Atlantic, IA – The February session of Healthy U will feature Interventional Cardiologist Dr. Ann Narmi. The presentation will take place on Thursday, February 19, at noon in Conference Room 2.

Dr. Narmi’s presentation will focus on women and heart disease. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), heart disease is the leading cause of death for women in the United States, accounting for one in every five female deaths. Understanding the signs and symptoms of heart disease and how they can present differently in men and women can help individuals recognize when to seek medical care.

After graduating from Creighton University School of Medicine, Dr. Narmi completed her residencies and a fellowship at Creighton. She is board-certified in both Cardiovascular Disease and Interventional Cardiology by the American Board of Internal Medicine. She provides care to patients in the Cass Health Specialty Clinic.

Space is limited. A free boxed lunch will be provided for all attendees, and reservations are required. To reserve your seat, call 712-243-7479. For more information about Healthy U, visit casshealth.org/healthyu.

ATLANTIC, IA – Officials with Cass Health in Atlantic, Tuesday (today) announced a new partnership with Above + Beyond Cancer, an Iowa‑based nonprofit dedicated to elevating the mind, body, and spirit of individuals impacted by cancer. Together, the organizations will expand access to evidence‑based programs designed to support cancer survivors, patients, and caregivers.

To celebrate the partnership and provide community members an opportunity to learn more, Cass Health will host an open house on Monday, February 16, from noon to 2 p.m. in Conference Room 2. Cancer survivors, patients, caregivers, and anyone impacted by cancer are all encouraged to attend.

Founded in 2011 by Oncologist Dr. Richard Deming, Above + Beyond Cancer offers a wide range of free programs. These include fitness classes, meditation, cycling, nutrition education, urban pole walking, book club, and a cancer education series. The Above + Beyond Cancer Hotel Program also provides free lodging for cancer patients in Iowa who must travel more than 50 miles to receive treatment.

Above + Beyond Cancer’s mission is to elevate the mind, body, and spirit of patients, survivors, and caregivers throughout the cancer journey—an effort that aligns closely with Cass Health’s commitment to supporting patients and the greater community.

Breda, Iowa – Feb 3, 2026 — FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE — Western Iowa Networks (WIN) is excited to announce the launch of their new Streaming TV Service, WINSpeedTV, now available to customers across the company’s entire service footprint.

Designed to make television easier and more flexible, WINSpeedTV allows customers to stream live TV instantly without complicated installations as traditional cable boxes are not required for every TV. The service works seamlessly with popular streaming devices, including Amazon Fire TV and Apple TV, giving customers the freedom to watch the way they want.

“WINSpeedTV brings together the channels our customers want, including locals, with a much simpler setup,” said Jeff Roiland, WIN CEO. “It’s a modern TV experience that pairs perfectly with our WINSpeed Fiber Internet and fits today’s viewing habits. This delivery now allows us to introduce TV service in our serving areas in Southwest Iowa as well.”

Customers across Western Iowa Networks’ entire footprint can learn more about WINSpeedTV and availability by visiting westianet.com/TV or calling or texting 712-775-2946.

***************

About Western Iowa Networks: Breda Telephone Corp. ~ d.b.a. Western Iowa Networks (WIN) ~ is a leading communications company based in Breda, IA. We are one of western Iowa’s largest independent telephone companies, and one of the area’s most diverse service providers. WIN was founded in 1905 as Breda Telephone Company and today provides telephone, Internet, cellular, cable, and many complementary services to customers across Western and Southwestern Iowa in 9 counties including Arcadia, Auburn, Breda, Carroll, Council Bluffs, Dedham, Denison, Farragut, Glenwood, Glidden, Halbur, Hastings, Lidderdale, Macedonia, Malvern, Maple River, Mineola, Mount Carmel, Nemaha, Pacific Junction, Roselle, Silver City, Treynor, Vail, Westside and Willey.

(Radio Iowa) – Senate Republicans are making their initial offer on state funding of Iowa’s public and private schools. It would be a per pupil increase of one-and-three-quarters of a percent (1.75%) for the next school year. Governor Reynolds has recommended a two percent increase. Senator Lynn Evans, a Republican from Aurelia, is a retired superintendent who says the goal is to make the decision quickly, so school officials can make decisions on next year’s budgets.

“What I’ve heard loud and clear when we’re out talking to people in education, especially superintendents and school board members, is they want to know as early as possible,” Evans said. “Having sat in that seat myself, I wanted to know as early as possible, so we’re trying to…get these negotiations started.” Margaret Buckton is a lobbyist for the Urban School Network and the Rural Schools of Iowa. She says due to declining enrollment, 90 districts will get less state support next year at that level — just as they’re required by state law to pay beginning and experienced teachers higher salaries.

“Some of those are big, like Council Bluffs and Bettendorf. Some are Perry and Red Oak — they’re county seats that will lose over a half million dollars each. There are little ones like George-Little Rock up in northwest Iowa that’s down over a quarter of a million dollars,” Buckton said. “They have to make adjustments for lower staff, less program at the same time they have to pay the new salary minimums.”

Fort Madison School Board member Rachella Dravis, of Denmark, Iowa, is a recently retired teacher and she says school boards will have to make unpopular decisions. “We are so far behind. We never talk about the inflation we are chasing,” Dravis said. “What we used to give our kids in state aid is so much different now than what it was when I started 36 years ago.”

Under the Senate Republicans’ plan, the increase in state funding for public schools would be 145 dollars per pupil. And each state-funded account to cover a student’s private school expenses would get a deposit of over 81-hundred dollars.

• Learn about the health priorities identified by Cass County residents
• Review the goals and strategies outlined in the new plan
• Explore ways their organization, business, or family can support and use pieces of the plan in everyday work and life
• Connect with partners working to improve community health

(Atlantic, IA [this story & photos submitted by an Atlantic FFA reporter, via FFA Advisor/Ag Instructor Eric Miller]) -The Atlantic FFA Chapter welcomed Iowa FFA State Officer Laura Steinkamp and District Officer Tucker Olsen to a chapter visit on January 29th, 2026. While at the high school, they discussed opportunities in FFA and the students participated in leadership-building activities.

During a year of service to the organization, Iowa FFA officers serve as ambassadors for agriculture and the FFA. They travel to FFA chapters throughout the state to connect with members and talk about the many opportunities available to students enrolled in agricultural education. Atlantic FFA member Tenley Cappel said, “I had a lot of fun. It was neat to see how our class could cooperate to solve a problem.”

Each Ag Class has a lesson tailored to meet the needs of the individuals in the class. Some workshops are based on Leadership Skills, others on Team Building and finally FFA Chapter Recruitment. Each class begins with an introduction of an ice breaker activity used to get the State Officers and the students in the class introduced to each other. This is followed by a game or activity designed to highlight a specific leadership skill or team building activity. Atlantic FFA member Caden Noelck said “It was a lot of fun playing games and learning about leadership activities in class”.

Agricultural education incorporates three aspects of learning. The classroom provides basic knowledge. FFA develops leadership and personal skills. A Supervised Agricultural Experience (SAE) provides hands-on learning while working or in an agricultural business.

The Iowa FFA Association comprises 270 local chapters preparing over 20,000 students for future career opportunities. FFA activities and award programs complement instruction in agricultural education by giving students practical experience in applying agricultural skills and knowledge gained in classes. Through agricultural education, FFA makes a positive difference in students’ lives by developing their potential for premier leadership, personal growth, and career success.

(Radio Iowa) – A state legislator who owns a restaurant in northeast Iowa says the odds are good that a bill to ban smoking in state-licensed casinos passes the Iowa House this year. Republican Representative Shannon Lundgren, of Peosta, says thousands of casino employees are exposed daily to second-hand smoke — something she experienced years ago when she was sales manager for casinos in Iowa and Illinois. “You literally left your clothes at the garage door and your shoes…and everything else because you didn’t want your house smelling like an ashtray,” Lundgren said. “…With cancer rates the way that they are in the state of Iowa, it is time to move this forward and protect those employees over profits, which I don’t think are going to drop anyway.”

Mary Earnhardt is executive director of the Iowa Gaming Association, which represents the state-licensed casinos. “Our casinos invest in modern ventilation and air filtration systems and many designate smoking and non-smoking areas on the gaming floor,” These steps help manager air quality and allow our properties to serve a diverse customer base.” Earnhardt says if the bill passes, smoking could continue at the four Native American casinos, which are not regulated by the state. “Eliminating Iowa’s gaming floor smoking exemption would create an uneven regulatory treatment among competitors operating in the same markets, both within Iowa and across state lines,” Earnhardt said.

Therese Harms is a lobbyist for “Clean Air for Everyone Iowa — a coalition of groups that support the casino smoking ban. She says 20 states have taken the step to end smoking on the gaming floor. “South Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Nebraska and Illinois have already acted to protect the workers in their casinos from second-hand smoke,” Harms said. “Iowa should not be an outlier.”

The bill cleared a House subcommittee this (Tuesday) morning. It failed in a Senate subcommittee last week.

(Radio Iowa) – Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley and his colleagues will be questioning executives from media giant Netflix today (Tuesday) over the company’s proposed takeover of Warner Brothers Discovery. Grassley, a Republican, says he won’t be offering any opinions about the impact of such a merger on consumers or competitors until he’s done more fact-finding. “I’m going to wait until the hearing is over to get some answers,” Grassley says, “so I can’t answer your question directly on the economic impact on consumers.”

The Senate Judiciary Subcommittee hearing is scheduled for 1:30 PM/Central and Grassley says they’ll be delving into the details of the proposed 82-point-7 billion dollar acquisition.”I know it’s highly controversial,” Grassley says, “and it seems to me our subcommittee will be taking a look at it from an antitrust standpoint and the wisdom of the deal.”

Netflix is the world’s largest video-on-demand streaming media service, with a reported 325-million members in more than 190 countries.