DES MOINES, IOWA (April 22, 2020) — Ombudsman Kristie Hirschman is calling upon the public to stay on guard against child abuse, citing numbers from the Iowa Department of Human Services (DHS) that abuse allegations have fallen sharply since the COVID-19 pandemic prompted leaders to close schools.

DES MOINES, IOWA (April 22, 2020) — The Robert D and Billie Ray Center at Drake University annually recognizes Iowans who show the Six Pillars of CHARACTER COUNTS!: Trustworthiness, respect, responsibility, fairness, caring, and good citizenship.

Since 2005, we have recognized more than 100 Iowans for showing good character, including:

DES MOINES, IOWA (April 22, 2020) — The absentee voting period for mailed ballots in Iowa’s June primary begins this Thursday, April 23. Secretary of State Paul Pate and county auditors across the state are encouraging Iowans to vote from home during the COVID-19 pandemic to reduce the risk of spreading the virus.

DES MOINES, IOWA (April 22, 2020) — On the heels of The National Restaurant Association’s Monday announcement that two of every three restaurant employees across the country have been laid off or furloughed, 40% of restaurants have at least temporarily closed their doors, and that the industry will lose $240 billion before the end of this year, the Iowa Restaurant Association today released state numbers that are equally grim.

ROCK ISLAND, ILLINOIS (April 22, 2020) — On the eve of the 50th anniversary of Earth Day, Augustana College President Steven Bahls is announcing early plans to place solar panels on four campus buildings.

Once fully-installed, solar power will provide about 8% of the college’s annual electric energy-needs.

Solar units will be added to the rooftops of four buildings:

WASHINGTON DC (April 22, 2020) — The US Food and Drug Administration has authorized the first diagnostic test with a home collection option for COVID-19. Specifically, the FDA re-issued the emergency use authorization (EUA) for the Laboratory Corporation of America (LabCorp) COVID-19 RT-PCR Test to permit testing of samples self-collected by patients at home using LabCorp’s Pixel by LabCorp COVID-19 Test home collection kit.

BATON ROUGE, LOUISIANA (April 22, 2020) — The following people recently have been initiated into The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi, the nation's oldest and most-selective collegiate honor-society for all academic disciplines.

Zachary Bunn of Bettendorf (52722) at United States Military Academy

Lauren Bell of Rock Island (61201) at Bradley University

Megan Griffin of Milan (61264) at Methodist College

Allie Hoffman of Moline (61265) at Bradley University

“They were monsters with human faces, in crisp uniforms, marching in lockstep, so banal you don't recognize them for what they are until it's too late.” — Ransom Riggs, Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children

ROCK ISLAND, ILLINOIS (April 22, 2020) — A Care-A-Van decorated with messages of thanks to all their health-care workers and essential personnel from Buddhists, Jews, Christians, Muslims, and Humanists will make its way to four nursing homes on the Illinois side of the River.

WASHINGTON DC (April 22, 2020) — The national debt has grown by more than $1 trillion over the past month, from $17.5 trillion on March 17th to $18.5 trillion on April 17th. Debt held by the public rose $293 billion in the last week alone. Below is a statement from Maya MacGuineas, president of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget:

"We entered the current Coronavirus crisis borrowing $1 trillion per year, but never thought we would be borrowing $1 trillion per month.

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