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.
A recently introduced bill could have far-reaching impact on the U.S. sugar industry, including American Crystal Sugar, a farmer-owned cooperative that locked out 1,300 Midwest workers on Aug. 1.
The chairman for Herman Cain’s Iowa effort says the campaign “relied more on the word of farmers than Washington regulators” in deciding to run an ad containing claims the Environmental Protection Agency says are false.
The Iowa Senate will remain under the control of a slim 26-25 Democratic majority when it reconvenes in January 2012.
If known numbers of new HIV diagnoses from the first half of 2009 continue for the remainder of the year, the state will experience one of its largest single-year increases ever, according to statistics from the Iowa Department of Health.
During the first half of 2009, there were 70 HIV diagnoses — 17 more than the average for the first halves of the years from 2004 to 2008. In addition, AIDS diagnoses in the first half of the year numbered 46, which is seven more than the average from the previous five years.
Jerry Harms, HIV/AIDS surveillance coordinator, was quick to remind state officials in a memo that because the state has a small percentage of population living with HIV and/or AIDS, such increases can disproportionately impact percentages in the reporting. A more complete picture, however, should be available in March when the state is scheduled to release full surveillance statistics for 2009.
As of June 30, 2009, a total of 2,147 people were believed to be living with HIV or AIDS resided in Iowa. HIV/AIDS advocates warn that these surveillance figures do not adequately represent true totals since some individuals who have contracted the disease either have yet to be tested or are avoiding testing. Also, since the state reporting relies on notifications from health care providers, both in and out of state as individuals move, the data might not always been 100 percent accurate.
Among those newly diagnosed with HIV during the first half of 2009 were two children, who acquired the virus perinatally. One child, an infant whose mother was diagnosed with HIV prior to pregnancy, was infected due to apparent failure of prenatal care, according to Harms. Little is known in relation to the other child, who was born outside of Iowa.
The largest concentrations of individuals living with HIV or AIDS remain near Iowa’s population centers. Polk County, home to Des Moines, has the largest total number reported with 602 residents. Scott County, the location of Davenport and Bettendorf, is second highest with 199. Other counties with totals above 100 are Linn County (Cedar Rapids) and Johnson County (Iowa City). Only 8 of Iowa’s 99 counties did not have a person living with HIV or AIDS as of June 30.
The large percentage jump in cases comes as little surprise to those tasked with administering the states’ allotments through the Ryan White Care Act. In September, The Iowa Independent reported that eight predominantly rural states had waiting lists associated with a prescription program for those living with HIV and AIDS, and how the need was due to both increasing diagnoses and current economic realities.
Follow Lynda Waddington on Twitter
Do you know where to vote on Election Day? Do you know what to bring with you? Get comprehensive voter information for your state here.
Sign up for our email newsletter