(Atlantic, Iowa) — Officials with Cass Health have announced Dr. Elaine Berry is the 2025 recipient of the Iowa Medical Society/Copic Physician Humanitarian Award. The Award is presented annually to honor a physician for volunteer medical services and contributions to their community, specifically those individuals who unassumingly volunteer outside the spectrum of their day-to-day lives. Dr. Berry – Cass Health says – has been a pillar of the Cass County community since she began her career at Cass Health in 1988. Through 2022, she worked as a Family Medicine physician, primarily at Atlantic Medical Center, but also in satellite clinics in Griswold and Massena. She also provided care to patients in the hospital, obstetrics unit, and the Emergency Department.

Her other roles have included Cass County Medical Examiner, Medical Director for Cass County volunteer Emergency Services, Hospice Medical Director, and her current position as Chief Medical Officer at Cass Health. She has been instrumental in disaster preparedness, EMS advocacy, advancing electronic health records and quality medical care, and mentoring future medical professionals. Dr. Berry has also participated in medical mission trips to Egypt, India, Romania, Dominican Republic and Honduras, has supported newly immigrated families in her church community, and has been active in her local church with the worship team and teaching youth.

Dr. Elaine Berry

Each year, the recipient of the IMS/Copic award is asked to designate a $10,000 donation from Copic to be provided to a healthcare-related nonprofit organization within their community. Dr. Berry has designated the Cass Health Foundation to receive this donation, specifically to support the Nurse Apprenticeship program, an innovative initiative to train nurses and address the healthcare workforce shortage.

The Copic Humanitarian award was established in 2001 in memory of Harold E. “Hal” Williamson. Hal was one of the first non-physician board members of Copic. His inspiration and his dedication to going above and beyond led to the establishment of the Copic Medical Foundation. Today, Copic collaborates with state medical societies in offering this award.

Copic is a nationally renowned provider of medical professional liability insurance. Recognized for industry-leading patient safety and risk management programs, Copic works to support and educate healthcare professionals and help make medicine safer for all.

(Greenfield, Iowa) – The Adair County Board of Supervisors held their regular weekly meeting on Wednesday, May 14^th, in Greenfield. The Board received an update from Mid-American Energy Project Outreach Manager John Huff and Project Developer Megan Pearson, with regard to projects the company is working on. Huff said one of their plans is to relocate a wind turbine in Adair County, currently located near Orient, so that an Energy Center can be constructed. They are working with landowners in the affected area, and are currently in the initial phases of the project.

As part of the process, Huff said they will be looking to relocate a single wind turbine from the Energy Center site, to another, undetermined site in Adair County. Huff provided an update also, on the four, Mid-American Energy wind turbines that were damaged during last year’s EF-4 tornado in Adair County.

Adair County Courthouse, Greenfield, IA

Huff said they will hold a public information meeting specifically with regard to the Orient Energy Center. The meeting will be held June 18^th at the Orient-Macksburg High School, beginning at 4-p.m.

Members of the Iowa Utilities Commission (IUC) will be on-hand to answer any questions about the facility.

The Adair County Supervisors heard also from Adair/Guthrie County Environmental Health Director Jotham Arber. He said they’re getting busy conducting perc tests and preparing to conduct soil analysis tests for wells.

He said soil tests are not designed to replace percolation tests. Instead, they are a supplement to the information process.

And, the Board received a regular, weekly report from Adair County Engineer Nick Kauffman.

(Thanks to Jennifer Nichols w/the Atlantic News Telegraph for the clear audio)

(Radio Iowa) – Negotiators are striking final deals on a more than nine-point-four BILLION dollar state budget and the 2025 Iowa legislative session could draw to a close tonight (Wednesday) or early tomorrow (Thursday). Legislators have already approved five bills laying out spending for several state agencies. The governor’s recommendation to spend a million dollars for University of Iowa research into the state’s rising cancer rate is in one of those bills. Republican Representative Austin Harris of Moulton says the million dollars will help build a blueprint for how to combat that. “It’s not a silver bullet. We don’t promise a silver bullet,” Harris said, “but I think we do promise a fight.”

Democrats like Representative Austin Baeth of Des Moines say the state should be spending far more on cancer research. “At a time when Elon Musk and his ‘tech bros’ are taking away our cancer research funding, we need to make it homegrown here in Iowa,” Baeth said.

Four state spending bills are on today’s (Wednesday’s debate agenda at the statehouse. And the governor’s plan to cut the tax Iowa businesses pay into the state Unemployment Trust Fund may be debated in the Senate.

(Radio Iowa) -In a little over two months, thousands of bicycle riders will be trekking the roads of northern Iowa during the weeklong adventure called RAGBRAI, the Register’s Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa. Communities along the 406- mile route are busy making preparations for the massive influx of visitors. Elise Bergan is director of the Chamber of Commerce in Edgewood, one of the northeast Iowa towns that will see RAGBRAI riders on the final day of the ride, July 26th.

“They’ll probably start arriving around 10 and they are supposed to be cleared out of here by 2 o’clock,” Bergan says, “so we definitely have an opportunity to make a good impression in a short amount of time.” Officials with RAGBRAI say the largest single-day rider count was 50-thousand in 2023. Edgewood, with a population of 900, is what’s considered a “pass-through town” on this year’s route, which could mean ten- to 20-thousand — or more — cyclists will be pedaling past, and Bergan says they couldn’t be more thrilled.

Radio Iowa file photo

“Edgewood is also the meeting town,” she says, “so the support vehicles will be meeting here to possibly pick people up or give support where it’s needed for the riders.” Edgewood’s theme for the day will be “It’s a Buckin’ Good Time” – paying tribute to the long-standing Edgewood Pro-Rodeo Days celebration the community hosts every year.

RAGBRAI opens July 19th in Orange City, with overnight stops in Milford, Estherville, Forest City, Iowa Falls, Cedar Falls and Oelwein. The final stop is in Guttenberg, where riders will dip their bike tires in the Mississippi River.

(Red Oak, Iowa) – The Montgomery County Board of Supervisors, Tuesday, discussed with County Auditor Jill Ozuna, a 2025 Budget Amendment, with regard to revenue and expenditure adjustments. Ozuna said the entire year’s worth of amendments is included in the adjustments, as required under the Code of Iowa. The amendments date back to the May, 2024 storms.

She said there were a little over $2-million in revenue that are being reported.

There were also a little more than $2-million in expenditures.

Ozuna said she spoke with Sheriff John Spunaugle, who mentioned an amount of money budgeted for a law enforcement vehicle.

Board Chair Charla Schmid said she spoke with the Sheriff before Tuesday morning’s meeting, and he indicated he won’t be asking for any more money for the vehicle, since he has all the extra equipment available to install. Normally, that would be an extra cost he would ask to have covered. Jill Ozuna said also, there’s money in the budget for tuck-pointing and associated bond fees.

The Board took no action on the Budget Amendments, as there needs to be a public hearing before they can be approved.

(Radio Iowa) – With the forecast calling for highs climbing into the 80s this week, the warmer weather is inspiring many Iowa boaters to hit the state’s lakes and rivers. Iowa Department of Natural Resources conservation officer Nate Carr says, before taking the boat off the trailer, check over your supply of life jackets. “They need to be the appropriate size for your passengers and in good working condition, so not old and faded and torn as they can get sometimes,” Carr says. “Make sure you go through those and make sure they’re all for however many passengers are on your boat, that’s how many life jackets you need to have.”

Along with a fire extinguisher and a horn, Carr says life jackets are a must-have safety items on a boat. “Anytime your boat is underway, any child under the age of 13 must be wearing their life jacket,” Carr says. “Also, regarding life jackets, anybody driving a jet ski, or riding on a jet ski for that matter, is required to be wearing their life jacket at all times, regardless of age.” Life jackets are also required for anyone being pulled behind a boat, including skiers and inner-tubers. Carr says the agency has officers on the waters, too, watching for signs of drunken boaters. “The same rules apply on the water that apply on the road, you cannot be operating while over a .08 or under the influence of any other kind of substance,” Carr says. “So make sure you have a designated driver, even on a boat.”

National Safe Boating Week is May 17th through the 23rd. Find more boater safety information at the Iowa DNR website.

(Iowa Capital Dispatch) – State representatives in Iowa approved a budget from the Senate on Tuesday that would increase funding for agriculture and natural resources departments by $682,000 compared to the current fiscal year. The budget for the upcoming 2025-26 fiscal year prioritizes funding to prevent the spread of foreign animal disease, supports state park maintenance and continues the Choose Iowa program, along with operations for the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship and the Iowa Department of Natural Resources.

Senate File 646 would appropriate $46.6 million from the general fund and appropriate an additional $99.4 million from other funds for fiscal year 2026. The bill would put $1.8 million into the Choose Iowa fund for use on promotion, dairy innovation and value-added grants for Choose Iowa participants, which is on par with 2025 expected figures for the program. Choose Iowa is a network of producers selling Iowa-grown goods and has nearly 300 members across the state. The bill also ends the Choose Iowa pilot purchasing program and creates the Choose Iowa Food Purchasing Program, with an appropriation of $200,000 to help food banks purchase locally produced foods.

The pilot program previously had two divisions, one that helped local food banks and another that helped Iowa schools purchase from local growers. Local farmers and food-security advocates hoped the program would have substantial funding this year following the cancellation of funding from a similar federal program. Rep. J.D. Scholten, D-Sioux City, proposed an amendment to expand the purchasing program to include schools, but the House did not adopt the amendment. Scholten said the amendment would have made “sure that (Iowa) kids are properly fed.”

The appropriations bill would also eliminate the Brucellosis and Tuberculosis Eradication Fund in favor of creating an Iowa Animal Disease Prevention fund, which fulfills requests from Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig and other stakeholders for increased funds to protect against the threat of foreign animal diseases. Those funds would go toward animal disease equipment, vaccine research and updates to state technology to track an outbreak.

The bill also appropriates $200,000 to the Iowa Geological Survey to research and map the state’s aquifers. The bill allocates $12 million from the Environment First Fund, in lieu of a standing $20 million appropriation from the general fund, to extend the Resources Enhancement and Protection, or REAP, program through 2028. This program funds county conservation, city parks and open spaces, historic preservation, conservation education, soil and water enhancement, and other projects related to natural resources.

The bill also has a special general fund appropriation for state park maintenance, floodplain management and forestry health management. The budget bill faced some pushback from Democrats in both the House and Senate who said it did not adequately prioritize local food, water quality and conservation efforts.

The bill advanced from both chambers, and with no adopted amendments in the House it now goes to the governor for final approval.

(Iowa Capital Dispatch) – A long-running dispute between insurance commissioners in Iowa and Pennsylvania has escalated, with Iowa regulators arguing that hundreds of elderly Iowans are now being put at risk due to a company’s willful violation of a court order. In 2022, Iowa Insurance Commissioner Douglas Ommen sought an injunction against the financially struggling Senior Health Insurance Company of Pennsylvania, or SHIP, arguing the company intended to “coerce vulnerable Iowans” into paying confiscatory rate increases of 400% or more, even while imposing “draconian” cuts to policyholders’ benefits. At the time, Ommen said SHIP, which had sold long-term care insurance policies to more than 880 Iowans, was financially insolvent with a $1.3 billion funding shortfall.

The injunction, which was later granted, barred SHIP from offering any rates, riders or policy documents to any Iowa policyholders that had not been previously authorized and approved by the Iowa insurance commissioner. In January 2025, SHIP informed the Iowa insurance commissioner the company had filed a request with the commonwealth court of Pennsylvania to begin implementing a court-approved “rehabilitation plan” for the company, allowing SHIP to contact Iowa policyholders and to offer, or in some cases force, changes to their policies. The Iowa commissioner then informed SHIP that even if the Pennsylvania court granted the request and the company followed through, it would be in clear violation of the injunction issued in Iowa. Under that scenario, the commissioner warned, he would authorize the Iowa attorney general to seek sanctions against SHIP.

According to newly filed court papers in the case, SHIP “did not back down” and now intends to “unilaterally modify all Iowa SHIP policies” between May 31 and Oct. 28. According to the Iowa commissioner, there are now 501 SHIP policyholders in Iowa who in April were the target of a mass mailing informing them of potential modifications to their policies. The Iowa commissioner alleges it never authorized SHIP to contact any Iowa policyholders and that the Iowa court has never modified its injunction barring such contact.

In pursuing a contempt-of-court finding against SHIP, the Iowa commissioner is arguing that SHIP’s conduct is “beyond the pale” and that SHIP, has “no intention of respecting the laws or court orders of any jurisdiction outside of Pennsylvania. Their contact with Iowa policyholders was not a fluke, or an accident, or a one-off violation; it was a deliberate plan months in the making, with the full knowledge that it would violate the temporary injunction.”

The Iowa commissioner not only seeks a finding of contempt, it is also requesting a civil penalty of $500 for each of 503 acts on contempt. The company has yet to file a response to that request.

(Radio Iowa) – The latest report from the Iowa Department of Transportation doesn’t show any slow downs in rail shipments due to tariffs on foreign goods. The D-O-T’s Stuart Anderson gave an update to the Transportation Commission Tuesday.  “You’ve probably seen some headlines about volume coming into some of the west ports is starting to decline. That is not apparent at least through March, and we do have some April data as well that shows the intermodal traffic is still high on the rail system,” Anderson says. Anderson says the shipment of one of Iowa’s key exports also doesn’t appear to be impacted.

“April 2025 grain shipments were the best month of grain shipments in April since 2021,” he says, “so some strong export shipments at least happening right now.” Anderson says air travel in Iowa continues to be strong. “The March number is again at the peak in recent years. It actually is pretty spot on with the March of 2024 count data. So there’s still a lot of demand that our commercial service airports,” he says.

Anderson says travel is down a little this year on the state’s roadways, but he says that may be due to lower numbers with the winter weather in February, and they may come back up with the summer travel season.