RAGBRAI STARTS IN ORANGE CITY
The route for the Des Moines Register’s 52nd annual Great Bike Ride Across Iowa was announced over the weekend. This year’s week long bike trek across the state will begin in Orange City on July 19th.
The first day’s ride will end in Milford. From there, riders will pedal to Estherville, Forest City, Iowa Falls, Cedar Falls, Oelwein and finally end up in Guttenberg on July 25th.
Organizers say the 406-mile jaunt is the second shortest in event history and there will be very few hills to deal with.
To find out more and register to ride at ragbrai dot com.
SITZMANN RECAPS LEGISLATIVE WEEK
State Representative Travis Sitzmann of Kingsley is working on legislation brought before a subcommittee in the House Agriculture Committee. Sitzmann says the bill had to do with licensing for on-premise food processors.
Sitzman says he voted for the bill
House File 32 will be considered later by the full committee.
Rep. Sitzmann is working with local elected officials to address a couple of problems that are affecting his district. One has to do with county engineers.
Sitzmann is looking for a solution for counties that do not have a county engineer.
He says this relates to a core problem in Iowa’s economy.
There’s another issue he’s working on with local officials centers on leadership for child care centers.
Sitzmann says regulatory changes are needed to help certify child care providers.
Sitzmann also introduced a bill that would expand the use of crossbows during the deer hunting season.
FLOYD VALLEY HEALTHCARE RECEIVES 2025 WOMEN’S CHOICE AWARD
Floyd Valley Healthcare has been recognized as one of america’s 100 Best Hospitals for Patient Experjience by the Women’s Choice Award.
According to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality,dgood patient experience positively correlates to disease management, adherence to treatment plans and health outcomes. Providing good patient experience is also good for business as it results in greater employee morale and satisfaction , thereby reducing turenover and helping recruit top talent. It also keeps patients loyal and happy and less likely to change providers or systems, again helping the bottom line.
HOUSE DEMOCRATIC LEADER OPPOSES GOVERNOR’S CELL PHONE BILL
The top Democrat in the Iowa House says cell phone policies for Iowa schools should be left up to school boards.
Governor Kim Reynolds has introduced legislation that would require school boards to adopt a policy that bans cell phone use during classtime.
House Minority Leader Jennifer Konfrst says the legislature should require schools to have a cell phone policy for students, but not dictate what that policy should be.
Seventy-two percent of U-S high school teachers who participated in a Pew Research Center survey said cell phone use during class was a major distraction.
Konfrst made her comments during a weekend appearance on “Iowa Press” on Iowa P-B-S.
Governor Reynolds says cell phones are not only a distraction, but a deterrent to development in the classroom. She says if her bill becomes law, the Iowa Department of Education will provide sample policies with room for potential common-sense exemptions. The legislation also requires schools to provide students in 6th, 7th and 8th grade with social media training.
VIRTUAL FORUM TO ADDRESS HIGH RATES OF ALZHEIMER’S IN RURAL IOWA
Alzheimer’s disease strikes about one in nine Iowa seniors, but studies show the rate is even higher for people in rural areas.
A statewide virtual community forum on Alzheimer’s disease is planned later this week focused on dementia care in rural Iowa.
The online event will be moderated by Jim Feauto, administrator of Regency Park Nursing & Rehabilitation Center in Carroll. He says rural Iowans face more challenges when it comes to diagnosis, long-term care options, and support for caregivers.
Nearly seven-million Americans are living with Alzheimer’s disease, including more than 62-thousand in Iowa, while nearly 100-thousand Iowans are caregivers for family members and friends.
The virtual forum is being hosted by the Alzheimer’s Association Iowa Chapter.
The goal is to better understand the challenges in rural Iowa, to shed light on the need for more support, and to start finding solutions to decrease higher prevalence rates and increase access to medical and support services.
A 2023 study found the average Alzheimer’s prevalence rate in Iowans 65 and older is 11%, though the rate was 12.5% in Osceola and Mitchell counties, 12.6% in Monona County, and the state’s highest rate of 12.9% was in Ringgold County.
While Medicare recommends seniors get a cognitive test during their doctor’s checkups every year, studies show only about 25-percent of those who are eligible take the test.
The forum via Zoom is free and will be held starting at 11 A-M on Thursday. Register here:
https://tinyurl.com/RuralForumJan2025
DECEMBER UNEMPLOYMENT RATE UP SLIGHTLY
The December unemployment rate moved up one tenth of a percent to three-point-two percent. Iowa Workforce Development director Beth Townsend says that comes as more people were looking for jobs.
Townsend says some of the job gains were offset by loses.
She says overall the positive news outweighed the negative.
Townsend says there’s always a stop in February and the next unemployment numbers won’t come out until March.
The U-S unemployment rate decreased to four-point-one percent in December.
DON’T LET EMOTIONS OVERTAKE COMMON SENSE WITH SOCIAL MEDIA POSTS
Authorities in central Iowa are warning social media users about two recent scams that are tugging at heartstrings and preying on fears. One fraudulent post asks for the community’s help identifying an abandoned and injured child, while the other claims a serial killer is on the run. Des Moines police say the details are changed to make it appear local, but the same scams are being used in multiple states. The crooks are hoping you’ll click on their links which will lead you to sites that may appear legit, but that aim to steal your identity. Police urge anyone who sees these social media posts to report them to the platform administrators, and to only share posts from trusted sources.
