The area’s latest and/or top news stories at 7:06-a.m., w/KJAN News Director Ric Hanson
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The area’s latest and/or top news stories at 7:06-a.m., w/KJAN News Director Ric Hanson
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (4.2MB)
Subscribe: RSS
All the Democrats and one of the Republicans running for governor in 2018 will participate in a Tuesday evening forum, to discuss Iowa’s mental health system. Democratic candidate Nate Boulton, a state senator from Des Moines, has been calling for reopening the two state-run Mental Health Institutes former Governor Terry Branstad closed. “When those facilities were shut down, the services were lost. They weren’t replaced with anything. There was nothing new that came in to take care of those residents,” Boulton says. “We all know our state needs to be doing more, not less, for mental health care.”
Cedar Rapids Mayor Ron Corbett is challenging Governor Kim Reynolds in the Republican Primary next June. Corbett says a fragmented system was made worse by the decision to close the Mental Health Institutes in southern Iowa. “All that did was compress the system down,” Corbett says. “The state may have saved some money, but the patients didn’t evaporate, they just got pushed down and, in many cases, on local property taxpayers.”
Corbett says some state-run facility needs to provide up to 50 more beds for patients with acute mental illnesses. Corbett will attend Tuesday’s forum. Governor Reynolds won’t, but she’s sending a short video that will be played for the crowd. Democratic candidate Fred Hubbell, a Des Moines businessman, took a tour of hospitals and jails around the state last month. Hubbell says emergency rooms and jails have become the “last resort” treatment option for mentally ill Iowans. Andy McGuire, a medical doctor who’s also seeking the Democratic Party’s nomination, says police have become “mental health providers.”
“They take patients to jail and to emergency rooms, two of the most expensive and worst places for someone in crisis rather than preventing crisis with more up-front counseling,” McGuire says. “…We need to prioritize and focus resources and we need to destigmatize mental health. We need to love more and ignore less.”
McGuire made her comments at a recent Democratic Party fundraiser. John Norris, another candidate who spoke at the same event, accused Governors Branstad and Reynolds of “turning the heartland into the land of the heartless.” Tuesday’s discussion about the mental health system is sponsored by The Des Moines Register and Des Moines University and starts at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday.
(Radio Iowa)
Police in Council Bluffs report one person was injured during a rollover accident at around 4:15-a.m. today (Monday). Officers responding to the 7-mile marker of Interstate 80 located a 1998 Ford Escort that had been traveling west bound, when the driver lost control and the vehicle went off the roadway before rolling numerous times. The driver was able to crawl out of the vehicle prior to officers arrival. The unidentified man suffered non-life threatening injuries and was transported to Nebraska Medical Center by rescue squad.
The crash is currently being investigated by the Council Bluffs Police Special Operations Traffic Unit (712) 328-4948. Anyone who may have witnessed or have information in reference to the crash is urged to contact the CBPD Traffic Unit.
Farmers and public health officials are growing increasingly concerned with a shortage of food animal veterinarians in Iowa and across the country. The number of farm animal vets is shrinking at a time when worries over potential disease outbreaks are on the rise. Dr. John Thomson ran a veterinary clinic for 20 years just south of Creston. “And it’s a very sparsely populated area, so it’s not always easy to attract veterinarians into those areas,” Thomson says.
The retired Iowa State University professor is fighting for legislation that would lure more young animal doctors into rural or underserved areas. Thomson says one of the biggest barriers involves student debt. “On average, (veterinary) students are graduating with $141,000 in debt and they’re looking for ways to reduce that as painlessly as they can. A lot of times they’ll take what they feel is the most lucrative opportunity for them and that isn’t always in the most remote areas of the state,” Thomson says.
In response to the vet shortage, the Veterinary Medicine Loan Repayment Program provides selected food animal and public health veterinarians up to $75,000 in loan repayment in exchange for serving at least three years in designated shortage areas. Thomson says the program is working, but doesn’t receive enough funding to fill the demand. This challenge results in part from the fact that each award from the program is subject to a 39 percent withholding tax.
“There’s a Veterinary Enhancement Act that has been put forward to remove the tax on the award so more people can be provided that assistance,” Thomson says. Thomson is a member of the American Veterinary Medical Association, which is pushing for removal of the tax. Thomson was the dean of the ISU College of Veterinary Medicine from 2004-2011.
(Radio Iowa)
MASON CITY, Iowa (AP) — Authorities say one person has died in a Mason City house fire. The blaze started around noon Friday. A neighbor reported that flames had engulfed the rear of the home. The victim’s name hasn’t been released. Officials say the fire started at a multi-plug surge protector.
Deere and Company says it completed all the requirements to acquire a German company that makes road construction equipment. Regulators in more than 20 countries had to review and approve the deal that’s worth more than five BILLION dollars ($5.2) before it became final. Deere spokesman, Ken Golden, says the Wirtgen Group has factories in Brazil, China and India as well as German. “It is clearly the biggest acquisition in Deer’s history by about nine times,” Golden says,”and it fits right in with the strategy of John Deer to grow two major global businesses — agriculture and construction.”
Wirtgen employs 82-hundred people and doubles the size of the workforce in construction and forestry at Deere. Golden says it’s rare for Deere or any company to find another one to buy that has a similar culture, with no overlap in products. He says the company makes bulldozers and endloaders that are used in road construction, but they are not the machines that tear up old roadways, and those are the products that Wirtgen brings to Deere. The Wirtgen Group will enable Deere and Company to become to the world leader in road construction equipment. Deere has retained all five of Wirtgen’s existing brands, along with its employees and distribution network. “What we have found even when we were looking at the Wirtgen group, is their intense focus on the customer, their desire to build high-quality equipment and to be an innovator. And those are things that are true at Deere as well,” according to Golden. “So when you put that kind of philosophy that is very similar in two companies — we are really looking forward to how well this will work.”
The Wirtgen Group was a privately-held company before being acquired by Deere.
(Radio Iowa)
Today: Partly to mostly cloudy & windy w/scattered light rain or drizzle. High around 64 this morning, w/temps falling into the 40’s this afternoon. There is a Wind Advisory in effect for parts of the listening area beginning at 11-a.m. in the west, and 3-p.m. for Cass & other Counties. S @ 10-20 this morning, becoming NW @ 20-35 this afternoon.
Tonight: P/Cldy to Cldy w/scattered flurries. Low 22. NW @ 20-35.
Tomorrow: P/Cldy. High 35. NW @ 15-30.
Wednesday: Mo. Cldy w/flurries. High 34.
Thursday: P/Cldy. High 29.
Our 24-Hour High in Atlantic was 64. That broke the old record of 63 set in 1962 & 2012 The Low was 23. Last Year on this date, we topped at 40 and bottomed-out at 31. The All time record high in At;antic on Dec. 4th, was 66 in 1998. The record Low for this date was -8 in 1905. Sunrise is at 7:29-a.m. and Sunset at 4:50-p.m.
A Wind Advisory is in effect from 3-p.m. today until 3-a.m. Tuesday for the following counties in the KJAN listening area: Cass-Crawford-Carroll-Audubon-Guthrie-Dallas, and from 11-a.m. today until 8-p.m., for Monona-Harrison-Shelby-Pottawattamie and Mills.
Sustained northwest winds at 30 to 40 mph with gusts of 45 to 50 mph can be expected. Winds will diminish slightly toward daybreak but still remain fairly strong with gusts of 35 to 40 mph into Tuesday.
Travel may be hazardous, especially for high profile vehicles. Lightweight unsecured objects will be blown around. Be sure to secure holiday decorations. Although any accumulations would be less than an inch, the wind may also combine with a brief period of snow north during the early evening hours to further increase travel hazardous, mainly due to low visibilities more so than slick roads.
Montgomery County Sheriff’s officials report a Nebraska man was arrested Sunday night for Possession of Drug Paraphernalia. 25-year old Tyreek Dupree Thomas, of Omaha, was arrested at around 6:20-p.m. and transported to the Montgomery County Jail, where his bond was set at $300.
Here is the latest Mid-America sports news from The Associated Press
UNDATED (AP) — The Kansas City Chiefs seemed like they would cruise to an AFC West title, but now they’re tied at 6-6 with the Los Angeles Chargers and Oakland Raiders. The ride could get even bumpier, too, and it’s unlikely that more than the division winner will make it to January.
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) — The Kansas City Chiefs were once an undefeated powerhouse and a solid squad that many thought would challenge for supremacy in the AFC. Andy Reid’s squad is 6-6 now after losing a tough one to the New York Jets 38-31. It was the Chiefs’ sixth loss in seven games and did little to calm the nerves of fans who think their team is in the middle of an ugly collapse.
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) — Lack of discipline doomed the Kansas City Chiefs in their 38-31 loss to the New York Jets. Four penalties were called against them in the Jets’ winning drive. Marcus Peters couldn’t take it anymore and the Chiefs cornerback picked up a flag and angrily tossed it into the stands. He then walked straight across the field at MetLife Stadium and into the locker room. It was that kind of day for the Chiefs.
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — New Nebraska coach Scott Frost was given a rousing welcome home at his introductory news conference from boosters, current players and his old teammates. He promised to make them proud with the product he’ll put on the field. Frost takes over a program that has lost its stature among college football’s elite in the 20 years since he quarterbacked the Cornhuskers to a share of the 1997 national championship.
EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Nick Ward matched his season high with 22 points as part of a balanced offense that helped No. 3 Michigan State beat Nebraska 86-57. The Spartans have won six straight since losing to top-ranked Duke, beating each team by at least 18 points. Jaren Jackson had 15 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks, Cassius Winston scored 16 points and had seven assists, and Miles Bridges added 12 points. James Palmer led Nebraska with 15 points.
UNDATED (AP) — Iowa State’s brutal loss to Kansas State to end the regular season dimmed the program’s bowl prospects. But after five years of staying home in December, the Cyclones are thrilled to go anywhere _ including Memphis. That’s where Iowa State will be on Dec. 30 when it faces the hometown Memphis Tigers in the Liberty Bowl.
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