ASH TREES
Trees infested with emerald ash borer are becoming an issue in Le Mars. There are signs that the tree killing pest is becoming established here. City Administrator Jason Vacura brought it to the city council’s attention at their meeting Tuesday.
Vacura wants the council to consider a combination of strategies to deal with affected ash trees.
Parks Supervisor Brad Eppling describes where he’s seen ash borer in the city.
Willow Creek Golf Course is another area where Eppling sees some impact from the ash borer.
Eppling says they have not cut down any trees yet, but something needs to be done.
Vacura alerted the city council to the problem, and said that any recovery plan must take a systematic approach.
The council will also have to create room in the city budget to carry out an ash tree plan. There are 800 ash trees on city property in Le Mars. It will take years to remove and replace them.
The Iowa DNR says emerald ash borers live on the bark of the ash tree, but their larvae drill under the tree bark. The larvae feed on the live tissue inside the tree, usually killing it within two years. Ash borer is native to east Asia, and was first detected in the eastern U.S. twenty years ago.
ALZHEIMERS IN IOWA
The Alzheimer’s Association is releasing its first-ever nationwide report, offering a county-by-county breakdown of the prevalence of that form of dementia, including in all 99 Iowa counties. According to the report, the average Alzheimer’s prevalence rate in Iowans age 65 and older is 11-percent. Brianne Fitzgerald, a senior director with the association’s Iowa chapter, says two rural counties topped the state’s list.
By comparison, the nation’s highest incidence of Alzheimer’s is nearly four points higher at 16-point-six percent with a three-way tie between Miami-Dade County, Florida; Baltimore City, Maryland; and Bronx County, New York. None of Iowa’s 99 counties made the national top 20, but the news from the report wasn’t all good.
The report shows what appears to be a higher prevalence for Alzheimer’s in Iowa’s northwestern counties, with lower rates in eastern Iowa. Fitzgerald says they’ll be studying this map carefully.
Researchers found the highest prevalence of Alzheimer’s in the east and southeastern regions of the U-S. There are varied levels of Alzheimer’s spread across Iowa, but Fitzgerald says there are theories about why there appears to be a higher prevalence in northwestern Iowa.
For Iowans who want to learn more, she directs people to the website, alz-dot-org. It’s estimated there are 66,000 Iowans living with Alzheimer’s or another dementia, and another 98,000 Iowans are their caregivers.
NEW IOWA LOGO
Governor Kim Reynolds has unveiled a new logo and slogan for the state of Iowa. Governor Reynolds calls it a “brand mark.”
It features IOWA in big blue capital letters. The O is filled in with yellow to depict the sun, green to signify the landscape and a white winding road. Three words — FREEDOM TO FLOURISH — are printed below.
Last fall, the state hired FleishmanHillard, a public relations agency based in Kansas City, to work on a unified state brand.
Some state agencies began using this new logo Tuesday and others will as old stationary is used up and new letterhead is ordered. “We conducted research that included Iowans and other neighboring states and beyond to ensure that the logo and the tag line would connect with people in the right way,” Reynolds said, “and it did.” The new logo and “FREEDOM TO FLOURISH” slogan soon will be seen on road signs that welcome motorists as they drive into Iowa from neighboring states. The current design for signs at 68 different locations along Iowa’s border crossings was unveiled at the 1999 Iowa State Fair by Governor Tom Vilsack.
SIMPCO IN PLYMOUTH COUNTY
Representatives of SIMPCO, the Siouxland Interstate Metropolitan Planning Council, described their work in Plymouth County to the Board of Supervisors Tuesday. SIMPCO provides housing rehabilitation and transportation to low income residents of the county. Housing Manager Jenny Anderson said they have carried out several rehab projects in the county in the first half of this year, mainly insulation and window replacements. They also provide lead-based paint mitigation. More projects are in the planning stages for the rest of this calendar year. Plymouth County contributes over 11-thousand dollars to these efforts, and has so far seen a return of over double that amount. SIMPCO Assistant Transit Director Brian Pearson says they are moving into a new headquarters in Sioux City. Plymouth County is one of five around Sioux City which are served by SIMPCO. One of their services is transporting patients to Floyd Valley Healthcare in Le Mars. SIMPCO is currently seeking drivers for their transportation services. They are changing their fleet to vehicles which do not require drivers to carry CDLs. They have also been increasing pay to attract more drivers, though the increases are within their budget.
MERRILL MAN ARRESTED
A Merrill man was arrested by the Plymouth County Sheriff’s Office on an outstanding warrant. Bradley William Kass, age 61 of Merrill, Iowa, was wanted on a Plymouth County warrant for violation of probation with an original charge of assault while displaying a dangerous weapon. Kass was arrested Saturday and booked into the Plymouth County Jail and held on bond.
PRICE TRANSPARANCY BILL
Republican Senator Chuck Grassley says election year politics could be helpful in getting a bipartisan bill through the U-S Senate. The bill calls for price disclosure in the cattle market, so people who aren’t selling cattle under a contract with one of the four big meat packers can find out if the price they’re being offered is fair.
Ten Democrats and a dozen Republicans are co-sponsoring the bill. Grassley met with Montana Senator Jon Tester and other key senators in his office last week to discuss a strategy for getting Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer to bring the bill up for a vote.
The bill did clear the Senate Ag Committee last year, but it was never considered in the full Senate.
ABORTION BAN INJUNCTION APPEAL
Governor Kim Reynolds says an appeal will be filed as soon as possible to challenge a judge’s injunction that has blocked enforcement of a ban on most abortions in Iowa. Reynolds says she and her staff are working with the Iowa Attorney General’s office on the details and hopefully the appeal will be filed yet this week. Reynolds signed a bill into law last Friday that immediately banned most abortions at or near the sixth week of a pregnancy, when cardiac activity is first detected. A district court judge issued a temporary injunction to block enforcement as a lawsuit challenging the policy makes its way through the court system. Reynolds says babies were being saved for three days before the temporary injunction was filed. Reynolds, who spoke with reporters at the statehouse Tuesday afternoon, said the right to life is the most important right and, without it, we have nothing.
