(Radio Iowa) – All three of Iowa’s state universities will now have nursing programs after the Board of Regents gave the go-ahead for the University of Northern Iowa to start one. U-N-I Provost, Jose Herrera, says there’s no doubt the program will help fill gaps in the health care system. “The need for nurses in Iowa and nationally is critical. Many major medical centers, centers and rural hospitals are forced to close entire floors to the shortage of nurses,” he says. Herrera says patients suffer from the lack of nurses.

“Many patients who require hospitalization spent several hours in the emergency room waiting for a bed. The nursing shortage results in higher patient caseload and significant burnout and nurses, further exacerbating the problem,” Herrera says. He says data from the American Association of Colleges of Nursing show that more than eight-thousand qualified applicants were denied entry to programs just in the Midwest last year due to a lack of space. Herrera says U-N-I’s plans have broad support.

“All healthcare providers but particularly those in rural settings have made it abundantly clear they’re in desperate need of additional graduates that we can provide,” he says. “Leadership from the University of Iowa’s College of Nursing and Iowa State University’s nursing program have provided fruitful conversations to guide our efforts and we hope to continue to benefit from their advice and partnership.” Herrera made his comments during a presentation to the Board of Regents, which approved the new program during their meeting last week. U-N-I will seek accreditation of the nursing program with the hope of getting it started on the Cedar Falls campus in the fall of 2024.

(Radio Iowa) – Many Iowans will be meeting up next week with family members they haven’t seen in a while, and some of us need to mentally prepare ourselves so we’re not sucked into a squabble that ruins Thanksgiving. University of Iowa professor and psychologist Michele Williams says we just had the mid-term elections last week, but that’s likely something to be avoided, along with discussions about inflation, gas prices and the economy. Even vaccines can still be a touchy subject. “With the kind of triple threat of COVID is still around, we’re having the flu, we have RSV, so people are not necessarily going to be healthy this holiday season,” Williams says. “So there’s a lot to talk about that is potentially still divisive and so much in the media that people it may be on people’s minds.”

In order to keep family conversations civil, Williams says the key is to make discussions dialogues, not debates. Stay patient, she says, and tread carefully on potential hot-button topics. “If you were just talking about the price of gas or how the restaurant prices have gone up, so just things that you might talk about in a normal family gathering like, ‘Oh, where are you going?’ ‘We’re not sure if we’re gonna fly home to such-and-such because airline prices are still high,’ that could easily spill over to political perspective on how the economy is going.” She says some families manage conflict by deciding only to talk about football or the kids or other things that they have in common — and not politics.

“We need to listen more. Americans are not really good at listening. We’re good at talking, we’re good at having debates and trying to prove the other side wrong,” Williams says. “We need to kind of move that more to a dialogue where we’re interested and curious about the other side. So we need to listen and I think about it as listening with empathy and grace.” Williams is a UI professor of management and entrepreneurship in the Tippie College of Business and she’s a psychologist who specializes in management communications and relationships.

(Corning, Iowa) – A man from Griswold was arrested Saturday on drug charges, in Adams County. The Adams County Sheriff’s Office reports 36-year-old Carl Daniel was arrested after a probable cause search of his vehicle was enacted, following a traffic stop near the intersection of Dogwood Avenue and Highway 34, in Corning. Inside the vehicle, deputies found 23 grams of methamphetamine.

Carl Daniel faces charges that include Possession of a Controlled Substance/3rd offense – Meth; Poss. with the intent to deliver over 7 grams; Failure to Affix a Drug Tax Stamp, and Poss. of Drug Paraphernalia. He was being held in the Adams County Jail on $35,300 bond.

*Any potential criminal charges identified above are merely allegations, and any defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law*

(Afton, Iowa) – An SUV popped out of gear Sunday evening in Afton, and struck a gas pump, causing $10,000 damage. The Union County Sheriff’s Office reports no one was injured when the 1996 Ford Explorer backed out of a parking stall in the Afton Casey’s Store parking lot, rolled westward and into the middle gas pumps, causing disabling damage to the pump. The accident happened at around 6:50-p.m., as the vehicle’s driver, 37-year-old Travis J. Klos, of Afton, was out of the SUV.

The Ford sustained $3,000 damage but was able to be driven away. Klos was cited for Failure to Provide Proof of (insurance).

(Clarinda, Iowa) – As a reminder to our report on November 3rd, Page County Sheriff Lyle Palmer says the Sheriff’s Department’s “Operation Blessing” is underway. The Sheriff’s Department officially began taking requests yesterday (Saturday, Nov. 12), and continuing through Dec. 10th, for children who are in need of a gift. “Operation Blessing” strives to make sure every child in the rural areas of the County receives a Christmas gift.

The program covers children from birth to age 14, who reside in the communities of Shambaugh, Braddyville, College Springs, Yorktown, Coin, Blanchard, and Northboro as well as the rural areas, of Page County. The child must be a resident of the aforementioned communities, or rural Page County. The requests must come from a parent or guardian of the child and can be called into the Page County Sheriff’s Office at 712-542-5193, or reported in person by the parent or guardian at the Page County Sheriff’s Office located at 323 N 15th Street in Clarinda, IA. Each child will be given a first and second choice. It is suggested that a toy and clothing be requested.

Anyone wishing to donate money to the Page County Sheriff’s Office Operation Blessing program can either stop by the Page County Sheriff’s Office or mail the monetary donation to the Page County Sheriff’s Office at 323 North 15th Clarinda, Iowa, 51632. Monetary donations are taken year-round at the Office. The Page County Reserve Program started Operation Blessing in the mid 1980’s to ensure that every child in the rural areas of Page County had the opportunity to receive a gift at Christmas. It has continued every year since for almost 40 years. In these times, the program is adapting. Department deputies and staff will be delivering gifts just prior to Christmas Eve.

(Red Oak, Iowa) — Police in Red Oak report a man was arrested Saturday afternoon, on a Montgomery County Sheriff’s Department warrant. Authorities say 47-year-old Terry J. Aherns, of Red Oak, was arrested at around 2:24-p.m., on a warrant for Failure to Appear, on the charge of driving while suspended.

Aherns was transported to the Montgomery County Jail and is being held on $1000 cash only bond.