DES MOINES, Iowa (KCRG) – Governor Reynolds announced Iowa submitted its Rural Health Transformation Program application to improve rural health care. The Healthy Hometowns proposal aims to improve rural health care statewide. The application was submitted through the Rural Health Transformation, a federal funding initiative. According to the release, rural communities struggle with health care access. Almost every Iowa county with below-average health insurance coverage is rural. The initiative focuses on several key areas including investing in telehealth and medical equipment, caring for uninsured Iowans, recruiting health professionals, and expanding access to cancer screenings. The program also aims to improve health record access and provide mobile health services. Iowa expects five-year improvements that include fewer preventable emergency department visits, more local care access, higher provider-to-population ratios, and expanded telehealth services.
WATERLOO, Iowa (KCRG) – Leaders in three Iowa counties met behind closed doors Wednesday to discuss a lawsuit challenging a new state law that changes how their county supervisors are elected. Boards from Johnson, Black Hawk, and Story counties took part in the joint session. The discussion centered on Senate File 75, a law passed earlier this year that requires those counties to elect supervisors by district rather than at-large, where every voter in the county can cast a ballot for each supervisor seat. Supporters of the law, including Republican lawmakers, argue that the change ensures stronger rural representation in the three counties that are home to major public universities — the University of Iowa, Iowa State University, and the University of Northern Iowa. But some have pushed back, saying the law unfairly singles out their three counties and removes the flexibility other counties have to choose their own election method. That’s the core of the lawsuit now pending in court. “Senate File 75 places Black Hawk, Johnson, and Story counties — their board of supervisors — into districts as opposed to our current statuses at-large representation,” said Black Hawk County Board Chair Tavis Hall. All three boards along with Governor Kim Reynolds and Secretary of State Paul Pate are named in the case. Officials declined to comment on what was discussed during Wednesday’s strategy session. A court date has not yet been set.
AMES, Iowa (KCRG) – The Iowa Board of Regents has named David Cook as one of the two finalists to become Iowa State University’s next president. The finalists are publicly meeting with campus community members this week. Cook’s forum will be from 4-5 p.m. Thursday in Durham Great Hall at the ISU Memorial Union. Cook’s competition was announced Tuesday as Benjamin Houlton, who is the current Dean of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Cornell University in New York. Houlton’s meeting is Wednesday at the same time and location. Cook is currently the President of North Dakota State University. He has served in this position since 2022. Cook is an ISU alumnus, receiving his bachelor’s degree in Political Science and Speech Communication. He went on to receive his master’s degree and Ph.D. in Organizational Communication from the University of Kansas. Following the public meetings, the Board of Regents will meet in a closed session on November 11 to interview the candidates and select a new president.
NORWALK, Iowa (KCCI/KCRG) – The state’s third Safe Haven Baby Box is now open — the community raised $15,000 for it after tragedy struck their city. The Norwalk Fire Department held a blessing and opening ceremony for the new Safe Haven Baby Box Tuesday afternoon. The temperature-controlled box allows mothers to surrender their baby anonymously and legally. Baby boxes have been protected in state law since 2023. It’s only the third in the state, behind one in Fort Dodge and another in Des Moines. The community’s drive to get a box comes after an abandoned baby died in 2023. Megan and Rodney Staude, the baby’s mother and grandfather, admitted to leaving the days-old infant in a trash bag.
