(Radio Iowa) – A middle school teacher from Urbandale was crowned the new Miss Iowa over the weekend to conclude the three-day scholarship competition in Davenport. Twenty-four-year-old Bailey Hodson says when they called her name as the winner, she went completely numb and had no idea what to do, even though they’d practiced everything with each contestant during rehearsals.

“Luckily the Teen and Miss Iowa of the previous year, they’re so great. They just shuffled me across the stage and they’re like, ‘Okay, now we’re gonna put the crown on your head and just hold really still.’ It just had so many emotions and thoughts running through my head,” Hodson says. “I was like, ‘This is crazy. I’m going to Miss America. I’m going to be Miss Iowa,’ and it still really hasn’t sunk in completely.” Hodson says she’s stepped into a wonderful whirlwind and knows the next year ahead is going to be exceptionally busy.

Baily Hodson, Miss Iowa 2022 (via Facebook)

“I will resign from Urbandale in my teaching position but my students were really excited and they knew all about the program and what I was doing and they they’ve been rooting for me,” Hodson says, “so I don’t think it’s going to be a sad farewell but more of an exciting adventure to pursue.” Hodson, a Berwick native who graduated from Grand View University in 2020, hopes to return to teaching once her duties as Miss Iowa are finished. Her platform, what’s now called a social impact plan, is focused on an anti-bullying campaign.

“I want within my initiative to really implement these curriculums within schools to combat the imbalance that bullying creates within our classrooms, and educate teachers on what they can do to see warning signs of bullying going on in their classrooms,” Hodson says. “So, I think I would love to tie that more into what I do already as a teacher.” Her vocal performance for the competition was singing “A Million Dreams” from the musical “The Greatest Showman,” though she’s not sure if that’s what she’ll perform during the Miss America Pageant in December.

Never before has a contestant from Iowa won the national event and Hodson says that’s not yet on her radar. “My mind is completely overwhelmed with joy of just having the opportunity to even go,” Hodson says. “I know that so many people would have loved to have this opportunity. I’m just trying to really soak that in and be grateful that I’m even going. Becoming Miss America just hasn’t even really crossed my mind yet to be honest.”

Part of the prize package for Miss Iowa is more than 12-thousand dollars in scholarships, money Hodson plans to apply to her student loans.

(Radio Iowa) The director of international development for a manufacturing company based in Pella is in Washington, D.C. this week, urging members of congress to fully fund the U.S. international affairs budget. Daryl Bouwkamp has worked at Vermeer for 30 years. He says having diplomatic and humanitarian missions around the globe benefits trade.

“Having a U.S. projected, rules-based, stable global environment, which the U.S. really needs to lead, is incredibly important to us as a state.” Bouwkamp is participating in a forum sponsored by the U.S. Global Leadership Coalition. The group estimates nearly 20 percent of the jobs in Iowa are tied to international trade. China has stepped up its spending to secure trading partnerships with countries around the globe. Bouwkamp says the U-S needs to maintain its spending on international aid to ensure companies like Vermeer can access global markets.

“Being there as the U.S. in times of need for other countries and being at the table, negotiating and helping write the rules, enforce the rules so that we have stability and reduce corruption,” he says. About one percent of the federal budget is spent on international affairs. Bouwkamp’s message to Iowa’s congressional delegation is that American diplomacy must be maintained.

“It is the best money spent,” Bouwkamp says. “If you don’t spend it here, you’re just going to have to purchase more bullets.” This is the seventh Global Impact Forum Bouwkamp has attended — although the last two were held virtually due to the pandemic. He says faith leaders and non-profit groups are represented at the event as well as 500 businesses and hundreds of both current and retired members of the military and U.S. diplomatic corps.

(Radio Iowa) – A southwest Iowa native who sang the theme song for the early 1990’s hit T-V show “Twin Peaks” has died at the age of 65. Julee Cruise also appeared on Twin Peaks as a singer and was featured in both sequels. She recorded four solo albums and toured with the B-52s in 1992, filling in when singer Cindy Wilson took a break from the band. In 2018, Cruise announced on Facebook she was retiring from performing due to systemic lupus.

Julee Cruise (Via Facebook)

Her husband told the New York Times that Cruise had struggled with depression and her health and took her own life. Cruise was born in Creston. After graduating with a music degree from Drake University, she moved to Minneapolis before leaving for New York City in 1983.

ATLANTIC, IOWA – Pizza. Shaved ice. Bubbles. Buses. That sets the scene for SWITA’s planned Transit Fun Day in celebration of Ride Transit Week on June 15th. Community members are invited to join in the fun and celebrate public transit at 1501 SW 7th Street in Atlantic.

Starting at 11 am until 1pm, the Hungry Spartan Pizza truck will be onsite at SWITA selling “Colossal Slices” for $5 to celebrate our outstanding transit professionals. Louie’s Shaved Ice will have a pop-up stand, and SWITA will provide a free shaved ice to all who attend. Children from the community are invited to play yard games, color on a SWITA bus with washable markers, make giant bubbles, and can even take home a coloring book sponsored by the Iowa Department of Transportation.

The event is both a celebration of the SWITA service and a functioning sign-up for this fall’s student transportation in our member communities. “We’re excited to provide a fun, family-friendly activity for members of the community as a celebration of SWITA’s work across southwest Iowa,” said SWITA Transit Coordinator Kristen Templeton.

Community members can also sign up to win a SWITA Date Night for 2, or a SWITA Family Activity Night for up to 8. The SWITA Date Night package includes two tickets to the Atlantic 1&2 Theater and a $40 gift certificate to Rancho Grande in Atlantic. Transportation will be provided by SWITA to the night out. The SWITA Family Activity Night will include up to 8 tickets to Sunnyside Putt-Em-Up in Atlantic and buffet for up to 8 at Pizza Ranch in Atlantic.

In addition to the Transit Fun Day at the Atlantic office (1501 SW 7th Street, Atlantic IA 50022), all taxi fares in Atlantic, Glenwood, Harlan, Missouri Valley, Red Oak, and Shenandoah will be waived in celebration of Ride Transit Week.

The public is also invited to a Ride Transit Day event for all ages on June 16 from 10am to 1pm at the Charles E. Lakin Human Services Campus in Council Bluffs, located at 16th and G streets. SWITA’s partners for this event include HSAC (Human Services Advisory Council) of Council Bluffs, B Cycle, and Omaha’s Metro Transit, which serves the City of Council Bluffs.

KANSAS CITY, MO – As Midwest temperatures rise, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration reminds employers and workers not to ignore the dangers of working in a hot environment – indoors and out – and remember “Water. Rest. Shade.” can be the difference between ending the workday safely or suffering serious illness or death.

From 2011-2019, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports 344 worker-related deaths in the U.S. were due to environmental heat exposure. Workplace safety experts believe the actual number of heat-related fatalities might  be underreported or misreported as other causes such as heart attacks.

To combat the dangers of heat exposure, the department’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration launched a National Emphasis Program in April 2022 to protect workers from heat illness and injuries.

“Workers must be protected from the dangers of heat illness in hot indoor and outdoor environments,” said OSHA acting Regional Administrator Steven J. Kaplan in Kansas City. “For several years, OSHA’s heat safety campaign has focused on raising awareness of the related dangers. Our recent National Emphasis Program is reaching out to unions, employers in target industries and other organizations to protect workers most often exposed to heat illness and injuries.”

OSHA’s message is simple: Water. Rest. Shade.

• Encourage workers to drink water every 15 minutes.
• Take frequent rest breaks in the shade to cool down.
• Have an emergency plan ready to respond when a worker shows signs of heat-related illness.
• Train workers on the hazards of heat exposure, and how to prevent illness.
• Allow workers to build a tolerance for working in heat.

The OSHA-NIOSH Heat Safety Tool is a free, downloadable app that calculates a work site’s heat index and displays the associated risk levels. Users can receive precautionary recommendations specific to heat-index risk levels to help protect employees from heat-related illness. The tool is available in English and Spanish.

OSHA’s Occupational Heat Exposure page explains the symptoms of heat illness, first aid measures to provide while waiting for help, engineering controls and work practices to reduce workers’ exposure to heat, and training.

Read a fact sheet on OSHA’s National Emphasis Program to protect workers nationwide from the increasing threat of heat-related illness. Learn more about working in outdoor and indoor heat environments.

(Glenwood, Iowa) – Police in Glenwood report a 31-year-old man from Centerville was arrested this (Monday) morning, on drug charges. Ayokunle Lijadu was arrested for two-counts possession of a controlled substance 3rd offense, possession of drug paraphernalia and driving under suspension. His total cash or surety bond was set at $7,300.

(Atlantic, Iowa) –  As temps get warmer, Sunnyside Pool in Atlantic is open, but at a limited capacity. Today June 13 there are 2 guards on staff and they can allow 40 people into the pool at a time. If you are concerned about being able to get in please call and pool staff will update you with how many are in at that time. Parks Director Bryant Raasmussen says “Thank you for your patience with our understaffed status and please remind anyone 15 or older wanting a summer job that we have open lifeguard positions!”