BILL REQUIRES MORE IOWANS IN MEDICAL/DENTAL PROGRAMS
The Iowa Senate has passed a bill which requires a higher percentage of Iowans to be accepted into the state’s medical and dental schools. Rep Tom Jeneary of Le Mars, a retired dentist, backed the bill that was earlier approved in the House.
Rep. Jeneary says the bill is designed to help ease a shortage of doctors and dentists in Iowa.
The bill also allows for residencies to participate in rural rotations, which would address a shortage of rural health care providers.
TODAY IS NATIONAL DRUG TAKE BACK DAY
Today is National Drug Take Back Day, which is designed to give you a chance to get rid of old prescription medications you no longer need. The event is organized nationally by the U-S Drug Enforcement Agency. You can drop off patches and other forms of prescription drugs. Liquids such as cough syrup can also be turned in, but must be in a sealed container. Vaping cartridges will be accepted if the lithium batteries are removed. The Iowa Office of Drug Control Policy says old pet medications can also be dropped off. Syringes or any illegal drugs are not accepted. The take back runs from 10 a-m untl2 p-m. There are also 400 permanent take-back sites across the state if you can’t get out to a site today. One of those permanent sites is at the Le Mars Police Department. Other take back sites are at Floyd Valley Healthcare, Hy-Vee Pharmacy in Le Mars, and Lewis Pharmacy in Kingsley.
LE MARS POLICE K9 UNITS INVOLVED IN NARCOTICS TRIALS
Two Le Mars Police K9 teams recently competed in the USPCA Region 21 Narcotics Trials in West Des Moines. In a Facebook post Le Mars Police said Officer Rohmiller and K9 Ace and Officer Fay and K9 Bo took part in the competition. Officer Fay and Bo received best Rookie Dog at the trial.
DORDT CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS
Dordt University’s dining commons and recital hall are taking shape, with plans to accelerate construction once commencement concludes in early May.
Significant strides are being made inside the dining commons. Vice President for University Operations Fred Verwoerd says there is a strong push to finish the interior of the facility. Staff is to be preparing meals in the commons by July.
The upper level of the dining commons will serve as a welcoming space for campus visitors.
Next door to the commons, the recital hall is nearly enclosed. Its glass front is set to be installed soon. Once enclosed, interior work will be accelerated, with a goal of completing the space by mid-fall.
The large-scale mechanical systems like air handlers and kitchen ventilation in place, so the projects are positioned to move forward quickly this summer.
HOUSE VOTES TO CREATE IOWA GROCER REINVESTMENT FUND
The Iowa House has unanimously voted to create a grant program to help grocery stores buy new equipment, update technology or utilities and make other improvements. The Iowa Grocer Reinvestment Fund could offer grants of up to 100-thousand dollars that would have to be matched by grocery store owners. And the bill ensures small town “country stores” that sell groceries as well as other goods or operate a diner as well would qualify for the grants. Representative Shannon Latham of Sheffield says the number of independent grocers has decreased by 15 percent in Iowa in the past decade. And the decline is more staggering in rural Iowa where more than 40 percent of grocery stores have closed in communities with fewer than a thousand residents.
GOVERNOR SUES DES MOINES REGISTER OVER RECORDS REQUEST
Governor Kim Reynolds is suing the Des Moines Register over the paper’s public records request for email conversations among the governor’s staff and a West Des Moines city councilwoman who is president and C-E-O of Lutheran Social Services in Iowa. Reynolds says her lawsuit is a move to protect the use of executive privilege for all Iowa governors of the past, present and future. According to the lawsuit, the governor’s office provided over 800 pages of documents to The Register, but withheld four documents containing what the lawsuit describes as candid private advice and counsel from the governor’s most senior advisors. A spokesman for the governor says Reynolds is confident the judicial branch will recognize governors have a constitutional executive privilege in Iowa to receive confidential communications and work product from their closest advisors.
SENATE PASSES BILL ON PARTNERSHIPS BETWEEN CHILD CARE CENTERS AND PRESCHOOLS
Governor Kim Reynolds’ bill to provide 16 MILLION dollars in new grants to partnerships between child care centers and preschools that provide a full day of care to four-year-olds has cleared the Senate with Republican support. The grants could be up to 100-thousand dollars a year over a three year period and could be used for things like expanding four-year-old enrollment or providing transportation between a preschool site and a child care center. The bill would require shifting funds from existing child care programs. Senate Democratic Leader Janet Weiner says the bill is a shell game, taking money from existing programs and giving it to programs taht do not yet exist.
