(Council Bluffs, Iowa) – Police in Council Bluffs have issued a “traffic alert,” with regard to a temporary road closure. Authorities say Madison Avenue will be closed today from 7:30 am  through most of the day, for the removal of a tree that fell Tuesday morning on two vehicles, resulting in injuries. Police say Madison Avenue will have hard closures from Timbercrest Dr to E. Graham Ave.

Council Bluffs PD Shield

Please avoid the area and use alternative routes, today.

(Creston, Iowa) – A woman from Creston was arrested Tuesday afternoon, for Public Intoxication and Domestic Abuse Assault. Creston Police report 37-year-old Samantha L. Hays was taken into custody at The Lobby bar in Creston, at around 2:30-p.m. She was transported to the Adams County Jail and held without bond until seen by a judge.

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), Tuesday, co-led the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship’s hearing on the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) lending of COVID-19 relief loan programs, where she highlighted the ways these programs were exploited by bad actors, and the economic impact that record federal spending levels has had on inflation and Iowa small businesses.

IA Senator Joni Ernst speaks during a SBA hearing, Tuesday (8/2/22)

Ernst pressed the SBA on the amount of fraudulent loans awarded, efforts to recover these funds, and how she can work with the agency to ensure this does not happen again in the future

Ernst went on to say:

DES MOINES – Iowa Governor Reynolds and the Department of Management Office of the Chief Information Officer (OCIO), Tuesday, announced the release of a new broadband map of Iowa, reporting the conditions of broadband availability in accordance with federal grant guidelines at over 1 million locations throughout the state. The public can view the map here.

The new map provides a more detailed view than prior maps, identifying the broadband service available at homes and businesses across Iowa as reported by broadband providers. Locations with slower broadband speeds – defined by relevant federal guidelines to be slower than 100 upload/20 download – may be eligible for future grant funding opportunities issued by Governor Reynolds’ Empower Rural Iowa Broadband Program.  The Governor said “We are making important progress to connect all Iowans to high-speed broadband, but many communities remain unserved.” She’s asking all Iowans to visit the broadband map and let the State know if the broadband service reported at their location, is inaccurate. “This feedback,” she says, “Will help us to direct resources to areas with the greatest need for broadband investment in the future.”

The publication of the map commences a 30-day challenge process where the public, broadband providers, and communities throughout Iowa can submit information to the OCIO wherever they believe the map incorrectly reports broadband service data. 

Instructions for challenging the map are available here, including videos, guides, and templates to assist members of the public, broadband providers, and communities who wish to submit a challenge. Challengers may also e-mail ociogrants@iowa.gov for assistance and questions.

(Radio Iowa) – When you visit the doctor’s office, someone will usually check your height, weight and blood pressure. New research from Iowa State University finds that last simple procedure could help to reduce the risk of a heart attack or stroke. Dr. Jim Lang, an I-S-U professor of kinesiology, says they put a blood pressure cuff on test patients for five minutes or so and did that three or four times — with surprising results. “That improved microvascular function, that improved small blood vessel function in the skin and in other places besides where the blood pressure cuff was administered,” Lang says, “and we actually increased microcirculatory capacity by about 50%.”

Much the way exercise helps muscles adapt to more strenuous workouts, studies find that short, repeated bouts of reduced circulation with a blood pressure cuff may help reduce tissue damage and prevent the worst outcomes of heart attacks and strokes. The research finds people who’ve survived a heart attack or stroke may benefit from routine use of a blood pressure cuff, and it could also have positive impacts on people with diabetes and other ailments. “People that are immobilized or people that have joint issues and so forth that really prevent them from being able to do much exercise, this could be a benefit to them,” Lang says. “And I’m not going to say it’s a substitute for exercise, but it’s an additional intervention that could be a benefit.”

A decent blood pressure cuff only costs about 25 dollars and Lang says the study suggests this do-it-yourself, non-invasive procedure can boost vascular and cardiac functions, modestly lower blood pressure and reduce the heart’s workload. “There’s a lot of different types of avenues that this type of intervention could go towards,” Lang says. “Again, it’s a very simple intervention. It doesn’t require any type of pharmacological component. It’s just simply inflating a blood pressure cuff on a limb.”

Using the cuff could benefit someone preparing for an upcoming surgery, people who are pre-hypertensive or who have sleep apnea, Lang says, adding, even astronauts could find the procedure as an effective supplement to their workouts in orbit. Lang’s study was recently published in the Journal of Physiology.