(Radio Iowa) – New studies are finding links between people who are obese and lonely who may be at risk for larger problems with their physical and mental health. Jennifer Linse, an advanced practice social worker, says cases of loneliness often escalate in Iowa during the wintertime as more of us become socially isolated by the cold weather. “If people are wanting to talk about loneliness or explore their feelings or experience with loneliness, I would certainly encourage them to connect with a counselor to talk about that,” Linse says. “Also, through counseling, we can help people get connected to resources or find some social supports that they’re already involved in to help with that feeling of loneliness.” Even when we’re surrounded by other people, Linse says it’s easy to be overcome by loneliness, as we crave that contact.

“From the minute you’re born, you’re born to connect with other people,” Linse says. “Really, that’s our human experience, to be connected with others around us. We are social beings, so that’s really the essence of why this is so important — it’s that human connection.” People who are overweight may face discrimination which can leave them with an emotional scar, something Linse says can be difficult to overcome. “There’s this idea in our society of what the ideal person is, the way we look, the way we speak, and that includes our body image,” Linse says. “So in our society, we hear people talk and experience something that we may call fat-shaming, and that can make people feel very lonely.” We don’t often hear health care professionals recommend Facebook as a solution to anything, but in this case, Linse says it might provide some benefit.

“Typically when we think about social media, we find it to be a very isolating experience because we’re looking at it very surface level,” Linse says, “but there are groups and activities happening online that can connect you with others. For some people, it’s just sort of dipping your toe into being with others in your community.” Instead of reading a book at home, for example, she suggests taking the book to a library or coffee shop where you might interact with others. Linse is an employee assistance program consultant at Gundersen Health System.

PERRY, Iowa [KCCI]— Two separate threats made by students in Perry were found not to be credible, police said Sunday — exactly one month after a deadly school shooting rattled the community.

Perry police said in a news release that the department received numerous reports this weekend from concerned parents and students alleging that a threat was going to occur Monday. Another student posted a photograph on social media “that was also concerning,” authorities said.

Officers investigated both allegations thoroughly and deemed the threats not to be credible. The district is aware of the threats, and officers will continue to be present at all Perry schools.

The threats come one month after a 17-year-old student at Perry High School opened fire in the cafeteria, killing sixth-grader Ahmir Jolliff and wounding seven others before taking his own life. High school principal Dan Marburger died 10 days after being seriously hurt in the Jan. 4 shooting.

Perry High School students returned to class last week for the first time since the shooting. The district said it has taken steps to increase security on campus. The high school is limiting how much time students are allowed in the building: 25 minutes before the start of the day and 15 minutes after the school ends. The district also recently completed an application for a $150,000 grant to help improve school security.

(Radio Iowa) – A bill in the Iowa Senate would ban a type of reading instruction called “three cueing” and require that all Iowa schools use what’s called the science of reading. Heather Peske, executive director of the National Council for Teacher Quality, says it’s the appropriate move. She suggests state standards should specifically list phonics and other components of the science of reading — and provide Iowa schools with a list of the best reading courses available.

“It kind of serves almost as though it’s like a consumer protection device,” Peske says. “Many districts don’t have the capacity to review curriculum materials themselves. Some of them might not have much of an expertise in this.” Peske says Iowa policymakers should consider changing licensing standards for elementary teachers, too, so they’d have to pass an exam that tests their knowledge of research about how kids learn how to read.

“The stakes are very high for children,” Peske says, “and we need to make sure that teachers have the knowledge and skills before they get into classrooms to be able to effectively teach them to read.” Governor Reynolds wants to make a test called the “Foundations of Reading” a requirement in teacher preparation programs in Iowa. The three-cueing system of reading instruction has been banned in a dozen states — including Minnesota and Wisconsin — and Iowa is among several considering a ban this year.

Three-cueing encourages young students to draw clues from pictures on the page or other words in a sentence to figure out what a word might be before looking at the letters in the word and what sounds those letter combinations make.

(Radio Iowa) – An ad agency that promoted sales of OxyContin has agreed to pay Iowa over two-and-a-half MILLION dollars to address the opioid crisis. Publicis – which is part of a French media company – has agreed to pay a national settlement of 350 MILLION dollars. State prosecutors accused the marketing agency of downplaying the risks and addictive nature of OxyContin and other opioids.

Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird says the company’s actions were flat wrong and the settlement secures critical funding for opioid treatment and prevention efforts to save lives across Iowa. Publicis worked with Purdue Pharma from 2010 and 2019 and state prosecutors accused the firm of contacting doctors who had the highest volume of OxyContin prescriptions and encouraging them to increase the dosages for patients.

A statement from the company said the settlement is not an admission of wrongdoing. The marketing firm has agreed to give state prosecutors internal documents showing how it marketed opioids.

(Radio Iowa) – A bill under consideration in the Iowa House would require schools to teach students the meaning of ten national holidays. Constitution Day in September, Columbus Day in October and Veterans Day in November are on the list, along with Bill of Rights Day in December and Martin Luther King, Junior’s Birthday in January. Republican Representative Brooke Boden of Indianola says it’s important to make celebrations of these holidays consistent from one school to another.

“I think that we need to make sure that we are teaching our children to respect America and that they should know what each one of these holidays mean,” Boden says. “It’s not just something that’s written on the calendar. It’s not just something that’s taken lightly.” The bill calls for social studies teachers in public schools to lead appropriate patriotic exercises to commemorate each of the holidays on the list, but the bill does not describe what those exercises should be.

Representative Art Staed, a Democrat from Cedar Rapids, says it’s worth teaching the meaning of these holidays, but the legislature does not need to pass the bill. “This is just a superficial thing,” Staed says. “I don’t know who it pleases, but it’s a problematic thing for our schools and curriculum.”

The bill has cleared a House subcommittee and is eligible for a vote in the House Education Committee, along with another bill that would require students to stand and sing the National Anthem each school da