Natalie Krebs

As the senior population in the U.S. grows, so do efforts to help older Americans stay at home — and out of hospitals and nursing homes.

A report by the March of Dimes found 33 of Iowa's 99 counties have no OB/GYN and no birthing hospitals or birthing centers.

Home health care workers are among the lowest paid, shifting the burden of long-term care to aging and overstressed family members or assisted living centers, which are often understaffed themselves.

A year and a half after COVID-19 outbreaks tore through many of the nation's meatpacking plants, workers and their towns are still working on ways to enhance safety.

As coronavirus cases spike in Iowa, tension is brewing between the governor, the state's large public universities and local campus communities over how to prevent the spread of the virus.