VOLUME 152 • NO. 48 • $1.00 OFFICIAL NEWSPAPER OF HARDIN COUNTY ELDORA, IOWA 641-939-5051 www.eldoranewspapers.com

FridayNovember 30, 2018

NEWSBRIEFS

Newsbriefs continued on Page 3

Mini Food PantriesPg. 2 25

By Rick PatrieNews Editor

UNION – Organizers in Union say that volunteers are needed to participate in a three-month video-led fitness study conducted by the Geri-Fit Com-pany. The local library has been selected as a hosting site for a national study that will begin early next year. Participants will take part in a program of exercise and its impact will be measured. Vol-unteers get the health benefits and the company gets a good product assessment. To qualify for the study, par-ticipants must be over the age of 65 and not be doing any kind of strength training exercises (walking, tai chi or yoga is ok). Most of the exercises will be performed seated in a chair and you will not have to get on the floor. Classes will be held at the Union Public Library begin-ning January 14 at 12:30 p.m.

They will meet every Monday and Wednesday after that for six weeks. Contact the Union Public Library to sign up. 641-486-5561. Study subjects will work out during the three-month period beginning the week of January 14 through mid-April. You will need to bring your own set of 2 or 3-pound dumb-bell weights, a stretch band and water to drink during the workout. Several different levels of Geri-Fit® video workouts will be shown throughout the dura-tion of the study. Everyone will be allowed to work out at their own pace. A commitment to good at-tendance is requested. Classes will be held twice a week for 45-minutes each time. Upon completion of the 12-week study, each participant will fill out a survey to help evaluate the effectiveness of the vid-eo-led classes and to determine

if their strength, stamina, bal-ance and range of motion has improved. Geri-Fit® offers an excer-cise program designed exclu-sively for older adults, with a goal of rebuilding strength lost through the aging process. The program requires use of those light weights, requires a sturdy chair, a stretch band, and water to drink during the work-out. There’s no dancing, chore-ography or floorwork and both men and women can enroll. The workout is considered a “progressive resistance exercise program” meaning that once the participants have built up enough strength and endurance using the set of dumbbells, they can graduate to using heavier dumbbell weights in order to become even stronger. A typical Geri-Fitter will work up to using a set of 4 or 5-pound dumbbells within a year’s time. The Geri-Fit® physical activity program also

incorporates stretching and range of motion exercises, sta-bility and balance training for fall prevention, cardiovascular activity for heart health, and gait exercises to help improve walking. Geri-Fit® is envisioned as a possible support program for chronic disease manage-ment, i.e., pre-diabetes and type 2 diabetes, heart disease, arthritis, behavioral health, obesity/weight loss/weight management, as well as chronic pain management. Federal funding under Title IIID OAA (Older Americans Act) is available to senior cen-ters, non-profit organizations, faith-based organizations, Area Agencies on Aging and other eligible entities who imple-ment tier III evidence-based health promotion programs, chronic disease management support programs, and life-style change programs for their communities.

Making Union fit

Seniors in Union will get the chance to participate in a trial research program.

By Rick PatrieNews Editor

EL D OR A – Se n a t o r Charles Grassley acknowl-edged the tough times for a lot of small rural hospitals recent-ly, during a talk with home-town media. The topic came up during a radio call in, and was par-ticularly timely what with big cutbacks in the hospital in Marshalltown, and some sig-nificant curtailments in birth-ing services at Iowa Falls, too. Grassley said one thing that has been discussed in Wash-ington is allowing hospitals to reduce the number of in patient beds, and trim back expensive services. It is seen as one way to ad-dress declining rural popula-tions and subsequent drops in patient numbers. He said the key is coming up with a formu-la that would grant hospitals that f lexibility without penal-izing them in terms of reim-bursements for services. Grassley said situations like

the loss of a birthing service in Hansen Family Hospital in Iowa Falls are a reality of mod-ern health care in rural areas. Fewer and fewer small hos-pitals can maintain the care, and he said the cost of physi-cian insurance is one of the reasons why. Addressing politics, Grass-ley said that this month’s mid-term elections were certainly a mixed bag for both parties. “The Democrats clearly con-trol the House, but Republicans did something not often done.” He pointed to the pickup of some seats in the Senate. He said he has reason to believe the long running in-vestigation by special prosecu-tor Robert Mueller is about to come to a conclusion and might have done so earlier had the investigation team not want-ed to impact the election just finished.

ELDORA – If you have tried to tune in to the Eldora city website recently, you’ve probably noticed it’s a hard place to find. But that won’t be for long. City Hall says its new and im-proved site should be up and running by December 1 or thereabouts. It has been down since around the 6th of Novem-ber while the changes were be-

ing made. City staff will be keeping the site current under the new sys-tem, rather than depending on the outside provider. So, in the meantime, if you want to know what’s new, you can still call town hall the old fashioned way, or even stop in. Finally, Google Eldora’s city government site around Decem-ber 1 and find the new look.

Grassley talks rural health

Eldora, where have you gone?

Hardin County 4-H/FFA Market Beef Weigh-in

HARDIN COUNTY – The Hardin County 4-H/FFA Market beef weigh-in will be Saturday, Dec. 8 from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. at the Ellsworth Community Col-lege Equestrian Center in Iowa Falls. Weather make-up date will be the following Saturday, Dec. 15. All calves that will be shown for county, state, and interstate show must be weighed. Each exhibitor may nominate a max-imum of 10 market beef animals. Market beef to be exhibited at Ak-Sar-Ben and State Fair must pay $5/head at weigh-in and have retinal images taken. Ret u r n ing bucket / bot-tle calves that will be market steers or market heifers must be weighed in at this time to show in the ‘Returning Bucket/Bottle Calf Class’ at the Hardin Coun-ty Fair. Returning bucket/bottle calves can only be shown by the same person that exhibited the calf the previous year. Calves originating from a Hardin County cow-calf herd

may be nominated for the ‘Har-din County Born and Bred’ fair class. The breed must be identified for purebred steers. Registration papers are not needed at the time of weigh-in, but will be verified (along with tattoo) at county fair and state fair check-in. If breed information is not properly iden-tified, animals must be shown in the crossbred class. By February 1, 2019, 4-H members will be required to verify that the information is correct about the animal(s) they intend to exhibit. This must be done in 4HOnline. Members will receive directions on how to verify their animals in 4HOnline at weigh-in. Information entered will stand and no changes can be made after February 1. For more information, con-tact Lori Hardman, County Youth Coordinator, at ph. 641-648-4850 or toll free 1-888-648-5005 or email hardman@iastate.edu

New sign at Pine Crest ELDORA – It came at no cost at all. The city contributed the paint and some other local parties chipped in with more. As the community compliance specialist for Eldora, Jamie Kolthoff is responsible for among other things, helping push the town’s never ending cleanup-fixup campaign. And Kolthoff said she found herself wanting to help the residents of Pinecrest Mobile Home Park spruce up their greeting to the community. “I noticed their sign was graffitied and starting to fall apart, so I took it down and reached out for some assistance.” The answer came in the person of talented local artist, Ashley Grego. Kolthoff asked her if she would like to partner in the project and with the help of Eldora Hardware which donated the plexi glass, Matt Kane who donated the sheet metal and Marissa and Skyler Stocks who donated the plywood, (as well as the City of Eldora covering paint costs), Ashley was able to create the fresh new sign. Shown above is Ashley Grego.

See HEALTH:Page 3

CORRECTIONAfter-Prom Chili

Fundraiser Nov. 30 The Junior class After-Prom committee is hosting a free will donation chili supper before and during the South Hardin vs. BCLUW basketball game on November 30. Serving will be from 5-7 p.m. in the South Hardin High School Commons. There will be many silent auc-tion items available to bid on during the supper.

County offices latestart Dec. 7

All County Offices in the Courthouse, County Office Building, and Engineer’s Office will open at 10 a.m. on Friday, Dec. 7. State offices will open as usual.

Santa Sacks and Movie Matinee Dec. 1

On Saturday, Dec. 1, the Eldora Sons of the American Legion (SAL) will be hosting a Christmas event at the Hardin County Courthouse in Eldora. From 11 a.m.-1 p.m., the court-house will have a live Santa, decorations, and sacks with goodies for all kids who come.

By Rick PatrieNews Editor

HARDIN COUNTY – The Eldora city council opted for a new ambulance during a special meeting Tuesday night. The council set a public hearing on the issue and chose a vehicle which when outfitted would run about $198,000. The idea has been under study for a few weeks. The new vehicle could be deliv-ered within 90 days. The move comes at a time when the Eldo-ra service is being asked to con-sider expanding its offerings to the hospital in Iowa Falls. Hansen Family Hospital needs transportation for its clients,

and anticipates the need will grow as the hospital suspends its own birthing center and pro-poses to direct its OB clients to area birthing centers, includ-ing its partner in Mason City. As it happens, the Iowa Falls ambulance service is also phas-ing out at this same time. All the parties involved are looking to perhaps contract with Eldo-ra’s service to fill in the gaps. In the meantime, the service has moved into its new location in the former fire department building downtown, and plans substantial renovations to the interior to accommodate over-night crews and other training and warehousing needs.

Eldora buys ambulance