(Radio Iowa) — Before graduating, all Iowa high schoolers have to take a “health class” that covers topics like nutrition, disease prevention and substance abuse. A bill that’s cleared a Senate committee would direct Iowa high schools to add “mental health awareness, coping skills and suicide prevention” to that list for classroom discussion. Senate President Charles Schneider — a Republican from West Des Moines — is the bill’s sponsor. “Schools are really the front lines for a lot of mental health issues today. That’s what school board members tell me. That’s what teachers tell me. My wife has seen that. She used to be a behavioral interventionist at Stilwell Junior High in West Des Moines. It is an important issue,” Schneider says. “This is one more step we can do to try and tackle mental health issues head on.”

The bill is now eligible for debate in the senate. A similar bill has been introduced in the HOUSE by four Democrats.

(Radio Iowa follow-up) — An Iowa Air National Guard official says the agency supports further testing for groundwater contamination at its base in Sioux City. A preliminary U.S. military report shows high levels of toxic PFAS chemicals are present and may be spreading. Iowa Air Guard Brigadier General Shawn Ford says there are an estimated 189 private wells in the area.  General Ford says, “If they find out that there is contamination and the Air Force was a contributor to the contamination, then they will take steps to provide a suitable drinking source for those people on the wells.”

Ford says he’s concerned about potential community impacts and supports further testing on and off the base. “We’re taking every step that we can and not hindering the process to make sure we can identify any problems that exist,” Ford says. “And our next steps from here on out are to just make sure that we’ve got the future testing is being accomplished and make sure that any problem areas are identified so they can get resolved.”

If any off-base contamination is found and linked to the military, Ford says the Air Force will provide alternatives, such as filtration systems or bottled water. Those PFAS chemicals are linked to firefighting foams and can increase the risk of some cancers and fertility issues. The final report is due out in April.

(Thanks to Kate Payne, Iowa Public Radio)

(Radio Iowa) — Iowans are being warned to be on the look-out for counterfeit 20-dollar bills that are circulating around the region. Le Mars Police Chief Kevin Vande Vegte says merchants of all kinds and individual consumers need to be watchful for the bogus bills. Chief Vande Vegte says, “We have not actually seen any in Le Mars yet, however things seem to trickle towards us and we wanted to give everybody a heads up before they started coming across them.”

The counterfeit bills aren’t printed on the high-quality paper as real currency, so that’s a tip-off.  “If you pull a bill out of your pocket, it’s got a certain texture to it, a certain feel. As you rub your fingers across it, you can feel where the thread is built into the paper,” Vande Vegte says. “That’s the first give-away. If it feels like it just came out of the printer, it’s likely a counterfeit.”

There are other, more obvious signs, that the bills are fake — all you have to do is look more closely. “A lot of the bills are inaccurate,” he says. The latest one has “Kruger” where “Jackson” should be under the president’s picture on the twenty. There’s also a typo on the serial number where the “N” is backwards.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Army National Guard is looking for nearly 5,000 fitness instructors and buying roughly $40 million in workout equipment in the next seven months to help its soldiers meet new physical fitness standards being set by the military service. But even as commanders begin delivering the new 10-pound medicine balls, pull-up bars and hexagon barbells, they also worry whether America’s 330,000 citizen soldiers will have the time and the drive to master the new, more grueling Army fitness test.

“For those who are already doing well on their physical fitness test and they have the routine figured out, I think they’re going to transition to this new test without any issues,” said Army National Guard Lt. Col. Brian Dean, who is responsible for implementing the new test across the Guard. “People who are in those parts of their life where they’re still kinda struggling to make the right time for fitness and do fitness in the right ways — this will feel significant.” Could the new physical demands drive soldiers out of the Guard? “It’s a concern,” Dean said.

Spread out in more than 2,800 armories around the country, members of the Army Guard are required to do weekend duty once a month and a two-week stint during the year. A number of units are also tapped by state governors for help during hurricanes, wildfires, border problems and other events. And, during the peak of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, Guard units were routinely called up for active-duty deployments to fill needs that couldn’t be met by the overstretched active-duty troops in the battle zones. Still, many Guard members see more limited duty, and are often focused on their full-time jobs and other commitments, which can be hundreds of miles from the nearest military base.

“Ninety percent of my soldiers are part-time,” Maj. Gen. Timothy Orr, the adjutant general for the Iowa National Guard, told The Associated Press in an interview. “I think there’s apprehension. There’s always the question of how are we going to do this with the time that we have, and the equipment we have.” Orr, who has been in the Guard for 40 years, said that a key unanswered issue will be how soldiers with various permanent physical limitations will be treated, particularly those who have served for many years. Under the current fitness test, troops can arrange to substitute certain exercises for ones they can’t do. For example, someone with a knee injury who can’t run two miles is able to substitute swimming or bicycling for part of the current fitness test. Orr said the Army is still working through the details, so it’s not clear yet how they will handle the matter and whether there will be alternate tests.

“I think we have committed troops today, committed leaders, and folks will step up to the challenge,” said Orr, who has about 8,600 Guard soldiers in his state. “There may be select individuals that will say, ‘Hey, I’ve had enough and I want to leave.’ But I think we’re a professional Army and this is just another of the many challenges we’ve had, especially over the last 18 years.” The Army’s current physical fitness test, which is being replaced by a new more strenuous one, consisted of two minutes of push-ups and sit-ups and a two-mile run. By Oct. 1, Army soldiers will begin taking the new test, which takes about an hour and includes a deadlift, more difficult push-ups, a sled-drag, an array of other exercises, and ends with the two-mile run. Beginning Oct. 1, 2020, all soldiers will have to routinely pass the new test in order to qualify for their military jobs.

Gen. Orr said he would like to see physical therapists assigned to each state that can help Guard soldiers prevent injuries or help them heal if they get hurt.