The private philanthropy group that puts out the “Kids Count” survey every year is releasing a new report detailing the state-by-state impact of so-called “safety net” government programs on children. Laura Speer, with the Annie E. Casey Foundation, says their findings indicate programs like food stamps and housing subsidies are significantly improving lives in Iowa and nationwide. “We looked at the child poverty rate which we know is one of the most critical indicators we check,” Speer says, “not only because it has a major impact on kids, it can affect their health and their educational achievement, but really has an impact on the country as a whole.”

In Iowa, she says the impact of government safety net programs is very evident.  “What we see is that without any government intervention, the poverty rate in the state would be about 22%,” Speer says. “With those interventions, it’s about 8%, so, that means more than 100,000 children in the state of Iowa are being lifted above the poverty line.”

The report indicates, without government intervention, another 103,000 Iowa children would be living in poverty. In addition to food stamps, government interventions being gauged by the report include the Earned Income Tax Credit and the child tax credit parents can claim annually on their tax returns. She admits the findings aren’t a big surprise, however… “It’s important to know that and to understand that those programs are making a difference and they need to be sustained,” Speer says. “Also, we know these programs are helping families keep their heads above water and filling the gap that low-wage jobs are leaving for families to make ends meet.”

Speer is the foundation’s associate director of advocacy and public policy. See the full report at the Annie E. Casey Foundation website: www.aecf.org

(Radio Iowa)

The National Weather Service in Des Moines says a large storm system will begin to affect central Iowa tonight, persisting into Tuesday. The system will bring chances for a wintery mix across much of the area.

In the south, freezing rain and sleet will be possible tonight and into the early morning hours Tuesday, with icy conditions possibly affecting morning travel Tuesday. Precipitation will gradually turn to rain as temperatures warm Tuesday.

Across the north, snow will be possible with light to moderate accumulations. Winds will increase Tuesday afternoon which may combine with falling and fresh fallen snow to create hazardous travel conditions Tuesday.

Continue to monitor the forecast for updates into Tuesday as threat areas become more refined.

A Creston man was arrested Friday night, on drug charges. Officials say 40-year old Chad Lee was charged with Possession of Marijuana with the intent to sell, Delivery of Marijuana, Possession of Drug Paraphernalia, and Failure to Affix a Drug Tax Stamp. Lee was later released on $5,000 bond.

And a woman from Lorimor was arrested Friday afternoon. Police in Creston say 48-year old Pamela Collette Oshel was arrested at the Union County Law Enforcement Center on a warrant for Failure to Appear in court. She was later released on a $300 bond.

With KJAN News Director Ric Hanson.

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Iowans will lose an hour of sleep this weekend as clocks spring forward, but for many it’ll be just be another day in their regular struggle to get enough rest. Among the most common factors for losing sleep are pain, stress and poor health. It’s estimated that more than a third of adults don’t always get the amount of sleep they need to feel their best. Dr. Stephen Grant with Iowa Sleep says that’s even more true for those who have chronic or acute pain. “The suffering associated with pain can produce anxiety and the suffering and anxiety when combined can really preclude someone’s ability to fall asleep, as well as if they are awoken by pain, return to sleep.”

According to a new poll out today (Monday) from the National Sleep Foundation, pain, stress and poor health all correlate to shorter sleep durations and worse sleep quality for millions of Americans. Overall, there are about 80 different types of sleep disorders. Grant says among the most common are insomnia, restless legs syndrome, narcolepsy and apnea. Apnea occurs when a person’s airways narrow or collapse during sleep.

Dr. Grant says “Most of the people that I see with obstructive sleep apnea have respiratory events that we call hypopneas. And that’s people that just kind of snore and have enough resistance in their airway when they sleep, they just don’t ventilate appropriately. They don’t get the oxygen in or the carbon dioxide out.”

This is Sleep Awareness Week and the need of many to get more “Z’s” will be apparent on Sunday, when Daylight Saving Time begins in the U-S and an hour is lost as clocks spring forward.

(Iowa News Service)

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) – A new report suggests economic growth is ahead for nine Midwestern and Plains states. The survey report issued Monday says the overall Mid-America Business Conditions Index climbed to 57.0 in February from 54.8 in January.  Creighton University economist Ernie Goss oversees the survey, and he says the regional growth is likely although areas “linked closely to the energy sector, including ethanol, are experiencing pullbacks in economic activity.”

The survey results from supply managers are compiled into a collection of indexes ranging from zero to 100. Survey organizers say any score above 50 suggests economic growth, while a score below that suggests decline. The survey covers Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma and South Dakota.

Getting caught stealing a horse was a serious crime in the wild west. A small group of Iowa legislators has been mulling the idea of tougher penalties for modern day cattle rustlers, pig thieves and corn snatchers. Representative Lee Hein raises livestock and grain on a farm near Monticello and he says, unfortunately, it’s far easier to catch a car thief than to catch someone who’s stolen agricultural commodities.

“You always count everything going into the yard and then as we sell them, we count them going out,” Hein says, “And there’s been times when I’ve probably been short maybe 10-15 hogs and I wonder: ‘Did you miscount or did somebody slip in there at night and load a load up and is gone with it.” Hein first considered establishing a minimum prison sentence for those caught stealing livestock or corn and beans, but he’s now considering other options. And He’s not sure whether the bill he’s trying to craft will survive this Friday’s deadline to pass a House committee.

“But the biggest thing I want is to let agriculture understand that this is a bigger issue than what I realized,” Hein says. “Maybe we need to start figuring up ways to put up cameras or start lockimg things up way tighter.” 2011 is the most recent year for which data is available and there were more convictions in Iowa that year for stealing livestock or grain than for car theft.

(Radio Iowa)

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press

DUBUQUE, Iowa (AP) — Iowa racing officials are reviewing a recommended plan to distribute $72 million settlement related to the end of greyhound racing in Council Bluffs. The Dubuque Telegraph Herald reports the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission plans to review the report Thursday. Half of the money would support the Iowa Greyhound Association’s operation of the Dubuque track, which plans to run races from April 29th to October 25th on Wednesdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. Most of the rest of the money would go to Iowa breeders based on their past performance.

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) — A new facility offering psychiatric care and substance abuse treatment to children and teens in northwest Iowa is expected to address an important need in the region when it opens this spring. The Sioux City Journal reports the new Jackson Recovery Centers Child and Adolescent Recovery Hospital opens in May.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Police are investigating after finding a woman’s body in an alley in Des Moines. Sergeant Jason Halifax says the body was reported shortly before 8:45 a.m. yesterday in an alley near 14th Street and 14th Place. Halifax said the woman was 35-years-old. Her name wasn’t immediately released Sunday.

DAVENPORT, Iowa (AP) — An Iowa man has been sentenced to 7 years in prison for fatally stabbing another man during an argument last March. The Quad-City Times reports Judge John Telleen says the argument between Tremaine Gabirel and Christian Wood outside a Davenport nightclub was about “stupid stuff.”

DUBUQUE, Iowa (AP) – Iowa racing officials are reviewing a recommended plan to distribute $72 million settlement related to the end of greyhound racing in Council Bluffs. The Dubuque Telegraph Herald reports the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission plans to review the report Thursday. Half of the money would support the Iowa Greyhound Association’s operation of the Dubuque track, which plans to run races from April 29 to Oct. 25 on Wednesdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.  Most of the rest of the money would go to Iowa breeders based on their past performance.

Dubuque’s Mystique Casino and Bluffs Run Greyhound Park in Council Bluffs agreed to pay the settlement in exchange for ending subsidized racing. About $1.2 million would be set aside for closing expenses at Bluffs Run and no-kill greyhound adoption centers.

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) — A new facility offering psychiatric care and substance abuse treatment to children and teens in northwest Iowa is expected to address an important need in the region when it opens this spring. The Sioux City Journal reports the new Jackson Recovery Centers Child and Adolescent Recovery Hospital is expected to open in May.

Right now the closest child psychiatric crisis centers are either about 60 miles away in Cherokee, Iowa, or about 90 miles away in Council Bluffs, Iowa. The $10.5 million project has been under construction in Sioux City since August. It will have 72 inpatient beds and a 12-bed psychiatric stabilization unit.