Letters: Why is only Iowa investigating sports betting?

Why is only Iowa investigating sports betting?

Since 2000 there are nearly 140 unsolved deaths or murders in Iowa. Many more arsons, assaults, and other violent crimes. Plenty of work to do.

So what does the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation do? Investigate sports gambling by university athletes. I do not gamble on sports. Only 3% to 5% of sports gamblers show a profit. And I think any athlete betting on their sport needs to be banned from that sport.

But have you seen any other state investigate this? Anyone want to bet, (pun intended) that every state in the South has issued orders to their version of the DCI to stay away from their sports teams? Not sure who at DCI that thought this was a good idea.

Two weeks before the start of the season, and the investigation is still not done? Might be time to look at their funding.

— Merle Walter, Mount Ayr

I’m not so sure Fox News viewers know what’s going on

Dennis Potter's Aug. 13 letter said of people who don't tune into Fox News: "They don't have a clue what's going on."

Fox News was sued by Dominion Voting Systems for $1.6 billion for spreading lies about the 2020 election. Fox News settled for $800 million to avoid going to court over those lies spread by Fox News.

Since Fox News was telling this lie, Mr. Potter should start asking himself what else is Fox News lying to him about.

— Keith Nichols, Perry

Help save lives by removing cost barriers to prostate cancer screening

Early detection saves lives. Prostate cancer patients, for example, have nearly a 100% chance of survival when the disease is found early. However, the likelihood of survival drops to 32% when caught in its advanced stages. This means that reducing deaths from prostate cancer is feasible, but only if people, particularly those at high risk -- including [those with a family history of the disease -- have access to screening.

Congress is considering the Prostate-Specific Antigen Screening for High-risk Insured Men (PSA Screening for HIM) Act to address this disparity. If this bill passes, individuals at an increased risk of developing prostate cancer would be able to receive prostate cancer screening without out-of-pocket costs.

As a cancer caregiver and American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN) volunteer, I urge Senator Ernst to support this legislation and help advance ACS CAN’s mission to end cancer as we know it, for everyone.

— Angie Sylling, Johnston

Teachers shape minds

As the new school year begins, I share what my 9-year-old grandson told me last week: “Teachers should be paid more because they are so important. They shape the minds of the future.” Out of the mouths of babes …

Sadly, we must wait another year to elect legislators who can make that pay raise happen for public school teachers, but for now we can let our teachers know that they are appreciated. We can acknowledge them as professionals and encourage them in the challenging and important work they do as they “shape the minds of the future.”

I wish all teachers and other school personnel a great new year.

— Arlie Willems, Mount Vernon

Who was at fault for Wallace Building’s flaws?

John Gersib's Aug. 10 letter to the editor (“Wallace Building has but one redeeming quality”) made me keep asking myself and anyone else who would listen: What happened to accountability?

Who designed this "elephant"? Who approved that design? Who built it? And why do our public buildings have such short lifetimes? Would that the Register staff "popularize" these people so that they don't have another chance to fail their responsibilities.

— Rick Chapman, Des Moines

Climate change, disasters add to national debt

As Congress prepares to tackle the debt ceiling AGAIN, I write this letter. I want to draw attention to an overlooked driver of federal spending.

According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, since 1980, the U.S. has sustained 360 weather and climate disasters where the overall damage costs reached or exceeded $1 billion. The cost of these 360 events exceeds $2.570 trillion.

As of July 11, 2023, there have been 12 confirmed events year to date with losses exceeding $1 billion each. Overall, these events resulted in the deaths of 100 people. The 1980–2022 annual average is 8.1 events; the annual average for the most recent five years (2018–2022) is 18.0 events.

Unfortunately, some politicians plan to accelerate the problem. They say things like, "When I am elected, I am going to end the war on fossil fuels.” “We get more shoreline properties from rising seas. Frankly, I see that as a good thing."

Meanwhile Iowans breathe unhealthy air from massive Canadian wildfires. Our planet is having the hottest summer on record.

Elections are the most impactful way we can reduce greenhouse gases. That is why I vote for candidates who have the most ambitious plans to reduce global greenhouse gases.

I invite Iowans to adopt my voting strategy. Together, we can elect people who will attack the root causes of global greenhouses. Human suffering, wildlife extinctions and our national debt will accelerate if we don't.

— Gerard White, Cedar Rapids

Candidates should share plans to support local pharmacy

Pharmacy Benefit Managers, or PBMs, detrimentally impact our rural towns and health care systems. As a lifelong resident of a rural community, I have witnessed firsthand how the increasing power of PBMs is threatening our main street independent pharmacies.

In small towns, the local pharmacy is not just a place to pick up prescriptions; it's a lifeline for many. Our independent pharmacies provide personalized care, and a sense of community that larger chain pharmacies simply cannot replicate. However, the escalating influence of PBMs is pushing local, independent pharmacies out of the market and leaving rural patients with fewer and fewer options. According to the Iowa Pharmacist Tracking System the number of Iowa communities with an independent pharmacist declined 46% from 1999 to 2021.

Without these pharmacies, residents face longer distances to access essential medications and health care advice. This puts a strain on those who are elderly or disabled or lack reliable transportation. The closure of these pharmacies also means the loss of vital health care jobs that contribute to the economic stability of our rural towns.

We need our elected officials to address this issue by passing reforms that will provide much-needed transparency in PBM practices. Thankfully legislation has been introduced at the federal level, but as a rural resident I am interested to know where each of the presidential candidates stand on this critical issue as well.

— Dwight Baldwin, Kellogg

If you break it, you fix it

Remember when you and your sibling were playing catch in the living room and broke your mother's flower vase? You both learned a lot of lessons that day.

You learned that both of you had to work on fixing the problem.

You learned to clean up the mess: the proper way to pick up broken pottery and soak up water.

You learned some solutions don't work. A glued vase does not hold water.

You learned the value of money. You had to do extra chores around the house and neighborhood to earn money to buy a new vase.

You learned that you need to stop making the mess to begin with, so a new rule would prevent this from happening again. No more playing catch in the house.

You learned that parents and babysitters had the power to enforce the new rule.

All these childhood lessons apply today for positive and effective solutions to climate change.

We need to work together for solutions. We need real solutions to clean up the carbon mess in our air and the resulting damage to our water, corals, land and homes. Some solutions don't work, like constructing a carbon pipeline that endangers our land and water. Solutions cost money. We need new rules to reduce carbon emissions and reduce our carbon footprint. We need to give regulators more money, personnel, and authority to enforce these rules.

— Charlene Lange, Iowa City

Growth under Trump was nothing special

Donald Trump loves to puff himself up and carry on about how wonderful he was as president. One of my favorite quotes is Trump saying that his presidency had "the hottest economy in modern history." He's wrong.

In Trump's first three years the US had economic growth of 2.3%, 2.9% and 2.3%. Not terrible, but definitely not great.

Here are a few of the best years of other presidents: John F. Kennedy, 6.1%, 1962; Lyndon Johnson, 6.6%, 1966; Gerald Ford, 5.4%, 1976; Jimmy Carter, 5.5%, 1978; Ronald Reagan, 7.2%, 1984; Bill Clinton, 4.8%, 1999; George W. Bush, 3.8%, 2004.

Of the 13 presidents since World War II, Donald Trump's best year ranks 12th.

— Jerry Parks, Burlington

Political office should have mandatory retirement age

The Constitution of the United States of America specifies the minimum age requirement to hold federal elective offices. The minimum age to be in the House of Representatives is 25 years old; to be in the Senate is 30 years old; and to be president is 35 years old. Based on the condition of certain elected Sen. Mitch McConnell, Sen. Dianne Feinstein, and President Joe Biden, I suggest we should also have maximum age limits. I will suggest 75 years of age.

— Doug Gulling, Urbandale

Paying college athletes has created a mess

I thought that name, image and likeness was a stupid solution for compensating athletes. I saw that giving money willy-nilly to young people was going to cause trouble. I predicted that some of the kids would choose gambling to try to get richer quicker, and now we have players suspended and throwing their moms under the bus.

Everyone wants to get rich before they have the capacity to deal with it responsibly. Well, we will see the future of that.

Now we have an equally disturbing development in the NCAA. The Big Ten Conference now spans coast to coast, from New Jersey to California and Washington. We are doing everything we can to take student out of the student athlete. Long trips will mean more time in the air than in the classroom.

The conferences were originally set up to be geographically sensible and to create some local natural rivalries. No more. Teams will be battling time zone changes, bad weather and travel delays, a loss of some fan base who can't afford to fly to games and can't drive as far as they would need to to see some of the games.

Kids want it all now, and supposedly bright people are bending over backward to give it to them.

— Gary Anderson, Johnston

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Letters: Why is only Iowa investigating sports betting?