14 Mar 2012

Quad City Gastroenterologists Combine Forces To Raise Colon Cancer Awareness in March

By Jake Glimco

Quad Cities, USA (February 17, 2012) -March is Colon Cancer Awareness Month and staff from Digestive Disease Center, Gastroenterology Consultants, Digestive Disease Specialists and Trinity Medical Center have joined forces, once again, to form the Colon Cancer Free QCA Coalition.  This group consists of Gastroenterologists and other health care professionals who have come together to promote one simple message, Colonoscopies save lives.  The physicians will be meeting with various groups and family physicians this month to discuss the important role colonoscopies play in the early detection of colon cancer.

"Colon cancer is easily preventable by the removal of precancerous polyps during a screening colonoscopy.  If cancer is detected during a colonoscopy, it is easily curable in the early stages, as opposed to cancers that are detected at later stages which are often lethal.  These two facts make screening colonoscopy a no-brainier in maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Please make sure you and all of your loved-ones get screened, since everyone is at risk of developing this common cancer," says Dr. Arvind Movva, Gastroenterology Consultants.

In addition to spreading general awareness, Colon Cancer Free QCA will be working with Good Samaritan Clinic in Moline to provide free colonoscopies to a number of uninsured patients. Doctors, nurses, and support staff, from each practice, have volunteered their services to make this free screening possible.  The exams will be performed free of charge for patients who have been previously identified as being at a high-risk for colon cancer by the Good Samaritan Clinic.

Each year, over 140,000 Americans are diagnosed with colon cancer making it the third most common cancer diagnosis in the United States. "Colorectal cancer is the 2nd leading cause of cancer death among men and women in the U.S.  However, if we can raise awareness of the role a colonoscopy can play in the prevention of colon cancer, we can decrease the mortality from colorectal cancer significantly in our area", says Dr. Linda Tong of Digestive Disease Specialists.

Dr. Sreenivas Chintalapani of The Center for Digestive Health states, "The need for colorectal cancer screening is obvious with 150,000 new cases a year and 50,000 deaths. The technology and skills to detect and prevent colon cancer are available to most of us. It's just that that we need to get ourselves to your gastroenterologist and get your colonoscopy."  Colon Cancer remains among the top three cancer killers, even though it is also the most preventable form of deadly cancer.

The most effective means of preventing colon cancer is a colonoscopy.  In this procedure, pre-cancerous polyps are removed before they turn to cancer and early cancers are seen and biopsied, often before they cause symptoms.  If this cancer is detected early, often before symptoms appear, a person's chance of survival is about 90 percent; however, if a person waits until symptoms develop, this percentage drops dramatically. People with an average risk for colon cancer should be tested at age 50.  However, screenings should begin at age 40 if you have a family history of colon cancer or other high risk factors.   Colon cancer affects men and women equally, crossing all socio-economic lines.

 

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14 Mar 2012

Cedar Rapids & RAGBRAI® Announce "Celebrating 40 Years of Iowa" Event on July 26

By Jennifer Pickar

Cedar Rapids, IA- On Thursday, July 26, 2012, the community of Cedar Rapids and the Register's Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa™ will host a celebration event to commemorate the 40 years of the oldest, largest and longest touring bicycle ride in the world.

Registered RAGBRAI riders and residents of Cedar Rapids and surrounding communities are invited to attend this special evening, "Celebrating 40 Years of Iowa".

Cedar Rapids Mayor Ron Corbett said, "We are honored to host RAGBRAI's 40th Anniversary celebration in Cedar Rapids. As proud Iowans, it is a privilege to show thousands of visitors our Midwestern hospitality and community spirit."

T.J. Juskiewicz, RAGBRAI Director said, "We are excited to celebrate 40 years with Iowans and the communities of Iowa who are the true backbone of this ride. Every year Iowans work to make 10,000 plus people feel at home and understand what life in Iowa is all about. We look forward to the working with the community of Cedar Rapids to host this event on July 26."

Des Moines Register Media owns and produces RAGBRAI, a trek across Iowa that's the world's oldest, largest and longest annual bicycle ride. RAGBRAI riders will overnight in Sioux Center, Cherokee, Lake View, Webster City, Marshalltown, Cedar Rapids, Anamosa and Clinton this year.
14 Mar 2012

Braley Announces 2012 Congressional Art Competition

By Jeff Giertz

Winner will receive two round-trip air tickets to see their artwork displayed in US Capitol

 

Washington, DC - Rep. Bruce Braley (IA-01) today invited high school students from across Iowa's First Congressional District to submit original artwork for the annual Congressional Art Competition, "An Artistic Discovery."

 

The Congressional Art Competition, first held in 1982, is a nationwide high school arts competition sponsored by the US House of Representatives.  One winning piece of artwork from each House district will be selected to be displayed in the Cannon Tunnel of the US Capitol Building in Washington for the next year.

 

"I encourage Iowa high school students to participate in this year's art competition," Braley said.  "There are many gifted young artists in eastern Iowa, and this is a great opportunity for their work to be displayed for thousands of people to see.  It's a great honor to feature the work of an outstanding young artist in the US Capitol."

 

Any high school student from the First Congressional District of Iowa is eligible to submit their artwork for consideration.  To enter, students must submit a digital image of their artwork via Braley's website.  The submissions will be compiled into an internet gallery for public voting.

 

The submission deadline is April 23rd, 2012.  There is a limit of one submission per student.  Voting will close on May 1st, 2012, and the winner will be announced.  He or she will receive two round-trip airline tickets to Washington, DC, to see their artwork displayed and attend a winners' reception.

 

For full details on the 2012 Art Competition, including information on how to enter, please visit Braley's website at http://braley.house.gov/art-competition.

 

List of Past Iowa First District Art Competition Winners:

 

2007    Jonathan Welser, Davenport

2008    Stephanie Tarnish, Davenport

2009    Mitch Doll, Davenport

2010    Emily Schroeder, Cedar Falls

2011    Krista Stork, Dubuque

 

# # #

14 Mar 2012

Illinois Stations Launch New Statewide Education Service

By Monica Tichenor
The public television and public radio stations of Illinois are pleased to announce the launch of the statewide service Illinois PBS LearningMedia, a free, on-demand media resource designed to help PreK-12 educators use technology to teach core subjects in the classroom.

We are also pleased to announce the results of a statewide research study to evaluate the effectiveness of the new service among Illinois teachers.

Illinois PBS LearningMedia is the result of an unprecedented collaboration among all public broadcasting stations to deliver innovative tools that transform teaching and learning in the classrooms of Illinois.

Illinois PBS LearningMedia gives educators in Illinois access to 22,000 local and national, classroom-ready digital resources from PBS, public broadcasting stations, and other educational sources, including the National Archives, the Library of Congress, National Geographic, NASA, and NPR.

PLEASE NOTE: A press conference to announce the launch will be held this coming Monday, March 5 beginning at 11am at the Illinois Capitol Building Rotunda, 301 South Second Street in Springfield, Illinois.

A separate media alert for the press conference containing details about parking and key contacts will be sent to you early this afternoon.

Guest speakers at the press conference will include : Mark Leonard, president of the Illinois Public Broadcasting Council and general manager of Illinois Public Media - WILL; Greg Petrowich, chair of the Illinois Public Broadcasting Council Education Committee and executive director of WSIU Public Broadcasting - Carbondale; and Elizabeth Slifer, a fourth grade teacher from Carrie Busey Elementary in Champaign.

A question-and-answer period with media will follow.

Below my signature (also attached as an MS Word document) is a press release with complete details about Illinois PBS LearningMedia. This press release is embargoed until Monday, March 5, the date of the press conference.
14 Mar 2012

Gas Prices and Domestic Energy Production

By Grassley Press

Friday, March 2, 2012

 

During his weekly video address, Senator Chuck Grassley discusses the need to increase production of domestic energy to help lower gas prices and create jobs.  Along with other senators, he's urging President Obama to examine his policies that contribute to higher gas prices, including restricting access to federal lands and permitting delays, regulatory threats to refiners, and his Keystone XL pipeline decision.

 

 

Click here for audio.

 

Here is text of the address:

 

Along with other senators, I wrote to President Obama this week asking him to examine his policies that contribute to rising gas prices -- such as:

  • restricting access to federal lands and permitting delays,
  • regulatory threats to refiners,
  • and his Keystone XL pipeline decision.

 

A lot of factors impact the price of oil - including OPEC decisions and Mideast turmoil -- but the Obama Administration has made things worse.  By limiting domestic energy production, we have less supply and higher prices.

 

Last year, consumers spent a greater percentage of household income on gasoline than any other year since 1981.

  • Paying $4 or more for gas acts like a hidden tax on individuals and families.
  • Rising energy prices also get in the way of job creation by raising costs of doing business for employers.

 

Americans need a comprehensive approach that:

  • ramps up domestic production of traditional energy,
  • allows the expansion of alternative and renewable energy sources,
  • and encourages conservation.

 

Greater domestic energy production would increase supply and help to lower prices, and it would create American jobs.

 

 

-30-


14 Mar 2012

Region 6 Homeland Security Board and Safeguard Iowa Partnership Announce Week 4 of "20 Weeks to Preparedness Program"

By Ross E. Bergen
Release Date: March 5, 2012
Release Number: 5

Welcome to Week 4 of the 20 Weeks to Preparedness Program brought to you by the Region 6 Homeland
Security Board and Safeguard Iowa Partnership. This program will help prepare you and your family, a little at
a time, over a 20 week period. Each week new preparedness information will be shared including a list of items
to gather or purchase for your disaster supply kit. Sign up at www.safeguardiowa.org/subscribe-to-be-prepared
to receive weekly reminders and announcements related to the 20 Weeks to Preparedness program.

Use this program to gather items for your kit in small steps over a five month period. Remember to change
and replace perishable items by the expiration date. Purchasing the food suggested by this program would last
approximately 3-5 days.

Place in storage bin:

Five gallon bucket with lid
Plastic tarp
Work gloves
Ready-to-eat meals

Personalized Item (if applicable):

Special diet foods

To do:

Arrange for emergency care for children, elders, and/or pets. Remembering to think about all
the "what ifs" will result in better plans and execution in the event of an actual disaster.

Additional assistance is available by contacting your Scott County Emergency Management Coordinator
at 563-484-3050 or visiting their website at www.iascema.com. Visit Safeguard Iowa Partnership at
www.safeguardiowa.org, on twitter @safeguardiowa or Facebook at www.facebook.com/safeguardiowa.

The Region 6 Homeland Security Board is comprised of fourteen counties in eastern Iowa that coordinate homeland security planning,
training, exercise, response, and recovery. The counties included are Benton, Black Hawk, Buchanan, Cedar, Clayton, Clinton,
Delaware, Dubuque, Iowa, Jackson, Johnson, Jones, Linn, and Scott.

The Safeguard Iowa Partnership is a voluntary coalition of the state's business and government leaders, who share a commitment to
working together to prevent, prepare for, respond to and recover from disasters in Iowa.
14 Mar 2012

This Week in the Senate by Senator Shawn Hamerlinck

By Shawn Hamerlinck

March 2, 2012

Since the first funnel week the Iowa Senate has largely passed what are considered to be non-controversial bills.  These are bills such as code editor clean-up bills and jointly agreed upon amendments.  Posturing between the chambers are budget bills that will be debated next week as the legislative session begins to head down the final path.  As debate between the chambers is largely confined to budget negotiations, time is allowed for floor debate and some bills received unlikely attention.

On Wednesday the Iowa Senate passed a bill making it illegal to purposefully seek employment at an agricultural facility to abuse animals for the sake of show.  This bill is an attempt to limit those who want to abuse an animal on tape for the purpose of offering the tape as a misrepresentation of the Iowa farming community.

An amendment offered by Senator McCoy (D-Des Moines), and supported by nine others, would require videotaping within all farming facilities in Iowa and surveillance over outside lots.  As advertised, this amendment would insure food quality and protect livestock.  But it would have meant farmers would've had to install security camera systems in every barn in the state and release weekly tapes for public viewing.  This amendment failed.

The assumption that the vast majority of Iowa farmers are not stewards of the land and animal husbandry is ludicrous.  Simultaneously, a previous amendment offered to place cameras in every classroom for parents to view their children failed on an education bill.  So that tells me that Democrats think parents and children are less important than livestock.

On Monday the Iowa Senate passed a bill sponsored by Senator Brian Schoenjahn (D-Fayette) which requires deer stands and blinds on private property in Iowa to be to be tagged with the owner's name, address, and hunting license.  This bill, which was promoted as a means of curbing poaching, passed the Senate on a party-line vote of 26-24.

This bill makes no rational sense in relation to catching poachers or keeping them from putting up illegal and unwanted tree stands.  A poacher will not bring a deer stand onto your property, without your permission, and then tag it with his name and address.

At the same time a hunting license number is as valuable to hunters as driver's license numbers have become.  The last thing we want to advertise is an identification number which is attached to personal data at the Department of Natural Resources.

I hunt with a good friend in Muscatine County.  He must now tag all his stands before I am allowed to touch them.  For each untagged stand he will receive a $20 fine and be on the radar for future inspections on his private property.

Though I want to blame Senator Schoenjahn for being ignorant of the hunting culture, I will more easily blame his counterparts who voted with him while not thinking about how this bill punishes only the hunters who are doing things the right way. I need your help in bringing common sense back to the Iowa Senate.

The real budget debate begins on Monday as bills are forced to Conference Committee.  Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to join and work in the Iowa Senate.  For more information please visit www.shawnhamerlinck.com.

hamerlinck signaturesmall.jpg
Shawn Hamerlinck
State Senator

14 Mar 2012

Iowa Supreme Court Opinions

By Iowa Judicial Branch
March 2, 2012

Notice: The opinions posted on this site are slip opinions only. Under the Rules of Appellate Procedure a party has a limited number of days to request a rehearing after the filing of an opinion. Also, all slip opinions are subject to modification or correction by the court. Therefore, opinions on this site are not to be considered the final decisions of the court. The official published opinions of the Iowa Supreme Court are those published in the North Western Reporter published by West Group.

Opinions released before April 2006 and available in the archives are posted in Word format. Opinions released after April 2006 are posted to the website in PDF (Portable Document Format).   Note: To open a PDF you must have the free Acrobat Reader installed. PDF format preserves the original appearance of a document without requiring you to possess the software that created that document. For more information about PDF read: Using the Adobe Reader.

For your convenience, the Judicial Branch offers a free e-mail notification service for Supreme Court opinions, Court of Appeals opinions, press releases and orders. To subscribe, click here.

NOTE: Copies of these opinions may be obtained from the Clerk of the Supreme Court, Judicial Branch Building, 1111 East Court Avenue, Des Moines, IA 50319, for a fee of fifty cents per page.

No. 09-1473

LISA KRAGNES, et al. vs. CITY OF DES MOINES, IOWA

No. 10-2117

TIM NEAL vs. ANNETT HOLDINGS, INC.

No. 11-1627

IOWA SUPREME COURT ATTORNEY DISCIPLINARY BOARD vs. BRANDON ADAMS
14 Mar 2012

Can you hear me now?

By Hawkeye Caucus

Most Iowans take for granted their abilities to hear and speak clearly. But for those with hearing and speech disorders, negotiating our busy world can be challenging.

The Department of Communication Sciences & Disorders?part of the University of Iowa College of Liberal Arts & Sciences?offers them a place to turn.

The department is one of the nation's premier centers offering treatment, conducting research, and teaching professionals in speech and hearing sciences. Its graduate programs in Speech-Language Pathology and in Audiology are ranked No. 1 and No. 2, respectively, by U.S. News & World Report.

The department's Wendell Johnson Speech and Hearing Clinic has served Iowans?adults and children?for more than 60 years. In 2011, almost 800 Iowans received care in the Department's clinics.

FYI

In addition to its clinics on the UI campus, the Department serves Iowans through innovative outreach programs, including summer camps for kids who stutter and a summer preschool program to promote spoken language skills in children with hearing loss.

DID YOU KNOW?

The College of Liberal Arts & Sciences is the UI's largest college, with almost 50 departments and programs in the performing and fine arts, humanities, social sciences, and mathematical and natural sciences. Almost all UI undergraduates are first admitted to the College to develop the fundamental skills and knowledge that will prepare them for courses in their major, and more than 70 percent of all UI undergraduates go on to earn a degree in one of the college's nearly 60 majors.  This academic year, the college is teaching almost 15,000 undergraduate students (about 75 percent of the UI's total), including more than 8,600 from across Iowa, and will award more than 3,000 undergraduate degrees.

What's the good word?

Today's aspiring journalists must be more than just good news writers?they must be innovative strategic communicators, able to work across many technological platforms for diverse employers.

In Iowa, the demand for such skills is higher than ever, as news outlets, companies, and nonprofit organizations seek well-educated communicators to help them navigate the media landscape and be heard.

The School of Journalism and Mass Communication - a unit of the UI College of Liberal Arts & Sciences - is preparing Iowans of all ages to meet those demands and develop skills as communicators. For example:

* Elementary: The school offers free summer Iowa Journalism Academies to students from Des Moines and Davenport. More than 1,000 students have participated during the program's 13 years.

* High school: The school hosts the Iowa chapter of Quill and Scroll, the national high-school honor society for journalism; helping teachers in more than 300 Iowa high schools incorporate journalism instruction into the curriculum.

* College: Half of the school's undergraduate students are from Iowa.  During the 2010-2011 academic year, the school gave more than $87,000 in scholarships to students from Iowa. Its students regularly meet with, intern at, and work for hundreds of Iowa-based companies and organizations in cities and towns throughout Iowa.

* Continuing Education: The school offers graduate-level courses at Des Moines's John and Mary Pappajohn Education Center and online.  It hopes to offer an online master's program in strategic communications for working professionals.

DID YOU KNOW?

For the 2010-2011 school year, the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences had a 92 percent placement rate in jobs or graduate schools for graduating seniors.  Fifty-six percent of those who accepted job offers did so in Iowa.  There are more than 48,000 alumni of the college living in Iowa, bringing their education, knowledge, and leadership into communities and professions across the state.
14 Mar 2012

Food Costs Could Rise With U.S. Poultry and Livestock Relocation, Reduction

By United Soybean Board
Study shows potential for $16.8 billion annual increase in U.S. consumers' food bills

NASHVILLE, TENN. (March 2, 2012) - Paying more for food may not be out of the question for consumers if regulations on the U.S. poultry and livestock sectors increase. In fact, consumers could pay up to $16.8 billion more annually for meat, milk and eggs if regulations are imposed on U.S. poultry and livestock farmers that raise input costs by 25 percent.

The Consumer and Food Safety Costs of Offshoring Animal Agriculture, a recent soy-checkoff-funded study, evaluated current U.S. supply and demand for poultry and livestock products and the impact of regulations on retail price. The study indicates that potential regulations could raise consumer costs. For example, requiring cage-free housing for laying hens would increase the cost of eggs from $1.68 to $2.10 per dozen, a total cost of $2.66 billion per year to U.S. consumers.

"This could have a big impact on everyone - it's not just that dozen eggs you and I buy at the grocery store," explains Vanessa Kummer, a soybean farmer from Colfax, N.D., and chair of the United Soybean Board (USB). "As Americans, we have abundant, nutritious and affordable food choices that rely heavily on protein from animals, and, as farmers, we continue to work hard on improvements because we share consumers' concerns for our country's land and resources, and the quality of America's food."

The report cites increased regulations that could drive up costs of production meat, milk and eggs by anywhere from 10 percent to 25 percent. It shows that a 25 percent increase in costs to animal agriculture would reduce U.S. exports by $1.1 billion and cause nearly 9,000 Americans to lose their jobs.

"U.S. agriculture leads the world as a global producer and exporter of animal products, and we need that to continue," adds Kummer. "The poultry and livestock sectors not only support the U.S. export market, but also make our economy stronger here at home by creating jobs and tax revenue."

The most recent statistics compiled by the soy checkoff show the poultry and livestock sectors support 1.8 million jobs and generate more than $283 billion for the U.S. economy.

USB is made up of 69 farmer-directors who oversee the investments of the soybean checkoff on behalf of all U.S. soybean farmers. Checkoff funds are invested in the areas of animal utilization, human utilization, industrial utilization, industry relations, market access and supply. As stipulated in the Soybean Promotion, Research and Consumer Information Act, USDA's Agricultural Marketing Service has oversight responsibilities for USB and the soybean checkoff.

For more information on the United Soybean Board, visit www.unitedsoybean.org
Visit us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/UnitedSoybeanBoard
Follow us on Twitter: www.twitter.com/unitedsoy
View our YouTube channel: www.youtube.com/user/UnitedSoybeanBoard

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