(Radio Iowa) – More and more people are trying out kayaks, canoes, and paddleboards as we hit summer. D-N-R instructor, Todd Robertson, says you can have a lot of fun, but you need to learn a little before heading out. He says it’s best to practice first on a lake or pond. “The problem is, if you head straight to the river and you don’t have any paddling experience, you are going to run into trouble if you don’t know how to control that boat or that board. So, it is always advisable to hit flat water first,” Robertson says. He says there’s no current to deal with and you can learn some techniques. “Learn what it is like to dump the boat. What are you going to do when that happens,” he says. “Know all that stuff before you go out on a river,” Robertson says.

He says the type of craft you select depends on what you want to do. He says if you want speed and to track straight, the longer the boat or board the better. The shorter they are, the easier they turn and maneuver on the water. Robertson says Iowa also now has more advanced options for those who want more of a challenge. He says you can buy a whitewater boat and take lessons and go to one of the whitewater areas now available. “But you just have to use common sense, if we do that, we are going to be safe. It’s when we go out and we don’t have a life jacket, or we go on a river we are not ready for — that’s when we can end up in trouble,” he says.

Robertson says you can take kids along with you kayaking and canoeing. Robertson says as long as parents are experienced and you go out in a group, it can be safe. “Especially on a lake. That changes when you get out on moving water,” he says. “So you don’t want to be a new family with kids and have never been on a river before and just take the whole family out.”

Robertson says there are plenty of training courses available so you are ready when you decide to hit the water.

(Radio Iowa) – Iowans need to fight the bite this summer, especially when it comes to ticks which may be carrying Lyme disease. Epidemiologist Rebecca Osborn says Iowans would be wise to check for ticks after spending any amount of time outdoors. “After coming inside, do a thorough tick check on yourself and your family members,” Osborn says. “Don’t forget that some juvenile ticks can be as small as a poppy seed, so a careful check of your entire body is important.”

Iowa ranks 17th among the 50 states for reported cases of Lyme disease and Osborn says we should all take precautions. Left untreated, Lyme disease can have serious consequences, but caught early and with antibiotics, most people usually recover rapidly and completely. “When you’re talking about Lyme disease, somewhere between 20 and 50 percent of all ticks will be carrying the bacteria that causes Lyme disease,” Osborn says, “and that’s of a certain type of tick, the deer tick, so not all ticks are deer ticks.”

Iowans can protect themselves from tick bites by using repellent on skin and clothing, wearing long pants and long-sleeved shirts, and checking yourself for ticks after being outdoors. If you find a tick attached to your skin, remove it right away.  “All you need is a pair of tweezers. Just pull it out with a steady pressure,” she says. “Once you’ve removed the tick, you want to wash that area with soap and water, and monitor that location for the developments of a rash in the next month.”

The latest figures the Iowa Department of Public Health is supplying on Lyme disease are for 2017, in which 255 cases were reported statewide. Most cases occurred in the eastern half of the state.

ALTOONA, Iowa — In an update to our previous reports, officials with Adventureland Park in Altoona have confirmed one of the four people injured Saturday during an accident on the Raging River ride, has died. A total of four people wee injured when a boat with six people on-board flipped over, at around 7:35-p.m., Saturday. In an initial press release, Saturday, Park officials had said four guests were critically injured, another suffered minor injuries. The ride remains closed while an investigation is being conducted. The names of the victims have not been released.

Adventureland officials said Saturday, “The ride had been inspected on 7/2/21 and was found to be in sound working order.” The ride is located at a remote distance from park entrances, which fire officials said made getting to the incident difficult. The Raging River had just reopened for the first time this season. The ride has been closed since last year. It first opened in 1983.

(Radio Iowa) – Demand for cosmetologists is expected to grow this decade and Iowa Lakes is the latest community college to add a cosmetology program. Tom Brotherton serves as the Executive Dean of the Emmetsburg Campus for Iowa Lakes.
“It feels like more than two years of process because there are many steps for program approval, curriculum development, approval with the state — the Board of Cosmetology, the Higher Learning Commission,” he says, “then you start worrying about facilities.” Office space on the Emmetsburg campus has been converted into a salon.

“It looks good. It fits in the space. It’s convenient,” Brotherton says. “It’s just really a great addition.” Laurie Pearson, coordinator for the program, says traditional cosmetology schools don’t offer the associates degree that Iowa Lakes cosmetology students can earn. “Plus our cosmetology students get to have an understanding of college life,” she says. “They can go into sports. They can be in choir, so there’s a lot of different activities that a student can enjoy here at Iowa Lakes.”

Seven students are in the program’s first class and Pearson expects numbers to increase this fall. Many other Iowa community colleges offer continuing education and degree programs for cosmetologists. In the last decade, demand for cosmetologists in Iowa was slighly higher than the national average.

(Radio Iowa) – Under new Iowa Department of Education rules, no public or private school in Iowa will be required to offer remote learning. When the pandemic first hit in March of 2020, Iowa schools shut down, then many transitioned to online instruction or a combination of in-person and internet-only school days. A state law passed in February required all districts to offer 100 percent in-person classes, but several districts still offered parents the option of online classes for their children.

Rules scheduled to go into effect August 4th state that no school will be required to offer or maintain continuous remote learning or deliver instruction over the internet. There are two exceptions listed. One is if the governor declares another public health emergency. The other is when online classes are most appropriate for students with disabilities.

Students with failing grades have been allowed to participate in high school sports during the pandemic, but starting August 1st, the so-called scholarship rule will again apply. It means a student who fails a class will have to sit out of athletic competition for 30 days.

Greenfield artist Ray “Bubba” Sorensen recently announced his way of concluding the Iowa Freedom Rock® Tour. He will hold an online auction for the 100th custom-painted rock. With 97 out of 99 counties currently completed, Sorensen said he wanted a way to celebrate the end of the eight-year project. He says he plans to complete the last two of the 99 counties by end of August 2021. The Sorensen’s (Ray and his wife Maria) originally decided to limit the Iowa Freedom Rock® Tour to one Freedom Rock® per county due to the fact they wanted to complete it in a timely fashion (the goal was in ten years). They knew if they did not limit it, they may be doing 3-4 Freedom Rocks® per county as they have had offers to do so and really wanted to see this project complete.

“When we first announced this project in 2013, we didn’t know how fast it would take off. We had multiple towns who wanted the Freedom Rock® in their county.” Sorensen said he will host the online auction through the Freedom Rock® Facebook page from now (July 4th) through November 11th. “We’re very thankful for all of the support we have received over the past 8 years with this project, and we thought this would be a great way to celebrate the end of the Iowa Tour. This is a way for those who didn’t get it the first time, to get an official Freedom Rock® now if they would still like to.”

Photo submitted by Maria Sorensen

The couple also plan to donate part of the proceeds to a local Veterans charity with the online auction. Sorensen is not commissioned for his work on the original Freedom Rock® in Menlo, Iowa but works as an independent mural artist on the Iowa Freedom Rock® Tour. Ray Sorensen is only able to complete about ten rocks per year, due to scheduling and weather and is currently booked into the end of the 2022 year. “I always say I have three goals with ‘The Freedom Rock® Tour’ and that is to honor America’s Veterans, promote Iowa
tourism and provide for my family.”

Although the Iowa Freedom Rock® Tour is concluding, the Sorensen’s say they are anything from slowing down. “Currently we are starting to book into summer of 2023 with not only murals and other artwork but also with the 50 State Freedom Rock® Tour as well.” Sorensen said. For a list of complete counties booked for the Tour and locations of already existing Freedom Rocks®, please visit www.thefreedomrock.com. This is the Sorensen’s eighth year on the Freedom Rock® Tour across Iowa. This also marked the fourth year since Sorensen began the 50 State
Freedom Rock® Tour with rocks already painted in Missouri and Wisconsin, Minnesota and Washington. Freedom Rocks® have been booked for the states of North Dakota, Nebraska, and Illinois.

For a link to the online auction, please visit:
https://www.myminiauction.com/freedomrock100