Beach-goers in eastern Iowa's Johnson County looking for a final summer swim before school starts should be aware of two unpleasant dangers — toxic algae and E. coli. [One of two stories in a special IowaWatch-Iowa City Press-Citizen collaboration.]
Only certain strains of cyanobacteria can produce toxins, although they don’t always do so. “Scientists generally agree that the cyanobacteria evolved this ability to produce toxin either as a competitive advantage or as some sort of protection,” Mary Skopec, who heads the Iowa Department of Natural
No set criteria exist yet to gauge whether or not a redesign of how Iowa delivers mental health treatment, which included the controversial closing of two mental health institutes June 30, will be as beneficial to Iowans as hoped, Gov. Terry Branstad said in an IowaWatch interview.
Manufacturers of off-road vehicles have mounted fierce resistance to proposed federal rules aimed at reducing rollover crashes that have killed hundreds of riders, this new Fairwarning.org report says.
Fairwarning.org report: After years of inaction, federal regulators are trying to crack down on the use of cheap novelty helmets linked to thousands of motorcycle crash deaths and injuries in recent years.
When Donna Musel started work as Buena Vista University’s disabilities coordinator only two students with illnesses requested classroom accommodations to help them do their college studies. “Now I have quite a few more than that,” Musel said this spring.
Mental illness is the most common invisible illness students deal with when trying to get a college education. Students with mental illness struggle when academic pressures get high, adding to their stress levels.
Professors at Iowa colleges and universities may teach the same class over and over but each semester brings a new experience with all kinds of students, particularly those with hidden disabilities or illnesses.
Illnesses students hide from public view challenge them in college, but also the colleges that have to accommodate those students, a special IowaWatch/Simpson College journalism report reveals.
College kids go out on Friday nights, have a few drinks, and decide they need a cigarette. They have been told that cigarettes can cause cancer. But no one bombards them with danger warnings about their visit to the tanning booth earlier in the day.
