(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa Pork Producers Association is exploring its legal options after a judge dismissed its attempt to block rules that likely will prevent most Iowa-raised pork from being sold in California. The federal judge wrote there isn’t proof California voters intended to harm Iowa pork producers when they passed what’s called Proposition 12. Once regulations to into effect next year, California businesses won’t be able to sell pork that comes from pigs confined in less than 24 square feet of space.

Eldon McAfee, an attorney for the Iowa Pork Producers Association, says it’ll be tough for producers to give each breeding pig more space than that. “We alleged in the lawsuit that it would be very difficult — you never want to use the word impossible; it can be done, but it would be very difficult, extremely difficult on a commercial basis,” he says.

McAfee says to comply with the size requirements, producers would have to get rid of individual crafts and shift to housing sows in groups and the conversion would be expensive.

(Reporting by Iowa Public Radio’s Katie Peikes)

(Radio Iowa) – The mother of two young students in Council Bluffs is suing Governor Kim Reynolds over the law she signed that bans schools from requiring masks. Fran Parr has twin sons in first grade. Parr says she’s fighting for the safety of in-person learning. “I hope we get some recognition of the risk that this Delta variant is to the unvaccinated and to children,” she says.

Parr’s lawsuit also names the Iowa Department of Education as a defendant. It’s the first lawsuit filed to challenge the law Reynolds signed in May. Parr says thousands of kids under the age of 12 aren’t eligible for the Covid vaccine and Iowa is poised for super-spreader events in every Iowa school.

“So if my kids were in class, a kid had Covid or was found to be Covid-positive, but he was masked, that would make me feel a lot more comfortable that we’re still managing this, we’re still doing the best that we can.” Governor Reynolds has said it should be parents who decide whether their children wear masks at school.

Neola, Iowa – August 25, 2021 – NAMI Southwest Iowa is expanding their programming beginning in September!  Two new monthly NAMI Family Support Groups will begin in Atlantic and Clarinda.  In addition, a NAMI Family-to-Family Class will begin October 2nd in Atlantic. Anna Killpack, Executive Director at NAMI Southwest Iowa, says “When families are struggling to cope with loved ones that have challenging mental health conditions, it can feel very isolating and overwhelming.  Families and caregivers need to know that they are NOT ALONE!”

NAMI Family Support Group is a peer-led support group for any adult with a loved one who has experienced symptoms of a mental health condition. Participants can gain insight from the challenges and successes of others facing similar experiences. 

NAMI Family Support Group will be held the first Tuesday of each month at 6:30pm in Atlantic at the Atlantic Area Chamber of Commerce, 102 Chestnut Street starting September 7th.  Also, NAMI Family Support Group will be held the third Tuesday of each month at 6:30pm in Clarinda at Southwest Iowa Families, 215 E. Washington starting September 21st.

NAMI Family-to-Family is a free, 8-session educational program for family, significant others, and friends of people with mental health conditions. It is a designated evidenced-based program. This means that research shows that the program significantly improves the coping and problem-solving abilities of the people closest to a person with a mental health condition. NAMI Family-to-Family class will take place Saturday mornings from 9:30am-11:30am beginning October 2nd in Atlantic.  Call 712-542-7904 to register.

NAMI, the National Alliance on Mental Illness, is the nation’s largest grassroots mental health organization dedicated to building better lives for the millions of Americans affected by mental illness.  NAMI Southwest Iowa is an affiliate of NAMI and NAMI Iowa.  For information on ALL of NAMI Southwest Iowa’s programming, visit the website at www.namisouthwestiowa.com or call 712-542-7904.

The Cass County Auditor’s Office reported at the close of their business day, Wednesday, they had received papers filed from a candidate to fill the vacancy position of Mayor, in Anita. John Knutson is running for the top position in Anita.

No other candidates had filed for various City seats in Cass County, on Wednesday. As previously reported, three Atlantic City Councilpersons are running for Mayor, and one person is running for the Parks and Rec Board, in Atlantic.

The deadline to file nomination papers with the Cass County Auditor’s Office is 5-p.m., September 16.

(Des Moines, IA) – Officials with the Iowa Department of Public Health say, like most of the country, Iowa has experienced an increase in COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations and deaths in recent weeks. In their statement issued Wed. evening, the IDPH says “Because of the success of our vaccine campaign, current numbers are a fraction of what they were in November 2020, when the state experienced its highest level of virus activity.”

Health officials say the majority of current COVID-19 hospitalizations are among unvaccinated Iowans. On August 25, 79% of individuals hospitalized with a primary COVID-19 diagnosis were not vaccinated and 86% of patients in the ICU were not vaccinated before becoming infected. The hospitalization rate is currently highest among middle age to older adults. 87% of those hospitalized are age 40 and older. Children under the age of 18 account for just 2% of COVID-19 hospitalizations.

Iowa Department of Public Health interim director Kelly Garcia says “We have many tools we need to keep ourselves and our loved ones safe and the single most important tool we have is the vaccine, which is highly effective at preventing serious illness, hospitalization and death. For anyone who was waiting for the assurance of full FDA authorization, I urge you to schedule your appointment today.”

Preventing avoidable COVID-19 hospitalizations also helps preserve health care resources for other needs, including illnesses, injuries and emergencies. Some Iowa hospitals have recently reported an increase in hospitalizations among children with RSV, limiting their bed capacity for other patients.  As of Wednesday, IDPH was reporting 42 additional deaths due to COVID-19. These deaths occurred over a four-week period from July 24-August 22, 2021.

There are a number of things Iowans can do to protect themselves and others from COVID-19 and prevent spreading the virus in their communities:

Get vaccinated

According to the CDC, over 60% of Iowans 12 and older are fully vaccinated and there have been recent increases daily vaccine administration rates. All Iowans over the age of 12 are eligible to get the COVID-29 vaccine. Vaccines are free, safe and available statewide. Find a vaccine provider at vacccinateiowa.gov. Iowans with questions about the vaccine should contact their healthcare provider. Click here for information on who is currently eligible for an additional dose of the  COVID-19 vaccine.

Get Tested

If you or a loved one are experiencing COVID-19 symptoms, get tested as soon as possible. Symptoms may include coughing, shortness of breath, fever, chills, headache, muscle pain, sore throat, or loss of taste or smell. Testing is widely available with many convenient options.

Iowans can access testing at the following locations:

• Primary Care Providers
• Urgent Care
• Local and national pharmacies
• Private labs in local communities

Test Iowa At Home:

IDPH and the State Hygienic Lab are partnering to provide Iowans free at-home test kits. These test kits are ideal for a proactive diagnosis. Examples of proactive testing:

• Before upcoming travel, or returning from travel.
• Ensuring negative status before attending events.
• Recent COVID-19 positive and want to ensure a negative result before returning to normal activities.
• To have on hand for family members in case of exposure.

Go to testiowa.com for more information, to order a test kit or find a pick-up site near you.

Iowans are urged not to visit a Hospital Emergency Room for COVID-19 diagnostic testing, unless experiencing severe symptoms. An ER visit may expose others in a medically fragile state to the virus as well as place additional strain on hospital resources.

Seek Treatment

If you are diagnosed with COVID-19, you may be able to reduce the severity of your symptoms and prevent bad outcomes by receiving Monoclonal Antibodies. These antibodies can reduce the amount of virus in your body. Monoclonal Antibodies do not contain the virus that causes COVID-19. It’s important to do this before your symptoms progress to ensure the best possible outcome. Talk with your healthcare provider about whether this is the right option for you. Find options near you by visiting here.

While there are multiple tools available to prevent the spread of COVID-19, the vaccine remains the strongest and Iowans should get vaccinated as soon as possible.

The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office reports the arrest of 37-year-old Kaleb L. Wagaman of Bedford on a valid Montgomery County warrant for an original charge of Criminal Mischief 5th degree. Wagaman was arrested at 10:40 a.m. on Wednesday and later released after posting $300 bond.

(Radio Iowa)  – Practically every business in Iowa has a “HELP WANTED” sign in the window as so many industries scramble to find workers in an effort to survive the long-running pandemic. In north-central Iowa, a job fair is planned Thursday afternoon in the Webster City area. Rick Young, a Hamilton County supervisor from Jewell, says there is an unprecedented number of jobs to be filled.  “We have 17 employers who are going to participate,” Young says. “Our expectations are that within a 30-mile radius of Webster City, there are going to be 500 job offerings that day.”

The job openings are in multiple fields, including: banking, insurance, healthcare, retail, manufacturing, public safety and agriculture. Young says, “Our job now is to expand on childcare and housing to find someplace so these people can work and send their kids to and have a place to live.” The job fair will run from 3 to 7 P-M Thursday at the Briggs Woods Conference Center just south of Webster City.

Learn more at the Hamilton County Economic Development Facebook page.
https://www.facebook.com/Hamilton-County-Development-101584591678586

(Radio Iowa) – A lawsuit has been filed against the governor for ending the extra federal unemployment payments early. Attorney Jeff Carter represents four people who are suing — saying Iowa’s unemployment law prevented the governor from taking the action. “The whole purpose of the statute is to help people who are unable to help themselves. And then when you combine that with the fact that the language is shall — which is a mandate — that the state of Iowa is to do everything it can to the fullest extent to put that goal into practicality,” Carter says.

The benefits were to extend into September, but the governor ended them in June, saying Iowans were not seeking work because unemployment paid them more than what they would make at their jobs. “What has happened in fact the opposite of what she promised would happen,” according to Carter,” “Iowa’s unemployment rate has gone up. Only the benefits to these people who can’t find work have gone down. And it’s not in a vacuum, it’s not just in Iowa where that happened.”

The unemployment rate has inched up slightly — but Iowa Workforce Development says the number of people seeking work has also increased.”They can say that, but the fact is that only 67 percent of the jobs that were lost due to the pandemic have come back. So that means a third of those jobs haven’t come back. So you have all of these people looking for work — while the jobs have decreased by a third. And that’s as of now,” he says.

Carter is seeking class-action for the lawsuit as he believes there could be as many as 50-thousand Iowans who were impacted.  “Some of them are looking for homes now, because remember at the same time the moratoriums ended, and there are all of these people getting tossed out of their homes…some people have left the state to find work. We have talked to a couple of people like that,” Carter says. There are people who are worried about putting food on the table for their children. It’s a big deal, these people are getting significantly harmed. These are not people living on the top end.”

Iowa joins nearly a dozen other states in seeking temporary restraining orders to restore unemployment benefits. Carter says Iowa’s law is one of the strongest. “The mandate is clear, the purpose is clear and we feel ours is one of the strongest cases without having gotten into detail about the other state’s cases,” he says. The governor’s spokesperson, Pat Garrett, issued a statement in response to the lawsuit. “

The governor believes that we cannot continue to pay able-bodied people to stay home. Since the decision was made and announced in May, we have seen a 175 percent increase in people seeking employment at IowaWORKs offices and Iowa’s labor force participation rate has continued to rise. This was not only the right decision, but also in accordance with the law and this lawsuit has no merit.”

(Radio Iowa) – One man is dead after a Tuesday afternoon shooting outside a downtown Waterloo convenience store. The victim collapsed on a highway median.
Police officers and Waterloo Fire Rescue personnel were called to the 1100 block of Washington Street around 4:30 PM. When they arrived, officials found a male suffering from a gunshot wound lying in the median across from the convenience store. Police say the victim, who has yet to be identified, died from the injury. The shooting happened right after a severe thunderstorm rolled through Waterloo, toppling trees and power lines across the city.

The incident forced officials to close down streets in the area while they gathered evidence. At the height of rush hour, southbound lanes of the U.S. Highway 218 overpass were closed for about three hours. Police are looking for a suspect and asking for the public’s help in the case. Anyone with information should contact Waterloo police.

(Radio Iowa) – A trucker from Eldridge, Iowa has been charged in Indiana with the death of his girlfriend’s four-year-old. Thirty-five-year-old Dylan Diericx (dirks) is charged with a felony count of neglect of a dependent resulting in death. The “News Sun” in Indiana reports Diericx called police in Shipshewana, Indiana on August 19th to report the child was unresponsive in the cab of his semi. The child was taken to the hospital and died. The report says Diericx told police the child was hurt while playing in the cab — but doctors say the child had multiple injuries that were not consistent with what Diericx told them.