Iowa
Opinion: A basic income study is right for Polk County right now. Here’s why.
What could we learn about effective and efficient strategies to reduce poverty as a way of also alleviating the social issues caused by poverty?
As funders, my colleagues and I in the UpLift Funder GRoup are often asked to invest in temporary solutions to address poverty — solutions that help people access shelter, food, health care, and other needs in times of crisis. While these temporary solutions may address critical challenges in the moment, they do not address the consistent experience of poverty that cause crises to continually arise.
A year ago, we asked ourselves: What if we could imagine more for our community? What could we learn about effective and efficient strategies to reduce poverty as a way of also alleviating the social issues caused by poverty?
The economic health of a community is directly tied to the health and well-being of its members. Consider: 1 in 7 working households in Iowa cannot meet a basic needs budget, as reported last year by the advocacy group Common Good Iowa. The cost of living for Iowa families with children has risen nearly 11% since 2018. Ten percent of Iowans are food insecure and over a third of people accessing central Iowa food pantries are 17 years and younger, according to Food Bank of Iowa and the Des Moines Area Religious Council’s fiscal year 2022 report. According to United Way of Central Iowa, 1 in 4 central Iowans spends more than 30% of their income on housing . Knowing all of these things, we knew we needed root-cause solutions that help families address their ability to be economically stable. When people can meet their basic living needs, they can move out of crisis and show up more fully for their families and in the workforce, thus fostering a thriving community.
Basic income is an innovative model to reduce poverty that is being tested throughout the country. As funders, we believe in cross-sector support to address community needs. Thus, we are proud of the public/private/corporate partnership that helped launch a basic income study in our community known as UpLift – The Central Iowa Basic Income Pilot. Eleven entities, including Mid-Iowa Health Foundation, Principal Foundation, Wells Fargo Foundation, Bank of America Foundation, The Directors Council, Telligen Community Initiative, and United Way of Central Iowa, along with the city of Des Moines, city of Urbandale, city of Windsor Heights, and Polk County, came together to fund this collaborative research opportunity. With other pilot communities showing promising results in improving low-income families’ economic well-being, we believe it is critically important to study how this model works in our region and with our unique mix of metropolitan, micropolitan, and rural geographies within our study area.
On May 15, 110 randomly selected low-income individuals will begin receiving a monthly stipend of $500 per month for two years. Participants live with at least one dependent and can use the money to best meet their specific household needs. Researchers will track spending data and health and well-being outcomes compared with a control group of 140 participants who do not receive the stipend.
As a society, we champion innovation as the tool to move a sector forward. We must also be innovative in the social services and public benefits space, ensuring the most impactful use of public and philanthropic funds. The UpLift study will provide sound data that can directly inform decisionmakers as to where to invest resources and the type of policies to support to help our community thrive.
We are grateful for the UpLift research partners at the University of Pennsylvania Center for Guaranteed Income Research and Des Moines University Department of Public Health, for the pilot implementation partners at the Harkin Institute at Drake University, for the numerous community-based organizational partners who have been instrumental in supporting the pilot, and for the study participants whose experiences will provide an invaluable learning opportunity for our community. We look forward to engaging all central Iowans in this community-wide, collaborative learning opportunity over the next three years. To learn more about the study and a profile of the participants within Dallas, Polk and Warren counties, visit www.upliftiowa.org.
Nalo Johnson is president and CEO of Mid-Iowa Health Foundation; she submitted this essay on behalf of the UpLift Funder Group.
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Here’s who all 71 Iowa high school football teams ranked in this week’s Gazette poll face in Week 7 games Friday night.
Class 3A gets the spotlight this week as its top two teams face top-seven opponents. No. 1 Algona visits No. 7 Humboldt, while second-ranked Williamsburg hosts a Solon team eager to bounce back from last week’s loss to Benton Community that dropped it from the top spot.
There is intrigue in the 8-Player top five as well, where three of the top five teams face fellow unbeaten foes. That includes No. 1 Remsen St. Mary’s taking on No. 10 Woodbine and No. 2 Algona Garrigan hosting Ruthven GTRA.
Class 5A
No. 1 West Des Moines Valley (5-1) vs. Waterloo West (5-1)
No. 2 West Des Moines Dowling (5-1) at Urbandale (3-3)
No. 3 Bettendorf (6-0) at Davenport Central (2-4)
No. 4 Pleasant Valley (5-1) vs. Muscatine (2-4)
No. 5 Ankeny Centennial (4-2) vs. Des Moines Roosevelt (1-5)
No. 6 Linn-Mar (5-1) vs. Davenport West (0-6)
No. 7 Johnston (4-2) vs. Council Bluffs Lincoln (4-2)
No. 8 Iowa City Liberty (5-1) vs. Ankeny (3-3)
No. 9 Waukee (4-2) at Southeast Polk (3-3)
No. 10 Sioux City East (4-2) vs. Des Moines Lincoln (1-5)
Class 4A
No. 1 Lewis Central (6-0) at Winterset (4-2)
No. 2 Pella (6-0) at Des Moines Hoover (0-6), Thursday
No. 3 North Polk (6-0) at No. 10 Indianola (4-2)
No. 4 Gilbert (6-0) vs. Bondurant-Farrar (1-5)
No. 5 Decorah (6-0) at Marion (2-4)
No. 6 Adel ADM (5-1) at Ballard (3-3)
No. 7 Cedar Rapids Xavier (4-2) at Oskaloosa (1-5)
No. 8 North Scott (4-2) at Clear Creek Amana (4-2)
No. 9 Newton (4-2) vs. Carlisle (0-6)
No. 10 Indianola (4-2) vs. No. 3 North Polk (6-0)
No. 10 Western Dubuque (4-2) at Waterloo East (2-4)
Class 3A
No. 1 Algona (6-0) at No. 7 Humboldt (5-1)
No. 2 Williamsburg (5-1) vs. No. 5 Solon (5-1)
No. 3 Dubuque Wahlert (6-0) at West Delaware (4-2)
No. 4 Sergeant Bluff-Luton (6-0) vs. Carroll (4-2)
No. 5 Mount Vernon (5-1) vs. Fort Madison (0-6)
No. 5 Solon (5-1) at No. 2 Williamsburg (5-1)
No. 7 Humboldt (5-1) vs. No. 1 Algona (6-0)
No. 8 Sioux City Heelan (4-2) at Boyden-Hull/Rock Valley (1-5)
No. 9 Independence (4-2) at Maquoketa (1-5)
No. 10 Nevada (5-1) at Harlan (3-3)
Class 2A
No. 1 West Lyon (6-0) at Sheldon (2-4)
No. 2 Monroe PCM (6-0) at West Marshall (5-1)
No. 3 Spirit Lake (5-1) at Garner GHV (1-5)
No. 4 Van Meter (5-1) vs. Centerville (4-2)
No. 5 Carroll Kuemper (5-1) vs. Saydel (1-5)
No. 6 North Fayette Valley (5-1) vs. Oelwein (0-6) — canceled, Oelwein to forfeit
No. 7 Northeast (6-0) at Tipton (2-4)
No. 8 Central Lyon/George-Little Rock (4-2) vs. No. 10 Western Christian (4-2)
No. 9 Roland-Story (4-2) vs. Des Moines Christian (4-2)
No. 10 Western Christian (4-2) at No. 8 Central Lyon/George-Little Rock (4-2)
Class 1A
No. 1 Grundy Center (6-0) at Alburnett (4-2)
No. 2 Wilton (6-0) at West Branch (2-4)
No. 3 Dike-New Hartford (5-1) vs. Aplington-Parkersburg (2-4)
No. 4 Emmetsburg (6-0) vs. Eagle Grove (0-6)
No. 5 Iowa City Regina (6-0) at Dyersville Beckman (4-2)
No. 6 Ida Grove OABCIG (5-1) vs. No. 10 Hinton (5-1)
No. 7 South Hardin (5-1) at Hudson (5-1)
No. 8 Treynor (5-1) vs. Shenandoah (3-3)
No. 9 Sigourney-Keota (5-1) at Colfax-Mingo (1-5)
No. 10 Hinton (5-1) at No. 6 Ida Grove OABCIG (5-1)
Class A
No. 1 West Hancock (6-0) at Lake Mills (4-2)
No. 2 Guthrie Center ACGC (6-0) vs. Mount Ayr (5-1)
No. 3 Saint Ansgar (5-1) at West Fork (1-5)
No. 4 Lisbon (6-0) vs. Danville (4-2)
No. 5 Earlham (5-1) at Oakland Riverside (4-2)
No. 6 Tri-Center (5-1) vs. No. 8 Woodbury Central (5-1)
No. 7 Le Mars Gehlen (5-1) at South O’Brien (0-6)
No. 8 Woodbury Central (5-1) at No. 6 Tri-Center (5-1)
No. 9 North Linn (6-0) vs. Maquoketa Valley (5-1)
No. 10 Madrid (4-2) at North Mahaska (3-3)
8-Player
No. 1 Remsen St. Mary’s (6-0) vs. No. 10 Woodbine (6-0)
No. 2 Algona Garrigan (6-0) vs. Ruthven GTRA (6-0)
No. 3 Don Bosco (6-0) vs. Turkey Valley (3-3)
No. 4 Audubon (6-0) vs. Collins-Maxwell (4-2)
No. 5 Lenox (6-0) vs. Southeast Warren (6-0)
No. 6 Iowa Valley (6-0) vs. HLV (1-6)
No. 7 Gladbrook-Reinbeck (5-1) at Clarksville (5-2)
No. 8 Anita CAM (5-1) at Fremont-Mills (5-1)
No. 9 Bedford (5-1) vs. Lamoni (4-2)
No. 10 Woodbine (6-0) at No. 1 Remsen St. Mary’s (6-0)
Comments: nathan.ford@thegazette.com
Iowa State women’s basketball star Emily Ryan released a video Thursday in which she discusses her battle with an eating disorder.
Ryan, a senior from Claflin, Kansas, has been one of the Big 12 Conference’s best point guards for the past few seasons. She was a first-team all-conference pick in 2022, and a second-team selection in 2023.
“By sharing my story, I hope to build awareness and provide hope to everyone else fighting an invisible battle,” Ryan said in the video.
Ryan said her sense of self-worth was dependent on Iowa State’s success and her individual performance. That led to increased time spent in the weight room in an effort to get stronger and faster. When Ryan didn’t see the results that she desired, she began to focus on her diet.
Ryan said the Iowa State medical staff expressed their concern about Ryan’s eating habits and what it was doing to her body. Ryan said she was in “complete denial” about having an eating disorder, but her health continued to worsen.
Ryan missed the first nine games of the 2023-24 season due to the eating disorder. When she returned, she said, “off the court I was really struggling. By the end of the season, I was physically and mentally hanging on by a thread.”
During the offseason, Ryan spent 88 days at a treatment center in Denver.
“It took a long time but I finally came to the understanding that being sick wasn’t my fault, and eating disorders are real, complex illnesses,” she said.
How to get help
For resources on disordered eating, call the National Eating Disorders Helpline at 800-931-2237 or text NEDA to 741741.
It was an important date around the state for volleyball teams in Iowa, as the latest rankings were released and regional pairings in all five classes were revealed.
The two come into play once regionals reach the championship round, as the higher-ranked team will serve as the host for those games.
All five No. 1 squads remained the same, as Ankeny Centennial (Class 5A), Cedar Rapids Xavier (4A), Mount Vernon (3A), Denver (2A) and Ankeny Christian (1A) held serve.
New teams to the Top-15 include Iowa City West in 5A, Ballard in 4A, Wapsie Valley in 2A and Stanton in 1A. The entire 3A poll remained the same while Sidney made one of the biggest climbs, moving to ninth from 12th in 1A.
Regional play for 1A and 2A begins Oct. 21 with 3A, 4A and 5A starting Oct. 22. The state tournament is scheduled for Nov. 4-7 in Coralville from the Xtream Arena. Complete regional pairings can be found on Bound.
Class 5A
1. Ankeny Centennial; 2. Pleasant Valley; 3. Ankeny; 4. West Des Moines Dowling; 5. Indianola; 6. Waukee Northwest; 7. Cedar Falls; 8. Cedar Rapids Prairie; 9. Waukee; 10. Iowa City Liberty; 11. West Des Moines Valley; 12. Sioux City East; 13. Iowa City West; 14. Iowa City High; 15. Linn-Mar.
Class 4A
1. Cedar Rapids Xavier; 2. Sioux City Bishop Heelan; 3. North Scott; 4. Clear Creek-Amana; 5. Lewis Central; 6. Pella; 7. Glenwood; 8. Carlisle; 9. Marion; 10. Adel-ADM; 11. Norwalk; 12. Sergeant Bluff-Luton; 13. MOC-Floyd Valley; 14. Ballard; 15. Grinnell.
Class 3A
1. Mount Vernon; 2. Western Christian; 3. West Delaware; 4. Dubuque Wahlert; 5. Davenport Assumption; 6. Sioux Center; 7. Carroll Kuemper; 8. Mid-Prairie; 9. Cherokee; 10. Wilton; 11. Solon; 12. Anamosa; 13. Roland-Story; 14. Clarinda; 15. Nevada.
Class 2A
1. Denver; 2. Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont; 3. Dyersville Beckman; 4. Dike-New Hartford; 5. Aplington-Parkersburg; 6. South Hardin; 7. Boyden-Hull; 8. Pella Christian; 9. Iowa City Regina; 10. Hinton; 11. Grundy Center; 12. Sumner-Fredericksburg; 13. Wapsie Valley; 14. West Burlington; 15. Shenandoah.
Class 1A
1. Ankeny Christian; 2. Holy Trinity; 3. Saint Ansgar; 4. Riverside; 5. BCLUW; 6. Janesville; 7. North Tama; 8. Don Bosco; 9. Sidney; 10. River Valley; 11. Akron-Westfield; 12. Stanton; 13. Fremont-Mills; 14. Southwest Valley; 15. Gladbrook-Reinbeck.
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