Hospital Trustees Approve Budget For Floyd Valley Hospital
(Le Mars) — Recently, the board of trustees of the Floyd Valley Hospital approved its budget for the upcoming fiscal year. Hospital Administrator, Mike Donlin says the hospital’s budget at $36 million dollars could compare to many small cities.
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Donlin says the hospital anticipates expenses could be slightly higher this coming fiscal year.
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The hospital administrator says there are many items to be considered for the next year’s budget. He previews the issues that he believes may play a factor in the hospital’s budget and finances.
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Donlin says doctor recruitment is an on-going process for any hospital. Within the past couple of years, Floyd Valley has lost Drs. Doorenbos and Duncan to retirement. However, Aquino, Geha, and now Odens have joined the medical ranks at Floyd Valley. So, is Floyd Valley Hospital sufficiently staffed for familyphysicians? Donlin says the hospital reviews its doctor recruitment plan every two years.
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The Floyd Valley Hospital Administrator says the Le Mars-based hospital has been fortunate to maintain a consistent patient volume.
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Floyd Valley Hospital’s fiscal budget year begins on July 1st and ends on June 30th.
Lawmakers Still Negotiating On Budget
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Legislative leaders are back in the Iowa Capitol trying to resolve their budget differences so they can adjourn for the year.
After the holiday weekend, a handful of lawmakers reported for duty Tuesday. Leaders and some committee chairs were set to continue budget negotiations.
The Republican-led House and Democratic-majority Senate must determine an overall spending level and how much new money to provide to K-12 education. Democrats are seeking to spend more than Republicans.
Senate Majority Leader Mike Gronstal, a Democrat from Council Bluffs, says the two sides moved closer last week.
Rep. Chuck Soderberg, a Le Mars Republican who chairs the House Appropriations Committee, says they were making progress and that it was a good sign that “all parties were at the table.”
Omaha Police Officer Funeral Draws Thousands
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) – Family members of Omaha police officer Kerrie Orozco (or-ROHZ’-koh) have mourned the slain woman at her funeral.
Orozco had planned to celebrate her daughter leaving the hospital three months after being born prematurely. But the officer was fatally shot last Wednesday by a fugitive who was fatally wounded by another officer.
The 29-year-old Orozco lived in Council Bluffs, Iowa, and was a native of nearby Walnut, Iowa.
The funeral Tuesday at St. John’s Catholic Church at Creighton University in Omaha included traditional hymns and a remembrance of Orozco’s baptism.
Several thousand others – many of whom were officers – sat in Omaha’s downtown arena watching a video feed of the funeral.
Orozco will be buried at St. Joseph Cemetery in Council Bluffs after an 8.5 mile-long procession.
Regents Hire Communications Director
IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) – The board that governs Iowa’s three public universities has hired an Oklahoma college spokesman to fill a new position aimed at improving its relationship with the news media.
Josh Lehman will begin June 15 as senior communications director for the Iowa Board of Regents. He will earn a $100,000 annual salary in the position, which is aimed at earning more news coverage and better communicating the board’s messages to the public.
Since 2009, Lehman has served as senior director of public affairs for Cameron University in Lawton, Oklahoma. Previously, the Cedar Falls native worked as a spokesman for University of Northern Iowa athletics.
Lehman beat out 72 other candidates, including a dozen who were interviewed. He said Tuesday he looks forward to building relationships with the media and the universities.
Senator Joni Ernst To Visit Viet Nam With Senator McCain
PHOENIX (AP) – Sen. John McCain is leading a U.S. Senate delegation that will visit Vietnam and Singapore this week.
The Arizona Republican is chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, and his office says the trip is being made at a critical time for U.S. interests in the Asia-Pacific region.
McCain’s office says Sens. Jack Reed of Rhode Island, Joni Ernst of Iowa and Dan Sullivan of Alaska also are making the trip, while Sens. Cory Gardner of Colorado and Mazie Hirono of Hawaii will join the delegation in Singapore.
According to McCain’s office, the delegation plans to meet with government officials and others in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City while in Vietnam.
The senators will participate in a meeting of defense ministers and other policy makers while in Singapore.
Student Art Available For Rent
IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) – A University of Iowa program for decades has made student art available for display around the campus, but thousands of items are tucked away in dusty storage rooms.
A collection of more than 75 years’ worth of work by studio arts students lies inside a building on the University of Iowa Research Park in Coralville.
The collection is known as the university’s Thesis Rental Gallery and includes more than 6,000 paintings, prints, photographs and other artwork. Until nearly a decade ago, each studio graduate student was required to leave behind a work they completed while studying at the University of Iowa’s School of Art and Art History.
The works can be rented for display in university buildings for $40 per piece.
