January 28, 2012

You are here: Home / 2009 / Archives for August 2009

Marion American Legion wants Honor Flight from Cedar Rapids

August 27, 2009 By

Thursday, August 27, 2009, 8:45 AM

By Pat Curtis

An American Legion Post in Marion is pushing to make the Eastern Iowa Airport in Cedar Rapids the next “Honor Flight” hub in Iowa. So-called “Honor Flights” have been arranged so the nation’s elderly World War Two veterans can travel to Washington, D.C. for free to see the memorial there that honors their service.

The Des Moines Airport was the hub for an “Honor Flight” earlier this month. Mary Clapp, commander of American Legion Post 298, is hoping the next “Honor Flight” leaves from Cedar Rapids. “If we can bring just a little bit of joy to them and help them have closure on their lives, I think it just brings a peace to them and comfort.”

Eighty-six-year-old Larry Moore flew planes in World War Two, but he can’t afford to pay the plane fare for the trip to D.C. “The thought of going to Washington is kind of overwhelming and here’s an opportunity to get in there on a conducted tour and to see other veterans and to see other things,” Moore says.

Casey’s General Stores announced Tuesday is would donate $250,000 so a second “Honor Flight” could depart from the Des Moines Airport.

Filed Under: Human Interest

Study shows gambling treatment program is working

August 27, 2009 By

An annual study of problem gamblers in the state shows Iowa’s publicly funded treatment services are helping people quit. Mark Vander Linden is the Gambling Treatment Program coordinator with the Iowa Department of Public Health.

He says the study found, six months following treatment, 95% of respondents reported they had reduced or quit problem gambling behaviors. In addition, 41% of people entering treatment said they had been late paying their bills.

By discharge, that number dropped to 21%. The study was conducted in partnership with the University of Northern Iowa’s Center for Social and Behavioral Research. Around 940 people sought help from Iowa’s Gambling Treatment Program in 2008.

The treatment usually involves a group setting or one-on-one visits with a counselor. "It’s primarily driven by the goals of the person who is seeking the help, paying attention to whatever problems that brought them in and trying to come up with some concrete solutions to address those problems," Vander Linden said.

The number of people seeking help for problem gambling dropped between 2007 and 2008. Vander Linden says he expects the numbers to jump back up considering the economic downturn and the state’s rising unemployment rate.

"Often times it’s an accumulation of problems that drive a person to get help for the gambling problem," Vander Linden said. "So, it’ll be interesting to see…how many individuals are out there asking for help."

The Iowa Gambling Treatment Program’s annual budget is around four-million dollars. That money come from the Iowa Legislature’s general fund. The program has providers at 55 locations in the state. Iowans seeking help for gambling problems, regardless of their ability to pay, can call 1-800-BETS-OFF to receive assistance.

See the study here . 

Filed Under: Health & Medicine, Recreation & Entertainment Tagged With:

Dubuque man charged with first-degree murder in stabbing

August 27, 2009 By

A Dubuque man, who is accused in the death of his friend earlier this month, is now charged with first-degree murder. The Dubuque County Attorney’s office filed the murder charge against 40-year-old Michael Mayton.

He is accused of stabbing 38-year-old David Tate in the chest on August 15th. Tate died from his injuries. Mayton is also charged with attempted murder for stabbing 23-year-old Richard Schramm, Junior, who remains hospitalized in stable condition.

According to a police report, Mayton and his friends were attacked by a group of people from Schramm’s house. Witnesses said the fight involved people throwing beer bottles and hitting each other with snow shovels. Mayton told police he grabbed a knife from his home, but didn’t remember stabbing anyone. He is being held in the Dubuque County Jail under $100,000 bond.

Filed Under: Crime & Courts

Rants touts ideas to cut health care costs

August 27, 2009 By

Republican gubernatorial candidate Chris Rants is touting four ideas he says could raise the quality and lower the cost of health care in Iowa. "Some of these proposals are common sense, practical solutions (like) electronic health records," Rants says. "Making a commitment that the state should enable that is something that I think both parties should be able to agree upon."

In addition to calling for all medical records in Iowa to be digitized within four years, Rants proposes adjusting the system of reimbursing hospitals for the care provided to Medicare and Medicaid patients. Rants says high-quality care should be rewarded with the highest payments.

"We have a real problem in this state with hospitals that in danger of going under in some cases because of low reimbursement rates," Rants says. "…There are things that we can do here in Iowa and state policymakers and candidates running for governor really ought to talk about what role the state has and what the state can do to try to improve things for Iowans."

Rants, a legislator from Sioux City, says the state should create a website where Iowans could find out more about what hospitals and doctors charge for certain services and find out more about insurance plans that are available in Iowa. "As patients, we really don’t have a lot of information. People walk into the doctor’s office, they walk into the emergency room and they don’t know what anything costs until they get the bill afterwards. They don’t know, you know, who has a good success rating and who doesn’t," Rants says.

"If we want to have patients become better consumers, we’ve got to give them more information." Rants is also pressing for a changes in the legal system that he says would reduce the medical malpractice insurance premiums Iowa doctors and hospitals are paying.

"I recognize that doing medical malpractice liability reform will be somewhat controversial, but there are some of those parts to my plan that I think even some Democrats could support," Rants says. For example, Rants suggests all medical malpractice cases go to mediation first, before a trial begins, and Rants would require a "certificate of merit" endorsed by another lawyer and an independent doctor before a medical malpractice suit could be filed.

Rants hints he’ll have more to say on the subject of health care reform between now and election day in 2010. "This is not the end-all, be-all list. These are four, practical, first-steps that need to be taken," Rants says. "There’s another 14 months to go in this campaign." The Republican Primary is scheduled for Tuesday, June 8th — about nine months away. The General Election is Tuesday, November 2nd, 2010.

 

Filed Under: Health & Medicine, Politics & Government Tagged With: ,

Vander Plaats calls on governor to convene business panel

August 27, 2009 By

Republican gubernatorial candidate Bob Vander Plaats says Governor Chet Culver, a Democrat, should convene Iowa’s top business minds and ask them to develop a plan to fix Iowa’s economy and stop mounting job losses. Vander Plaats, a business consultant from Sioux City, says there’s a need for urgency.

Vander Plaats points to this week’s announcement that 400 workers in Lake Mills will be laid off — their jobs are being moved to a plant in Mexico. "As a business leader I know we need leadership to open up Iowa for business so our young people have a chance to stay and to develop and grow their families in Iowa," Vander Plaats said at a recent campaign event in Dallas County.

According to Vander Plaats, "this isn’t something that can wait until the next governor takes office."  Vander Plaats is calling on Culver to focus on "private sector job creation" rather than adding more employees to the government payroll.

Meanwhile, the chairman of the Iowa Democratic Party blasted Vander Plaats for saying, "President Obama has been really, really good for two industries — guns and ammunition." Democratic Party chairman Michael Kiernan calls those sentiments "outrageous" and "inflammatory."

Filed Under: Politics & Government Tagged With: , ,

Marion American Legion wants Honor Flight from Cedar Rapids

August 27, 2009 By

An American Legion Post in Marion is pushing to make the Eastern Iowa Airport in Cedar Rapids the next "Honor Flight" hub in Iowa. So-called "Honor Flights" have been arranged so the nation’s elderly World War Two veterans can travel to Washington, D.C. for free to see the memorial there that honors their service.

The Des Moines Airport was the hub for an "Honor Flight" earlier this month. Mary Clapp, commander of American Legion Post 298, is hoping the next "Honor Flight" leaves from Cedar Rapids. "If we can bring just a little bit of joy to them and help them have closure on their lives, I think it just brings a peace to them and comfort."

Eighty-six-year-old Larry Moore flew planes in World War Two, but he can’t afford to pay the plane fare for the trip to D.C. "The thought of going to Washington is kind of overwhelming and here’s an opportunity to get in there on a conducted tour and to see other veterans and to see other things," Moore says.

Casey’s General Stores announced Tuesday is would donate $250,000 so a second "Honor Flight" could depart from the Des Moines Airport.

 

Filed Under: Military

Drake opens soccer season at Indiana tournament

August 27, 2009 By

Coming off its most successful season ever the Drake men’s soccer team opens on Thursday night with a game against seventh rated Indiana. It’s part of the National Soccer Festival in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and will include seven teams ranked in the national polls.

Drake opens the season ranked 21st after a 13-5-1 record in 2008 that included a trip to the NCAA Tournament. Drake coach Sean Holmes says the tournament has been built up over the last couple of years and it is a big step to be able to participate.

Holmes says with an experienced team this will be a good way to open the season. He says they’ve always played local teams from smaller schools to start the season slowly, but this will be a good test.

Holmes says that experience has been evident in pre-season workouts and he says getting things together going forward is the key. He says they return lots of letter winners and have been able to skip over some things as they move ahead.

This is just the first game of a tough early schedule for the Bulldogs that includes DePaul, Michigan and Marquette.

Filed Under: Sports
« Older Posts
Newer Posts »