

It also says there are now many music-related organizations and businesses in central Iowa that are well-positioned to continue the work. One of the bigger events the group hosted was the 80/35 Music Festival. The announcement says the future of the 80/35 Music Festival is not currently determined.

(Atlanta, GA) – Officials with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said Tuesday  (Oct. 22nd), that E. coli food poisoning linked to McDonald’s Quarter Pounder hamburgers has sickened at least 49 people in 10 states, including one person who died and 10 who were hospitalized, federal health officials said Tuesday. The death was reported in an older person in Colorado, and one child has been hospitalized with severe kidney complications.

Infections were reported between Sept. 27 and Oct. 11, in Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Oregon, Utah, Wisconsin and Wyoming. Colorado has the most cases, 27, followed by Nebraska with nine. Everyone interviewed in connection with the outbreak had reported eating at McDonald’s before falling ill and most mentioned eating Quarter Pounder hamburgers, the CDC said. The U.S. Agriculture Department, the Food and Drug Administration and state health officials are also investigating.

The specific ingredient tied to the outbreak has not been identified, but investigators are focused on onions and beef. McDonald’s reported to the CDC that it had removed slivered onions and beef patties used for Quarter Pounders from stores in the affected states. The burgers may be temporarily unavailable in those states.

E. coli bacteria infections can cause severe illness, including fever, stomach cramps and bloody diarrhea. People who develop symptoms of E. coli poisoning should seek health care immediately and tell the provider what they ate. Symptoms of E. coli start 3 to 4 days after ingesting the bacteria. Most people recover without treatment after 5 to 7 days.

The type of bacteria implicated in this outbreak, E. coli O157:H7, causes about 74,000 infections in the U.S. each year, leading to more than 2,000 hospitalizations and 61 deaths. Infections are especially dangerous for children younger than 5 and can cause acute kidney failure.

(Radio Iowa) – It’s been a week since Iowans were able to start voting early and many counties are reporting heavy turnout. Over 112-thousand Iowans had cast ballots through the first five days of early voting and Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley is among them. “I presume that Democrats are having heavy numbers because they traditionally do,” Grassley says, “and then the additional record-breaking numbers, I think, come from Republicans realizing that we’re losing the game on early voting, and Republicans better vote early.”

Top Republicans in the state, like Governor Kim Reynolds, cast their ballots last Wednesday, on the first day Iowans could vote at their county auditor’s office or other designated locations. The Grassley family did as well. “Barbara Grassley and I, and Wendy Speckerman — my daughter, and her husband, and a couple other people in my family have followed my advice and voted early,” Grassley says. “Barbara and I opened up the Butler County Courthouse at 7:30 last Wednesday to cast our first votes.”

Grassley predicts when the numbers are all tabulated next month, we’ll see that Iowa voters from -both- parties are embracing the convenience of early voting. “I think Republicans are finally waking up to the fact that sometimes we have lost an election before Election Day,” Grassley says. “So you’ve got to learn from your mistakes, and our mistakes are that we haven’t been encouraging early voting, and we’re doing that now.”

Democrats have been urging Iowans for months to have a plan to vote. Iowa Democratic Party chair Rita Hart was a congressional candidate in 2020 — and lost by just six votes. “The worst thing that can happen, which happened to me, is to have people come to you the day after the election and say: ‘Oh, Rita. I totally forgot to vote. I’m really sorry. I thought you had this in the bag.’ That is really horrible to hear,” Hart said. “…That’s why I want every vote to understand that their vote really counts.”

Between July and October, there was a three-point-four percent increase in the number of registered Democrats in Iowa. Hart says it’s unclear if those are brand new voters or Iowans who’ve switched their party registration. “Not everybody changes their voter registration when they have changed their mind on who they’re going to vote for, right?” Hart asks. “So when this election is over, we’ll be able to go back and look at where the movement is and who we’re talking about.”

Hart made her comments during a recent appearance on Iowa P-B-S. October 16th was the first day Iowans could vote in-person at their county auditor’s office, the same day those offices started sending out absentee ballots. Iowans who are voting by mail can track their ballot online at www.voterready.iowa.gov.

(Radio Iowa) – All four Republicans who represent Iowa in the U-S House are seeking reelection, including fourth district Congressman Randy Feenstra. Feenstra’s 2024 race is a General Election rematch with Ryan Melton, a Democrat from Webster City. Feenstra’s Republican opponent in the June Primary got 40 percent of the vote and that candidate — Kevin Virgil — endorsed Melton in August. The primary reason? Melton and Virgil both oppose the use of eminent domain to seize land for a carbon pipeline. Feenstra says he’s also opposed to eminent domain, but the pipeline is a state issue, not a federal issue and he calls Virgil anti-agriculture.

“He wants to side with the liberal progressives and Ryan Melton and the Democrat Party,” Feenstra says. Melton says he expects to get some protest votes from Republicans. There are 90-thousand more registered Republicans than Democrats in the district and Iowa State University political science professor Dave Peterson says that’s a big advantage for Feenstra. “Melton is running a valiant campaign,” Peterson says, “but he’s just outmatched in this district and Feenstra’s going to win this one pretty easy.”

Melton says his candidacy is partly a party-building exercise, as there are more Democrats in the fourth congressional district running for other offices. “I know this is going to be a mid-to-long term build,” Melton says, “but I’ve played a role in recruiting those candidates and hopefully building a new direction for the party in our district.” Feenstra, who is from Hull, says his top priorities for 2025 would be securing the southern border and extending the Trump-era tax cuts. “We’ve got to quit spending,” Feenstra says, “and get to a balanced budget.”

The fourth district covers 36 counties and includes the cities of Council Bluffs, Sioux City, Spencer, Algona, Fort Dodge and Marshalltown.

(Iowa News Service) – Leaders in Iowa’s small towns sometimes express frustration when trying to get help from the federal government. Local and federal officials met recently to discuss the challenges in rural Iowa and ways to overcome them. Small town Iowa officials met with federal agencies at the “Connecting the Corridor” session to learn how to bridge the gap between knowing what money is available and how to put it to work locally.

Michael Holton, city administrator of Treynor, population 1,100 talked about some of the challenges. “Most of these small, rural communities don’t have dedicated staff that are necessarily right on top of things when it comes to being able to get funds to get them through the rainy days,” Holton explained. “They have to look to other people to be able to help them through this jigsaw puzzle.”

Holton pointed to Iowa’s extremely active tornado season this year, and admitted knowing how to get funds from the Federal Emergency Management Agency was challenging. He noted local officials came away from the “Connecting the Corridor” session with direct federal contacts to call when problems arise in the future.

The American Rescue Plan Act made federal COVID relief funds available to even the tiniest of towns for some pretty big projects. Holton pointed out in some cases, the money was awarded in the form of Destination Iowa grants. “Treynor was fortunate enough to get a Destination Iowa grant of $800,000,” Holton recounted. “The administrative details are what bog it down.”

Holton acknowledged the importance of some red tape to avoid fraud and said the “Connecting the Corridor” session helped close the gap between local and federal agencies by reducing the amount of bureaucracy.