(Benton County, Iowa) – A man from eastern Iowa died Wednesday afternoon, after the bicycle he was riding was struck by a car on southbound Highway 218 at 51st Street, south of  La Porte City. The Iowa State Patrol reports the bicycle, occupied by 83-year-old John R. Rice, of Cedar Falls, was hit by a Nissan Altima at around 2:24-p.m. Rice died at the scene.

The driver of the car was identified as 77-year-old Dewayne L. Arends, of Oxford Junction. The accident remains under investigation.

(Radio Iowa) – Iowa-based LifeServe Blood Center is appealing for donors as it’s on-call through a national network to provide blood anywhere it’s needed as the hurricane that hit Florida on Wednesday is now a tropical storm heading up the East Coast. LifeServe spokeswoman Danielle West says they’ve been in close contact with blood centers across Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas, all of which felt — or are feeling — the impact of Idalia (ee-DOLL-ee-ah). “They did not mention as many injuries as much as damage, so it’s more about if the blood center can continue to function and collect blood, then they may not need ours,” West says. “They’re assessing that right now and ensuring that all of their team members can still make it into work and they can still function as a blood center.”

In addition to widespread power outages, there’s damage from the powerful winds, as well as heavy rains and flash flooding. West says blood centers in cities that were hit by the monster storm are regrouping and determining what they need.  “They want to make sure that they can sustain what they’ve already worked out with their local hospitals,” West says. “They’re keeping us posted. As far as we know, we have not sent blood products to them yet, but we still have O-positive and O-negative set aside, and we’re technically on call through Sunday of this week.”

Monday is a holiday and LifeServe offices won’t be open for donations, so they’re working to continue stocking up now, as the summertime has been challenging for donations. “We have not seen the number of blood donors that we would like to see to support our hospitals,” West says. “We’re lower in almost every blood type then we’d want to be, A-positive, B-positive, all of our negative blood types, of course the Os, so truly if you’re a blood donor, if you’ve never donated blood before, we absolutely need you.”

LifeServe has multiple offices in the Des Moines metro, as well as in Ames, Fort Dodge, Marshalltown, Mason City, Pella and Sioux City. LifeServe provides blood products to 161 hospitals primarily in Iowa, Nebraska and South Dakota. To schedule a visit, call 800.287.4903 or log on to lifeservebloodcenter.org.

(Red Oak, Iowa) – Police in Red Oak report the arrest at around 8-a.m. Wednesday, of a woman on a drug charge. 30-year-old Antonia Jashae Hudson, of Red Oak, was arrested after officers were called to the 400 block of E. Coolbaugh Street, following a complaint. She was charged with Possession of a Controlled Substance/1st offense. Hudson was being held at the Montgomery County Law Enforcement Center on a $1,000 bond.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – Officials with the Atlantic Community School District (ACSD), say more than 120 District staff were hosted to lunch August 18th at the United Methodist Church in Atlantic. A group of approximately 15 ladies, made up of members from both the United Methodist Church and the 1st Presbyterian Church of Atlantic spent the morning preparing a feast of food for all ACSD staff to enjoy. Communications Specialist Mallory Robinson says “This group of ladies arrived early the morning of Aug. 18th, to prepare homemade sloppy joes, bringing with them an assortment of salads and deserts, prepared and ready to go for the day’s luncheon.

“The buffet was arranged in such a manner, [and] with such great attention to detail,” she says, “that one could not help but wish for multiple plates to accommodate the many delicious offerings available for lunch that day!”

Photos courtesy Mallory Robinson

Atlantic Community School District staff filtered in throughout the lunch hour in shifts – providing a seamless flow the entire lunch hour. While sitting with new and familiar faces, ACSD current staff spent time talking with these ladies, hearing stories and remembering school years of the past.  “According to Robinson, “The luncheon preparation and meal offering is a sacrifice of work and love and one that all Atlantic Community School District employees have eagerly anticipated every year, for the last 8 years!”

Many of the ladies, she says, helped raise the current generation of teachers they prepared the meal for, in one one or another,  With a meal made from love, a prayer over the school year, and hugs and high-fives, ACSD Staff are sent on their way that final Friday before the new school year begins, knowing the generation before them is cheering them on.

Robinson says “It’s a tremendous opportunity for our ACSD Staff to be supported and fed a delicious meal by the ladies of the United Methodist and 1st Presbyterian Churches of Atlantic.  What a great example of our district’s yearly theme: Trojan CommUNITY!”

(Radio Iowa) The University of Iowa’s Stead Family Children’s Hospital is joining a growing trend in bringing in dogs to work with young patients. Dog handler Emily Bradley says the goal of dogs Nacho and Corrin is to help kids understand their diagnosis and reduce the fear and anxiety they may feel. “We kind of use that unique human animal bond between, you know, people and dogs, that sometimes we can’t provide human to human to meet those goals for patients and family. So really just advancing that standard of care,” she says. There are a lot of different types of comfort dogs, but she says these two do something the others aren’t trained for.

“They really are able to be a part of clinical care and a part of procedures and providing therapeutic interventions that are helping patients meet their specific treatment goals as part of their medical plan,” Bradley says. Aly Humphrey handles Nacho and explains how the dog could help an anxious child. “Nacho could either be sitting on a chair next to the bed, or it could be laying next to the patient in their bed while the nurses are starting their I-V. And maybe we’re just talking about things about Nacho to kind of provide that distraction and procedural support,” she says. “Or if you know, they maybe really like engaging in deep breathing, then they can put their hand on nacho’s belly and kind of match his breath as they feel his chest and belly kind of rise with each breath. And they can match their breath to his. She says the dog could also help a child who is anxious about getting their C-T scan by riding through the C-T scanner and showing the patient exactly everything that will happen to them. Some kids might be afraid of a dog, and Bradley says they have child life specialists that will help out.

“Do they’ll kind of help us navigate if that patient might be comfortable with the dog or would be interested in that visit. Or even as handlers ourselves, before we go in a room before we get in an elevator even, like we’ll ask everyone in that room, like, ‘are you comfortable with the dog coming in the room’, and kind of assessing from there,” Bradley says. Bradley says they have protocols in place for those who might be concerned about animals in the hospital. “Based on the research and benchmarking with other hospitals around the country, the dogs are very clean, and they get weekly grooming. Professional grooming and baths, so there’s a lot of policies in place to keep them clean and keep them from bringing things in the hospital ,” she says. Bradley says one aspect of bringing in the dogs that’s been an extra benefit is the uplifting impact the dogs have already had on the rest of the staff.

Emily-Bradley,-Nacho,Aly-Humphrey,Corrin-(UI-PHOTO)

“Almost all of our staff are very excited that the dogs are in house, it’s been hard this first week in the hospital just to like contain the staff even like they’re so excited to meet our dogs and for them to be here,” she says. She says they did quite a bit of preparation this summer for all employees about the dogs do and their purpose. Both Nacho and Corrin are just under a year and a half old and will likely work for six to eight years before they are ready to retire.