CEDAR RAPIDS  – A new Star Wars lunchbox is in 6-year-old John Maloy’s future, but the space enthusiast’s lunchtime excitement Monday centered around a closer-to-home initiative to benefit planet Earth. “Reduce, reuse, recycle,” the Garfield Elementary School kindergartener recited after dropping his milk carton and plastics in recycling bins in the school cafeteria. “It...
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CEDAR RAPIDS — For nearly 20 years, Mike Schrock coped with the challenges of diabetes, but his resolve for change accelerated when his 4-year-old daughter was diagnosed with the same disease. “When that day came, it was my worst nightmare,” says Schrock, 34, of Urbana. “Juvenile diabetes is a battle every day that just...
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Five Iowans are among the victims of a multi-state E.coli outbreak that health officials believe to be linked to eating raw clover sprouts at Jimmy John’s restaurants. Polly Carver-Kimm, spokeswoman for the Iowa Department of Public Health, said all of the Iowa patients have recovered. One of the cases was in Linn County; one...
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CEDAR RAPIDS – The effects of extreme weather are still evident in Cedar Rapids, nearly four years after flooding devastated the city’s core. A new report released Thursday, Feb. 16, by Environment Iowa warns that severe storms will become more common in the future in Iowa and the rest of the nation. The report, In...
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IOWA CITY  – A new form of newborn screening at University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics could save the lives  of babies born with heart defects. Pulse oximetry is a quick, non-invasive way to screen for seven forms of critical congenital heart defects, said Dr. Ben Reinking, a UI pediatric cardiologist. According to the...
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CEDAR RAPIDS — Sometimes it takes outside help to mend a heart. Members of a Cedar Rapids group have been doing that for 20 years. “You’re just one beat away from eternity,” says Carol Hayek, president of the local chapter of Mended Hearts, whose members — all heart disease survivors — visit hospitalized cardiac...
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UPDATED: 3  p.m. CEDAR RAPIDS — Whether it’s eating 6-inch turkey subs or working out on-campus at Des Moines University, Gov. Terry Branstad is doing his part to lead Iowa on its journey to become the healthiest state in America. “My weight is lower than it was when I took office one year ago,”...
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CEDAR RAPIDS – With millions of dollars on the table, Iowa needs transparency and fairness in its new health insurance exchange to protect consumers, according to an advocacy group of patient organizations. Representatives of Iowa Health Advocates say those consumers need to be central to the governing body of the new exchange, rather than...
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IOWA CITY — The al dente asparagus, bright green and cooked to perfection, drew a sharp contrast to the canned green beans on the school children’s trays. “It looked so much more appealing,” said Kelly Crossley, nutrition director at Solon Community School District and former food director at Independence Schools, where the food was...
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Iowa’s flu season has been slow so far, but the state isn’t out of the woods yet. “It’s unpredictable from year-to-year,” said Dr. Ann Garvey, deputy state epidemiologist, “but I think we’ll see cases increase as we move through this month.” Mild temperatures can play a role in the number of cases, Garvey said,...
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