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Eastern Iowa couple lost a son to overdose, but gained a mission

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Eastern Iowa couple lost a son to overdose, but gained a mission


Annually individuals nominate 9 excellent volunteers all through Japanese Iowa with the “9 Who Care” Awards. One finalist will journey to Washington, D.C. to signify Japanese Iowa in a nationwide competitors for a Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Award.

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (KCRG) – On November 1, 2016, Chad Courtney died.

“There’s nothing we might have carried out until Chad was prepared,” mentioned his father Rod, a retired probation officer.

After years of preventing drug abuse, Chad died from the results of a fentanyl overdose.

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He was 38, and the daddy of two younger daughters. He mainly died proper earlier than everybody’s eyes.

His mom Debbie remembers when a physician entered a room the place her son was being handled for an earlier drug response. The physician requested a nurse “the place’s the junkie?”

“I simply thought in my head, that’s my son,” Debbie mentioned. “No, I’m his mother. That’s my son who you’re calling a junkie, you realize, as a result of I’ve watched his wrestle.”

The wrestle for Rod and Debbie Courtney just isn’t over. As an alternative, it’s been channeled to assist others after they want it most.

“Even our medical professionals have to have their consciousness raised about substance use issues, have to have their consciousness raised across the stigma, and the impression it’s on a household,” Rod mentioned.

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Rod and Debbie mentioned they need to present what they couldn’t discover: a peer-to-peer useful resource for households of substance abusers. They’ve discovered it with CRUSH of Iowa and have expanded it with the group’s new Restoration Group Heart.

It’s the place Chad’s spirit may be very a lot alive.

“He was actually wholesome proper there,” Debbie mentioned, pointing to an image of Chad that hangs in a convention room. “He was in restoration at that time.”

The image was from about three years earlier than he died. That try at restoration wasn’t his first, nor his final.

And when he died, the Courtneys’ lengthy journey coping with their son’s addictions wasn’t over both.

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“I used to be offended with the those who promote medicine, I used to be offended with the system, I used to be offended with myself, you realize, I used to be offended with with my son, however it was fairly quick lived,” mentioned Rod.

If you happen to endure from addictions, there’s assist obtainable. You may contact the Nationwide Rehab Hotline by clicking right here, the Heroin Hotline by clicking right here, and you could find CRUSH of Iowa assets by clicking right here.

The Courtneys wished to show these feelings into one thing they couldn’t discover for themselves. The peer-led Restoration Group Heart that opened in June is it. It’s staffed by 12 volunteers and two employees members, together with Susan Bradford.

“I get to work with individuals which can be combating substance abuse points each single day, each single day,” Susan Bradford defined, the Heart’s Peer Restoration Coach Coordinator. “And that’s what it’s about. It’s not about us, it’s about serving to the following person who’s making an attempt to not die.”

Susan has fought her personal addictions which for years left her estranged from her personal sons, daughters, and grandchildren. CRUSH introduced all of them collectively, together with her center son Josh whose additionally now in restoration.

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“They have been capable of forgive me, which was simply phenomenal for me,” Susan mentioned. “My daughter promised me then that, that it is a stroll, we might stroll collectively this time, shoulder to shoulder as an alternative of them not speaking to me.”

However that’s what CRUSH and the Restoration Group Heart is all about. And the Courtneys are pouring their lives into it day by day.,

“Simply so many various little miracles that occur. And within the individuals themselves, they’re giving and supportive of one another,” Debbie mentioned.

Greater than 200 individuals undergo the Heart every month. That’s a community-wide impression they didn’t anticipate.

“it’s like, that is the start of one thing that’s going to be large within the state of Iowa, as a result of now we’re relying on individuals with lived expertise,” Rod mentioned.

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Shared experiences like Susan’s. She says the Courtneys saved her and her household.

“Having them in my life has modified me in so some ways. It’s humbled me it’s proven me what they’ve walked by restoration in with such grace and dignity, and it’s a tremendous instance to people who find themselves struggling.”

Similar to the Courtneys struggled. Ask Rod.

“If I get offended, heroin wins. If I get offended sufficient, heroin beats me down, beats my household down, then it’s going to win once more. And I used to be like, that’s not going to occur.”

They misplaced Chad, an Eagle Scout who acquired addicted as a youngster to medicine like heroin and fentanyl, however they’ve gained a mission. And it typically goes again to that image of Chad within the convention room.

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It’s a robust reminder to Debbie Courtney.

“Typically I walked by the door and we now have Chad’s image there, you realize. And, you realize, I communicate to him day by day. Nevertheless it’s onerous. It’s onerous. I misplaced my son to this. And it’s an unsightly battle alongside the best way.”

It’s a battle they are saying is well worth the struggle.



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MN dog missing for 2 years found in Iowa

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MN dog missing for 2 years found in Iowa


The holidays are much brighter for a Twin Cities couple who were recently reunited with their mini goldendoodle. Their dog ran away more than two years ago.

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Corduroy the dog goes missing

The backstory: Some of you may remember when Corduroy went missing two years ago. His owners searched everywhere but no dog.  Their search ended last month when Corduroy was found in Iowa.

“I went up to him, bent down, and had him smell me, and I said, Do you remember me?,” said Chris Hoefer, Corduroy’s dad.

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October 22, 2022 is a day the couple will never forget.

“A friend of ours was dog sitting room. Our friend was taking him on a walk, and he was actually attacked by another dog. He broke loose of his collar and ran away,” said Hoefer.

Finding a missing dog

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What We Know: It’s a moment Chris Hoefer and his husband have been waiting for since Corduroy went missing. They’re now embracing the love and joy of having him again.

“He’s so comfortable with us, and he’s still just such a sweet and gentle dog that you know, the same dog that he was two years ago,” said Christiaan Montgomery, Corduroy’s dad.

What followed was nearly 500 tips and two years of searching led nowhere.  That is, until this one voicemail:

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We had a stray dog come in and we scanned for microchips, and checking that chip, it came registered to you.

It was on November 10 by the Dubuque Iowa Humane Society.

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“I was in disbelief. And I couldn’t believe that it was in Dubuque, Iowa, which is almost 300 miles away from here,” said Montgomery.

The couple took the drive, and Corduroy was able to come home for the holidays because of his microchip.

“I’ve been keeping his chip active since he went missing, just in the hopes that one day he might show up at a location where they had a scanner,” said Montgomery.

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What’s next: Lindsay Koopmann with The Retrievers Volunteer Last Dog Team says if you find a stray dog, get it scanned. So, dogs like Corduroy can enjoy Christmas with their parents. 

“There’s no way he ever would have made his way home here and be reunited without being microchipped,” said Koopmann.

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How To Watch Pop Tarts Bowl: Iowa State vs. Miami, Bowl Game TV Schedule

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How To Watch Pop Tarts Bowl: Iowa State vs. Miami, Bowl Game TV Schedule


The Miami Hurricanes are back in action for the final time this season as they look to prove that they were one of the best teams in the league this season as they face the Iowa State Cyclones in the Pop-Tarts Bowl in Orlando.

What is better for the Canes is that most of their starting player from this previous season will be participating instead of opting out.

That means the No. 1 offense in the country will be on full display with Heisman finalist and the Davey O’Brien National Quarterback Award Winner Cam Ward taking the field with All-American Xavier Restrepo and the rest of the electric offense for the Hurricanes.

This will be the final game of a great, yet disappointing season for the Hurricanes but the morale is high as year three of the Mario Cristobal Era comes to a close.

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Who: Miami vs. Iowa State

When: 3:30 p.m. on ABC

Where: Camping World Stadium, Orlando, FL

Series: First contest between the two teams.

Last time out, Miami: Miami came up short of reaching the ACC Championship Game after failing to stop the electric offense of the Syracuse Orange and losing 42-38 in the final game of the regular season.

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Last time out, Iowa State: The Cyclones got blown out in the Big 12 Championship game against winners Arizona State 45-19 as they struggled to find offense all game long.

Mon., Dec. 23

Myrtle Beach Bowl
Coastal Carolina vs. UTSA
11 a.m. on ESPN

Famous Idaho Potato Bowl
Northern Illinois vs. Fresno State
2:30 p.m. on ESPN

Tues., Dec. 24

Hawai’i Bowl
South Florida vs. San Jose State
8 p.m. on ESPN

Thurs., Dec. 26

GameAbove Sports Bowl
Pittsburgh vs. Toledo
2 p.m. on ESPN

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Rate Bowl
Rutgers vs. Kansas State
5:30 p.m. on ESPN

68 Ventures Bowl
Arkansas State vs. Bowling Green
9 p.m. on ESPN

Fri., Dec. 27

Armed Forces Bowl
Navy vs. Oklahoma
12 p.m. on ESPN

Birmingham Bowl
Vanderbilt vs. Georgia Tech
3:30 p.m. on ESPN

Liberty Bowl
Arkansas vs. Texas Tech
7 p.m. on ESPN

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Holiday Bowl
Syracuse vs. Washington State
8 p.m. on Fox

Las Vegas Bowl
Texas A&M vs. USC
10:30 p.m. on ESPN

Sat., Dec. 28

Fenway Bowl
North Carolina vs. UConn
11 a.m. on ESPN

Pinstripe Bowl
Nebraska vs. Boston College
12 p.m. on ABC

New Mexico Bowl
TCU vs. Louisiana
2:15 p.m. on ESPN

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Pop-Tarts Bowl
Miami vs. Iowa State
3:30 p.m. on ABC

Snoop Dogg Arizona Bowl
Colorado State vs. Miami (OH)
4:30 p.m. on CW Network

Military Bowl
NC State vs. East Carolina
5:45 p.m. on ESPN

Alamo Bowl
Colorado vs. BYU
7:30 p.m. on ABC

Independence Bowl
Army vs. Louisiana Tech
9:15 p.m. on ESPN

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Mon., Dec. 30

Music City Bowl
Missouri vs. Iowa
2:30 p.m. on ESPN

Tues., Dec. 31

ReliaQuest Bowl
Alabama vs. Michigan
12 p.m. on ESPN

Sun Bowl
Louisville vs. Washington
2 p.m. on CBS

Citrus Bowl
South Carolina vs. Illinois
3 p.m. on ABC

Texas Bowl
LSU vs. Baylor
3:30 p.m. on ESPN

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Thurs., Jan. 2

Gator Bowl
Ole Miss vs. Duke
7:30 p.m. on ESPN

Fri., Jan. 3

First Responder Bowl
North Texas vs. Texas State
4 p.m. on ESPN

Duke’s Mayo Bowl
Minnesota vs. Virginia Tech
7:30 p.m. on ESPN

Sat., Jan. 4

Bahamas Bowl
Buffalo vs. Liberty
11 a.m. on ESPN2

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READ MORE FROM MIAMI HURRICANES ON SI:

2025 Miami Hurricanes Football Offseason Tracker: Coming and Going

Everything Miami Head Coach Mario Cristobal Said After Pop-Tart Bowl Announcement

Welcome to the ACC Bill Belichick, Mario Cristobal Time is Ticking: Just a Minute

Follow all social media platforms to stay up to date with everything Miami Hurricanes- TwitterFacebookInstagramYoutube, and BlueSky.





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Iowa Republicans set up a shell game to mask the costs of tax cuts | Opinion

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Iowa Republicans set up a shell game to mask the costs of tax cuts | Opinion



It is not “taxpayer relief” to use previously paid taxes to pay help pay for budget shortfalls caused by a “tax cut.”

This month, the state Revenue Estimating Conference reported new estimates showing Iowa revenue will drop by $602 million (6.2%) compared with fiscal year 2024. Further, state revenue is expected to drop by a further $428 million (4.7%) in fiscal year 2026, which begins July 1, 2025. Republicans attribute the fall in estimated revenue to the start of their 3.8% flat income tax rate next year. Republicans have promoted reducing the state income tax — which Sen. Jack Whitver derisively calls a “confiscation” — down to zero.

But Republicans have amassed a $2 billion budget surplus, $961 million in its reserve accounts, and $3.75 billion in the Taxpayer Relief Fund, which was supposed to be used to reduce taxes. All told, about $6.75 billion. One good question is: Why?

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Republicans enacted a long-term commitment to reduced revenues due to the flax tax at an extremely volatile time during and after the COVID-19 epidemic. The federal government’s $5.2 trillion infusion into states and their economies was the largest fiscal stimulus package ever. One-time federal financial supports reduced state costs and artificially bolstered revenues. Recently, Pew Charitable Trusts observed: “The combination of temporary funds propping up budgets and the adoption of new recurring expenditures or tax cuts has left many states in a precarious position. Policymakers now must grapple with the possibility that their states’ finances are structurally imbalanced and vulnerable to deficits as one-time funds dry up but new commitments remain.”

Not wanting to “waste a good crisis,” as they say, Republicans rushed to enact a flat tax during an extremely uncertain economic time when the level of likely future tax revenues was cloudy at best.

As the COVID economic booster begins to fade, several states have experienced significant decreases in tax revenue as compared to their 15-year trend. Iowa was among states experiencing a negative difference in the fourth quarter of 2023 — mind you, before the flat income tax kicked in. Iowa experienced a 6% decrease in revenue from its historical trend, the fourth-highest difference among states that went negative, according to Pew.

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Researchers explained: “State tax collections have been on a downward trajectory since their mid-2022 peak, reflecting, in large part, a decline from the unexpected highs of the pandemic revenue wave. … One question is whether states will be able to afford the budgetary commitments they made in the past three years — such as tax relief and pay raises for public employees — over the long term.”

Yet, Iowa Republicans want to enshrine their COVID-fueled tax cut into the Iowa Constitution. Last session, Republicans passed a constitutional amendment to require a two-thirds vote of both chambers of the state Legislature to pass a bill that would increase the individual or corporate income tax rate. They are expected to pass the legislation a second time this session, which would likely put it on the ballot for voters in November 2026. What a way to saddle future Iowans with a hasty tax cut enacted during a most abnormal period of artificially high revenue and reduced state expenses.

It is a sure thing Republicans will hoard Iowa’s surpluses and use it to cover predicted revenue gaps before the November 2026 vote on the constitutional amendment to mask from the voting public the true and lasting impacts of their opportunistic push for a flat tax.

In fact, Republicans and Gov. Kim Reynolds passed Senate File 2442 this year, which, among other things, changed the law regarding how the Taxpayer Relief Fund could be used. Tucked away in the second-to-last division of a 35-page bill is a section that provides that, if the actual net revenue is less than budgeted expenses “there is transferred from the taxpayer relief fund to the general fund of the state an amount equal to fifty percent of the difference or the remaining balance of the taxpayer relief fund, whichever is lower.” That is a preemptive coverup of the probable result of the Republican flat tax as conceded by Republicans, themselves.

Iowa Republicans are not using the Taxpayer Relief Fund as it was originally intended. It is not “taxpayer relief” to use previously paid taxes to pay help pay for budget shortfalls caused by a “tax cut.” Most would call that a shell game. It is like giving yourself a “raise” by moving a dollar from one pocket to another. Why not just give those “confiscated” funds back to Iowans directly via refunds? Ah, but that would spoil the game, wouldn’t it?

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Unmet needs and underfunded state accounts exist now. That will get worse.

Governor Reynolds states Republicans have a “commitment to shrinking the size and scope of government.” However, should not elected officials be committed first to ensuring that our government is the “right size,” before deciding it should be shrunk? That is, the right size to fully accomplish basic functions that individuals cannot meet themselves —no matter how much of their own money they have in their pockets — such as prevention and mitigation of natural disasters, ensuring safe bridges and roads, making sure promised pensions are not underfunded, cleaning up Iowa’s fouled waters, and helping public schools at least meet their costs of operation.

Tom Walton is an Iowa lawyer.



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