What you need to know before you go: April 25, 2025
SIOUX CITY, Iowa (KCAU) — Good morning, Siouxland! Here's a quick rundown of your Friday morning headlines.
As measles outbreaks continue to pop up across the U.S., Siouxland doctors urge parents to ensure their kids are vaccinated before the virus gets any closer to home.
Measles cases rise across the United States, but none in Iowa yet
As a reported leak indicates the budget for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services could be cut by one-third, Iowa organizations that advocate for people with disabilities are worried about the possible impacts.
Iowa disability programs brace for potential cuts after budget leak
The Iowa Volunteer Hall of Fame has introduced its 2025 group of inductees, including a Marshalltown woman with a record-setting history of service at the Iowa Veterans Home.
And last but not least, KCAU 9 hosted our annual Best of the Class at the Orpheum Theatre Thursday, giving a well-earned moment in the spotlight to high school valedictorians from the Class of 2025, coming all three of the Siouxland states.
KCAU 9 celebrates 2025's Best of the Class
Thanks for stopping by. Have a great weekend, and we'll see you bright and early at 5 a.m. Monday on Good Day Siouxland!
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Yahoo
Newsom criticizes Trump admin for sharing Medicaid data with Homeland Security
Gov. Gavin Newsom on Friday criticized the Trump administration for reportedly providing personal information from Medicaid recipients to federal immigration authorities. The criticism stems from an Associated Press report that revealed the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, under President Donald Trump, shared data, including immigration status, of millions of Medicaid beneficiaries with the Department of Homeland Security. The report suggests the information could aid immigration enforcement efforts under Trump's broader crackdown. 'We deeply value the privacy of all Californians,' Newsom said in a statement. 'This action by the federal government has implications for every person on Medicaid, but it is especially alarming for our immigrants and American mixed-status families.' Newsom signs executive order advancing California's clean car goals amid pushback from the Trump administration Under federal law, Medicaid is required to provide emergency services regardless of a recipient's immigration like California, which operates the program as Medi-Cal, routinely share limited data with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to comply with federal funding and oversight requirements. California's Department of Health Care Services confirmed that it responded to a federal request last month to validate its use of federal Medicaid funds but emphasized that it did not submit any demographic data beyond what is normally required. California law guarantees broad protections for personal data under the state Constitution and the Information Practices Act. State agencies are also required to adhere to strict privacy protocols and use Medi-Cal data solely for determining eligibility and benefits. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
USA Today
2 days ago
- USA Today
LGBTQ+ health centers lead fight against mpox and stigma nationwide
Matt Alderton Studio Gannett The date was May 17, 2022. It was more than two years into the COVID-19 pandemic, and Americans everywhere were epidemiologically exhausted. In Massachusetts, however, public health officials had just clocked the first case in a brand-new infectious disease outbreak. The pathogen now known as mpox was first documented in monkeys in 1958. Caused by a virus similar to the smallpox virus, it causes flu-like symptoms; a painful, pustulous rash; and, in the rarest cases, death. When the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) declared mpox a public health emergency in August 2022, there were more than 10,000 documented cases in the United States — mostly in the LGBTQ+ community, where the virus had spread rapidly through sexual transmission. Cases slowly declined from there, however, and by January 2023 the threat had mostly faded. Credit for the containment belongs not only to the LGBTQ+ individuals who embraced safer sex practices and stood in blocks-long lines for vaccines, but also to the doctors and nurses at community health centers who delivered critical care and education tailored to at-risk patients. 'LGBTQ+ clinics and community centers were the first to respond and set up very quickly and very efficiently not only information for our community to keep us safe, but also vaccine programs,' says Alex Sheldon , executive director of GLMA, previously known as the Gay & Lesbian Medical Association. 'The (U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) had raised huge alarm bells about where this was going to go, and that it was going to spread even further into the general population. But because of the quick and efficient responses of these clinics and community centers, and because of the trust they already had with community members, they were able to respond so quickly that it for the most part stopped mpox in its tracks.' Need a break? Play the USA TODAY Daily Crossword Puzzle. The rapid, responsive care that LGBTQ+ community health centers provided during mpox is the same care they provided during COVID-19 and the HIV/AIDS crisis decades prior. More important, it's the same care they provide daily to LGBTQ+ individuals who need routine services like primary and preventive care, screening for sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and mental health counseling. 'Many LGBTQ+ clinics were started by LGBTQ+ providers who had a stake in their community's wellbeing. So, they developed health care settings that were designed around their own needs,' Sheldon says. 'These places center our community within every single part of what they do.' Unique Health Needs Because LGBTQ+ people have unique health care needs, it's critical that health care systems are tailored to those needs. 'LGBTQ+ people … experience a lot of health disparities, and the vast majority of those health disparities are driven by the pronounced stigma and discrimination that LGBTQ+ people face in our everyday lives,' explains Sheldon, who says stigma creates stress that can impact both mental and physical health. 'Navigating a world that isn't built for you because it's designed around cisgender and heterosexual experiences —who your partner is, what you do on the weekends, how you built your family — can be a really challenging way to live.' LGBTQ+ people who have experienced discrimination often go out of their way to avoid it in the future, which might mean delaying health care or opting out of it entirely to evade providers with whom they don't feel seen or safe. 'The longer you delay getting health care … the more likely you are to have adverse health outcomes because of that delayed care,' Sheldon says. Therein lies the merit of community health centers, says Dr. Stephen Abbott , medical site director of the Max Robinson Center at Whitman-Walker, a nonprofit community health system serving LGBTQ+ patients in Washington, D.C. 'Often, issues surrounding an individual's care don't get disclosed if somebody doesn't feel comfortable in the environment where they're seeking care,' Abbott says. 'If you go into a waiting room and there's nobody there affirming your pronouns, or they make certain assumptions about who your partner is, or they can't take a decent sexual history, or they don't know how to do an appropriate mental health screening that's informed by traumatic experiences in your past, then you're not going to get appropriate care.' Community health centers make LGBTQ+ patients comfortable by fostering inclusion in every respect — having gender-neutral intake forms, hiring medical and administrative staff from the community, offering LGBTQ+ periodicals in waiting rooms and depicting LGBTQ+ individuals on websites and in patient literature, all of which foster trust so that patients are more likely to show up for appointments, seek preventative care and adhere to medical advice and guidelines. 'Community health centers that have historically served the LGBTQ+ community have demonstrated the ability to look past a person's sexual or gender identity and see them as a whole person,' says Dr. Travis Gayles , CEO of Howard Brown Health, a nonprofit community health system serving LGBTQ+ patients in Chicago. 'And when you're seeing the whole person, you can gain new perspectives and insights, ask appropriate questions, offer appropriate treatment and, ultimately, create better health outcomes.' Community health centers like Whitman-Walker and Howard Brown are particularly proud of the care they provide for individuals with HIV; preventative services like pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) and Doxycycline post-exposure prophylaxis (Doxy PEP) for HIV and STI prevention, respectively; and their provision of gender-affirming care to individuals who are trans and nonbinary. To measure their success, however, they rely as much on social and emotional metrics as clinical ones. Holistic Care 'There are folks who have come to us for mpox, for HIV treatment or for gender-affirming care who have moments of pure joy and gratitude that you can't measure with the resolution of a rash, a viral load or even completion of a transition,' Abbott says. Gayles concurs. 'Yes, we look at clinical outcomes. But what's also important is empowering patients with stable housing, academic opportunities and employment opportunities. … When you're going to a health center like ours that understands all those (social determinants of health), it increases the likelihood that you're going to be connected in a meaningful way to those services.' 'We'll Get Through This' Both the LGBTQ+ community and the health centers that serve it are experiencing significant challenges, according to Sheldon, who notes that the Trump administration budget proposes significant reductions in funding and support for sexual and gender minorities. HHS, for example, has closed its Office of Minority Health; the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is considering closing its Division of HIV Prevention; the National Institutes of Health has terminated more than 270 grants focused on LGBTQ+ health research, worth at least $800 million; and Congress is mulling significant cuts to Medicaid, on which many community health centers rely. 'Our health systems are under attack, but … I remain incredibly optimistic,' Sheldon says. 'When (governments) say we are invisible or worthy of erasure, we have always risen to the occasion by caring for ourselves and each other … We are once again rising to the occasion and will not back down.' Utilizing community health centers for services, donating to them, and singing their praises to philanthropists and policymakers can help fuel the fight, Abbott adds. 'We're going to be here no matter what,' he says. 'We'll get through this.'
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Yahoo
What you need to know before you go: June 12, 2025
SIOUX CITY, Iowa (KCAU) — Here are the top headlines from this morning. Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds signed a bill aimed at bringing changes to Pharmacy Benefit Managers. Iowa Gov. Reynolds signs bill to reform pharmacy benefit managers Governor Reynolds vetoed a bill that was meant to increase restrictions on the use of eminent domain for CO2 Pipeline construction. Iowa governor rejects GOP bill to increase regulations of Summit's carbon dioxide pipeline The Iowa Department of Health and Human Services confirmed a third case of Measles in the state, from a non-vaccinated child. Iowa HHS confirms third case of measles in 2025 Check out more stories in the video above. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
