(Radio Iowa) — An Iowa State University researcher says the successful effort to cut prescription drug abuse could lead to an epidemic with illegal drugs. Professor David Peters says the measures taken to cut back on prescription opiod abuse have led to fewer deaths. “It’s been falling pretty steadily and so that’s kept Iowa’s overall rate of opiod deaths relatively stable,” according to Anderson. “But more worryingly what we find is that deaths from heroin — which is a type of opiod — and synthetic opiods like fentanyl have been steadily rising since 2012.”

Anderson says a new crisis is on the way. “I believe that this temporary stability we have is going to be short live and we are going to find our opiod deaths increasing in the next few years from these elicit opiod substances — not the prescription pills,” Anderson says. He says as the prescription supply of opiods dry up, a switch is underway. “People who are long-term addicts are just simply switching to heroin, which is cheaper and more easy to attain,” Anderson says. “And this heroin is often mixed with these synthetic opiods — which can be a hundred to several hundred more times more potent than morphine. And that’s where you get this spike in overdose deaths as people aren’t use to taking these highly-potent heroin-synthetic mixtures.”

The efforts to cut back on the number of prescription drugs and get people to turn in unneeded prescription drugs has worked to stem the supply. Anderson says new tactics will now be needed. “Really efforts have to turn to drug enforcement. Particularly targeting criminal organizations, gangs, particularly Mexican gangs are the ones that bring those illegal substances into the country and distribute it,” Anderson says.

He says things are going to return to the way drug issues used to be. “The opiod crisis is looking more like a traditional drug problem like cocaine was several years back. And it’s less of an administrative issue like we had with the prescription problems,” Anderson says. He says Federal law enforcement will have to do more to enforce borders and local drug task forces will have to go after those who distribute drugs in local communities. Anderson is an associate professor of rural sociology, and says the new wave will hit the larger cities first. “Because heroin and synthetics are illegal substances, they tend to be easily distributed where there are drug organizations or criminal organizations that distribute drugs. But they will eventually make their way to rural counties,” Anderson says.

He says eastern Iowa will be the first to see an influx as the illegal drugs come from Chicago.

(Radio Iowa) — A report that ranks the states for their preparedness for public health emergencies places Iowa in the middle of the pack. Iowa scored four out of ten for preparedness for diseases, disasters and bioterrorism. John Auerbach, president & C-E-O of Trust for America’s Health, says one category focuses on the immunization level for influenza, and Iowa ranked low. “That’s a marker for how quickly the health care system could administer a vaccine in a major outbreak of a deadly epidemic,” Auerbach says. “Less than half of the population that are recommended to get flu shots get them in Iowa.”

The report, called “Ready or Not: Protecting the Public’s Health,” also shows Iowa has room for improvement in terms of how well hospitals are prepared for halting the spread of harmful diseases or illnesses. “We looked at hospital quality safety measures particularly with regard to controlling hospital-based infection transference or contagion within a hospital,” Auerbach says. “We found a lower percentage of the hospitals that met the national standards for protecting patients.”

The report grouped the states into three performance categories, 17 states are in the upper tier, 20 in the middle tier and 13 in the lower. Iowa is in the middle tier, in part, due to issues with nitrates and other pollutants in our waterways. “The EPA monitors water quality and Iowa has had some problems at certain places within the state with regard to that,” Auerbach says. “That’s also an area where, as part of emergency preparedness, paying attention to the quality of water is important.”

The report shows deaths in Iowa due to drugs, alcohol or suicide are lower than the national average, but our adult obesity rate is higher than the norm. See the full report here:
https://www.tfah.org/report-details/ready-or-not-protecting-the-publics-health-from-diseases-disasters-and-bioterrorism-2019/

UNIVERSITY HEIGHTS, Iowa (AP) — A city surrounded by Iowa City has banned racial and other types of profiling by police officers. The University Heights City Council voted unanimously Tuesday night to adopt the ordinance. The Iowa City Press-Citizen reports that the ordinance is the first of its kind in Iowa. It requires anti-bias training for officers, funds the purchase of data collection and creates a complaint review board.

City officials say there are no cases involving profiling being investigated by the city, but they want to be ahead of the curve by passing the ordinance. University Heights has about 1,100 residents and sits on the southwest side of the University of Iowa in Iowa City.

(Radio Iowa) — Proposals being considered in the Iowa House and Senate would clarify who gets to be governor AND lieutenant governor if there’s a vacancy. Senator Roby Smith of Bettendorf says the plan is good insurance for the state. “When you buy insurance, you hope you never have to use it,” Smith said. “This is something that’s insurance that we’re putting in the state constitution. I hope we never have to use it, but it’s there…if we need it or the next generation needs it.”

Questions arose when Terry Branstad resigned nearly 20 months ago and Kim Reynolds took over as governor. Iowa’s attorney general ruled Reynolds did not have authority to name a new lieutenant governor. Pete McRoberts worked for Governor Chet Culver a decade ago and he’s been working with legislators since last year to craft a constitutional response. “This is obviously not something that is limited to any one governor, but the good news is when questions like this gets in the news, constitutional defects and constitutional opportunities become very obvious,” McRoberts says.

A year ago legislators overwhelmingly endorsed a proposed constitutional amendment on the topic, but the secretary of state failed to publish the plan in newspapers last fall, which is required by law. Senator Smith is working to change that. “In general, if a secretary of state does not want a constitutional amendment to go on to the voters, he or she could just pocket it and not publish it in the newspaper,” Smith says. “I don’t think that’s what we wanted when we set this up years ago.”

Smith envisions having a non-partisan legislative agency submit proposed constitutional amendments to newspapers for publication AND have the proposals posted online. 2022 is the earliest THIS constitutional amendment about gubernatorial succession could be voted upon by Iowans.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Former Attorney Gen. Eric Holder said Tuesday he is in the final stages of deciding whether to seek the 2020 Democratic nomination for president and plans to decide in about a month.
“I’m going to sit down with my family very soon and decide whether this is something we’re going to seek,” Holder told reporters after headlining a voting rights forum at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa.
Holder met privately with Democratic legislative leaders to discuss voting rights and legislative redistricting, key areas of Holder’s concern, before the 90-minute back-and-forth with former Iowa Supreme Court Chief Justice Marsha Ternus.

Asked by reporters whether there is a place for him in a Democratic field that already includes nine declared candidates and many others exploring the race, he said, “I’m going to decide whether I’m going to try to find that space in the next month or so.” Holder said he has met with former President Barack Obama, in whose administration he served from 2009 to 2015, to discuss a presidential candidacy.

Holder, the nation’s third longest-serving attorney general, has been active since leaving the Justice Department four years ago. As chairman of the National Democratic Redistricting Committee, Holder has sued states over voting rights issues and legislative redistricting.

Police in Council Bluffs were called at around 3:46-p.m., to assist paramedics at 43 Wenwood Drive. Upon arrival, officers learned there was a man inside the residence needing both medical and psychological care. He had barricaded himself in the house and was in possession of firearms. Emergency Services Team (EST) and Crisis Negotiators were called in to assist.

Negotiators spoke with the man on the phone for roughly two and a half hours before he peacefully surrendered. He was then taken to a local hospital for evaluation. Due to his needs being medical in nature, authorities are not releasing his identity at this time.

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 3:35 a.m. CST

OSCEOLA, Iowa (AP) — South-central Iowa authorities are investigating after dozens of head of cattle were found starved to death on property near Osceola. The Des Moines Register reports that the farmer who was supposed to be caring for the cattle could face charges. The Clarke County Sheriff’s Office says about 40 to 50 dead cattle were found Friday on a property about 4 miles west of Osceola. Chief Deputy Lucas Darby says a local veterinarian told authorities the animals appeared to have starved to death.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Sen. Joni Ernst of Iowa has repaid $1,900 to the Office of Tax and Revenue after a newspaper questioned her about a tax break she had been claiming on her condo in Washington for years. The Des Moines Register, which brought the issue to Ernst’s attention, reports that she wrote a check to the agency’s Washington, D.C. office last week. An Ernst spokesman says the homestead tax credit claim was made in error and immediately returned when it was brought to the senator’s attention.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds says she favors current state law that requires gun holders to obtain a permit but is monitoring a legislative proposal to eliminate the requirement to obtain a permit to buy or carry a handgun. Reynolds, when asked Tuesday about the bill moving its way through the Senate committee process, said she was in the Senate when she voted for the 2010 bill that updated the state’s gun permit process, which includes background checks and requires weapons training.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The Iowa House has approved an education funding measure that provides a 2 percent increase in state per-pupil funding for the budget year beginning in July. The bill approved Monday night would boost per-pupil support from the state general fund to nearly $3.3 billion, but education advocates say at least a 3 percent increase is needed to keep up with inflation. The Senate hasn’t yet approved an education funding bill.

OSCEOLA, Iowa (AP) — South-central Iowa authorities are investigating after dozens of head of cattle were found starved to death on property near Osceola. The Des Moines Register reports that the farmer who was supposed to be caring for the cattle could face charges. The Clarke County Sheriff’s Office says about 40 to 50 dead cattle were found Friday on a property about 4 miles west of Osceola. Chief Deputy Lucas Darby says a local veterinarian told authorities the animals appeared to have starved to death.

Darby says the farmer was tending to the property but did not own the land on which the cattle were found. Officials say someone reported the dead animals to authorities.

The Atlantic School Board will meet 5:30-p.m. Wednesday in the MIDDLE SCHOOL MEDIA CENTER. During their open session, the Board will discuss a Collective Bargaining Proposal from the Atlantic Education Association for the 2019-2020 School Year. Immediately following the AEA’s initial proposal, the Board of Directors will enter into an exempt (Closed) session for “Negotiating session, strategy meetings of public employers or employee organizations, mediations and the deliberative process of arbitrators, as allowed under the Iowa Code.

When they reconvene in a public session at 6-p.m., the Board will act on the resignation of Ann Hinton (Bus monitor & Special Education Driver), as well as approving contracts for:

• Pamela Klar (a change from Class II Para to Class I para)
• Tony Sunderman, Substitue Bus Driver
• Jill Miller, Schuler Elementary Special Ed teacher (transfer – 2019-20)
• Oran Perkins (9th grade Baseball Coach and Head Boys Soccer Coach
• and Robert Hansen (JV Baseball)

They’ll also discuss the 2019-2020 School Calendar, which tentatively calls for Teacher In-Service Aug. 20-22, and the first day of school on Aug. 23rd, 2019. Spring Break is proposed for March 23-27, 2020, and the last day of school as May 27, 2020. Other, scheduled breaks include: Labor Day (Sept. 2nd, 2019); Thanksgiving, Nov. 28-29, 2019; Christmas 2019/New Years 2020, 12/23-1/3; Feb. 20-21, 2020 (Following Parent-Teacher Conferences on Feb. 19th); and Good Friday (April 10, 2020).

It’s expected the Board will set the date for a Public Hearing on the 2019-2020 Calendar, as during their regular meeting in March.  Immediately following adjournment of their regular meeting, the Atlantic School Board will enter into a closed session for negotiations strategy and related matters.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds says she favors current state law that requires gun holders to obtain a permit but is monitoring a legislative proposal to eliminate the requirement to obtain a permit to buy or carry a handgun. Reynolds, when asked Tuesday about the bill moving its way through the Senate committee process, said when she was in the Senate she voted for the 2010 bill that updated the state’s gun permit process, which includes background checks and requires weapons training. She says background checks are needed but she’s watching the current bill that would do away with permits to see how it develops.

Supporters of the proposal say requiring permits and fees to own a gun contradicts the constitutional right to keep and bear arms. Opponents say it’s dangerous to eliminate permits and the accompanying background checks for gun show and person-to-person handgun sales. The Republican governor says she doesn’t have a permit to carry a handgun but would like to get one when she finds the time.