Category: Safe Communities Corner

Back-to-School Essentials: Understanding the Difference Between Healthy Stress and Distress As the school year kicks off, families are picking up pencils, notebooks, and backpacks—but don't forget the mental and emotional tools kids need to thrive. Stress isn't inherently negative—the trick is striking the right balance between healthy stress and overwhelming distress. Understanding the Stress Curve Your graphic illustrates how performance varies with stress: Too little stress (underload)—leads to boredom, inactivity, and disengagement. Optimal stress—energizes focus, motivation, and productivity. Too much stress (overload)—can cause fatigue, anxiety, breakdowns, and burnout. Stress by the Numbers: What the Data Shows Daily Stress Among Students…

Back to School Essentials: More Than Just SuppliesAs students across Webster County return to classrooms, the familiar checklist begins—new notebooks, freshly sharpened pencils, colorful binders, and erasers ready to tackle mistakes. But this year, it’s time we add another, less visible item to that list: mental and emotional resilience.Bullying has always been a challenge for students, but the way it happens has evolved. With the rise of technology and social media, there’s often no escape from an aggressor, even outside of school walls. The 2021 Iowa Youth Survey revealed a sobering reality:40% of 6th graders reported being victims of bullying.26%…

Back-to-School Essentials: Managing Stress for Student SuccessAs backpacks get stuffed with notebooks, pencils, and fresh supplies, there’s another essential item every student needs for a successful school year — mental and emotional well-being.While academic preparation is important, emotional readiness plays an equally crucial role. According to the 2021 Iowa Youth Survey, a significant number of students in Iowa reported struggling with sadness and hopelessness:40% of 6th graders said they felt so sad or hopeless for two weeks or more that they stopped doing normal activities.30% of 8th graders said the same.29% of 11th graders also reported experiencing these feelings.These statistics,…

Back to School and Back to Bed: Why Good Sleep Is Essential for Student Success As summer winds down and the back-to-school season approaches, many families focus on school supplies, new clothes, and adjusting daily routines. But one of the most critical—yet often overlooked—parts of preparing for a successful school year is getting enough sleep. Sleep is essential for growing minds and bodies. Research consistently shows that children and teens who get the right amount of rest are more focused, perform better in school, and have improved emotional well-being. Unfortunately, many Iowa students are falling short of the recommended sleep…

On July 1, 2025, Iowa officially became the 31st state to ban all hand‑held cellphone use while driving with its landmark Senate File 22 (SF 22). This means no holding, scrolling, typing, dialing, video‑calling, or GPS‑input—unless it’s done through voice-activated, hands-free systems. For the rest of 2025, law enforcement will issue warnings; so far, for the month of July, there have already been more than 1,400 warnings given. Citations and $100 fines begin January 1, 2026, with fines increasing if the act resulted in injury or fatality. Why the push for change? Annually in the U.S., roughly 3,300 deaths and 289,000 injuries result from…

First of all, I'd like to say welcome back. We've had come issues with our site the past couple weeks but we are all restored and ready to keep rolling! Yes, since we are talking about driving this month, that pun was totally intended.Now on to the more serious topic of the week, road rage. We've all seen it...maybe even been the target of it. The driver that pulls up next to a vehicle to make the point that he is visibly upset whether by yelling and pumping his fist or maybe by showing a driver with a single finger…

The 4th of July is synonymous with fireworks. Whether you are the kind of person who is packing up the family for a late night display of pyrotechnics and pretty colors or the person who would rather hunker down in your home and hope that your neighbor hasn’t bought out the nearest seasonal pop-up tent, there is no question that this part of the holiday celebration isn’t going away anytime soon. Unfortunately, neither are the injuries caused by them. Since 2008, the number of emergency room visits due to firework related injuries has increased every year. Between 2023 and 2024…

A  young mother of two small children pauses in her Fort Dodge home as she's preparing lunch for the afternoon. The slight smell of hot plastic raises some concern but, almost as soon as the scent hits her nose, she dismisses it thinking that a small piece of plastic from the packaging must have ended up in the oven. Within just minutes she's rushing her worried children out the door as smoke starts rising to the ceiling. A neighbor calls the fire department after noticing the back porch of the home, just feet away from the kitchen, in flames. Old…