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This is World Elder Abuse Awareness Day

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Iowa has one of the nation’s oldest populations and the elderly face increasing threats from crooks — who sometimes turn out to be people they trusted. This is World Elder Abuse Awareness Day.

Amy Ouphachack is an elder rights specialist with the Elderbridge Agency on Aging, based in Fort Dodge. “We work with local law enforcement and DHS in serving those who have been referred to our program either through financial exploitation, self neglect or abuse in general,” Ouphachack says.

Each year, as many as five-million older Americans are abused, neglected or exploited. They lose $2.5 billion — or more — each year, money that could be used to pay for housing, food and medical care. It’s estimated only one in five of these crimes are discovered.

Through the Elder Rights Program, Ouphachack handles cases around central Iowa. “The program is voluntary so we generally go in with a soft approach and explain why we’re there and what we can do to help them,” she says. “We keep in contact with the local law enforcement and DHS. We get a lot of referrals from them as well.”

Ouphachack says these cases can happen anywhere, from an individual’s own home to a nursing home to a church. “A recent case I did a consult on was from Rippey where she was power of attorney for her mother,” she says. “She noticed her mother wrote a check for $25,000 to a man at church and couldn’t explain what it was for.”

Proclamations on Elder Abuse Awareness Day will be signed by the mayors in several Iowa communities today, including Fort Dodge, Carroll and Spencer.

(Pat Powers, KQWC, Webster City contributed to this report.)

 

Last days of spring going out with a heat wave

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Another big change in the weather is coming, one that’ll feel like it’s mid-summer, though we still have a week of spring left.

Meteorologist Kurt Kotenberg, at the National Weather Service in metro Des Moines, says yes, it was already really hot a few weeks ago, but the next several days promise to be the hottest of the year so far.

“There’s very high confidence that temperatures will be in the middle 90s Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday,” Kotenberg says. “Heat index values will be pushing anywhere between 100 and 105 degrees in the metro area and across most of the state we’ll be pushing triple digits.”

He reminds us, it’s not even summer yet. That season officially arrives next Thursday but Mother Nature doesn’t always follow the calendar.

“Basically, starting tomorrow — Friday, lasting into Saturday, lasting into Sunday and probably lasting into Monday, we’re going to have some of the hottest temperatures of the year here in Iowa,” Kotenberg says. “The past couple of weeks, it’s been well above average, but this is probably going to be the hottest air that we’ve had.”

It’s been a strange few months for weather, after a prolonged winter with late snows, a shortened spring and an early summer. If you think this seems like way too hot of a forecast for this early in the year, you’re right. “In Des Moines, the normal high is 81 degrees. Up in Waterloo, the normal high is right around 78 and our forecast is in the middle 90s, maybe even the upper 90s,” Kotenberg says. “We’re going to be a solid 15 degrees above normal for temperatures.”

Due to the forecast, he says it’s likely statewide heat advisories will be issued soon for the steamy days ahead. “Heat index values are going to be over 100, pushing 105 degrees, and it’s really the consecutive days of this that cause the problems,” Kotenberg says. “Temperatures overnight won’t cool much below the low to mid-70s. When you compound things like this is where we really start to run into the heat issues, healthwise.”

A few tips to handle the heat: Wear light-weight and light-colored clothes. Drink plenty of water. If you’ll be working outside, take frequent breaks. Never leave children or pets inside vehicles. Make sure pets and livestock have access to water. Also, check on your friends and neighbors, especially the elderly, to make sure they’re doing okay.

 

Senator Grassley says reserve judgment on Korea talks and trust the president

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Senator Chuck Grassley. (file photo)

Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley says he’s encouraged by what’s being said about progress so far in the talks between the U.S. and North Korea.

President Donald Trump says he plans to sign an accord with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, but the subject matter is still unknown. “I think that it would be smart for all of us to reserve judgment until we see the printing of it,” Grassley says.

Whether the pending agreement involves nuclear arms or trade, Grassley says we need to trust our president. “I was kind of surprised at how candid he was,” Grassley says of Trump. “He thinks it’s a good agreement and he thinks it’s going to work out well in the end, but he says, ‘Maybe in six months I will say I’m wrong,’ although he said, ‘I might not admit I’m wrong.'”

The summit in Singapore marks the first time a sitting U.S. president has met with the leader of North Korea. “I’m going to hope for the best and hope it works out,” Grassley says. President Trump made comments during the recent G-7 summit that are perceived as lashing out at key U.S. allies — including Canada, Germany and France — over trade.

Grassley says Trump is doing his best to level the playing field. “He’s shooting for the moon and I think it’s legitimate to shoot for the moon,” Grassley says, “because you see, the countries he’s dealing with have higher tariffs than America does for most of our products that we import.” For example, Grassley says Canada has a 279% tariff on dairy products, while many European nations have trade bans in place on American grains due to GMO practices.

 

Ferry service to help commuters across the Mississippi River during work on Sabula bridge

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New Sabula Bridge view from Illinois DOT drone video.

Ferry and bus service will start this week to help residents around Sabula, Iowa and Savanna, Illinois cross the Mississippi River after a bridge project delay.

Bob Younie, maintenance director for the Iowa Department of Transportation, says the $80 million main channel bridge is almost done, but a smaller bridge on the Iowa side is having foundation trouble and needs to be rebuilt.

“Our plans were to drill shaft piling 150 feet into sand to hold the bridge up and we do this stuff all the time, except the sand didn’t cooperate with us,” Younie says. “We had to do some redesign and reworking so that we have a safe bridge and that’s going to take an extra three months to get that done.” That project was originally going to take 40 days. Sabula and Savanna residents who need to get to the other side of the river have a 36-mile commute to the nearest bridge — at Clinton. Starting Tuesday, a ferry will begin offering free service between the cities.

“It’s a 15-vehicle car ferry, no commercial vehicles though, just normal passenger vehicles and pickups,” Younie says. “It also takes passengers. That’s going to be crossing the river between Sabula and Savanna, just going back and forth for 12 hours in a day.” It’ll run from 6 A.M. to 6 P.M. weekdays and from 8 A.M. to 8 P.M. weekends. A transit bus service is also being launched today between the communities.

“There’s going to be a morning service and an evening service between Savanna and Sabula, just a normal passenger bus,” Younie says. “The two cities have worked in cooperation with local employers and they’ve established some stops that we’ll be using and some times of operation. We think that also will return some mobility to the citizens and we’re really excited about that.”

The ferry service alone will cost $7,000 per day to operate, which Younie says is actually cheaper compared to the lost cost to citizens who are having to commute back and forth. He couldn’t estimate how many people will use the ferry or the bus, but hopes those who’ve been impacted by the bridge work will give it a try. The construction project should be done by early September.

 

Dubuque mayor hears from top Facebook official during conference

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Ray Buol

At least two Iowa mayors are at the U.S. Conference of Mayors which will conclude its three-day run in Boston today.

Mayor Roy Buol of Dubuque says one of the weekend’s keynote speakers was Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg, who announced a plan to train one-million people and small business owners in social media use nationwide by the year 2020.

“Social media is here to stay and keeps expanding,” Mayor Buol says. “There’s got to be some regulation on truth and fact and they’re certainly working toward that. On the privacy issue, I think Facebook is front and center on trying to address that and make sure people’s information is not shared when they don’t want it shared.” Buol says he’s inspired at these meetings by other mayors who talk about redeveloping and revitalizing downtowns, especially when the community is involved in the planning process.

“I was told by a previous mayor that no one would ever live downtown in Dubuque,” Buol says, “and you know today, it’s a vibrant hub again of our community with 8,000 people employed there.” Buol is in his 13th year as Dubuque’s mayor and he served for a decade on the city council before becoming mayor. After many successes in Dubuque over the 23 years he’s been in office, Buol says he sometimes finds himself in more of a teacher role than that of a learner at the conference, as other mayors want to know his secrets.

“Dubuque has done a lot of great redevelopment,” Buol says. “They’re interested in how we did it and how we made it affordable to do. I talk to them about the different grant opportunities that we’ve availed ourselves of.” Over the years, Buol says Dubuque and its partners have landed more than 550-million dollars in grants for a host of redevelopment projects. Des Moines Mayor Frank Cownie is also attending the Boston conference.

 

Psychologist: ‘No one is immune’ from lure of suicide, rates rising in Iowa

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Anthony Bourdain
1956-2018

Two high-profile celebrity deaths this week have vaulted suicide back into the headlines, as suicide rates in Iowa are rising. TV chef Anthony Bourdain and fashion designer Kate Spade reportedly took their own lives.

Dr. Jonathan Sikorski, a psychologist in Omaha-Council Bluffs, says Spade was known to have depression, anxiety and may’ve been bipolar, all of which can be treated.

“Bipolar, absolutely, depression, absolutely, you have that chemical imbalance but really, when it comes to suicide, no one is immune,” Dr. Sikorski says.

Suicide is the second leading cause of death for Iowans between the ages of 15 and 34. A report from the Centers for Disease Control finds the suicide rate in Iowa rose more than 36% between 1999 to 2016.

Sikorski says to be watchful of certain signs in friends, co-workers and loved ones.

“If you see them all of the sudden talking about how they feel like they’re being a burden to others or they have pain they feel is just unbearable or they, all of the sudden, start giving things away,” he says, all could raise a red flag.

Sikorski says people can sometimes be pushed over the edge without being clinically depressed or suffering from other mental health issues.

“There’s always that risk that you have this right combination of little sleep and just life stressful events,” he says, “that no one’s really above being in that point of desperation.”

Sikorski, who works at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha, says if you believe a friend or family member is at risk, you should sit down with them and have a talk.

“One of the best things you can do is just straight-up asking them,” he says. “Say, ‘I know you’ve been feeling really low and having a hard time. Do you feel safe? Have you thought about hurting yourself or others?’ Talk to them about if they have any reason to live. A lot of times when people are really down, they’re like, ‘I don’t want to be here but I have my kids.'”

On average, one person dies by suicide in Iowa every 20 hours. For help, contact the Iowa chapter of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.

 

 

Pella woman wins national award for fighting hunger while hitting the books

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Maria Rose Belding (Glamour photo)

An Iowa native is being named one of the ten College Women of the Year by Glamour Magazine.

Maria Rose Belding, of Pella, is a senior at American University, majoring in public health. Belding is also co-founder and director of a national non-profit group that helps food pantries share food and feed the needy.

This is the 61st year for the Glamour list, which once included a young Martha Stewart.

“It’s a really cool legacy of young women doing cool stuff,” Belding says. “It’s based on extracurricular activities, your grades. Almost everybody on the list this year is running an organization, running a company, running an initiative, doing something really cool both in and outside of the classroom.”

Belding is co-founder of the MEANS Database, which stands for Matching Excess And Need for Stability. The interactive website allows food pantries and soup kitchens to quickly coordinate exchanges of excess food items between each other and local donors — preventing food from ending up in landfills.

The 22-year-old is humble about the recognition by Glamour.

“Reading the bios of the other winners, I was just sitting there going, ‘What am I doing on this list?'” Belding says, laughing. “All of us got on a call together via Facetime and it was remarkable because every single one of us had the same thoughts, ‘What are we doing on this list?'”

The MEANS Database is a free program that was launched in 2015 and is now used by hundreds of food pantries in 49 U-S states and territories. It’s helped move — and save from spoiling — one-point-seven million pounds of food.

So, why is Belding on the Glamour list? It’s not common, she says, to be running a national organization while also being a full-time undergraduate student.

“It’s not very common because it’s hard and kind of frustrating and awful at times but it is possible,” she says, again breaking into laughter. “Most people don’t get the opportunity to do what I’ve done in undergrad and really be able to build a company and make a pretty big impact while also getting your degree.”

Belding and the others are being featured in the June/July issue of Glamour.

“Each of us gets about $3,000 which is fantastic because none of us get paid very well to run the initiatives that we’re running, if we get paid at all, so that will be lovely,” Belding says. “That will definitely be how I’m paying for my organic chemistry textbook this fall. The publicity, obviously, is really wonderful and getting to meet these other young people is fantastic.”

The isn’t her first time in such a spotlight. In 2015, the international cosmetics company, L’Oreal, named Belding one of its ten “Women of Worth,” out of 6,000 nominees globally.

Belding plans to graduate in May of 2019, take a year off, and then head to medical school.

Hear the full interview below:

Con artists switch from mail & phone scams to texts & social media

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Iowans are being warned about a couple of new scams that target Facebook users.

Jim Hegarty, with the Better Business Bureau in Omaha/Council Bluffs, says to be very wary if you get a message that appears to be from the founder of the social media giant.

“First, people are contacted by people claiming to be Mark Zuckerburg or other senior executives, telling them they’ve won a Facebook lottery,” Hegarty says. “Victims are told some fees are needed to deliver the money and victims who pay are told there are more fees needed for clarification.”

There is no Facebook lottery. While getting a message from Zuckerburg should send up a red flag for most of us, we would tend to be much more trusting if the message is from someone we know. That’s the hinge of the other new scam.

“Victims hear from a Facebook friend, telling them that the friend has won a large amount of money and saying they saw the victim’s name on a list of winners,” Hegarty says. “Of course, these contacts do not come from actual friends though that gives these a strong aura of credibility.”

That “friend” tells the victim to contact a third party to get their winnings, and again, there’s a fee for getting the cash prize but it never arrives.

An elderly couple from Fort Calhoun, Nebraska, was drawn into a lottery scheme and recently came forward. Both were in their 80s and were showing signs of early dementia. Several con artists piled onto the couple over two years.

“They were on the hook with scammers that were working them from one end of the country to the other,” Hagerty says. “All kinds of reasons why they could never deliver the winnings. Over the course of those two years, they sent over $150,000 in wire transfers. They ended up losing essentially everything. Their life savings were gone.”

Nationwide last year, the BBB took 150,000 complaints from consumers reporting scams. The estimated loss to victims is $117-million, but Hegarty says that amount could be ten times higher as many people don’t report being ripped off.

 

Hot enough for you? It’ll get hotter. Tips for surviving summer

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After a long winter, a short spring and now an early summer, today is Heat Awareness Day in Iowa, according to meteorologist Kelsey Angle, at the National Weather Service.

Angle says, “This is the day that we want to take some time to review the safety tips in regards to heat and safety as we head into the heart of summer.”

We’ve already seen record high temperatures well into the 90s and since summer doesn’t officially arrive until June 21st, a quick review may be helpful.

“We do know it will get hot again and the humidity will also increase, and with that, the impacts will increase, especially for those who will be working outside during the summer,” Angle says. “Also, it’s to bring awareness that you don’t want to leave children or pets inside vehicles.”

If the outside temperature is 80 degrees, in 10 minutes the temperature inside the vehicle will be near 100 degrees, and in an hour, near 125 degrees. Last year, 42 children died from being left in hot vehicles nationwide. So far this year, there have been seven such deaths.

If you’ll be outside during any of the upcoming heat waves, he offers some suggestions.

“Drink plenty of water, take frequent breaks to cool your body down, wear light-weight, loose-fitting, light-colored clothes to reflect the sunlight and keep your body cool,” Angle says. “You also want to make sure pets and livestock have access to water.”

He suggests checking on your friends and neighbors, especially the elderly, to make sure they’re doing okay.

Heat is one of the nation’s leading weather-related killers, resulting in hundreds of deaths each year and even more heat-related illnesses.

 

Senator Grassley wants hearing on how federal courts handle sexual harassment

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Senator Chuck Grassley. (file photo)

Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley says a new report on how the federal court system handles sexual harassment is “totally unacceptable.”

The report was commissioned after a federal judge retired in December of 2017 following multiple allegations of sexual misconduct. Grassley says he’d hoped the report, released on Monday, would provide a concrete blueprint for accountability. He says it didn’t.

“The report lacked very serious proposals and, in a sense, just kind of kicked the can down the road,” Grassley says. Grassley says his office is working with the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts on a path to prevent future harassment and to hold accountable those who are responsible.

“The federal judiciary is the only federal entity without clear guidelines on how to handle harassment complaints,” Grassley says, “and it doesn’t have an independent watchdog to guard against misconduct like congress and the executive branch has.”

Grassley chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee and is calling for a hearing before the panel next week to address the issue of harassment in the federal court system.

Senator Grassley is also weighing in on whether a sitting U.S. president can and should be able to legally pardon himself. Grassley, who’s quick to remind he’s not an attorney, says it’s a “common sense answer” as the special counsel probes the Trump campaign’s ties to Russia in 2016.

Grassley says, “If I were president of the United States and some lawyer advised me that I could be above the law and take the law into my own hands and be my own judge, I’d get a new lawyer.”

President Trump issued a tweet on Monday, saying he has the “absolute right” to pardon himself, but adds, “why would I do that when I have done nothing wrong?”