(Radio Iowa) – We’re now 26 days from the election and political analysts are trying to determine how much larger an influence women voters will be during this cycle compared to past presidential election years. Karen Kedrowski, director of Iowa State University’s Catt Center for Women and Politics, predicts more American women will be voting in 2020 than ever before. “What we have found over time is that women’s voting behavior, their turnout, has steadily increased to the point where in 2016, women were the large majority of voters,” Kedrowski says. “More than 10-million more women than men showed up and cast votes in 2016.”

Since 1980, there’s been what Kedrowski refers to as a “gender gap,” as women are more likely to vote for Democratic candidates, while men are more likely to vote Republican. “This, of course, is not a pure division, there are Republican women and Democratic men, but in 2016, it was the largest gender gap that we had ever seen,” Kedrowski says. “It was 11 points in favor of Secretary Hillary Clinton over President Donald Trump.”

In this year which marks the centennial of the ratification of the 19th Amendment — which gave millions of women the right to vote, it appears women could be key in swinging this year’s presidential race. “The early polling indicates the gender gap in 2020 promises to be even bigger,” Kendrowski says. “It’s looking like as much as 20 points between men and women in whether or not they are going to vote for President Trump or Vice President Biden, so that’s definitely something to watch.”

There’s a continued push to get students on the I-S-U campus to take part in the November election. In 2016, she says on-campus participation in that presidential election was around 55-percent, compared to only 40-percent of college students nationwide. Kendrowski says under-24-year-olds are the least likely demographic to vote.

(Radio Iowa) – Overall unemployment numbers continue to move down. Iowa Workforce Development reports ongoing unemployment claims dropped by more than 67-hundred last week to 51-thousand-666. Ongoing claims peaked at more than 189-thousand in May. The drop in ongoing claims comes as the number of new claims increased slightly for the week. The manufacturing industry and self-employed individuals each had more than 900 new job claims in the last week.

Atlantic Parks and Recreation Department Director Bryant Rasmussen reports the Parks and Recreation Dept. will close the road in Sunnyside Park, located between the Cass County Fair Grounds and the Kiddie Korral bathrooms, so that maintenance can take place on the disc golf course hole #15. The closure is effective this Saturday, October 10^th.

The Cass County Pork Producers have honored the first baby born during October with a special gift basket in celebration of National Pork Month. According to CCHS Public Relations Coordinator Ann McCurdy, the basket includes a bib, diapers, $20 in pork gift certificates, and a bacon-shaped teether. The lucky baby is Wade Alan Zellmer, born on October 3, 2020 to parents Maddi and Gage.

Photo courtesy of the CCHS Obstetrics Nursing Team

Photo courtesy of the CCHS Obstetrics Nursing Team

(Radio Iowa) – A man and woman caught late at night in the Marion High School parking lot with two pounds of meth have been sentenced to federal prison. Prosecutors say 40-year-old Christin Campbell-Martin of Ames and 28-year-old Adam Scott Leiva, of Marshalltown, had been driving around Iowa, selling meth for a couple of days, and were arrested in late May of 2018 before they could sell a batch in the Cedar Rapids area.

Campbell-Martin has 25 prior convictions and she’ll spend 16 years in federal prison. Leiva has 13 prior convictions and his sentence was for 19-and-a-half years.

The Glenwood Police Department reports 27-year old Rocky Runyon, of Glenwood, was arrested today (Thursday), on charges that include felony Eluding, driving while suspended and six traffic citations. His bond set was set at $5,300, plus $1,252.50 traffic citations fees.   Additional details were not available.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — An Iowa City hospital has informed state officials it plans to lay off 29 employees because of losses suffered during the coronavirus outbreak. The Gazette reports that Mercy Iowa City filed notice of the layoffs with Iowa Workforce Development, noting that the layoffs will be effective Nov. 21. According to Mercy Iowa City spokesman Aaron Scheinblum, the layoffs will affect a variety of non-specific areas in the hospital.

The notice was filed days before the hospital announced last month that it would close its inpatient mental and behavioral health unit. Scheinblum says the layoffs are not specifically tied to that unit.

The Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) helps qualifying low-income Iowa homeowners and renters pay for a portion of their primary heating costs for the winter heating season. The assistance is based on household income, household size, type of fuel, and type of housing. The application period runs from November 1, 2020 through April 30, 2021, with early applications accepted beginning October 1, 2020, for households that have a member who is at least 60 years of age, or disabled, or where disconnection is imminent. Anyone facing disconnection at any time should contact their local community action agency for assistance.

Iowa families are facing many challenges to cope with the COVID-19 virus. Some have lost jobs or had their hours of employment reduced. These circumstances and others could lead to difficulty in paying your utility bill. If you find yourself in that situation, there is help available through the State’s network of local community action agencies that have offices in all 99 counties. Families and individuals can apply for the Energy Assistance program through their local community action agency. This program can help pay a portion of an eligible household’s utility bill. Eligibility is based on household size and income. Anyone facing difficulty in paying their utility bill should contact their local agency.

To find your local agency, you may call 2-1-1, visit https://humanrights.iowa.gov/dcaa/where-apply, or contact the Iowa Department of Human Rights at (515) 281-3861 or 1-800-351-4659. LIHEAP information is available in multiple languages on the Department’s website.

In an update to our previous reports, the Iowa State Patrol Thursday (Today), said two women were transported to separate hospitals following a motorcycle accident late Wednesday morning. According to the Patrol, 67-year-old Ellen Lloyd, of La Vista, Nebraska, was driving a 2017 Harley Davidson westbound on Interstate 80 near mile marker 63. She was in stop-and-go traffic  associated with the construction zone, and braked hard. When she slammed on the brakes, her passenger, 47-year-old Tiffany Reiss, of Raymond, Nebraska, began to fall off the motorcycle.

While Lloyd and Reiss fell onto the travel portion of the road, the motorcycle continued off the road, and into the ditch. Authorities say Ellen Lloyd was transported by ambulance to the Cass County Memorial Hospital. Tiffany Reiss was flown by LifeNet helicopter to the University of Nebraska Medical Center, in Omaha. A report on their conditions was not available.

Emily McColloch, with Guthrie County Public Health, today (Thursday), confirmed another two deaths associated with COVID-19, in Guthrie County. One individual was age 73, who had underlying medical conditions. The other was a person over the age of 80. The total number of deaths in Guthrie County since the pandemic began, is 12. Guthrie County Public Health Director Jotham Arber said “We want to extend our deepest condolences to the individuals’ families.”

He added that “It has been very hard over the last six months, to watch people in our community pass away from this terrible disease, but we are all in this fight together. Guthrie County Public Health and its partners continue to work to limit the spread and impact of COVID-19 in our communities.” Arber recommends all Guthrie County residents:

• Wear cloth face coverings in public settings where social distancing measures and other hygiene practices are difficult to maintain.
• Stay at least 6-feet away from others, to minimize exposure.
• Anyone who is at high risk for more severe COVID-19 illness, should stay home.
• Stay home even when you are mildly ill (the kind of illness that normally would not prevent you from your everyday activities).
• Cover coughs and sneezes with a tissue or your elbow/upper arm.
• Wash hands frequently with soap and warm water for at least 20-seconds.