CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) — An Iowa-based transportation company has settled a disability discrimination lawsuit filed over what federal authorities was the company’s refusal to accommodate a Navy veteran who used a service dog. The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission said in a news release Wednesday that CRST Expedited/CRST International will pay $47,500 and provide other relief. The lawsuit said CRST violated the Americans with Disabilities Act by refusing to hire and retaliating against a truck driver applicant who told a recruiter that the dog helped him with his post-traumatic stress disorder. A company lawyer declined to comment.

The commission says the applicant successfully completed the required commercial drivers’ licensing course with CRST’s partner training company but wasn’t hired because of CRST’s “no pet” policy. CRST is based in Cedar Rapids.

(Radio Iowa) — An Iowa House committee has voted to prohibit companies that manage prescription drug benefit plans from forcing patients to get their medications through the mail. Representative John Forbes of Urbandale is a pharmacist. Forbes says he often has to fix the problems when mail order companies fail. “We had one patient have their insulin frozen that was mailed to them by mail order,” Forbes says. “Luckily, they found out it was frozen.”

Insulin cannot be used if it’s been frozen. Forbes says a month ago he had a patient bring in three-thousand dollars worth of pills they’d been mailed, but no longer needed. “Mail orders say…they’re going to save money,” Forbes says. “…It doesn’t save money. They don’t call all the time and make sure that people really need those meds.” Representative Brian Best, a Republican from Glidden, says he’s seen mail order company abuses, too. “I owned a durable medical supply company and I saw companies that would sell tons of CPAP devices and you’d go to somebody’s closet and their closet was literally full of things they hadn’t used and I think with mail order, that can happen,” Best says.

Representative Shannon Lundgren, a Republican from Peosta, says a local pharmacist rather than a mail order company is often the better choice for the patient’s health. “That face-to-face contact is of course extremely important when they’re dealing with extremely high dose or medication changes,” Lundgren says.  A representative of the state agency that manages Medicaid told lawmakers the state will likely have to spend more if mail order companies can’t be used for any of the medications prescribed to Medicaid patients.

The Cass County 4-H Endowment committee has made the decision to postpone the 4-H Pancake Supper scheduled for Thursday, March 7th, due to incoming weather. Shelby Van Horn, Cass County Youth Coordinator says “Last year we had over 500 people come out and support this great organization. Due to the amount of youth and adult volunteers we have coming to volunteer their time and efforts we erring on the side of safety, and rescheduling.” The event has been rescheduled to March 26 from 5:00-7:30 PM at the Cass County Community Center.

The Pancake Man will still be dishing up fresh pancakes; with 4-H members serving juice, coffee and more. Supporters can enjoy all you can eat pancakes for $6. Make plans to come out and enjoy this fun event and support Cass County 4-H. There is also a silent auction during the supper. The 12 4-H clubs in Cass County, as well as additional friends of 4-H and local business supporters donate items.

Van Horn says “This is a great part of the pancake supper,” and “It is exciting to see all the items that are up for auction this year!” If a community business is interested in supporting the Pancake Supper through the Silent Auction, please contact the Extension Office. To view silent auction items visit the Cass County Extension Facebook page. They will be updating the page over the next couple of weeks with all the auction items. For more information on the Pancake Supper, Endowment or 4-H contact Shelby Van Horn, Cass County Youth Coordinator, at 243-1132 or xcass@iastate.edu.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa is considering new rules to limit school districts from using padded seclusion rooms to discipline children following a violent outburst. The Des Moines Register reports that the proposed changes seek to limit the frequency rooms are used and implement a better system to notify parents. The rules also seek new specifications for the wooden rooms, which are typically 6-by-6-foot.

The ACLU of Iowa and Disability Rights Iowa helped draft the changes. They say some districts have used the rooms too frequently, particularly with students with disabilities and African-Americans.
School officials say they’re concerned the rules are overly burdensome. The rooms have come under scrutiny in recent years. The state Department of Education determined in 2017 that the Iowa City Community School District improperly used the rooms.

The Atlantic Area Chamber of Commerce reports Atlantic Rising will be host the 6th Annual Awards Luncheon and Dessert Gala on April 26th, 2019, and they are seeking community-wide nominations for the awards. The awards are designed to recognize the achievements of young professionals who demonstrate a commitment to excellence and innovation in their profession and within the community. The awards are open to any Young Professional that meets the following criteria: the professional is between the age of 21-45 years old as of January 1, 2019, and the professional either works or resides within Cass County.

Young Professionals will be nominated for their excellence in four different categories: YP Newcomer, YP Entrepreneur, YP Business Leader and YP Public Servant. There will also be one YP Choice Workplace Award given. The YP Choice Workplace Award recognizes a company who effectively attracts, retains and develops young professionals. Individuals can either nominate their company or another company. Companies must be Atlantic Area Chamber of Commerce members. You can check the membership directory at www.atlanticiowa.com for eligibility. Nominees for Newcomer, Entrepreneur, Business Leader, and Public Servant do not need to be members of Atlantic Rising to be eligible for nomination.

To submit a nomination, go to www.atlanticiowa.com for a nomination form or pick one up at the Atlantic Area Chamber of Commerce Office (102 Chestnut, Atlantic, IA 50022). All nomination forms must be submitted by Wednesday, April 3rd, 2019 by 5 PM. The Atlantic Rising nominations will be reviewed by a selection committee including: an AR Representative, an Atlantic Area Chamber of Commerce Board Representative, a member of CADCO, an Atlantic City Official and an out of town guest.

The winners for the Young Professional Awards in 2018 included: Anthony Smith – Public Servant of the Year, Dr. Zach Bandow – Newcomer of the Year, Amanda Graham – Entrepreneur of the Year, Dr. Kate Hoffmann – Business Leader of the Year, and Nishna Valley Family YMCA – Choice Workplace of the Year.

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About: Atlantic Rising is a social group who meets throughout the year for networking and social events, as well as civic projects to help the community. Their mission is to connect, engage and attract young leaders into the community while promoting the greater Atlantic area.  Members are young professionals between the ages of 21-45. Any interested individuals can contact the Atlantic Area Chamber of Commerce at 712-243-3017 for more information on joining. Atlantic Rising is sponsored by Cass County Health System.

Atlantic Police Chief Dave Erickson is warning the public about some new twists on a couple of old “Grandchild in trouble, need money” phone scam. One is supposedly from a law enforcement person who has a bad voice due to a “cold.” The caller says the grandchild was in an accident and drugs and a weapon were found on them. They ask the potential victim to send an exorbitant amount of money [such as $5,000] to a post office box so the grandchild can get out of jail. They also say “But don’t tell anyone.” Erickson says “That’s a scam. We don’t call people to them their kids are in jail, that they need to bring money to us or anything like that. That’s up to the defendant.”

Atlantic Police Chief Dave Erickson (file photo)

The second scam has a person claiming to be a grandchild, and asks the potential victim “Do you know which one [their name] it is?” If the grandparent answers who they think it is, the caller says “It’s about time you recognized my voice. I’m in trouble. I’m in jail and need [a specific amount of] money to get out. You need to send it Fed Ex to a post office box. Erickson says it doesn’t work that way in real life. In real life, you have to deliver the funds to the jail or a bail bondsman must handle the funds. The scams have been around for a long time, but Erickson says the scammers are making changes to how the scams are carried out.

The Chief says they add different elements to the call to trick grandparents, and he’s getting the word out so people don’t fall for it. If you receive such a call, report it to the police department. Even if you’re not sure whether the call is real or not. Erickson says as far as he knows, no one locally has fallen for the phone scam, but they are being received by area residents. He said a lady called the the Police Department a few days ago after receiving a scam call. Authorities told her he was not on the jail roster and had never been arrested. Erickson said “We don’t want the public to be losing their money out there.”

In the past, he said some people have fallen for the scam in various forms. One person was even at the bank ready to send the money, but couldn’t figure out how to do so. Fortunately, the individual checked with local authorities and was informed about the scam. “Just be aware of what’s going on out there,” he said. “Watch the scams.” Erickson, who himself is a grandparent, says the scammers are betting on the kind hearts of the elderly to fall victim to the scheme.