January 28, 2012

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Mosquitoes still pose a threat

August 28, 2009 By

State Health Department officials issued an advisory this week that mosquitoes are still active across the state and tests from Black Hawk County have confirmed the dangers those mosquitoes pose.

Three state laboratories have confirmed encephalitis and West Nile virus in mosquitoes in the county. Black Hawk County environmental health program director, John McNamee, says the viruses were found in a flock of sentinel chickens.

The beauty of this is the chickens themselves do not get the disease, they don’t transmit the disease, but what they do do is create antibodies to the disease that we can find, so what we’re basically doing is seeing if there are mosquitoes in the area that are capable of transmitting any of these viruses,” McNamee says. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Health & Medicine

King uncertain how Kennedy’s death will impact health care progress

August 28, 2009 By

Some Democrats are hoping the death of Senator Edward Kennedy might serve as a rallying point to help push ahead action on health care legislation. Iowa Congressman Steve King, a Republican from Kiron has been critical of the health care bill, and says he’s not sure what impact Kennedy’s death will have.

King says Democrats obviously think it will make a difference, or they wouldn’t be talking about possibly naming the health care bill in honor of Kennedy, but he doesn’t know how it will play out in the long run. King says even though he was on the other side of the aisle from Kennedy, he respects the commitment, effort and deep conviction Kennedy brought to the job.

King says the loss of Kennedy will leave a void in the Democratic effort to push the health care issue. King says Kennedy could give a speech that was prepared or extemporaneously, that was compelling and many times emotional.

“I’ve often wished we had people that had that ability that are on our side of this argument,” King says, “but if they use his name to try to advance something that I fear will become socialized medicine, I think it may leave a legacy for Teddy Kennedy that they don’t want to leave and I’d caution against that if I were inside the doors making the decisions where they are.”

King said Thursday he would not run for governor so he can continue to focus on national issues like health care

Filed Under: Health & Medicine, Politics & Government

DNR launching household hazardous materials campaign

August 28, 2009 By

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources is preparing to launch a statewide Household Hazardous Materials (HHM) education campaign. Tom Anderson, with the D.N.R.’s Land Quality Bureau, says the effort will focus on four key messages.

“We’re going to begin with proper disposal and then reading the label, proper storage and proper use would be future pushes for the education campaign as a whole,” Anderson said. The campaign, which will begin in the spring of 2010, is being financed by the Groundwater Protection Fund.

The D.N.R. has partnered with a Cedar Falls based advertising and consulting company (ME&V) to develop the campaign. The contract is not to exceed $120,000. Anderson says H-H-Ms are obviously useful and beneficial for use around a home or business, but they’re potentially dangerous if disposed of improperly.

“Throwing the materials into the trash puts the sanitation worker at risk as well as his or her equipment,” Anderson said. “Pouring them down a storm sewer…most storm sewers lead directly to the local river or lake, which then impacts the aquatic life.” Anderson says Iowans can find out where they can properly dispose of H-H-Ms by calling their local solid waste agency.

“There are currently 88 or 89 counties in Iowa that have some level of HHM collection and disposal support,” Anderson said. Most counties in the state also schedule cleanup dates once or twice a year so residents can dispose of HHMs at little or no cost.

Filed Under: Environment & Conservation

U.S. Supreme Court hearing arguments in Iowa murder case

August 28, 2009 By

Oral arguments have been set before the U.S. Supreme Court for a case out of western Iowa. Two men, whose murder convictions were overturned after they served more than two decades in prison, are suing former Pottawattamie County prosecutors. Curtis McGhee and Terry Harrington served 25 years in prison for the killing of a retired police officer.

Evidence came to light that the prosecution knowingly used false testimony coerced from a 16-year-old witness and the Iowa Supreme Court set aside the convictions. University of Iowa law professor Todd Pettys says the U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to decide whether the men can seek damages. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Crime & Courts

Iowa banks sound

August 28, 2009 By

Due to more than 80 bank failures nationwide this year, the federal government’s deposit insurance fund took a significant hit, but a banking industry leader in Iowa says the state’s residents have little to fear. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, or F.D.I.C., saw the fund drop more than ten-billion dollars, or about 20%.

John Sorenson, president and C.E.O. of the Iowa Bankers Association, says Iowa hasn’t seen a bank failure in nearly a decade. “Iowa banks, on the whole, remain strong, and I think in a very good position to serve our communities, especially during this particular recessionary period,” Sorensen says. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Business

Judge agrees to second mental evaluation of Becker in AP coach shooting

August 28, 2009 By

A Butler County district court judge has agreed to hear the state’s request for mental competency hearing for the Parkersburg man accused of killing Aplington-Parkersburg football coach Ed Thomas.

Judge Stephen Carroll issued an order Thursday suspending the proceedings in the first-degree murder trial of Mark Becker at the request of the prosecution. The judge has agreed to a request by the state to have its own doctor examine Becker, and that will happen today.

The state requested the review after Becker’s attorney filed paperwork saying a doctor hired by the defense has found Becker not competent to stand trial. His attorney said in the court documents that Becker suffers from schizophrenia and bipolar disorder and is unable to understand the charge against him or help prepare his own defense.

Judge Carroll has set a hearing for September 1st to determine if there is sufficient evidence to hold a competency hearing for Becker. If the judge determines there is enough evidence, a competency hearing will be held on September 10th at 9:30 A.M. at the law enforcement center in Mason City. Becker is accused of shooting Thomas in the school weight room on June 24th.

The state’s doctor is scheduled to examine Becker at 9:30 A.M. Friday.

Filed Under: Crime & Courts

Supreme Court orders new trial in maternity case

August 28, 2009 By

The Iowa Supreme Court says a Linn County woman who was fired after returning to work from maternity leave should get a new trial. Elizabeth DeBoom worked as marketing director for a company called Raining Rose when she was fired in 2004 eight days after returning to full-time work from maternity leave.

Officials with the company told her she hadn’t caught up enough after returning to work. DeBoom filed suit saying the company fired her because of her sex and pregnancy. The company said DeBoom was not protected because she wasn’t pregnant when she was fired, and that she did not present enough evidence to show her firing was based on discrimination.

A jury ruled in favor of the company, but DeBoom appealed based on the jury instructions that she says prejudiced her claim of discrimination. The Iowa Supreme Court ruled the jury instruction provided by the district court required DeBoom to prove her sex or pregnancy was a "determining" factor in her termination and made it tougher to prove.

The high court said that although Iowa has yet to determined whether the prohibition against firing someone "disabled by pregnancy" includes women who have recently given birth or taken maternity leave — the federal courts have interpreted that it does. So the court ordered that DeBloom be given a new trial.  

See the ruling in the link below.

Ruling in DeBoom case. PDF

Filed Under: Crime & Courts, Health & Medicine
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