IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) – A daily quiet time has been established at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics in Iowa City. Hospital officials say less noise provides a more professional atmosphere for staff members and easier rest for the more than 33,000 patients admitted each year. The initiative took effect Tuesday.

Cedar Rapids television station KCRG reports that quiet time runs from 12:30 p.m. to 2 p.m. Lights are dimmed and people are encouraged to speak softer. The hospital also is working on equipment changes. Hospital officials say the campaign was prompted by patient feedback.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) – Iowa’s public universities aren’t off the hook yet for refusing to pay millions of dollars in fees to a program that subsidizes health insurance for residents with health risks. The Iowa Supreme Court ruled Friday that the Iowa Individual Health Benefit Reinsurance Association can sue the universities to try to collect the unpaid fees. The decision overturned an appeals court, which ruled last year that the association didn’t have the power to sue.

The association contends that the universities, like all state agencies, school districts and municipalities with self-funded health plans, are members and required to pay annual assessments. For years, the schools agreed and paid. But after the University of Iowa became self-insured in 2010, all three universities contended they were not covered by the law and stopped paying.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) – The Iowa Supreme Court is warning government officials that they cannot make decisions in private by negotiating agreements through third parties. The court ruled Friday that Iowa’s open meetings law extends to all in-person meetings in which a majority of a board is present “by virtue of an agent or a proxy.” The first-of-its-kind ruling in Iowa comes in a case involving the Warren County Board of Supervisors.

To avoid discussing a controversial downsizing plan in public, the board’s three members met individually with the county administrator to negotiate details. The administrator passed along concerns and feedback raised by members to the others.
County employees who were laid off filed a lawsuit alleging the board had violated the open meetings law. Friday’s 4-3 decision reinstates the case for further proceedings.

The Shelby County Emergency Management Agency is advising fire stations and businesses in the county with “Fire Danger” signs, to leave those signs in the “High” category. The National Weather Service says there is a 40-percent chance of light snow Saturday, but any accumulation will quickly melt away as highs reach the lower 40’s.

The lack of significant precipitation over the past few weeks has left vegetation in Shelby County very dry, which, combined with relatively low humidity, makes for dangerous fire conditions.

The Shelby County EMA says you should remember to call your controlled burns in to the EMA Communications center at (712) – 755-2124, and, contact your local Fire Chief before igniting any outdoor burns. The best time to do so, officials have said, is during the late evening or early morning hours.

The next Fire Danger update will be on Monday.

Cass County Emergency Management Coordinator Mike Kennon is reminding the citizens of Atlantic that the Outdoor Warning System will be tested today (Friday) at Noon, in Atlantic. The sirens will sound today and every Friday at Noon during the severe weather season, unless there is an actual threat of severe weather.

Don’t forget, the sirens will be activated next Wednesday as well, as part of the Statewide Tornado Drill. The sirens will sound at 10:15-a.m., Wednesday.

More area and State news from KJAN News Director Ric Hanson.

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Social media posts from residents in southwest Iowa in the recent weeks have been talking about odd encounters people have been having with persons involved in the possible sale of perfume. The events have reportedly taken place in Atlantic, Griswold, Stuart and Minden. In one post on Facebook, a woman from Harlan said her girlfriend had recently stopped at the Casey’s Store in Avoca after a late night in the office, and was approached in the parking lot by two men and a woman.

The woman reportedly asked the lady who was leaving the store, what the perfume was that she was wearing. She then asked her to sample some perfume they were selling at a discount. The men allegedly attempted to get behind the woman/possible victim. The unknown woman sprayed some perfume on her sleeve and attempted to get the other woman to smell it, but she refused. The report goes on to say one of the men came up from behind and got close to the woman before allegedly attempting to grab her. The potential victim pushed past the men and got in her car before leaving the scene.

Atlantic Police Chief Steve Green says a local woman who happens to work in law enforcement came into contact with persons with a similar approach, about two-days after the alleged incident in Avoca. He says a Cass County Sheriff’s dispatcher was approached by the individuals and things “didn’t seem on the up-and-up.” An officer was contacted who identified the persons. Afterward, authorities learned of the alleged incident in Avoca.

An investigation involving numerous law enforcement agencies in the area is underway to determine who the individuals are, and what their motive may be. The female and two males have been reported at times to be in a white truck and a white SUV. He says they are using a scenario of opening a perfume store in the area, but all indications are that their story is not true.

Green says after the alleged incident in Avoca, authorities are recommending persons avoid people matching the description of the persons selling perfume, who approach you in a parking lot, especially after hours, you should simply walk away and not interact with them. He doesn’t want to be alarmist, but if you encounter those individuals, Green advises you to return to the store, as those persons of interest are not likely to follow. If you are near your car and unlock it, that sets up the chance for you to be forced into your vehicle and then become a possible victim of crime.

Authorities are working on following up with the alleged victim in Avoca and corroborate her statement with a photo line-up of possible suspects. Green says right now, the only thing they can cite the individuals for is soliciting without a permit. He says the Atlantic Police Officer who made contact with the two men and one woman, advised them they needed to come to City Hall to obtain a permit, but they didn’t do so, and no further reports of them have been received in the immediate area. He says the suspected trio may have moved on to areas where their activity has not been reported yet.

Clarinda Chief of Police Keith Brothers reports this (Friday) morning, that the administrative phone number 712-542-2194 at the police department, is not working. Inbound calls to the number are not reaching the department. Brothers said he became aware of the problem at approximately 11-a.m. Thursday. He said that his phone system provider worked on the problem until around 10-p.m. Thursday, and that the problem does not appear to be in the department’s new phone system, but a problem with an outside phone line.

The Chief is presently working with Windstream Communications to resolve the problem. There’s no time table as to when the telephone number will be working again. Brothers stated the problem is vexing and frustrating, given the police department’s switch over to an auto attendant phone system just a little over a week ago.

He also reminds everyone that the Page County Dispatch Center can be reached at 712-542-1419 for non-emergency calls for the police department. Chief Brothers concludes by saying he is sorry for the inconvenience this phone problem has caused.

The area’s top news at 7:06-a.m., w/KJAN News Director Ric Hanson

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A new report ranks the health of every one of Iowa’s 99 counties and it shows some dramatic differences between rural and urban counties. Katie Wehr, spokeswoman for Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, says the annual County Health Rankings isn’t a contest but more of a tool or guidebook. “We collect a whole host of data, 30 factors in particular, to talk about how health is much more than what happens in the doctor’s office,” Wehr says. “It includes everything from public safety to education to poverty. That all helps shape how well and how long we live.”

The report shows rural counties have higher premature death rates compared to urban counties. Also, rural counties have higher rates of smoking, obesity, child poverty and teen births, and higher numbers of uninsured adults than their urban counterparts. Large urban counties have lower smoking and obesity rates, fewer injury deaths and more residents who attended college.

“Through the website, CountyHealthRankings.org, it enables communities to see the trends over time within their particular county and also enables them to identify where they’re doing particularly well and where there are additional areas for improvement,” Wehr says. “It also gives them the ability to understand how they’re doing compared to their neighbors so they can continue to learn from their neighbors about what’s working and what’s not.”

The report contains county-by-county breakdowns for all 50 states. Coincidentally, Iowa’s highest- and lowest-ranked counties are both on the western border and in close proximity to one another. “The healthiest county in Iowa is Sioux County and the least healthy or the lowest-ranked county is Monona County,” Wehr says. “What we recognize is the rankings are a starting point and not an ending point. It’s not even a race to the top because rankings vary every year depending on how well you are doing, or not, compared to your neighbor.”

Dallas County, in west central Iowa placed third in the Overall Health Outcomes category. Elsewhere in southwest and western Iowa, Taylor County has the best ranking in the Overall Health Outcomes category, coming in at number 19. Carroll County ranked 21st, Shelby County 28th, Adair County placed 39th in the ranking, while Audubon County was ranked 54th and Guthrie County 61st out of 99 counties in Iowa. Further down the list in 81st place was Cass County, while Adams County ranked in 83rd place.

The report includes a “tools” section that contains a database of approaches, personalized coaching and a range of other resources to help communities in their efforts to improve health.

(Radio Iowa/KJAN)