Breast Cancer Awareness: The importance of monthly self-checks The month of October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month and while it's a great time to shine a light on the women who are fighting, have fought, and who have lost the battle to breast cancer, it's also a time to highlight the importance of prevention. Katie Couric is a familiar face to many. She woke Americans up every morning on NBC's TODAY Show from 1991 to 2996, became the first woman to anchor the CBS Evening News in 2006, and has been a longtime advocate for cancer research after losing her first husband to colon cancer. On September 28th, 2022, Couric announced her own health battle, with breast cancer. "It was June 20th and because of the pandemic, I was 6 months overdue for a mammogram." Couric was just like many other women across the U.S. and put off her yearly mammogram. When she went in for her appointment in June, she took the camera with her to document the journey, much like she did in 2000 when she got a colonoscopy on the TODAY Show. But that appointment quickly took a turn when doctors found a concerning spot on her mammogram and ultrasound. "I had a wire put in my boob, which is basically providing guidance for the surgeon because I have a little lump situation," Couric said in the video she posted on her Instagram page sharing she had been diagnosed with HR-positive, Her2neu-negative breast cancer on June 21st. Women over the age of 40 are encouraged to get a yearly mammogram and because of COVID, many have put off this lifesaving screening, and for some, they haven't had a mammogram since the start of the pandemic. This is why medical providers are highlighting the importance of monthly self-checks at home. "You're going to know before anybody else." Jeanne Rasmussen is an ARNP with UnityPoint Clinics and says these monthly self-checks can be quick and easy, and the first sign that something could be wrong. "Boobs are like bags of rice and you're looking for a pee in there," she said of the checks It's also important to remember that breast tissue can be located up into the armpit. It isn't just adults who should be doing self-checks, but teens as well, because getting familiar with your body and its ebbs and flows are an important part of your health. "As soon as you start getting your period you're going to have breast changes or hormones. Even when you're pregnant. All of those things stress can cause changes," Rasmussen said. "And just to be aware of those and if you find something, that's concerning them to let us know." Dr. Adnon Qualbani is a radiologist at MercyOne's Breast Care Clinic and says spending a few minutes on each side is all it takes. "I think it's important to conduct the self-exams kind of the right way. Check up into your axilla as well. Some women have accessory breast tissue that hides up there," he said. "You want to move a motion from the outside and in toward the nipple, kind of like spokes on a wheel." "We always check for any dimpling of the skin, like if it looks like an orange peel. That's something that you want to let your doctor know about," Rasmussen said. "If you have any redness, any soreness, any pain." The best time to do these self-checks is 7-10 days into your menstrual cycle. "If you check your breasts before you have your cycle, you're going to feel a lot more lumps and pain and so forth," said Dr. Qualbani. "If you do it a day seven to day 10, meaning the day your period starts you call that day 1, seven to 10 days out there's a window where your breasts are the most sort of calm and less lumpy, less painful. That's the right time to check." Dr. Qualbani says if you find something unusual during these monthly checks, it is perfectly okay to wait a month to see if anything changes before you call your doctor. If you do feel something it's perfectly okay to wait one menstrual cycle and then check again and see if it changes," he said. "If you check it every day or every week you'll go nuts wondering if that thing is real or is it changing?" As for when a woman should start getting yearly mammograms, the recommended age is once you turn 40, but there are some stipulations. If there is a history of breast cancer in your immediate family, like a mother or sister, yearly mammograms should begin 10 prior to their diagnosis age. So if your mother was diagnosed at age 42, you'd begin yearly screenings at age 32. At the end of the day, these medical providers say, you know your body best. If you feel something is wrong or concerning, call your primary care provider and get it checked out. SEE THE VIDEO Breast Cancer Awareness: A Siouxland woman's journey from mammography tech to patient "I came in happy-go-lucky to see my own colleagues and have plans to have lunch with them and left thinking what's going to happen next?" Andrea Roost turned 40 in January. in May.. she returned to MercyOne's Breast Care Center where she worked as a mammography tech for 12 years to get her first mammogram. It would also happen to be the last routine mammogram that she'd need. Roost was diagnosed with breast cancer on May 5th. She did everything she was supposed to: self-examinations, conversations with her primary care doctor, and a mammogram at 40. Nothing led her to believe breast cancer was in her future until it was. "I am the reason this is why we start screening at 40," she said, "because the cancer that I have would have killed me if I would have waited until 45. Or even 50." Roost is grateful to have the team at MercyOne's Breast Care Center next to her through this journey, something these women do for all who walk through their doors, and a team she was part of for more than a decade. "The heart behind every staff member in this office is 100% pure," she said. "They understand what these patients are going through. And they kind of change and flow with that patient with their needs." For women needing a mammogram, the fear and anxiety of what the scans may show is real and something those in the breast cancer community calls scanxiety. "It's in reference to the anxiety that you have before, during and after your scans, whether it's you know, engaging in chemo response or your follow-up," Roost said. "I think that's really relevant in the screening and diagnostic world as well. I counseled people on this when I was an active technologist." Once holding the hand of those coming to the clinic, she is now leaning on her former colleagues to guide her through her own journey with breast cancer. "It's okay to be scared. That's why we're here is to get you through that to talk you through that," Roost said. "The unknown is scary, but ignorance is worse. That's the best way I can put it." Roost's cancer journey is just beginning but she hopes that sharing her story can shine a light on the importance of breast care. "I still have a rough road ahead of me. I've finished chemo. I've had one surgery to remove the tumor and my lymph nodes. I still have a bilateral full mastectomy to do. So it's the worst is yet to come," she explained. "But I'll be looking back on this in a year and be smiling in here to continue to tell my journey." SEE THE VIDEO Breast Cancer Awareness: Breast Care Coordinators bring unique care to Midlands clinic Receiving the news that you have breast cancer is shocking leaving most wondering, what do I do next? At Midlands Clinic in Dakota Dunes, they have a pair of dedicated women whose job is to help women through their breast cancer journey. "I would say the unique part about our offices, the coordinators, and the role they play in navigating care for those women from start to finish," said Dr. Craig Nemechek, a general surgeon at Midlands Clinic. "We just help patients navigate through their journey," Nicole Trudeau is one of the Breast Care Coordinators at Midlands Clinic. She and Sophia Summervold play a key role in helping women navigate their new reality. "We basically start the process of getting them post-diagnosis, getting everything lined up so that they can go through the next process or next part of the process," said Summervold. "They have so many different doctors that they're seeing. They don't know who to call, what do I do next? Who do I call? What's the next step? So we kind of take that and we do all of that in the background so that they don't have to worry about that." They help women through the emotional journey the diagnosis brings, too. "It's a big diagnosis, people are overwhelmed," Trudeau said. "It's a lot of terminologies that they don't know. It's a lot of tests that they've never had done before." Trudeau and Summervold carry a cell phone, one that their breast cancer patients have a direct line to. "They can call a direct number instead of kind of going through the rigmarole of going through the office. So they can call us directly or text so we can talk to them directly and answer their specific questions," said Trudeau. "Women are very different in how they react to that news," said Nemechek about the diagnosis, "and I think the nice part is that with our coordinators, they've seen all types of different reactions and they know very well how to handle those emotions." "Everybody's breast cancer is completely different. So it's hard because some people know so and so who had it but they can't always rely on what that person had because it's very different for everybody," said Summervold. "I just think it's important for people in Siouxland to know that there is a strong support system at many of our medical facilities dealing with breast cancer, not only as their physician but there's also other support staff who can help everyone through their journey," said Trudeau. And for the month of October, their biggest message is this. "Do your monthly screenings no matter what age you are," said Summervold, "and then also working with your primary care doctor to make sure you're getting your screenings is super important. Because the sooner that you can get that diagnosis, the sooner you can kind of get through it." SEE THE VIDEO Breast Cancer Awareness: June E. Nylen Cancer Center at forefront of treatment advancement The treatment for breast cancer has changed a lot over the years, and a Sioux City medical center has played a key role in that development. "We have actually been involved in trials that have actually changed how we treat breast cancer patients," Dr. Donald Wender, a physician at the June E. Nylen Cancer Center in Downtown Sioux City, has been one of the doctors on the leading edge of those advancements. "There's a study looking at a test that who we should give chemotherapy or who doesn't need chemotherapy," said Dr. Wender. There's been a shift in treating certain types of breast cancer which have also led to a common misconception. "We're using less chemotherapy after surgery, so a lot of people think they are going to get chemotherapy and they don't." Instead, thanks to clinical trials and medical advancements over the last several years, many types of breast cancers are being treated with more immunotherapies and fewer chemotherapies." "And in the most recent advance in there as with immunotherapy," said Dr. Wender, "we know that there's with chemotherapy and immunotherapy we can get another a lot of them to get a complete response with chemotherapy before surgery." Dr. Wender has been working with breast cancer patients throughout his career and involved in some major advancements in breast care. In fact, the way we standardly treat breast cancer patients we were involved in most of those trials. According to the State Health Registry of Iowa, over 14% of all new cancer diagnoses in Iowa this year are projected to be breast cancer, the largest percentage for any type of cancer statewide. Sioux City is the lowest metropolitan area in Iowa with women age 40 and up who have skipped getting a yearly mammogram. And looking at data from a 12-year study from 2004 to 2015, the risk of developing late-stage breast cancer is higher in the Sioux City area compared to the 12-year state average. Which is why these new therapies and clinical trials are important. The June E Nylen Cancer Center has played a big part in the advancement of breast cancer treatment and while there aren't as many clinical trials as in the past, Dr. Wender says the ones that are available, are working to answer the even harder questions. "There are not as many trials but there are a bunch of trials looking at new approaches. And then, of course, we try to add immunotherapy," Dr. Wender said. "The clinical trials have slowed down. Before we had a lot of big questions that needed answered, you know, do you give chemotherapy, what chemotherapy do you give? Now we're trying to refine them down to new agents looking at things in metastatic disease." The treatment for breast cancer has come a long way and the standard of care is constantly evolving. Thanks to the dedicated work of physicians like Dr. Wender and the team at the June E. Nylen Cancer Center. SEE THE VIDEO Breast Cancer Awareness: Breast cancer doesn't end when the pink ribbons come down As the month of October of comes to an end and the pink ribbons come down, it's a good moment to remember what they stand for: our mothers, daughters, sisters and friends fighting breast cancer. "I also think it's a good month to remember the women that have done that had been through a battle with breast cancer or other breast ailment or disease and kind of remember those women as well and what they've gone through," said general surgeon, Dr. Craig Nemechek with Midlands Clinic. Siouxland has a vast array of resources for women from breast cancer prevention to treatment to post-cancer care. "I just think it's important for people in Siouxland to know that there is a strong support system at many of our medical facilities dealing with breast cancer," said Nicole Trudeau, a breast care coordinator at Midlands Clinic, "not only as their physicians, but there's also other support staff who can help everyone through their journey." "We try to provide support, we try to answer questions as best we can. We try to give women a path, some knowledge that tries to ease their concerns," said Dr. Nemechek. "We can't obviously answer every question, but I think and I hope that women after that first visit have a better bit better understanding of what they're going to go through and what they can expect, and hopefully that can ease their mind." One of the biggest pushes during the month of October is the importance of yearly mammograms for women beginning at age 40, or for some, sooner. "Typically we start at age 40 unless there's a first-degree relative, that would be like your mother or sister," said Jeanne Rasmussen, an ARNP with UnityPoint Clinics. "And they begin having their (yearly mammogram) done 10 years prior to when they had breast cancer. So if Mom was 42 when she got diagnosed, at age 32 you would start getting screening mammograms." Many women skip their yearly mammograms, and that is especially true after the COVID-19 pandemic. "Some people, I think just kind of put it off because they're scared, but I think it's important to kind of face that fear because not everybody ends up having breast cancer," said Sophie Summervold, another breast care coordinator at Midlands Clinic, "but if you have a lump or a bump, it's important to address that with your primary care doctor or ask for that referral. Kind of be your own advocate to move on to the next step to see if you do need to be concerned." There is also one piece of preventative care women of all ages can do right at home each month: self-checks. "Get to know what your breast feels like, what your normal lumpiness feels like, what your cyclical changes feel like, and then you'll know if there's a change therein," said Dr. Adnan Qualbani, a radiologist at MercyOne's Breast Care Center. "There are all these things available for dealing with lumps that are even benign and sometimes just even getting a benign lump assessed to see what it is and then you know it's benign. It doesn't have to always be a suspicious lump you want to be checked, anything that bothers you is worth getting checked." And if you feel something concerning it never hurts to get it checked out. SEE THE VIDEO
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You've heard their voices on the local air waves for years and now two radio personalities are being inducted into the "Midwest All Music Association Hall of Fame." He's a big voice on the local airwaves playing the country hits we know and love, and now Y Country 101.3's Cowboy Bob will be the newest member of the Midwest All Music Association Hall of Fame. "I never thought something like this was going to happen. I really didn't. And I'm really tickled that it's happening," Cowboy Bob Rounds said before his regular morning show on Y Country. The Midwest All Music Association, or MAMA, began just a few years ago honoring those making an impact across all musical genres. "I'm so excited that my broadcasting compadres Cowboy Bob could be put into this category because there's a guy that deserves it," Another big voice just down the hall from Y Country is Big Daddy on Classic Rock 99.5. "Sioux City is so rich in music history and all types of musical formats. It's a pleasure to live in this area," Denny "Big Daddy" Anderson said as he let us into the Classic Rock studio during his popular morning show Thursday. Big Daddy was inducted into the Iowa Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2020. He is also being inducted into the Midwest All Music Association Hall of Fame on Saturday. There are a lot of talented and longtime personalities on the air at Powell Broadcasting, the parent company for Y Country, Classic Rock 99.5 and several other stations, but General Manager Denny Bullock says it best. "Cowboy Bob is 101.3. Big Daddy is 99.5," Bullock said, "when we can be live and local in the in the community. That's what it's all about this is reflective of that." "I think that every day that I come to work, I build a new memory and that kind of stuff," Cowboy Bob said, "there's no looking back at some real big monumental deal. It's just every day, you get to meet the people." For Cowboy Bob, it's about the people he has met throughout his time on the air waves. "They'll come out to see us at a remote. No say, Oh, it was really neat to put a face to the voice. And I'll say Well, it's nice to meet you," he said. "I do really like meeting the people around what we call Y Country, the Siouxland area. So just every day is kind of a great memory." The Midwest All Music Association Hall of Fame induction will take place Saturday night at the Avalon Ballroom in Remsen, Iowa. Tickets are $20 at the door with proceeds staying here in Siouxland to help grow local music education. SEE THE VIDEO The month of September is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month but for families with a little one battling cancer, their fight isn't just for four weeks, but years. "I ask people to take a second and just think about what it would be like to be sitting in an oncologist's office with your spouse waiting for a diagnosis, but that diagnosis isn't for you. It's for your four-year-old child," said Kay Koehler, President and CEO of CureSearch, a national organization with a mission to find a cure for childhood cancer. While childhood cancer is rare, it is a harsh reality for many parents, including a Sgt. Bluff family whose young daughter is battling acute lymphoblastic leukemia. "There are so many things that come with getting a diagnosis that your child has cancer," said Erin Edlund. We met the Edlund family, including their youngest Lolo who is in the midst of her cancer treatment, in the summer of 2021. Lolo's cancer journey brought her to Omaha's Children's Hospital, one of the few medical centers in the region that specializes in treating childhood cancer and other illnesses. " When a child is impacted by cancer, that impacts the next the 70-80-90 years of their life," said Dr. Acquazzino. "There's just so much potential." Dr. Melissa Acquazzino and Dr. Jill Beck are two of the leading oncologists at Children's Hospital and have seen firsthand how current cancer treatments can ravage a young child's body. Learn more about Children's Hospital of Omaha here. "Oftentimes cancer in childhood is very aggressive and we use very intensive treatments to get them into remission and cure," said Dr. Aquazzino. PART 1: Meet a Sgt. Bluff Family in the middle of the cancer fight, and some of the doctors who are on the leading edge of new treatments. While treatments are advancing, those advancements are not happening fast enough. "We have made strides in terms of treatment and successes in curing," said Dr. Beck, "but it is still the highest cause of death by disease in children." "Most people think about cancer research as cancer research and that adult cancer, probably those drugs are just applied to children and it doesn't work that way for many reasons," said Koehler. "(We focus) on driving new drug development for kids with cancer and we want those therapies to be less toxic than the current standard of treatment." Childhood Cancer is different from adult diagnosis because children's bodies are still growing. While childhood cancer is considered rare, the treatments made specifically for their little bodies are even more so. "You put chemotherapy treatment into a body that's four years old and growing," said Edlund, "that's a pretty terrifying prospect that you don't know what really effect that's going to have and for every kid, it's going to be different because we all grow at different rates." "If your six-month-old is diagnosed with cancer, they can't take a pill," said Koehler. "How are you going to give them therapy, right? It's everything from the logistics to the treatments themselves." CureSearch brings new treatments into clinical trials, from lab development to treatment deployment. PART 2: Lack of funding stalls important advancements in treatment "I think one of the challenges is that the treatments that we're using are still old and they have a lot of side effects," said Dr. Beck. "I think we are behind, in terms of pediatric cancer the average is about six years after a medication or a treatment is introduced in adults. That it is then introduced in kids." Children's Hospital works with several clinical trials thanks to organizations like CureSearch and hospitals across the nation, with a shared goal of finding treatments, and a possible cure, for kids fighting these diseases. One of the biggest hurdles they face is finding the funding needed to get the research up and off the ground. "In pediatric cancer research, we receive a very small percentage of the money that's out there that goes towards cancer research," said Dr. Acquazzino. "The majority goes to the adult world." CureSearch is funded solely from donations and fundraisers and doesn't receive any federal assistance. Koehler says they are strict in where they put their resources. Each research study goes through a rigorous cycle before CureSearch puts funding behind it to get it to the clinical trial stage. They have a success rate of 60%. "It costs about $800 million I've been told to bring a drug to market," said Koehler, "so we are solely dependent on donors who are interested in making an impact with their investment in childhood cancer." Find out more about CureSearch here. For the team at Omaha Children's Hospital, finding the right treatment and even a cure isn't their only goal. "What we're really working to do is kind of all sides of it," said Dr. Beck. "So decrease trying to figure out why kids get cancer and decreasing that, and then also working on the other side to get better, more effective treatments that have fewer side effects so that these kids can grow up to be happy healthy adults." "Because pediatric cancer is rare, we band together and we work with the children's hospitals around the country to standardize how we treat kids with certain diagnoses," said Dr. Acquazzino, "and then to ask questions about how we can improve treatment both in terms of improving cure rates, but also in decreasing those long term late effects that we can see from our cancer treatment." CureSearch not only wants to find the cure for cancer and develop treatments that aren't going to cause these kids more health problems down the road, leaving parents constantly looking over their shoulders wondering when the next shoe will drop. "For us, it's about how do we move things along faster? How do we help children lead long and healthy lives when we're talking about an additional 60-70 years of life left for them?" said Koehler. 'We need to not just "cure" children and I use the word "cure" in quotes. We need to ensure that they don't have to look over their shoulders for the rest of their life wondering if they're going to have congestive heart failure at 23 years old. That's what we're focused on." Children's works to get their patients into the best clinical trials possible, but they also strive to make the journey through a cancer diagnosis and treatment as easy as possible for the child and their family. For families of kids diagnosed with cancer, that diagnosis impacts everyone in different ways, from the parents to their siblings. This is why, at Children's, they take a team approach to treatment. "I think one of the things with pediatric cancer, in general, is it really is a team sport and that that there is no one person in our group that can do this alone, other than the patient but that we're all here to support those kids," said Dr. Beck. Dr. Acquazzino agreed, "We have a really big team of people that think about our patients head to toe and how we can support not only them but their families." A cancer diagnosis can often be hardest on the parents, both mentally and emotionally, seeing their child go through tough treatments and long stays in the hospital. "I find that parents often don't know how to sort of trust their parenting anymore," said Dr. Beck, "not for any fault of their own. But because it's unexpected and it's rare and it's not on your radar until it's right there and happening to you." "When I think a lot of what parents tell me is the club that they never imagined that they want to be in and that they would prefer not to have been a member of." That club is the reality for far too many families and the news that your child has cancer is just the beginning of an incredibly long journey," which the Edlund's are right in the middle of. "While my daughter's hair is growing back and while we have gotten through probably the hardest part of her treatment, we are still in the midst of treatment," Edlund said. "Today is day 505 And we have 311 days to go. Her end date is August 6, 2023. We are not even close to being done with this journey. We will always live with the fear that she could face relapse. "We will always live with the fear that the treatment may have caused her to have other underlying health conditions. And that's an enormous burden as well." SEE THE VIDEO The fight over CO2 pipelines in Iowa continued Tuesday night, Oct. 4th at Briar Cliff University, with a proposed solution.
Prairies Not Pipelines was a community discussion over transforming parts of Iowa land back to the native prairie it once was and bringing natural carbon capture to the forefront. Tuesday night's discussion included the benefits of reintroducing native prairies, as well as issues that urban, migrant and indigenous communities would face should these proposed pipelines become reality. "Prairies, if they are healthy, sequester so much of the carbon down in the soils, unlike forests out west that are burning all the time," said speaker and Professor of Biology and Environmental Science at Briar Cliff University David Hoferer. "The problem with that is then the carbon of the tress is going right back into the air. But, prairies sequester down into their roots and then exchange the carbon with the microbes in the soil so it all stays in the soil." This proposal looks to make wetlands and steep slopes in Iowa into prairie land, not removing farmland. For the indigenous communities, pipeline creation is harmful on a sacred level. "For us, the sacred spaces don't just exist on one plane. They go to the center of the earth all the way out to the universe," said Sikowis Nobiss, Executive Director of the Great Plains Action Society. "Those are smart stories that can be applied today, because they have no idea what is going to happen when they put this into the ground. There is very little data available about what is going to happen." A legal battle over a proposed carbon capture pipeline got underway Friday in Woodbury County. Last week, we introduced you to Vicki Hulse as she prepared for a court battle to keep pipeline surveyors off of her farmland. Navigator wants to put its carbon capture pipeline through three of Hulse's four parcels of land outside of Moville near the Woodbury/Plymouth County line. READ MORE: "I knew that I was going to fight this": Woodbury Co. woman fights against CO2 pipeline Friday in Woodbury County District Court, Navigator presented its case for a temporary injunction to allow their team on her property regardless of Hulse's agreement to it or not. Navigator claims they have done everything required by law to access the property with or without Hulse's permission. Navigator says these surveys take less than two hours to complete and do no harm to the property, but Hulse's refusal is causing great harm to their company. "We need to complete these surveys because we have to figure out our route. Our petition to the Iowa Utilities Board is being planned to be filed in the next month or so and we need to complete these activities," said Brian Rickert, who is representing Navigator. "The harm to Navigator is great because it slows our project down and it slows our ability to do the surveys we need, especially the ones that are weather dependent. You can't do searches for things that are on the ground when the ground is covered in snow or ice. We need to get out there and we need to do these now, but for the fact that the defendant is stopping that, we would have had these done already." Navigator, which wants to build a $3 billion, 1,300-mile pipeline across 5 midwest states, claims this is nothing more than a tactic for Hulse and the other landowners who are keeping surveyors off of their land. For Hulse's team, this legal battle is not just a fight for the Hulse farm but for property rights for all Iowans. "It's a fight for anyone who cares about property rights," said Brian Jorde, part of the law team representing Hulse. "And we are fighting for all future generations of Iowa. And we need to make sure that all unconstitutional statutes that take away property rights are voided, and changed and abolished." Hulse's team argued in court that because their client did not pick up the registered letter sent by Navigator notifying her of the intent to survey the property, the company failed to serve notice which is required by law, instead saying the company can do the survey via an easement. They also argue that Iowa law states that pipeline companies must compensate landowners for rights of entry to their property. Jorde told Siouxland News after the hearing that this is a very emotional time for his client, whose husband is in a veterans home in Iowa and doesn't know about this legal battle over their property that his wife currently facing. Hulse was not in court Friday for the hearing. This hearing was over Navigator's lawsuit to gain access to the Hulse property, not Hulse's countersuit against Navigator which is challenging Iowa laws that permit the right of entry for companies to private land for things like surveys. That hearing will come at a later date. Currently, Hulse is asking for an injunction to keep Navigator off of the property until that constitutionality case has been decided. District Judge Roger Sailer says he will issue his ruling on Navigator's case by the end of next week. Navigator has filed similar lawsuits against three other Iowa landowners in Clay and Butler counties who have also denied surveyors access to their property, two of those landowners have also filed similar constitutional challenges like Hulse's in Iowa court. SEE THE VIDEO It's a beautiful piece of farmland in Woodbury County and sits along the Plymouth County line and like many Iowa farms, it's a family heirloom. "We love this farm. It's 151 acres. It has been in his family for many, many years. And our farm is five years shy of being a century farm." And now Vicki Hulse of Moville, Iowa is fighting to keep her and her husband's land out of the hands of a carbon capture pipeline. "We have worked hard to pay for our land," Hulse told me during an interview at the Siouxland News studios. "We bought the farm from his dad's estate, and he worked two jobs. I work two jobs to pay for this farm. And we have two children that we want to hand the farm down to. And I'm fighting against eminent domain for private gain." According to Cornell Law School, eminent domain refers to the power of the government to take private property and convert it into public use. Because of this, Heartland Greenway's Navigator CO2 pipeline has sent surveyors to each property where their pipeline will be. Hulse has twice refused to let them enter. "I did not sign the letter for the easement. I did not sign anything," she said. "I knew that I was going to fight this." This fight is personal for Hulse, not just because this pipeline would run through three of her four parcels of land, but because her husband William can't fight alongside her. "My husband is a Vietnam veteran. He was exposed to Agent Orange and he's in the Iowa veterans home in Marshalltown," she explained, "and I am his voice and I am doing exactly what I feel he would want me to do fighting for your land, fight for our land. He fought for our country and I am fighting for our land." And fighting she is. Hulse has twice denied surveyors access to her farmland. In response, Navigator is suing Hulse to gain access citing eminent domain. She has filed a countersuit seeking an injunction of her own. "They're a private company," she explained. "And so no private company should have the right to be able to claim eminent domain." The Hulse's farmland is also part of the state's Conservation Reserve Program and this pipeline she says would harm everything that makes it beautiful. "The farmland is in the (Conservation Reserve Program), It's got birds and butterflies and deer and wildlife. And that's just part of it, you know, part of its crops. But you go out there and you just see all the wildlife and we want to leave the land better than we got it," she said. "And so to see a pipeline come through would just be heartbreaking." And because of her husband's health, she's fighting alone. "I haven't even explained this to my husband. He has dementia," she said as she teared up. "I don't think he would even grasp any of this. And so I'm trying to make all these decisions." Her son and daughter are also fighting by her side as they will one day take over the farm. There are over 130 other landowners also fighting against the Navigator Pipeline, plus the two other proposed pipelines, Summit Carbon Solutions and Wolf Carbon Solutions, that would run through Iowa. But Hulse is one of the few taking legal action against them now. "Do you think there are any positives to this pipeline proposal? Big or small?" I asked her. "No, no, there's no nothing. I can't think of a thing," she said passionately, "Can you?" Hulse says this pipeline, should it go online, would impact not just the landowners whose property it runs through but the towns and communities nearby. "I just want to make people aware. There are so many people that I talked to that they say well, that CO2 in the air, you're breathing it, but no, it is not the CO2 that is in your diet coke. It's not the CO2 that's in the canisters," she said. "This is 2,000 pounds of pressure in an eight-inch pipe that is liquefied. And if there is a leak of the earth an explosion, it is so dangerous." She says this fight isn't just hers or even the landowners who have been targeted by Navigator and these other pipelines, but it's Iowa's fight. "I wish you knew that if you let this pipeline go through and let them claim eminent domain for private gain," she said. "That is just a stepping stone for the first company to do that. That it will far reach anything else to happen for any other company to keep doing this? On and on and on. I mean, where would it stop?" Hulse and the others who oppose the Navigator and the other two proposed CO2 pipelines have reached out to state leaders, going as far as marching in front of the Iowa Capitol building and sending meeting requests to Governor Reynolds with no response. She says getting more Iowans involved in the fight against these pipelines is key to stopping them, and getting involved is easy. "Do exactly what we're doing, become more aware. Just keep talking to your neighbors and fight the good fight." Because this land... is Iowa. "There's only so much land and that if you keep destroying the land, putting hazardous things in the land and putting these hazardous pipelines in, there's not going to be more land. This is it," she said. "We have to preserve our land."What would your husband say if he could fight this fight with you?" I asked. "He would be... He would be more vocal than I would be. He would be knocking on doors. He would be calling his legislators," she said of her husband. "And he had a big voice." And now Vicki is that voice. For her husband and so many others in this fight against the pipelines. SEE THE VIDEO A group of talented young chefs are gearing up to put on a live show for Siouxland this week. Master Chef Jr. Live is kicking off its nationwide tour in Sioux City. Siouxland News got a behind-the-scenes look at their preparations and what the audience can expect during this live rendition of the hit FOX show, Master Chef Jr. Four young chefs, ages 13 to 15, will compete live on the stage, cooking up recipes you can smell from the very last row. "If you're going to come in here seeing this for the first time, it's not something that you are going to need a precursor on. It's something that you are absolutely going to fall in love with all of these chefs that are up here on stage," said host Maclain Dassatti. "And it's all about just enjoying the wonderful foods that you are going to be smelling as they are cooking them right in front of you and let me tell you, it is going to make your belly rumble, but we are all about that here at Master Chef Jr. Live." These young chefs have been cooking up a storm this week in Sioux City in preparation for the show. One junior Master Chef told us his passion for cooking comes from seeing others smile. "It's just so heartwarming to know that you can cook something for somebody to taste and enjoy and fulfill their nourishment and everything," said 13-year-old chef Adan Lisaula. "I am really excited to be in Sioux City. I'm really excited to see everybody that lives in Sioux City so you are going to have to come on down!" SEE THE VIDEO You can get a glimpse of their life on the hit TV shows like Grey's Anatomy, Chicago Med or ER, but being a trauma nurse in a real-life emergency room can be a challenging, rewarding and exhilarating career path. "It's not all fun and glory. There are sad days too," said Lea Mathison, who is the Trauma Program Manager at MercyOne Siouxland. "But though you think about the days that you really made an impression and how you really make a difference and that's just what being a nurse is all about. And an ER trauma really encompasses all of that." Inside the emergency room at MercyOne Siouxland Medical Center, you'll find a Level Two Trauma Center, the 2nd highest certification a hospital can achieve for trauma response. "We have a trauma surgeon on call 24/7, neurosurgeons, a certain level of radiology and imaging, OR, anesthesia, neurology, all that kind of stuff to have that response," said nurse Barbara Fitzgerald. "What the research has shown is that if you go to where that specialty is you have a better outcome." Barbara Fitzgerald and Lea Mathison are two of the leading trauma nurses at MercyOne. They are part of a dedicated team that helps anyone who comes into the emergency room. "And the ER, you know that it could be they checked in for a stubbed toe or they come in carrying their own leg like you had no idea what's gonna come in and you're just, you're just ready for anything," said Mathison. "You're just always on edge. You're always excited. you're always thinking that what am I going to do to be able to help these people." For many trauma nurses, they thrive on the chaos and the unknown that each day and each patient can bring. "Here, we have no set routines," said Fitzgerald. "It's whatever walks in that door and it can be anything from the most minor injury to the most major, to very life-threatening and being able to take that and do a huge trauma where everything is just crazy and chaotic. And then turn around and go back in and do something much more simple like laceration and still kind of get that same. Like, let's go let's get it done. Let's get them taken care of," she continued. "But not only am I the right-hand person of the trauma surgery, ER doctor, but I do everything to help stabilize that patient, said Mathison. "And that just brings home to me of the success stories that I could bring. I contributed to that. I really made a difference in those patients' lives." And both Mathison and Fitzgerald have had patients and families return to thank them for helping them through their toughest days. "I had somebody come back and thanked me for saving her life and thanking me for saving her dad's life even though her mom had passed away," said Mathison, "it was a very tragic moment, but it's very heartwarming at the fact that I was able to be there for her hardest time." There are even moments when these nurses see their own loved ones brought through the ER doors. "Three years after I started here, my dad came in as a code red," said Fitzgerald. "He was flown in by helicopter. I tell you what, the ER nurses are amazing that they can turn around and you know, this person is going get taken care of to the best of their ability, they're getting the best treatment." For those of us who don't work in an ER, what goes on inside may look unorganized and disordered, but it is actually a well-oiled machine where nurses and the rest of the team know what it takes to give their patients the best chance at going home beginning the moment they come through the emergency room doors. "I think the biggest thing is that you've got to have that just that personality that kind of thrives on chaos and is able to roll with it and just kind of say, you know, 'this is me, we're doing it. I want something exciting," Fitzgerald said of the nurses who work on the ER floor. "If there's a chance and we can change it, we will," said Fitzgerald, "and that's what makes any ER nurse, that's what makes me want to be an ER nurse is being able to say, hey, we really made a difference this time." These nurses work at the top of their skillset doing everything from vital checks to chest tubes and prioritizing patients' emergent medical needs. "The ER is meant to be the safety net for society. If you don't know where to go, they come here," said Fitzgerald, "and that's what makes unfortunately sometimes your wait here longer or your run through here much longer." "That's really what an ER nurse is," said Mathison, "is that somebody that's going to make a difference and think, think on your toes and just the critical thinking skills and the anticipation of what that physician is going to need and that's really what we do." Because for the MercyOne trauma team, coming to work and owning up, means making a difference is saving lives each and every day. "You don't know what you're walking into but you know that it's gonna be something new every day," said Fitzgerald. "We are life savers. We are incredible life-saving bodies and it's not just myself," said Mathison. "All of my nurses that are trauma nurses, they are phenomenal and they're lifesavers and they do wonderful things." SEE THE VIDEO Court documents are revealing new information in the case of a quadruple homicide in Laurel, Nebraska on August 4th.
Jason Jones, 42, is charged in Cedar County Court with four counts of first-degree murder, two counts of first-degree arson and four counts of use of a firearm to commit a felony. The charges stem from August 4th, when law enforcement was called to 209 Elm Street for a reported explosion. There they discovered 53-year-old Michelle Eberling dead inside, of apparent gunshot wounds. The home was reportedly also set on fire. A backpack with receipts for gas, gas cans and other items was found inside the home, purchased with a credit card registered to Jones. A short time later, a second fire was reported in Laurel with three individuals, Gene Twiford, 86, Janet Twiford, 85 and Dana Twiford, 55, all of Laurel, later found dead inside of apparent gunshot wounds at their home at 503 Elm Street. A prybar was used to gain entrance to the Twiford home and that prybar was found inside the home by investigators. A pistol, licensed to Jones, was also found inside the house in the living room. A Molotov cocktail was also discovered in the Twiford's residence. Jones was arrested at a home at 206 Elm Street the next morning, Aug. 5th, across the street from the first victim's residence. He was flown to a Lincoln hospital for treatment of severe burns. READ MORE: COURT DOCS: Suspect arrested; victims identified after Laurel, Neb. quadruple homicide New search warrant documents say that investigators questioned Jones' wife Carrie on the day of the murders and have since seized and searched her cell phone. According to court documents, Jason Jones had burn injuries to his arms, legs and body. Carrie Jones had given an interview to investigators where she stated that she peeled off what was left of Jones' clothing from his body when he arrived home, but investigators did not find any obvious signs of burnt clothing at the Jones' residence. Documents also say that a witness advised that when the explosion took place at 209 Elm St., he ran to render aid. The witness says that he had contact with Carrie Jones on the property, which Carrie Jones later admitted to investigators. READ MORE: NSP investigating multiple crime scenes, 4 dead in Laurel, Nebraska Jason Jones is the only person charged in the case and Nebraska State Patrol says he remains in the hospital. His bond has been set at $5 million. Siouxland News has been following this story since August 4th. Find our extended story on the initial investigation here. Classes are already in session for Norfolk Public Schools. "Staff and students seem to be a little more relaxed and a little more excited than the last couple of years when we were faced with COVID restrictions and just the unknownst angst of the pandemic." Superintendent, Dr. Jami Jo Thompson says students and staff were eager to get back into the classroom this school year in Norfolk. "(It's) a really good feeling getting back into the buildings and seeing kids this year." While there are a few post-COVID-19 changes still implemented, it's back to normal for Norfolk Public Schools. "There are some things that we have continued such as the increased cleaning and sanitation, changing of our air filters, those types of things," Dr. Thompson said. "But overall, we're trying to keep our programming and our instruction pretty consistent because there's been a lot of changes in children's lives the last couple of years and we found that consistency is really important right now." One big change that is sticking around is the importance of mental health, with licensed mental health professionals available to staff and students throughout the district. "At the beginning of the pandemic, we saw that our counselors were overwhelmed and that's why we added those licensed mental health practitioners that can take on those more advanced or difficult cases," said Dr. Thompson. Much like the rest of the nation, hiring has been a challenge. Norfolk had one open teaching position they weren't able to fill before the year started, a high school English position which the district merged into other classes for this semester. "We have a little bit larger class sizes, which isn't ideal, but they're still manageable," said Dr. Thompson. The district hopes to hire for that position for next semester. Another change this year is we also just this year started paying our student teachers a stipend for their work in our classrooms to help with that recruitment." With a new addition at the Lincoln Montessori Elementary building and other updates throughout the district, Dr. Thompson says this new school year is setting up to be a great one in Norfolk. "I'm just excited that kids seem to be very happy to be here. Teachers seem to be happy to be here. You know, getting out and just visiting with the kids." Classes began last week for Norfolk Public Schools. SEE THE VIDEO |
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