The CAM boys golf team won the Nodaway Valley Tournament on Thursday. The tournament had a mixed format with stroke play, best shot, and better ball segments.
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Iowa Governor Terry Branstad has signed three bills dealing with abortion, voter identification and medical malpractice. The abortion bill signed Friday morning prohibits the procedure in most cases after 20 weeks of pregnancy and requires a 72-hour waiting period. Abortion-rights groups have indicated they will fight the law in the Iowa Supreme Court. Branstad called it a significant stride for the anti-abortion movement.
The voter identification measure requires voters to show ID at polls starting in 2019 and reduces Iowa’s early voting period, which opponents say will suppress turnout. Republicans say it is necessary to protect against voter fraud, while acknowledging the problem is rare.
The medical malpractice law restricts some payouts to patients who win such lawsuits, though juries can override the cap in some instances.
Deputies with the Page County Sheriff’s Office, Thursday night, arrested a man who they had previously arrested late last month. Just before 10-p.m., 27-year old Cody Robert Cordell, of New Market, was taken into custody on a Fremont County Warrant for OWI/1st offense.
Cordell was found in a vehicle parked by a building in a field, near the intersection of 185th Street and Highway 71 (about 2 miles Northeast of Clarinda). Cordell was transported to the Page County Jail, where he later posted a $1000 cash bond. He was subsequently released pending future court appearances.
Cordell was arrested April 27th as well. He’d been charged with Driving under suspension, felon Theft in the 2nd Degree, and Possession of drug paraphernalia.
The Iowa Department of Public Health has received a federal grant of more than five million dollars to expand treatment for opioid abuse across the state. Project director Monica Wilke-Brown says the grant will help stop the growing epidemic of abuse. She says both the deaths associated with opioid overdoses and the hospital admissions for treatment have increased dramatically in the last 10 years. “So, we are really trying to get the issue under control where it has already become a big problem, and also prevent it from becoming a bigger in the communities that are less affected at this point,” Wilke says.
She says the five million dollar grant will allow them to use the successful treatment methods that have already been developed. “We want to expand it across the entire state so that all the counties and service areas have the chance to do the same thing,” Wilke says.Part of the process involves doing a community assessment. She says the agencies in communities will bring together everyone in the community and look for any gaps or needs in coverage and will be able to focus on prevention efforts, the prescription monitoring program and expand the treatment options.
According to Wilke, “We’ll have a formula specific to a variety of both kind of highest need and size of the service area. So, it’s not by county specifically. Some service providers share a county and some cover up to 10 or more counties.” She says they will try several different strategies. “One of them is promoting the C-D-C guidelines for prescribing opioid medications,” Wilke says, “because we know that a lot of people who end up with opioid use disorders may have started with a legitimate prescription that got out of control.”
Wilke says another key component is education in preventing overdose deaths. “Making sure people are aware of naloxone — which is the overdose reversal drug. That can be very instrumental in saving someone’s life if they have accidentally overdosed it,” Wilke says.
The five-point-four-five million dollar grant comes from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, which is part of the U-S Health and Human Services Opioid Initiative.
An event taking place this weekend near Lewis will take you back in time to the days of the Pioneer. The Hitchcock House Pioneer Festival takes place Saturday, from 1-until 4-p.m. at the historic Hitchcock House, located about six-miles south of Atlantic off Highway 6 and 1.5 miles west of Lewis.
Cass County Naturalist Lora Kanning says you’ll have a chance to learn pioneer skills and tour the national historic landmark, two-story home, built in 1856.
(You can observe the making of ropes, candles and tin punching, and more importantly, try your hand at some of those skills. All of the activities are free.)
The skills activities will take place in the barn. Again, there is no charge, but if you want to donate toward the preservation of the property and buildings, funds will be gladly accepted. If you want to tour the Hitchcock House, the fee is just $5 for adults, high school students and those younger are admitted for free. The home holds a historic value, because it was used as a stop for the Underground Railroad during the days of slavery.
The home features thick, sandstone walls, window seats, native hardwood trim, and a secret room that hid runaway slaves. The secret room is located in the basement where there is also a stone fireplace slaves could use to cook their meals and stay warm. It’s said the famous John Brown preached around that fireplace.
There are lots of other activities taking place at the Hitchcock House this Summer.
For more information, call Lora Kanning at 712-769-2372.