Wednesday was a difficult day for The American Independent News Network, which is the larger entity that operates The Iowa Independent. Our chief executive and founder announced two of our sister sites would close and their content would be moved to The American Independent.
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If you’re expecting to see SpongeBob SquarePants this Saturday, you’ll have to tune in to Nickelodeon a little later than usual. The children’s broadcaster will be suspending programming on all of its networks — Nick, Noggin, Nick GAS and Nicktoons — for three hours in honor of the fourth annual Worldwide Day of Play and in a continued effort to get children off the couch.
After the programming fast and, no doubt, the celebrated return of he who lives in a pineapple under the sea, the finale of “Let’s Just Play Go Health Challenge” will air. The program features two 13-year-olds who took a six-month challenge to be more active and healthier. Kenderick from Arkansas and April from Pennsylvania have led the way as nearly 750,000 children have pledged to lead healthier lives through the Nickelodeon website.
Nickelodeon launched this campaign four years ago when research indicated a significant decrease in the amount of time kids spent being physically active each day. While there is no single reason that the state of active play in America has reached an all-time low, several factors contribute. Latchkey kids spend a lot of time unsupervised. Physical education classes and school recess time have declined. Many families focus on academic success or excellence in a single sport. Communities have also been limited and are no longer able to offer as many after-school programs.
During downtime, the networks will direct kids via an animated loop to go outside and be active in celebration of Worldwide Day of Play. The Nick networks will return to the air at 2 p.m. CST
What Can You Do for Three Hours?
Hosted play events will be taking place during the outage across the nation, although organizers are quick to emphasize that a simple trip to a local playground or hike around the neighborhood are also highly recommended activities.
One of the largest Iowa opportunities is being hosted by the Girl Scouts of Eastern Iowa and Western Illinois. Girls in first- through fourth grades are invited to attend an organized event at Jones Memorial Park in Cedar Rapids from 12:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. on Saturday. Participants will play games and relay races outside and learn about healthy foods they can make themselves. Girls do not have to be Scout members to attend.
Because the Boys and Girls Club of Cedar Rapids isn’t open on Saturday, young people there are celebrating the Worldwide Day of Play today. They’ve played volleyball and dodgeball in the gym, are making their own healthy snacks and will have an afternoon of free play activities
The Stoney Point YMCA in Cedar Rapids is offering a free swim from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday. The Cedar Rapids Museum of Art will have free admission for children under 18 and is planning a day of family activities beginning at noon.
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