(LeMars) — You may recall earlier this month, Iowa Governor Terry Branstad set a goal to have Iowa as the healthiest state by 2016.
Now, LeMars officials are organizing efforts to follow that initiative. Blue Cross – Blue Shield is a major sponsor of the Healthiest State initiative and is encouraging communities to become “blue zones”. In order to apply to become a Blue Zone community, LeMars will kick-off the goal with a “Start Somewhere Walk” scheduled for noon on October 7th. Officials are asking all LeMars residents to join in “healthiest state” goal by walking one kilometer, or a little more than a half a mile. An informational meeting is scheduled for today at 4:00 p.m. in the City Hall Council Chambers to discuss the initative and start planning the walk.
(LeMars) — The Plymouth County Board of Supervisors will hold their weekly meeting tomorrow at the county courthouse. The Supervisors are expected to review and approve advance bond refunding compliance resolution for the Internal Revenue Service. They will also decide which contractor will be awarded the bid for the courthouse parking lot project.
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Family members of a finalist for a top
Iowa Air National Guard post contributed nearly $56,000 to the
campaign of Gov. Terry Branstad last year.
Appointed by Gov. Terry Branstad, Derek Hill is administrator of
the Iowa Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management. He
is one of three finalists to become deputy adjutant general of the
Iowa Air National Guard.
Hill’s wife donated nearly $6,400 and his mother-in-law donated $50,000 to the
Branstad campaign.
Branstad spokesman Tim Albrecht says donations by an individual
or a family member should not disqualify someone from serving the
state.
No state laws bar such contributions. Public records didn’t list
any political contributions from Hill to Branstad.
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CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) – The three Decorah eaglets that hatched
this spring as millions watched online have left the nest. But one
of them was fitted with a satellite transmitter that’s allowed
researchers to track its growth. The project’s nest-cam website was
visited more than 206 million times this year as viewers worldwide
watched the eaglets mature and leave the nest on June 16th.
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) – Researchers at Creighton University have
gotten a federal grant to study how heredity affects prostate
cancer in black men.
Creighton Hereditary Cancer Center director Henry Lynch says
prostate cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths among
American men and is more prevalent among black men than whites.
Hereditary is believed to be a link in 10 percent of cases.
Creighton is partnering with Jackson State University in
Mississippi on the study. They’re seeking 300 black men diagnosed
with prostate cancer from eastern Nebraska and about 500 from
Jackson, Miss.
The grant money comes from the U.S. Department of Defense.
WATERLOO, Iowa (AP) – The state Board of Education will get its
say next month on the Waterloo Community Schools’ revised dress
code.
Last week an administrative law judge said the district has
adopted “a meaningful, lawful policy” that meets state code.
The district’s original policy told students what they must
wear. That policy was challenged by parents Ricki and Teesha
Peters, who said it violated state rules. The district then adopted
a policy that outlined what students couldn’t wear instead of what
they must wear. That’s the policy upheld by the judge after a
hearing in June.
The Peterses say the judge’s narrow ruling leaves open avenues
of appeal.
The state board is expected to makes its decision at its Sept.
15 meeting.
