QCA.news - Quad Cities news and view from both sides of the river

Friday, August 21st, 2026
	Local schools brace for ripple effect of Tyson closure The impact of the Tyson Foods plant closure is extending beyond workers losing their jobs, with local school districts preparing for the effects on students and their families.
	Tyson workers to hold rally at Joslin plant in protest of layoffs Tyson workers and supporters are holding a rally at the Tyson Foods plant in Joslin on Friday.
	Shea Doyle named new president, CEO of Modern Woodmen of America Modern Woodmen has a new president and CEO. Shea Doyle was named by the board of directors of Modern Woodmen of America to be the organization's next president and chief executive officer, effective June 1, 2027. The appointment comes after a comprehensive succession-planning and executive-selection process over the past year. President and CEO Jerald J. [...]
	A chance of severe weather this evening Before we head into what is looking to be a very nice weekend in the Quad Cities, we are watching for some storms later today. The futurecast is showing these storms developing later in the afternoon and into the evening with potentially strong storms. Depending on where these storms start to develop, there is the [...]
	Scattered storms may move through the Quad-Cities Friday The National Weather Service said scattered storms may form in the Quad-Cities area Friday from 2-8 p.m.
	Quad Cities community reacts to Trudy Appleby's disappearance 30 years later Trudy Appleby disappeared from her Moline home in 1996. Police have a suspect in custody, and the case will appear in court for a pretrial conference on Oct. 20.
	‘The End of Oak Street’ is full of Spielbergian charm but is far from dino-mite The End of Oak Street is an admirable attempt to revive the dinosaur blockbuster outside the confines of the Jurassic Park and Jurassic World franchise. However, an underdeveloped plot and a painfully wooden performance from Ewan McGregor prevent the movie from fully capturing that old Spielbergian magic.
	Resignations, hirings, athletic assignments, and other Moline School District personnel news from Aug. 10 See the personnel items from the Aug. 10 agenda of the Moline-Coal Valley School District. The board met at the Moline Education Center.
	North Scott School District resignations, hirings and other personnel news for Aug. 21 The following personnel items are from the Aug. 17 agenda of the North Scott School District. The school board met at Junior High.
	Top Iran official says US focus on economic warfare shows it has failed militarily The Iranian regime has dismissed President Trump's threats to crush the country economically, saying that years of U.S. sanctions have failed.
	Family This is Roald Tweet on Rock Island.Before you bemoan once more the decline of the American family from those good old days pictured in The Reader's…
	What to know about this weekend's IndyCar race on the National Mall Why is the car race in this part of D.C.? Will it be streaming? Who's paying for it? Here's what to know before the Freedom 250 Grand Prix hits the National Mall this weekend.
	Federal government thins the herds of wild horses in Colorado U.S. officials say the ever-growing population of wild horses that roam federal lands in Colorado is depleting natural resources. But some activists say efforts to remove the horses are inhumane.
	Charter plane crash kills 8 near remote radar site in western Alaska, military says A charter aircraft carrying eight people crashed at a remote radar site in western Alaska on Thursday, killing all on board, the U.S. military said.
	'Survival mode': Indiana residents endure a ninth day without power Tens of thousands of people in Indiana are entering a second week without power after a deadly storm toppled trees and power lines. Schools remain closed and businesses have been unable to reopen.
	Federal agents seize devices from ex-Rep. Eric Swalwell in sexual misconduct probe, AP source says Federal agents seized electronic devices from former Rep. Eric Swalwell and searched his Washington home as part of an investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct by the ex-Democratic congressman from California.
	Jurors hear 'Keffe D' say his nephew fired fatal shots at Tupac Shakur in 1996 drive-by shooting Jurors on Thursday heard Duane "Keffe D" Davis tell detectives in 2008 that his nephew Orlando "Baby Lane" Anderson fired the shots that killed Tupac Shakur.
Thursday, August 20th, 2026
	Rock Island deputy fire chief retires: 'I go with a deep sense of pride' Rock Island's deputy fire chief called it a career on Thursday. Greg Marty retired exactly 25 years after he joined the fire department. His coworkers celebrated his 25 years of service with him. Marty worked as a paramedic, then moved up the ranks as a lieutenant, a captain, fire marshal and deputy chief. He became [...]
	Whiteside County's judicial system could be bogged down with old cases Whiteside County's judicial system could wind up being bogged down with old cases after a verdict in a felony trial this week. It took months for the case to make it to court. A jury acquitted Michael Cover of aggravated battery against a peace officer, but guilty of a lesser charge for obstructing a peace [...]
	New Windsor Rodeo kicks off with annual parade Kids also got to enjoy some mutton busting, which is basically bull riding with sheep.
	Oscar Mayer Wienermobile stops in Schwiebert Park If you'd like to "catch up" with the wienermobile, tune into GMQC on Friday, when our morning team will be chatting with the crew.
	Portion of Moline's Avenue of the Cities has speed limit lowered The speed limit has been lowered to 30 mph along the Avenue in Moline from 41st Street to the East Moline border.
	Rock Island housing summit continues conversation about homelessness A housing summit in Rock Island continued a conversation about homelessness across the Quad Cities. Dwight Ford, the CEO of Project NOW, spoke with three different panels about local and state-wide housing. Dozens of people attended the session. Michael Glanz, with The ARC of the Quad Cities, previewed a housing development that's taking an innovative [...]
	Clinton looks to other communities to determine data-center regulation Clinton City Council members are looking to other communities as they consider how to regulate data centers. Two council members traveled to New Albany, Ohio, this week to learn about data center impacts. They discussed water use, noise, lighting, infrastructure and long-term oversight. The visit comes as Clinton debates new data-center regulations. The city plans [...]
	Sheriff's office removing Flock cameras in Henry County, Illinois: The privacy concerns from the community Experts say automated license plate readers collect data that can be misused by bad actors.
	U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche talks meatpacking industry concerns at Iowa State Fair US Attorney General Todd Blanche said Iowa farmers and ranchers need to be protected from large companies controlling the meatpacking industry, but he did not call for the government to force those companies to break up.
	Davenport Schools Foundation distributes free school supplies collected from KWQC drive Davenport Schools Foundation handed out donated school supplies to help local students walk into their classrooms prepared and ready to learn. The supplies were collected during a KWQC donation drive.
	U.S. Attorney General Blanche: Trump administration not giving up pursuit of voter information U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche toured the Iowa State Fair Thursday and later told reporters that the Trump administration plans to continue its pursuit of voter information from states.
	Employee describes escape as Mattoon building collapses An employee of a smoke shop that collapsed in Mattoon Thursday said she is grateful she was able to get out in time and avoid injury.
	Squirrel hunting season opens in Illinois with about 30,000 hunters The season runs through Feb. 15, with hunters expected to bag around 300,000 squirrels. Still, the number of squirrel hunters in the state has fallen dramatically.
	Whiteside Co. jury acquits man of felony battery after court fixes flawed selection system Whiteside County jurors acquitted a man of felony battery in the first trial since officials fixed decades of illegal jury selection practices.
	Expert prosecutor: State doesn’t need body to convict in Trudy Appleby murder case A jury may never see Trudy Appleby’s body — but a national homicide expert said that’s not the biggest hurdle prosecutors face in her case.
	Trudy Appleby case: How a 30-year Quad Cities mystery led to a murder indictment She was only 11 years old when she climbed into an older gray car and vanished into thin air.
	Davenport Junior Theatre prepares for milestone 75th season This year, the second oldest children's theatre program in the country has a new managing artistic director at the helm. Here's what she's most excited about.
	Records requester sues Davenport over redacted city administrator resume Davenport redacted most of its city administrator's three-page resume in response to a records request despite it being already publicly available in a September 2025 city council agenda.
	Man accused of killing Trudy Appleby gives second interview, prosecutors seek contempt ruling Fisher denies claims from witnesses expected to testify at trial.
	Ascentra, Grow Clinton, work to offer services to former Tyson employees While 2,500 former employees at the Tyson Foods Plant in Joslin, Illinois try to figure out what's next, local organizations in the Quad Cities Area are stepping in to help out. With a large number of workers seeking out new job opportunities, it could take a little extra time for them to find their next [...]
	Getting to Know Ryan Wille: Quad City Botanical Center's Executive Director Chief Meteorologist Andy McCray talks with familiar faces around the Quad Cities in the Getting to Know Podcast. Learn more about important people around our area and have a good time doing it. Each week will feature a new guest from restaurant owners, to area leaders, to Our Quad Cities News Staff. In this episode [...]
	You can help Musco Sports Center earn Iowa community award The City of Muscatine has announced that the Musco Sports Center has advanced to the quarterfinals of the People’s All-Star Community Award competition, part of the Iowa League of Cities All-Star Community Awards program. Sixteen statewide finalists were selected, with eight moving on to the Elite 8 round. The People’s Award recognizes innovative local government [...]
	Illinois squirrel hunting season underway The season started on Aug. 1 and runs all the way through Feb. 15, with a pause for deer firearm season.
	Lee County, Illinois, Sheriff's Office investigating Flock camera vandalism Officials with the sheriff's office said three cameras have been cut down in the last three weeks.
	Trudy Appleby’s uncle turns grief into search and rescue work Eddleman now helps other families get the closure he is still hoping for.
	Longtime KWQC anchor recalls covering Trudy Appleby disappearance, suspect’s arrest The disappearance of 11-year-old Trudy Appleby 30 years ago has been one of the biggest stories the Quad Cities Area has ever seen.
	Carlinville, Illinois nominated for Hallmark's 'Merriest Christmas Town' contest Voting in the contest is open until Sept. 4. The winner gets to be the location of a future Hallmark movie!
	Summit: Partnership is key to addressing QC affordable housing crisis Solving the affordable housing crisis nationally and locally is complex, but participants in the third-annual Housing Summit on Thursday, Aug. 20 agreed it must be addressed by working together.
	Davenport Junior Theatre prepares to kick off historic 75th season The Davenport Junior Theatre is the second-oldest children's theatre in the entire country.
	St. Ambrose students help with painting crosswalks on the Hilltop On 14th Street and Main Street, Hilltop Campus Village is adding some color to the crosswalks, with pedestrian safety in mind.
	3 Flock cameras damaged in Lee County, Illinois, Sheriff’s Office investigating Over the last three weeks, officials said, people cut the poles of these Flock readers in the area of I-39 in eastern Lee County, causing hundreds of dollars in damage.
	Gather for the Cure set for Oct. 18 at Scott County Park Gather for the Cure returns Oct. 18 at Scott County Park, offering a one‑mile community walk, survivor stories, education and fundraising to support the MercyOne Genesis Voucher Program, which helps provide essential breast imaging and free mammograms for those facing financial barriers.
	Crime Stoppers: Man wanted by Iowa Department of Corrections for probation violations Shane J. Montgomery is wanted by the Iowa Department of Corrections, 7th District, High Risk Unit for probation violations and absconding supervision.
	Crime Stoppers: Man wanted in connection to January assault Davenport Police are asking for help identifying a man suspected in a felony assault.
	Crime Stoppers: Bettendorf Police want man on drug, assault charges Bloch is 28 years old, 5-foot-10, 158 pounds with black hair and brown eyes.
	Lee County, Illinois, Sheriff's Office investigating vandalism of Flock cameras Officials with the sheriff's office said three cameras have been cut down in the last three weeks.
	Considering Ketamine Therapy? What You Need to Know to Stay Safe (BPT) - For people living with depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or other mental health conditions, ketamine therapy may offer an option when other therapies haven't worked. But if you are considering ketamine, either at a clinic or through a prescription obtained via telehealth, it's important to understand how your treatment is provided and what safeguards are in place to keep you safe.The $5 billion ketamine therapy market is projected to nearly triple over the next decade, and the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) is calling for stronger patient protections amid concerns that safety standards and oversight are not keeping pace. ASA urges patients to ask how the drug will be prescribed, who will oversee their care, and what safety and monitoring protocols will be in place.Ketamine is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as an anesthetic, but its use for mental health conditions is off-label. A related drug, esketamine, is FDA-approved for certain forms of depression and must be administered in a certified healthcare setting.Because ketamine can affect breathing, heart rate and blood pressure and carries a risk of misuse, it should only be prescribed as part of a comprehensive treatment plan with medical supervision. Last year, a 41-year-old New York woman seeking relief from depression died after being prescribed at-home ketamine through a telehealth company — even though she had reported taking Xanax, a combination the FDA warns can dangerously suppress breathing."For decades, anesthesiologists have safely administered ketamine in hospitals and other medical settings where patients are carefully monitored, and we have grave concerns about home delivery and unsupervised use of ketamine," said ASA President Patrick Giam, M.D., FASA. "You can move very quickly from feeling relaxed to becoming deeply sedated, and without proper monitoring and supervision, that can become dangerous."What safe ketamine care requiresKetamine can cause serious side effects requiring prompt medical intervention. That is why it matters where treatment is provided and whether qualified medical professionals are available if something goes wrong. For ketamine given by IV or injection, ASA guidance recommends that treatment should only be provided in a monitored medical setting under the supervision of a physician who is immediately available, familiar with ketamine's effects and prepared to respond to complications. Appropriate monitoring and emergency equipment should also be readily available.However, some patients receive prescriptions after virtual visits and take ketamine at home, typically as a tablet or lozenge that dissolves under the tongue, without a trained healthcare professional to monitor their breathing, heart rate or level of consciousness."You can go from a short online screening to receiving a powerful anesthetic at home," said Dr. Giam. "If something goes wrong, there may be no one there trained to respond. In the hospital, we have strict protocols to account for every milligram of ketamine administered, yet ketamine used at home is subject to far less scrutiny. Patients need appropriate safeguards wherever they receive treatment."Lawmakers and policymakers in some states, including Texas, are considering stricter regulations, and federal officials have stepped up scrutiny of online ketamine providers and unapproved ketamine products.What to ask before treatmentBefore starting therapy, your healthcare professional should review your medical history, medications and overall health to determine whether ketamine is appropriate for you. Follow-up appointments are also important to monitor your response, adjust care if needed and identify side effects or complications.If you're considering ketamine therapy, ask questions before treatment begins so you can make a safer, more informed decision:Who will evaluate whether ketamine is appropriate for me?Will I have an in-person medical evaluation before treatment begins?Who will oversee and monitor me during treatment?What safety measures and emergency procedures are in place if I have a serious reaction?How could ketamine interact with my current medications or medical conditions?How often will I have follow-up appointments, and who should I contact if I experience problems after treatment?Be sure to tell your healthcare professional about all prescription and over-the-counter medications, dietary supplements, alcohol, cannabis and other substances you use. Some combinations can increase the risk of dangerous side effects or make ketamine unsafe.For more information about ketamine, visit https://madeforthismoment.asahq.org/pain-management/ketamine/.
	The Cultural Trust moves to a new home in downtown Rock Island The Cultural Trust is a nonprofit organization dedicated to fostering a vibrant quality of life throughout the Quad Cities region.
	Lee County Sheriff's Office investigating Flock camera damage The Lee County Sheriff's Office is investigating three damaged Flock License Plate Readers (LPRs) near I-39 in eastern Lee County, according to a news release from the sheriff’s office. Over the last three weeks, individuals have cut the poles containing these LPRs and repairing and replacing the cameras will cost hundreds of dollars. “While the [...]
	NeuroStar Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation for treatment of depression It works by stimulating the area of the brain that impacts mood
	Pay It Forward: Meet the secret hero making sure Frances Willard students have what they need The school counselor keeps supplies and hygiene items in her office for students. Meet the woman who has been silently helping the mission for the past two years.
	Davenport sued over redacted city administrator resume A local doctor is suing the City of Davenport over city administrator Tim Gleason’s resume. Michael Meloy, attorney for Dr. Allan Diercks, said the resume was heavily redacted, keeping important details from the public. He says the redactions made the resume unreadable. The lawsuit filing noted that Gleason did not request his resume be kept [...]
	Heart of Hope Ministries offering weekly free food to families impacted by Tyson closure Heart of Hope Ministries in Rock Island is providing free weekly food boxes to families affected by the Tyson plant closure through Thanksgiving.
	Record cyclosporiasis outbreak tests the response of a 'weakened' health system From state and local food-safety response to the federal health agencies that fund that work, a record-breaking year for cyclosporiasis cases runs up against the Trump administration's cuts last year.
	Jury returns verdict in Whiteside County's first criminal jury trial since selection issues were brought to light Earlier this year, it was found that Whiteside County circuit clerks had applied exclusion criteria to potential jurors.
	Quad City Animal Welfare Center celebrating 10 years of its clinic The Quad City Animal Welfare Center is holding an open house celebration on Saturday from noon to 2 p.m. The event includes tours of its wellness clinic, information about services, and a chance to meet the team. The clinic is located at 612 First Street West in Milan. The nonprofit’s Adoption and Education Center will also be open Saturday from noon to 5 p.m., located at 724 2nd Avenue West in Milan. Currently, the center cares for at least 45 dogs, 180 cats, and two guinea pigs.
	Timothy Farquer to keep Mercer County School Superintendent job after acquittal Board of Education of Mercer County School District no. 404 has released a statement after school superintendent Timothy Farquer was acquitted of all eight charges he faced, four counts of official misconduct/forbidden act, two counts of disclosing hospital/medical information and two counts of computer tampering/obtaining data. “The Board appreciates the care with which the Court [...]
	Hilltop crosswalks get colorful makeover in Davenport pedestrian safety push St. Ambrose students helped paint high-visibility crosswalks in Davenport's Hilltop neighborhood to boost pedestrian safety and walkability.
	Speed limit lowered on portions of Avenue of the Cities in Moline The speed limit has been lowered to 30 mph along the Avenue in Moline from 41st Street to the East Moline border.
	Mercer Co. School Board backs superintendent after court throws out criminal charges Mercer County School Board thanked the court after charges were dismissed against Superintendent Tim Farquer over student record access.
	Davenport sued for redacting city admin’s resume Allen Diercks has filed suit in Scott County, asking a court to force Davenport to produce it.
	Whiteside County tries first criminal trial in 6 months On August 17, after a four-day jury trial, a Whiteside County jury returned a not guilty verdict on a charge of aggravated battery to a peace officer in a Whiteside County criminal case, People of the State of Illinois vs. Michael Cover. The jury found Cover guilty of a lesser, criminal misdemeanor charge of obstructing [...]
	Cody Elementary in LeClaire testing areas for possible mold Teachers came back to the school on Tuesday to discover "new areas of visible concern," the district said.
	Group gathering signatures, hosting concert to protest proposed Clinton data center Clintonians Against Data Centers is gathering signatures for a petition asking for an 18-month moratorium on all approvals related to data centers of more than 50 contiguous acres and asking that a public vote be held prior to a data center being placed before the City Council for final approval. The group hopes to collect [...]
	Yahya Abdul-Mateen II has a theory about Marvel's 'Wonder Man' cancellation Two weeks after being nominated for an Emmy for his leading role in Wonder Man, Abdul-Mateen found out that the series had been cancelled. He says Marvel could do more to support Black-led projects.
	Millions of mobile gamers prize stress relief over winning Millions of mobile gamers prize stress relief over winningIn the school’s car pickup line, five minutes before it starts moving. In the doctor’s office waiting room for an appointment that you’ve been heavily anticipating. In bed, just before going to sleep. In these transitional moments, many people reach for their phones — not to scroll, but to play.According to a June 2026 survey of more than 128,000 KashKick mobile gamers, playing a mobile game is more than a way to pass the time. Stress relief and relaxation are the top reasons respondents play, beating out entertainment and fun. As KashKick reports, for many people, this means mobile games are less a simple distraction and more a coping mechanism for the daily stress of life.A quick reset for life’s transitional momentsMost respondents identify as women, and 60% live in households that earn less than $50,000 per year. In the ranking of their reasons for playing, stress relief and relaxation topped the list, with boredom relief, entertainment and fun close behind.The ranking reads less like a profile of a gaming hobby and more like a profile of a coping behavior.More than half of the respondents play games daily or multiple times a day. When they reach for a mobile game, about 53% of the time it’s for a short session—usually 30 minutes or less. Where and when people play tells its own story: 58% play in bed before going to sleep and 40% play in the bathroom. These are private, solitary moments, not the times people typically plan entertainment into their day.Coping with stress by gamingTo understand why respondents play games for stress relief more than for fun, it helps to look at who they are. Among those surveyed, 19% say they’re unemployed or looking for work, and 60% live in lower-income households. There are likely some areas of their life where they must make every dollar stretch to cover the things they need.The survey findings coincide with research from the American Psychological Association’s 2025 Stress in America report. According to the report, 18% of men and 22% of women under age 65 rate their stress level at eight or higher on a scale of one to 10. Although the KashKick survey didn’t measure stress, respondents are mostly women and fall within the age and income groups the APA found to carry the most stress.The APA’s report also describes loneliness as a major strain for Americans. The KashKick survey didn’t measure feelings of isolation, but 55% prefer to play alone, and 60% rarely or never discuss their gameplay with friends or family.Overall, the survey identifies a group of people who have found a routine, low-cost approach to cope with stress. They’re not necessarily there to get the highest score. They’re playing a mobile game to help them navigate a day that, with all of life’s to-dos and challenges, could quickly feel overwhelming.MethodologyThe KashKick Gaming Habits Survey was fielded from June 8, 2026, through Aug. 10, 2026, among KashKick members in the United States who play mobile games. The Gaming Habits Survey was available to all members on KashKick's Surveys page post-profile completion. The survey received 128,218 total responses, with question-level response counts ranging from approximately 109,793 to 128,218 depending on attrition. All findings describe KashKick mobile gamers and should not be interpreted as representative of U.S. mobile gamers overall. Industry and stress context references publicly available data from the American Psychological Association, Statista, and Newzoo.This story was produced by KashKick and reviewed and distributed by Stacker.
	Low oxygen in Scott County's Railroad Lake causes fish kill A combination of hot, stormy weather and overgrown lake vegetation caused oxygen levels to drop in Railroad Lake, killing thousands of fish in the past week.
	“The Driftless,” September 1 With Screen Anarchy declaring that his latest film “reinvents the classic horror anthology as a celebration of the landscapes and mythologies of his native Midwest,” writer/director Tim Connery's The Driftless enjoys a special September 1 screening at Davenport venue The Last Picture House, this quartet of terrifying tales the winner of the “Audience Favorite” award at the 2025 Nightmare in the Ozarks Festival and “Debut Feature” prize at the 2025 GrimmFest.
	Businesses turn to sensory marketing to stand out on crowded shelves Businesses turn to sensory marketing to stand out on crowded shelvesCustomers are drowning in advertising—on phones, social media, streets, storefronts—everywhere. Standard campaigns blur together, and brands that rely on rational messaging and price alone lose in the noise. Sensory marketing changes this equation, TEAM Concept reports. By engaging sight, touch, smell, sound, and taste, brands can trigger emotional responses that drive purchasing decisions far more effectively than logic or price comparison ever could. The brands that stand out are the ones that create experiences customers remember and want to come back for.Sensory marketing is an advertising strategy that uses sensory inputs to create a unique experience that customers learn to associate with a specific brand. Like how a whiff of Play-Doh’s unique scent (a registered trademark) triggers childhood memories. TEAM Concept Why Emotional Triggers Matter More Than PriceStudies show that emotions play an important role in decision-making, whether it’s choosing between two brands of tea or selecting a new car.By engaging the audience’s senses, brands hope to bypass the rational side of the brain and go directly to the emotional side. Smells, designs, textures, sounds, and tastes are extremely valuable for the marketing specialist because they can trigger powerful emotions that steer decisions better than any price comparisons.Here are a few examples of how brands have used these strategies for decades.SightWhy is Coca-Cola so attached to its signature red and white colors? Why is Nike adamant about its iconic logo’s shape?Both are examples of visual cues that audiences around the world immediately associate with the brand. A logo or the right shade of red and white is enough to evoke an entire experience (elite performance in Nike’s case and joy and happiness in Coca-Cola’s case).Touch/FeelThe easiest way to create the perception of quality and premiumness is through touch. A heavy glass bottle, lacquered surfaces, embossed elements on the packaging, high-quality cardboard, metallic foil, or sleek designs create a tactile experience that screams, “Hey, I’m better than the other brand’s product!”Luxury brands and high-end electronics manufacturers (such as Apple) offer a lesson in tactile sensory marketing. For Apple, everything is designed to impress the buyer’s eyes and fingers during unboxing and later on, while using the device.High-end cosmetics brands, on the other hand, present their products like jewelry. Everything from high-quality packaging to the bottle/container that holds the product is designed to feel good to the touch and communicate perfection and elegance.SmellScent is a powerful emotional trigger and is often associated with long-term memories. Sometimes, it’s enough to get a whiff of a favorite scent as a child (grandmother’s butter cookies, for instance) and a bunch of memories from long ago will start pouring in.Studies found that some fragrances can boost productivity or the ability to focus. Meanwhile, many people use aromatherapy for relaxation and mood improvement. This is why high-end stores and similar establishments use pleasant fragrances to convince buyers to stay longer than initially planned.SoundMost people remember the sound of their neighborhood ice cream truck. If they heard it now, they would instantly recognize it. This is a great example of a sensory marketing strategy based on sound.Another iconic sound that children and adults from around the world know and love is Disney’s opening credits theme. In social media, AI-driven marketing tools can help teams test which recurring cues and formats get remembered fastest, then schedule them at the right cadence. It only takes a few seconds of this beautiful song to be transported to a whole new world of magic and wonder.But auditory cues are not just for triggering nostalgic feelings; brands also use them to create a feeling of satisfaction and recognition. The iPhone's lock sound exemplifies this. It's universally recognizable and gives users a sense of security.The sound of a car door closing has the same effect, while the sound of a Sharpie marker makes users think of durability and performance.TastePeople’s connection with food is reflected through taste, which is why so many sensory marketing campaigns use it to evoke strong emotions of comfort, warmth, or nostalgia. However, it’s not specific to the food and beverage industries.Cosmetic brands also use customers’ sense of taste to create a more vivid experience. From lip gloss products that look and taste like strawberries to Hailey Bieber’s Rhode campaign that literally uses foods to form strong associations in viewers’ minds, taste is a fantastic driver.Starbucks does the same thing with its Pumpkin Spice Latte. It’s not just a fancy beverage; it’s a universal sign that autumn is back on the menu.Why Visual and Tactile Triggers Deliver the Highest ROIWhile different audience segments may need different stimuli, the most common sensory marketing strategies involve visual and tactile triggers. That’s because the easiest way to stand out on a crowded shelf is through high-quality, visually appealing packaging.Brands use a combination of visual design and high-end printing to create an impactful experience that’s satisfactory from the first glance and touch until the product is revealed.A Page From the Cosmetics Industry BookA great example of how cosmetics brands use sight and touch to command buyers’ attention comes from Fenty Beauty (Rihanna’s brand) with its soft-touch velvet-matte laminated boxes that create visual and tactile pop.To create contrast, Rihanna's logo and graffiti-inspired background elements were finished with high-gloss Spot UV coating and debossed foil. As a result, these tiny jewelry-like boxes draw the buyer’s eye wherever they are.How Micro-Embossing and Metallic Finishes Signal CraftsmanshipAnother example comes from Fever-Tree, the producer of premium mixers beloved by party-goers who want quality and prestige.Unlike standard carbonated soft drinks that rely on thin, smooth plastic or paper labels, Fever-Tree uses coarse, tactile paper stock featuring micro-embossing on the tree branding and lettering.This is the first signal of craftsmanship and organic quality. The second one is the metallic gold foil stamping on the primary logo tree and borders. Set against a muted matte color palette, the logo is designed to visually pop under retail fluorescent lighting.Building Customer Loyalty Through Sensory DifferentiationBuyers are already desensitized to standard campaigns, which is why more brands now focus on sensory marketing to stand out from the crowd.The payoff is measurable: Brands that invest in sensory experiences build stronger customer loyalty, command premium pricing, and maintain differentiation even as markets saturate with competitors. In a crowded marketplace, sensory experiences aren't a luxury—they're survival.This story was produced by TEAM Concept and reviewed and distributed by Stacker.
	Central Dewitt approves placing bond question on November ballot The $33 million bond will be used to combine Ekstrand Elementary and the district's main campus under one roof.
	Two charged with 30 counts of animal torture and neglect Two people from Iowa City are accused of operating as unlicensed breeders and selling dogs out of a mobile home and shed.
	Pay It Forward \| A school stranger turns secret hero to students at Rock Island elementary Judie Holmer had never seen Frances Willard Elementary School before, but she continues to collect hygiene items for students in need.
	Three things to know about the $40 trillion federal debt The U.S. federal debt hit a record $40 trillion this week. The debt has doubled since 2017, and just paying interest on the accumulated debt now costs the government more than $1 trillion a year.
	What to know about Dr. Heidi Overton, Trump's pick to lead the FDA Dr. Heidi Overton is currently working as a White House policy aide. If confirmed, she would lead an agency of 18,000 staffers who study and regulate food, drugs, medical devices, tobacco and more.
	Bettendorf School District hires new director of student services TJ Grindle has recently worked with the district as its special education coordinator.
	Heat rash vs. sunburn: How to tell the difference and when it's neither Heat rash vs. sunburn: How to tell the difference and when it's neitherSummer brings increased risk of uncomfortable skin conditions that can dampen outdoor fun and limit time spent enjoying warm-weather activities. Heat rash and sunburn are two common warm-weather problems often confused due to similar timing and some overlapping symptoms, particularly when both occur during outdoor summer events. However, these conditions have fundamentally different causes, distinct appearances, and require completely different treatments. Doctronic shares key differences between heat rash and sunburn to ensure proper identification and care so you can enjoy warmer months while maintaining healthy, comfortable skin throughout the season.Key takeawaysHeat rash occurs from blocked sweat ducts, while sunburn results from UV radiation damage.Heat rash appears as small bumps in sweaty areas; sunburn creates broad redness on exposed skin.Heat rash develops quickly with sweating; sunburn appears hours after sun exposureDifferent treatments are needed for each condition's underlying cause.Understanding Heat Rash: When Sweat Gets TrappedHeat rash, medically called miliaria, develops when sweat ducts become blocked, trapping perspiration beneath the skin layers. This condition occurs in hot, humid environments where excessive sweat cannot properly evaporate through normal skin channels. Unlike sunburn, heat rash has no connection to UV radiation and can develop in completely shaded areas or indoors without proper air conditioning systems in place.Heat rash appearance varies significantly by blocked duct depth and severity levels. Mild miliaria crystallina presents as tiny, clear bumps resembling dewdrops that burst easily when touched or rubbed. More common miliaria rubra appears as small, red, inflamed bumps causing intense itching and prickly sensations that worsen with continued sweating. Severe miliaria profunda creates larger, flesh-colored bumps that may be painful rather than itchy, sometimes causing significant discomfort during movement.Heat rash commonly affects areas where sweat accumulates most heavily: neck, chest, back, armpits, groin, and skin folds beneath breasts or belly. It frequently occurs in infants due to underdeveloped sweat ducts, but adults also experience it, particularly those who are overweight, bedridden, or working in hot environments. When dealing with various skin conditions, proper identification becomes crucial for effective treatment and quick relief.Recognizing Sunburn: UV Radiation DamageSunburn represents an inflammatory response to excessive ultraviolet radiation from the sun or tanning beds. This occurs when UV rays penetrate skin layers and damage cellular DNA, triggering immune system responses that cause characteristic painful symptoms. Severity depends on skin type, exposure duration, time of day, altitude, geographic location, and protective measures used during outdoor activities.Mild sunburn presents as pink or red skin that feels warm and slightly tender to the touch. Affected skin feels tight with mild burning sensations appearing three to five hours after sun exposure ends. Severe sunburn causes intense redness, significant pain, noticeable swelling, and fluid-filled blisters covering larger body areas. Extreme cases lead to systemic symptoms including fever, chills, nausea, and dehydration, requiring immediate medical attention from healthcare professionals.Sunburn distribution differs significantly from heat rash, affecting directly sun-exposed areas like face, shoulders, arms, legs, and foot tops. It creates distinct patterns corresponding to clothing lines or protective objects during exposure, such as tan lines from swimsuits. Skin may peel days after the initial burn as damaged outer layers shed naturally. Understanding skin cancer risks makes sun protection even more important for long-term health.Key Differences in Appearance and TimingThe most reliable way to distinguish these conditions involves examining distinct characteristics and development circumstances carefully. Heat rash appears as small, clustered bumps in sweat-accumulating areas, creating visible texture changes, while sunburn creates broader, uniform redness on exposed surfaces with color changes. Texture differs significantly: Heat rash creates bumpy, raised surfaces you can feel, whereas sunburn maintains normal skin texture while changing color and sensitivity dramatically.Timing provides crucial diagnostic clues for proper identification. Heat rash develops within hours of excessive sweating and may appear and disappear quickly as environmental conditions change. Sunburn follows predictable timelines, becoming apparent three to five hours after UV exposure, peaking at twelve to twenty-four hours, then progressing through inflammation, possible blistering, and peeling stages over subsequent days.Associated sensations also differ markedly between conditions. Heat rash produces itching, prickling, or stinging sensations that worsen with continued sweating and friction. Sunburn causes burning pain that may throb or feel tender, often with heat sensations radiating from affected skin areas. While both cause discomfort, the sensation quality helps distinguish between them effectively. Similar to other skin conditions, proper identification guides appropriate treatment approaches for faster recovery.Treatment and Management StrategiesTreatment approaches vary significantly based on each condition's underlying cause and severity. Heat rash management focuses on cooling affected areas and preventing further sweating, while sunburn treatment emphasizes cooling damaged skin and managing inflammation systematically. Doctronic For heat rash, moving to air-conditioned environments provides immediate relief from symptoms. Cool compresses or baths reduce inflammation quickly, while loose, breathable natural-fiber clothing allows better air circulation around affected areas. Calamine lotion or hydrocortisone cream helps reduce itching, but should be used sparingly to avoid blocking pores further.Sunburn treatment emphasizes cooling and moisturizing damaged skin layers. Cool baths provide relief, though ice should be avoided as it can cause further damage to already-vulnerable skin. Moisturizers containing aloe vera or hydrocortisone help heal and soothe inflammation, while oral pain relievers manage discomfort effectively. Just as with other inflammatory conditions, proper care prevents complications and promotes faster healing overall.Prevention Strategies for Both ConditionsPreventing heat rash involves staying cool and dry consistently during hot weather. Choose lightweight, loose-fitting clothing made from breathable fabrics like cotton or moisture-wicking synthetics. Use fans or air conditioning when possible, take frequent cool showers, and stay hydrated throughout the day. Avoid heavy creams or lotions that might block sweat ducts and trap moisture.Sunburn prevention requires consistent sun protection habits implemented daily. Apply broad-spectrum sunscreen with SPF 30 or higher 30 minutes before sun exposure and reapply every two hours or after swimming. Wear protective clothing, wide-brimmed hats, and sunglasses with UV protection. Seek shade during peak UV hours between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. when rays are strongest.Understanding these prevention strategies helps avoid both conditions entirely through proactive measures. Similar to preventing other skin issues, consistent protective measures prove more effective than treating problems after they develop. Whether dealing with childhood rashes or adult skin concerns, prevention remains the best approach.FAQsQ: Can you have heat rash and sunburn at the same time?Yes, it's possible to develop both conditions simultaneously, especially during prolonged outdoor activities in hot, sunny weather. Each requires specific treatment approaches for proper healing.Q: How long does heat rash typically last?Heat rash usually resolves within a few days to a week once you move to cooler conditions and keep the affected area dry and ventilated.Q: When should I see a doctor for sunburn?Seek medical attention for severe sunburn with blisters, fever, chills, or signs of infection like pus or red streaking around the affected area.Q: Can heat rash leave scars?Heat rash typically doesn't cause scarring when properly treated. However, scratching or picking at the bumps can lead to secondary infections and potential scarring.Q: Are certain people more prone to heat rash?Yes, infants, elderly individuals, people who are overweight, and those with certain medical conditions or taking specific medications are more susceptible to developing heat rash.The Bottom LineHeat rash and sunburn are distinct conditions requiring different approaches for identification, treatment, and prevention strategies. Heat rash results from blocked sweat ducts and appears as small bumps in sweaty areas, while sunburn comes from UV damage creating broad redness on exposed skin. Recognizing these differences ensures appropriate care and faster recovery from symptoms. Prevention through proper clothing choices, sun protection, and staying cool remains the most effective strategy for avoiding both conditions during warm weather activities.This story was produced by Doctronic and reviewed and distributed by Stacker.
	How to manage a backlog of outstanding invoices How to manage a backlog of outstanding invoicesMost controllers can pull up their accounts payable aging report in a few clicks. Fewer can say, with confidence, which of those open invoices are simply moving through the normal approval queue and which ones have quietly stalled for three weeks because nobody claimed them. On a lean team, that gap tends to surface at the worst possible time, usually a day or two before close, when a vendor calls asking why a bill from last month is still unpaid.In accounts payable, the terms outstanding, overdue, and past due describe different points on the same timeline, but teams often use them interchangeably in conversation. That habit makes it hard to tell the CFO which invoices are on track and which ones need attention, and it's usually the first thing that breaks down once invoice volume outgrows a two- or three-person AP team. A term used loosely in a Slack message costs nothing, but the same looseness inside an aging report is what turns a routine backlog into a credibility problem at close.Systematic tracking fixes that. It gives the CFO a liability view they can trust, turns the close cycle into a structured sign-off instead of a scramble, and grounds the cash flow forecast in real due dates rather than guesswork. When the AP subledger doesn't tell the truth, every number that rolls up from it inherits the same uncertainty.Most advice on outstanding invoices is written for the other side of the desk, the vendor trying to get paid. Controllers face the receiver-side version, vendor bills that have arrived but haven't cleared the AP workflow yet. That's manageable with a large AP team and a clean system. It gets harder when two or three people are tracking invoice status by email while the business keeps adding vendors and volume.An outstanding invoice you owe is a liability that has to be scheduled and managed through the accounts payable process. Controllers need clean intake, reason-coded ownership, due-date triage, and structural controls, along with accounts payable metrics that show whether the backlog is actually shrinking over time. That discipline supports cash flow management, because open bills only work as forecast inputs when their due dates and workflow status are reliable. This guide from Brex shares how businesses can handle a build-up of outstanding invoices.Key takeawaysIn AP, the terms “outstanding,” “overdue,” and “past due” aren’t interchangeable. Treating them the same can make it hard to tell which invoices are normal and which are a problem.An unmanaged backlog may distort your close, weaken your cash flow forecast, and potentially increase fraud risk, especially on lean teams.A repeatable workflow can help prevent invoice backlogs from rebuilding. Ownership and structure upstream beat firefighting at close.What is an outstanding invoice in accounts payable?An outstanding invoice is a vendor bill that the company has received but has not yet processed and paid. It sits in the AP subledger, the detailed AP record that supports the general ledger, as an open obligation. Accounting teams classify the invoice as a current liability on the balance sheet until it clears the AP workflow through capture, coding, matching, approval, scheduling, and payment. Under the expense recognition principle, companies commonly record the obligation at the invoice date as a credit to the AP account. That entry happens before cash leaves the business, though specific treatment depends on the company's accounting policies and applicable standards.The same unpaid invoice is treated differently on the balance sheet depending on who holds it. From the vendor's perspective, it's an accounts receivable asset, money owed to them. From your perspective as the controller, it's an accounts payable liability, money the company owes. Same document, two mirror-image entries on two different balance sheets.An invoice can be outstanding at several stages of the AP workflow, and each stage presents distinct management challenges. Knowing the state of each open invoice determines who owns it. That status also indicates to AP which action clears the item.Outstanding invoice vs. overdue invoice vs. past dueThe three terms describe different points in an invoice's life, and conflating them hides how much of your AP aging is routine versus at risk. The labels also determine whether AP should schedule payment or escalate a bottleneck. A clean distinction here gives the CFO a clearer read on which open bills are expected and which need intervention.An outstanding invoice has been received and is open in AP, but hasn't passed its payment due date. The obligation exists, payment isn't late, and the invoice is still inside the normal approval or scheduling queue.An overdue invoice has passed its due date, and payment hasn't been made. What was outstanding has become late. Overdue invoices call for action to manage late fees and protect vendor relationships.Past due is often used interchangeably with overdue once Net 30, Net 45, or Net 60 terms expire. These items usually require escalation or a dispute review rather than routine scheduling, and the review should focus on why the payment hasn't cleared.Here’s how the three terms compare side by side: Brex The distinction matters because outstanding and overdue states call for different responses. When the two live in the same bucket, you can't tell the CFO how much of the balance is on track versus stuck.The AP aging report typically surfaces this distinction by grouping open vendor bills into time buckets:Current within terms1 to 30 days past due31 to 60 days past due61 to 90 days past dueMore than 90 days past dueAn outstanding invoice that hasn't passed its due date sits in the current period. Once it passes the due date, it moves into the 1 to 30 bucket, and later ones if it continues to age. That makes accounts payable reporting a management tool, because different buckets should trigger different decisions.Why outstanding invoices pile up in AP and what it costsThe root causes below end in consequences that land on your desk, from missed discount windows to a closed cycle that runs long. Each cause changes the action AP should take next. Treating them as one backlog makes the aging report harder to trust.Approval bottlenecks keep invoices stuck before they're approved for paymentAn approval bottleneck is any point where an invoice sits waiting on a manager or budget-owner sign-off instead of moving through the AP workflow.Invoices entered but waiting on approval are outstanding and often unavailable for payment runs until someone approves them, because validated invoices move to payment while the AP workflow holds exceptions for review. Chronic slow approvers, unclear approval matrices, and email-based routing create backlogs. A backlog of this kind can leave a meaningful share of AP volume in a perpetual pending state.When this happens, AP teams can't schedule payment or forecast cash outflows confidently. You also risk missing discount windows or incurring late fees on invoices approved in principle weeks ago. Approval aging becomes a working-capital issue when the payment team can't tell which invoices are ready to move.Invoice matching exceptions create holds with no ownerAn invoice matching exception happens when a vendor bill doesn’t line up with its purchase order or goods receipt, and gets routed into a separate queue instead of moving through approval.Invoice matching failures against the purchase order or goods receipt route invoices into an exception queue. Price variances, quantity mismatches, and missing documentation are common causes. Without a clear owner and a service-level agreement (SLA), they can age without visibility. An SLA defines a resolution timeline and keeps exception work from falling off anyone's priority list.Invoice exceptions are a major operational challenge for AP teams. According to Ardent Partners’ State of ePayables 2025 report, 48% of AP professionals cite a high rate of exceptions as a top challenge, second only to slow approval times. Best-in-class AP teams average an 11.1% exception rate, nearly half that of their peers at 20.9%, which shows how much SLAs and clear ownership close that gap. Unresolved exceptions distort your aging, delay accruals, and surface as last-minute firefighting during close.Invoices never enter the AP platform because intake is brokenWhether invoices are emailed to department managers, mailed to a physical address, or submitted through a vendor portal, no one can monitor outstanding liabilities that the AP platform doesn't know exist. Manually entering invoice data is still the norm at many companies, which leaves room for invoices to slip through side channels unnoticed.Invoices that bypass the intake platform may surface at month-end close in AP or when a vendor calls to chase payment. This can result in an understated AP balance at month-end. Close teams then have to handle unexpected payables, and the risk of duplicate payments can rise when the same invoice arrives through a second channel. Closing the intake gap with paperless accounts payable can reduce a common source of invisible liabilities.Deliberate holds get mixed in with unmanaged delaysAP teams sometimes hold invoices on purpose to manage cash timing. That might mean stretching terms with noncritical vendors or deferring a large payment pending contract resolution, which makes these deliberate choices rather than processing failures. When intentional holds and unmanaged delays live in the same outstanding bucket, the AP aging report becomes unreadable. Close-time decisions then turn into guesswork.Because of this, you can't confidently tell the CFO how much of the outstanding balance is tactical and how much is due to process failure. Intentional holds can work, but only when they're visible, owned, and reviewed. Without that separation, the aging report stops working as a management tool.How outstanding invoices affect AP aging, close, and cash flowThe operational effects of outstanding invoices reach far past AP. An invoice population with missing entries, unresolved exceptions, and untagged holds distorts the aging report, forces unscheduled close decisions, leaves cash forecasts reflecting only the invoices AP has already processed, and raises fraud and duplicate-payment exposure, especially on lean teams without full separation of duties. Each one becomes a problem that the controller has to explain to the CFO.Unmanaged outstanding invoices distort aging buckets and create subledger-to-GL variancesThe AP aging report reflects whatever is in it, including invoices that were never entered, miscoded items assigned to the wrong vendor or period, and stale holds that no one owns. Each distorts a different bucket. Missing invoices understate the liability. The miscoded invoices misroute it. Stale holds inflate the current or overdue buckets without a path to resolution. When the aging doesn't match the general ledger (GL) control account, you face a subledger-to-GL reconciliation problem at close.When variances arise, invoice reconciliation serves as the bridge between the aging report and the GL. That bridge is harder to build when the underlying invoice population is incomplete.Outstanding invoices without reason codes turn the financial close process into reactive, unscheduled triageThe financial close process requires the AP and accounting teams to evaluate every open invoice in accordance with company policy and applicable standards. Each invoice gets paid, accrued, disputed, or flagged for write-off review. When invoices arrive at close without owners or reason codes, that evaluation can't be scheduled in advance. Each open item becomes a decision to be made under time pressure by whoever is available, without the context of why the invoice remains open.Invoice error resolution times vary widely by team. Teams with clear ownership and SLAs can resolve exceptions in days, while those without them can take a week or more for the same. Goods received, or services incurred but not yet invoiced at month-end, may require AP accruals, depending on the company's accounting policies and applicable standards. Close accuracy depends on AP decisions made before period-end, not during it.Untracked outstanding payables make the 30/60/90-day cash flow forecast unreliableMost outstanding invoices represent future cash outflows with known amounts and usually known due dates. When those due dates and workflow statuses aren't tracked, they can't feed the forecast. The CFO gets a cash position built on incomplete data, and the 30-, 60-, and 90-day forward view reflects only the invoices AP has fully processed. Invoices still moving through the workflow don't make it in. Static AP aging exports compound the problem because they show aging without workflow context.Accurate AP due-date visibility also supports days payable outstanding (DPO) optimization. DPO is the average number of days a company takes to pay suppliers. Extending payment terms to preserve working capital without damaging vendor relationships generally works best when the outstanding-invoice population is accurately tracked. Without that population, the DPO calculation reflects history rather than current obligation.Unmanaged backlogs raise fraud and duplicate-payment risk on lean teamsWhen outstanding invoices don’t have a clear owner, no one is positioned to catch a duplicate payment or fake vendor before it clears. That risk grows as the backlog does, especially for lean teams where one or two people handle vendor setup, invoice entry, and payment release without a second set of eyes.Fraud and duplicate payments can slip through AP workflow controls when the same person is responsible for entering, approving, and paying the invoice. Avoid these mistakes by implementing a rule that no one person owns an invoice from start to finish. Without this separation, you won’t be able to tell your CFO the backlog is safe.How controllers manage outstanding invoicesA reliable outstanding-invoice workflow moves from intake through classification, triage, payment, and automation. Each step is a control point that keeps the next one from breaking down, and skipping one tends to mean the backlog just resurfaces later, usually at close or on a vendor's overdue-payment call. None of these habits requires new headcount on their own; most controllers layer them onto the team and tools already in place.Centralized intake keeps invoices from entering AP outside the platformA reliable outstanding-invoice workflow starts with where bills land. Controllers running a tight AP process typically route every vendor invoice through one channel, a dedicated AP email, a vendor portal, or a platform that captures bills the moment they arrive, rather than letting invoices land in department managers' personal inboxes or a paper tray. That single-channel habit works because it turns the AP platform into the actual source of truth for what the company owes, instead of a partial record AP has to reconstruct at month-end. Teams that track how quickly a received invoice reaches the platform, often through an internal service-level target, tend to catch backlogs while they are still small, rather than after a vendor calls about a missing payment.Reason-coded classification gives every open invoice an ownerOnce invoices are centralized, the strongest AP teams tag each tracked outstanding item with the reason it hasn't cleared, whether that's a pending approval, an invoice-matching exception, missing vendor data, a cash-flow hold, or a dispute. That single tag does a lot of work. It routes the item to the right owner, whether that's a department head approving spend, an AP or procurement staffer resolving a matching exception, or whoever manages vendor onboarding, and at a growing company, one person often wears several of these hats.The reason code still matters even then is that it sets the resolution clock and surfaces patterns. When a large share of outstanding items keeps landing in the same awaiting-approval bucket, the workflow itself is usually the problem. No single invoice is really at fault. Teams that skip this tagging step tend to find that intentional holds and simple oversights end up looking identical on the aging report, which is exactly the ambiguity a reason code is meant to remove.A weekly AP triage catches invoices before they age into problemsMany controllers build a short, recurring review into the calendar rather than relying on the aging report to flag problems on its own. That session usually prioritizes invoices approaching their due date, large or strategic vendor bills, anything sitting past a team-defined threshold without a logged reason, and items more than 30 days past due. The output tends to be a short action list with an owner and a resolution date attached to each line.Items that keep reappearing week after week without resolution are the ones controllers escalate to finance leadership, since a recurring miss usually points to a process gap rather than a one-off. This weekly cadence is what turns the AP aging report from a static export into something closer to an operating rhythm. Without it, the same handful of invoices tends to quietly resurface every month.Payment runs that follow the outstanding-invoice triage cyclePayment runs tend to work best when they draw directly from that triage cycle instead of running on a separate schedule. Invoices that have cleared approval and any matching exceptions move into the run, while invoices with an unresolved hold stay out, with the reason already logged so nothing ages invisibly past its due date. Controllers managing 2/10 net 30 terms or similar arrangements typically flag those invoices for priority routing, since the approval cycle has to close within the discount window for the discount to matter at all.Even after accounting for the coordination it takes, an early-payment discount captured across a meaningful share of AP spend is often worth pursuing, which is one reason treasury and AP teams increasingly plan payment timing together instead of separately. Whether a payment settles by ACH, virtual card, or check, the method still needs to match the vendor's terms and the team's reconciliation setup, so the run supports both working capital and a clean close. Getting that alignment right once tends to save renegotiating it invoice by invoice later.AP automation that makes outstanding-invoice status visible in real timeInstead of exporting the aging report and manually cross-referencing it against email threads, many AP teams now lean on automation to keep outstanding-invoice status current by default.Routing rules and escalation reminders help keep invoices from stalling in an inbox, which is what shifts bill pay from another export cycle into a status-driven workflow. That real-time view is also what makes the earlier habits, reason coding, weekly triage, and discount-window payment timing sustainable instead of something a team does once and lets slip. A workflow that depends on someone remembering to check a report tends to work for a month and then stop.How to prevent outstanding invoices from accumulatingClearing a backlog once doesn't make it stay clear. Each of the root causes described earlier tends to rebuild unless it gets a structural fix, and addressing them upstream is what keeps exceptions from compounding into close-week firefighting. The four habits below target intake, approval, vendor data, and cash-timing decisions specifically, since those are where most preventable backlogs actually start.POs on material spend categories make matching mechanicalA lot of AP exceptions trace back to a missing purchase order or goods receipt rather than anything wrong with the invoice itself. In companies where procurement issues a PO and operations confirms receipt before the invoice arrives, matching becomes close to automatic instead of a manual investigation, and automated tools can compare each invoice against its open PO directly. Categories that skip PO issuance entirely, often smaller or recurring purchases, tend to be where these exceptions concentrate.Finance teams that want to know whether this is actually working tend to track two numbers. The straight-through processing rate is the share of clean invoices that move through AP without anyone touching them, and the purchase order coverage rate is the share of invoices tied to a PO in the first place. A low PO coverage rate usually points to specific spend categories skipping the process entirely, which is a more useful thing to fix than trying to catch every resulting exception by hand.Approvals inside the AP platform replace email-based sign-offEmail approvals are a common source of outstanding-invoice backlogs, mostly because nobody outside the thread can see where an invoice actually stands. When approvals live inside the AP or spend platform instead, every invoice has a visible owner from the moment it enters the workflow, and routing rules based on amount, department, or vendor replace the judgment call of who to email next. Automated reminders take on the chasing that would otherwise fall to an AP staffer's calendar.Controllers who have made this shift often find that a month of approval-latency data is more persuasive with department heads than a policy memo ever was, since it shows exactly where invoices stall and which approvers need a nudge. That keeps the conversation focused on process rather than becoming personal. A specific number tied to a specific approver is harder to wave off than a general complaint about slow sign-offs.Vendor onboarding completed before the first invoice arrivesInvoices frequently get held not because anything is wrong with them but because the vendor record behind them is incomplete, missing a bank detail, an unfiled W-9, or a duplicate vendor entry. Companies that standardize onboarding with a short checklist, bank details, tax ID, preferred payment method, and payment terms, confirmed before the first PO goes out, tend to see far fewer of these holds later. A vendor record fixed once at onboarding avoids the same fix being repeated on every invoice that the vendor sends afterward.Tracking vendor master file accuracy over time also catches drift before it becomes a compliance-related stall in the aging report. Clean vendor records at the front end are what keep an otherwise valid invoice from turning into a preventable exception, which matters more as vendor count grows faster than AP headcount. A vendor list that nobody audits tends to accumulate the same handful of errors that eventually stall a real payment.Intentional holds tracked separately from process failuresNot every outstanding invoice on the books is a problem. A vendor dispute might genuinely need resolution first, or a payment might be deliberately deferred to manage cash around quarter-end. Controllers who separate these deliberate holds from unmanaged delays, tagging each with a reason code, an owner, and a review date, keep the aging report readable as a management tool rather than a mix of signal and noise. Reporting intentional holds separately in CFO and board AP summaries also means the backlog number itself tells a clearer story, since it no longer blends tactical decisions with genuine process failures.Turn outstanding invoice management into a competitive AP advantageOutstanding invoices are part of AP, and they become manageable when they have reason codes, owners, and aging visibility. With these structures, they become a more reliable input to cash flow forecasting. They also support working capital management and steadier vendor relationships, since vendors notice when payment is on time and predictable. The controller's job is to assign each open bill to an owner and log a reason before the due date passes.Start with intake discipline and a weekly triage cadence. Then use classification, service-level agreements, routing logic, and escalation reminders to keep approval bottlenecks from rebuilding. Tighten your end-to-end workflow with accounts payable management as the next step, and pair it with accounts payable best practices to keep the workflow itself audit-ready.Frequently asked questions about outstanding invoicesHow do I record an outstanding invoice in accounts payable?Under accrual accounting, companies commonly record a vendor invoice by debiting the relevant expense or asset account and crediting accounts payable at the invoice date. When payment clears, companies commonly debit AP and credit cash or the business account, then reconcile the subledger to the GL. Specific treatment depends on the company's accounting policies and applicable standards, so consult a qualified accounting professional for your situation.What is an AP aging report, and how does it relate to outstanding invoices?An AP aging report groups outstanding invoices by how long they've been open. Common buckets include current, 1-30 days, 31-60 days, 61-90 days, and more than 90 days. It's the primary tool controllers use to identify overdue items, prioritize payment runs, and report AP health to the CFO.How do I make sure a payment gets applied to the right outstanding invoice?Reconciling the payment method, whether ACH, wire, or card, against the invoice number logged in the AP platform before marking an invoice paid catches most misapplied payments before they surface as a false outstanding balance later. Misapplication happens most often when a vendor has several open invoices at once and no single system is tracking which payment matches which bill. Automated accounts payable reconciliation tools reduce this risk further by matching payments to invoices automatically instead of relying on manual lookups across separate systems.Can AP teams get automatic reminders before an outstanding invoice comes due?Many AP platforms can flag an invoice as its due date approaches instead of requiring someone to check the aging report by hand.Disclaimer: This article reflects Brex's perspective at the time of publication and is intended for general informational purposes only. It is not intended as legal, tax, accounting, or financial advice. Laws, regulations, and guidance may vary based on your specific circumstances, and interpretations or outcomes may differ. Information may also change over time. Before making any decisions, you should consult your own qualified legal, tax, accounting, or financial advisors.This story was produced by Brex and reviewed and distributed by Stacker.
	9 million Americans on appetite-suppressing drugs are reshaping what protein sales look like on Amazon 9 million Americans on appetite-suppressing drugs are reshaping what protein sales look like on AmazonGLP-1 medications created the largest protein demand shock in a generation, and they did it by making people eat less.Over 9 million Americans are now on Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro, or a competitor. Clinical research shows that 25%-40% of the weight lost on these drugs comes from lean mass rather than fat. A study presented at the Endocrine Society's annual meeting put the figure at roughly 40% for semaglutide users. The clinical response is now standard: 1.2 to 1.6 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight daily, roughly 90 to 120 grams for most adults, plus resistance training, to protect muscle during treatment.At the same time, appetite falls by 30%-50%.That collision is the entire story. Millions of people were handed a protein target higher than they've ever hit, at the exact moment their capacity to eat collapsed. Every one of them became a shopper with an unusual and very specific set of constraints. SmartScout examined data from the U.S. Amazon marketplace covering the 12 months leading up to August 2026, which shows Amazon's protein shelf reorganizing around those constraints in real time.The Muscle Defense Signal Is the Clearest in the DatasetThe first thing a GLP-1 user hears is that they will lose muscle unless they intervene. The commerce response to that warning is already massive, and the biggest signal isn't protein.Creatine generates $720.8 million in annual revenue on Amazon, growing 90% year over year. The search term "creatine" draws 620,729 monthly searches and is up in every single tracking window SmartScout measures. Nothing else in this analysis grows in all four. Creatine is the most evidence-backed muscle preservation supplement analyzed for this study, and it's now standard in GLP-1 lean mass protocols.Protein powder tracks alongside it at 603,335 monthly searches, up 59,279 year over year.This is the purest GLP-1 signal on Amazon: not weight loss products, but muscle defense products.Liquid Is Winning the Smaller StomachA 30%-50% appetite reduction turns volume into the binding constraint. The question stops being "how many calories" and becomes "how much protein fits before I physically cannot continue."Liquid wins that math, and the data is unambiguous. SmartScout The search data tells the same story, only sharper: SmartScout Liquid gained roughly 57,000 searches over 12 months, while solid lost 2,600.Ready-to-drink protein is the format that answers the volume constraint: 30 grams, no chewing, no satiety penalty, and tolerable when nauseated. Core Power and Premier Protein now split 55% of that category, and each spends around 15% of its ad dollars defending the position. That's why "protein drinks" costs $9.72 per click while cottage cheese costs 70 cents.The Protein Bar's Real Problem Isn't the Format but the IngredientsThis is the constraint the industry has not priced in, and it's where the protein bar breaks.GLP-1 drugs work partly by slowing gastric emptying. The documented consequences are nausea, constipation, bloating, and reflux. Everything downstream slows with it.Sugar alcohols are the standard tool for making a high-protein bar taste sweet without sugar. They're also a well-documented cause of bloating, gas, and GI distress in people with normal digestion. For someone whose stomach is already emptying at half speed, they're a trigger.The brand leaderboard reflects exactly that: SmartScout Of the top 12 protein bar brands by revenue, 10 lost revenue month over month.And the one brand taking meaningful share is doing something that should not work on paper.The Brand Winning the Protein Bar Shelf Has 40% Less ProteinTRUBAR is gaining share with 12 grams of protein per bar against Quest's roughly 20. TRUBAR has 40% less of the nutrient that the entire category competes on.What TRUBAR's product titles instead repeatedly lead with is "No Sugar Alcohols," alongside 12 grams of fiber. Its top listings rate ranges from 4.3 to 4.8, compared with a category average of 4.22.A brand is taking share by offering less protein and better tolerability. That only makes sense if the marginal buyer's binding constraint is their gut, not their macros. That is a GLP-1 buyer.Fiber tells a parallel story: "Fiber supplement" draws 158,468 monthly searches and jumped 28,689 in the most recent month, consistent with a population managing constipation as a treatment side effect.Real Food Is Beating Engineered Food, and the Ad Auctions Are Still EmptyWhen someone eats three times a day instead of six, each occasion carries more weight. In the search data, GLP-1 users are gravitating toward things that read as food rather than supplementation. SmartScout Those cottage cheese and Greek yogurt numbers deserve a second look. Each added roughly 100,000 searches in a single month. Each has just nine advertisers. Each costs under $1.35 per click, while protein drinks cost $9.72. Cold chain logistics are harder, which is why the auction is still empty.Good Culture turned cottage cheese from a 1950s diet food into a protein brand and now holds 33.7% of the Amazon category with just seven products. Chomps overtook Jack Link's in jerky, $3.46 million against $3.3 million monthly, using 59 products against Jack Link's 215. Both are real food, clean label, and built for a shopper reading a macro target rather than browsing a snack aisle.Inside the Bar Aisle, Growth Is Everywhere Except the Protein Bar ShelfPut those constraints together, and the protein bar should be the defining product of the GLP-1 era. It has concentrated protein, is shelf-stable, requires no preparation, and is portion-controlled. Instead, the growth inside Amazon's bar aisle is routing around the main shelf entirely. SmartScout Protein Bars is the largest subcategory by a wide margin, the most crowded (364 brands, 2,882 products, averaging 612 sellers per listing), and the only one not moving. The sparse formats are compounding at double and triple-digit rates. The dominant one is standing still.The Brand that Understood: Protein Donuts Outselling Protein BarsLegendary Foods is the largest share gainer in Food Bars, adding 6.3 points of share and roughly $194,000 in monthly revenue in a single month. It sells high-protein cinnamon pastries at $186,000 per month, chocolate pastries at $154,000, strawberry pastries at $130,000, cinnamon rolls at $100,000, and protein donuts that rank number one in Amazon's Donuts subcategory outright.Its ratings sit between 3.9 and 4.2, below the category average. It's winning because, to someone eating three small meals a day with reduced appetite and shifting taste preferences, a protein donut is food and a protein bar is a supplement. It’s the same macros, but an entirely different proposition.The Tell: Nobody Is Searching For the DrugThe Amazon search term "glp 1" draws 27,725 monthly searches and is down roughly 4,900 year over year.That may be the most useful number in this entire analysis. The GLP-1 commerce wave is not visible in GLP-1 searches. Shoppers are typing creatine, protein shake, cottage cheese, and Greek yogurt into Amazon rather than the names of medications. The brands capturing them are the ones that solved for the physiology without ever naming the cause.What Smartscout's Data Adds Up toThe signals across the dataset point in one direction:Build for the constraint, not the macro. The GLP-1 shopper is short on appetite, volume, and gut tolerance rather than convenience. Every category winning right now solves one of those three. Every category losing is optimized for grams per dollar.Tolerability is wide-open positioning. TRUBAR is gaining share with 40% less protein and a "no sugar alcohols" claim. No major incumbent is competing on gastrointestinal comfort for a population of millions who now need it most.Format is beating formulation. Legendary Foods grew by putting protein into pastries and donuts. Inside the bar family, the fastest-growing subcategories are the ones not called protein bars.The cheap traffic is refrigerated. Cottage cheese and Greek yogurt each draw roughly 300,000 monthly searches with under 10 advertisers and CPCs below $1.35. Protein drinks cost $9.72. Cold chain is harder. That's why the opportunity is still sitting there.Never name the drug. Searches for "glp 1" on Amazon are falling. The brands winning are answering the symptom.Protein has never sold better on Amazon. The protein bar missed the wave, because it was engineered for an appetite that 9 million of its best prospective customers no longer have.This story was produced by SmartScout and reviewed and distributed by Stacker.
	The Beaker Brothers Band, August 23 Delivering a blues-rock tribute to legendary musicians of the past, Iowa City's ever-popular ensemble The Beaker Brothers Band returns to the Quad Cities for a concert at Davenport's Gypsy Highway Bar & Grill, the August 23 show one of the last touring stops the beloved ensemble will make before signing off as a publicly performing band at the end of 2026.
	Davenport moves to make speeding fix permanent at River Drive intersection Davenport is moving to make a temporary traffic-calming test permanent at the intersection of River Street, McClellan and River Drive.
	Davenport superintendent previews new school year Davenport superintendent previews changes ahead of Aug. 24 start
	QC Senior Expo connects seniors to area resources The QC Senior Expo returns to the Golden Leaf Banquet Center, 2902 E. Kimberly Road #1 in Davenport, on Friday, September 25 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. The event brings 53 local businesses, healthcare providers and community organizations dedicated to serving seniors and their families together in one place. The Spring 2026 QC Senior [...]
	8 ways to treat ADHD that aren't medication 8 ways to treat ADHD that aren't medicationTreating ADHD isn’t a “one size fits all” journey — there’s no one treatment that works for everyone. Medication remains one of the most effective options for kids and adults. Stimulants are the most common type of medicine for ADHD. Research shows that about 70% of children and adults taking stimulants notice an improvement in ADHD symptoms.But some people experience side effects from ADHD stimulants or non-stimulants. Or they want to try natural or holistic methods, in addition to medication, to manage common symptoms — like trouble focusing, fidgeting, and making impulsive decisions.These alternative ADHD treatments include everything from behavior therapy and mindfulness to exercise and dietary supplements. And there’s no shortage of ADHD remedies that have gained popularity on social media.So do they actually work? And what does science say about how effective alternative ADHD treatments are for kids and adults?Understood breaks down which non-medication treatments can help manage ADHD symptoms — and which don’t — and how to use them.1. TherapyTherapy is a scientifically proven non-medication treatment that can help manage ADHD symptoms. After an ADHD diagnosis, short-term therapy can be especially helpful for learning about ADHD, identifying symptoms, and working on executive functioning skills. And for people with ADHD and anxiety, therapy in addition to medication can be the most effective treatment plan.The most well-known therapy for ADHD is cognitive behavioral therapy. CBT is a form of talk therapy that helps you recognize negative thoughts or challenging behaviors and reframe them into more productive ones.Evidence suggests that CBT is most helpful for adults with ADHD who have mood symptoms like anxiety, depression, or high stress. CBT can also improve executive function. This includes things like memory, focus, resisting impulses, and regulating your emotions. And it can be helpful for teens with ADHD who also have mood-related symptoms like anxiety or depression, says Elizabeth Harstad, M.D., M.P.H., a board-certified pediatrician and assistant professor at Harvard Medical School.But while CBT is very popular, the most useful type of therapy for ADHD really depends on your age, Harstad points out. “For school-age children, cognitive behavioral therapy isn’t proven as a therapy to reduce core ADHD symptoms, though it can help with organization and planning skills for some people with ADHD,” she says.For children under 6 with ADHD, Harstad suggests that parents may first want to consider behavioral parent training. BPT focuses on improving parenting skills, helping kids manage their behavior, and enhancing the parent-child relationship. In BPT, parents learn strategies like “positive reinforcement, consistency, follow-through, and using charts and checklists,” says Harstad.Older children, teens, and adults may also benefit from organizational skills training. OST helps develop time management skills, improve planning and scheduling, and support homework or task completion.2. ExerciseExercise is an important part of a comprehensive treatment plan for ADHD. Research shows that exercise can improve core ADHD symptoms, particularly when it comes to executive functioning skills.Moving your body can be beneficial for ADHD because it releases dopamine and norepinephrine. These are brain chemicals that help improve focus and manage impulses. “It’s generally recommended for all children to engage in 60 minutes of exercise per day and for all adults to get at least 150 minutes [of] moderate to high intensity [exercise] each week,” says Harstad.You don’t always need a structured exercise regimen. But it’s a good idea to make sure you’re getting enough physical activity throughout the week. Most importantly, get your body moving in ways that you enjoy so you stay consistent with your routine, says Harstad. Consider these activities:For kidsRunning around at the parkPlaying games like tag and hide-and-seekDoing gymnasticsFor teensParticipating in team sportsRiding a bikeGoing for a jog after schoolFor adultsDoing yogaTaking a dance classLifting weights3. Taking breaks in naturePeople with ADHD can have a hard time sustaining attention. Spending time outside, especially in a natural setting, gives their brains a much-needed break.The brain has two types of attention it uses to keep focused:Voluntary attention: This requires you to put in effort to focus on something important, like homework or meetings.Involuntary attention: This is a more passive or effortless type of attention. You use it when your attention is naturally drawn to something stimulating, like a loud noise or a moving object.When you spend time in nature, your mind uses involuntary attention to focus on outdoor stimuli, like a squirrel running across the field or waves crashing on the shore at the beach. Because your involuntary attention switch is on when you’re outside, it allows your voluntary attention to turn off and take a break.This is important for ADHD brains. By giving your voluntary attention a chance to recover, you’ll be better able to use it later to focus on an important task.Best of all, you don’t need to head to the forest or ocean to give your voluntary attention a much-needed break. Consider these activities closer to home:Take a 15-minute walk around your neighborhood every evening after dinner.Check out a new trail or hiking path with friends.Sit next to a big window on a sunny day.4. Mindfulness and meditationMindfulness is a practice that helps train your mind to stay in the present moment. Some people assume that mindfulness requires sitting still, but that’s not entirely true. Being mindful doesn’t mean you have to be frozen in place or keep the voice in your brain completely quiet. It just means becoming more aware of your thoughts and how your body feels.Mindfulness is helpful for people with ADHD because it can support executive function and self-regulation skills. And it can reduce ADHD mental health symptoms, like stress, anxiety, or emotional dysregulation.There are plenty of mindfulness options to choose from, so you can select the type of mindfulness that works best for you. Here’s a look at some common mindfulness strategies for ADHD and how they work: Understood 5. NutritionYou might hear a lot of online discussion about the connection between food and ADHD, and the effectiveness of supplements. It’s important to understand what the science says about these popular natural ADHD remedies.Omega-3 fatty acidsThough not a replacement for stimulants, omega-3 fatty acids have been shown to improve ADHD symptoms in kids. Some research suggests that people with ADHD may have lower levels of omega-3 fatty acids in their blood. These fatty acids help neurons in the brain communicate more effectively, so low omega-3 levels may play a role in worsening ADHD symptoms.Fatty fish like salmon and sardines, as well as fish oil supplements, are good sources of omega-3 fatty acids. It’s always a good idea to let your doctor know about any vitamins or supplements you or your kids are taking.Dietary changesIf you’ve ever scrolled social media, you may have come across people recommending certain diets for ADHD. As Harstad points out, “All people should aim for a diet that prioritizes nutrient-dense foods, such as fruits, vegetables, protein, grains, and dairy, and that limits added sugars and saturated fats. Having ADHD doesn’t change this general diet recommendation.”That hasn’t stopped elimination diets from getting a lot of buzz. Like the Feingold Diet, which cuts out artificial sweeteners, food dyes, and salicylates (compounds that can be found in fruits like apples or berries). There are also claims that foods with a high amount of sugar can cause ADHD. But research doesn’t back up these diets or claims, Harstad says.“There isn’t sufficient medical evidence to make the claim that eating a diet low in sugar and food dyes is better for ADHD,” Harstad explains. “But aiming for a diet low in sugar and with limited food dyes could be recommended for general health.”Essentially, focusing on whole foods and eating a well-balanced diet with lots of fruits, veggies, lean proteins, and whole grains can support your overall well-being.If you’re a parent who has a child with ADHD, it’s a good idea to focus on a well-balanced eating plan for them. But if your child wants a little treat once in a while, that’s OK. In fact, research shows that restrictive diets can be difficult to maintain, increase frustration or anxiety, and worsen overall quality of life.Herbal supplementsSome people try certain herbal supplements to keep ADHD symptoms at bay. Common options include ginkgo biloba, melatonin, or St. John’s wort.At this time, there isn’t enough evidence to show that any of these supplements can effectively help manage ADHD for kids and adults. It’s also important to note that supplements aren’t regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Check in with your health care provider to ensure that they’re safe for you to take, won’t cause interactions with any medications you take, and don’t cause any side effects.6. NeurofeedbackNeurofeedback is a type of biofeedback. During a session at a neurofeedback clinic, sensors are placed on your scalp. A licensed technician will ask you to focus on a specific activity — usually a movie or a video game.As you focus on the activity, the sensors use very tiny electrical signals to pick up on different brain waves. When you’re focused, these brain waves are fast. And when you’re distracted, the brain waves slow down.The purpose of this therapy is to gently encourage you to focus more by giving you reinforcement based on your behaviors. If the neurofeedback machine detects a slower brain wave, it might slow down the game, darken the screen, or pause the movie. When you bring your attention back to the activity, the game or movie will likely go back to its original quality. This is the machine’s way of rewarding you for concentrating on the activity again.While this sounds promising, the research on the effectiveness of neurofeedback for ADHD is still mixed. Health care providers don’t recommend it as an alternative to medication and therapy. However, neurofeedback is safe to try. So if you or your child is interested in attending a neurofeedback session, talk to your health care provider about your options.In some states, neurofeedback is starting to be covered by insurance. Check your insurance plan to see how much a neurofeedback session may cost you.7. Brain training gamesIn recent years, brain training games have started to become a potential treatment option to help improve cognitive and executive function in people with ADHD. The first FDA-approved video game treatment for ADHD was EndeavorRX, an immersive mobile video game that helps strengthen certain brain skills like memory, attention, and impulse control.Early research suggests that people who engage in these types of brain training do improve their skills as they continue playing. But, research also shows that those improvements don’t necessarily translate outside of the game. So, even if your focus improves in a game, it doesn’t mean you’ll be more focused in your everyday life.As of now, scientists can’t recommend these games as effective treatment options. But there’s no physical harm or safety risk in giving cognitive games a try. As always, before you make any changes or additions to your ADHD treatment plan, check in with your health care provider. They can recommend the best options for your overall health goals.8. Prioritizing sleepADHD can affect your sleep quality and sleep patterns. Not getting enough sleep can cause ADHD-like symptoms — like trouble with focus and managing emotions — in anyone. Or it can make these symptoms worse in someone who has ADHD.There are some strategies you can try to improve sleep quality for both kids and adults. One study showed that improving “sleep hygiene” for kids with ADHD improved their quality of life and reduced their ADHD symptoms.Here are some healthy sleep habits you can try:Get daytime exercise.Spend time outside in sunlight.Skip caffeine later in the day.Avoid screens before bed.Keep a consistent bedtime.Set a sleep routine focused on unwinding and getting ready for sleep, like a bath, followed by dimming the lights and reading a book.Set your room for sleep with a cool temperature. Some people also use blackout shades and white noise.This story was produced by Understood and reviewed and distributed by Stacker.
	What hidden injuries reveal: Why some car accident symptoms surface days later What hidden injuries reveal: Why some car accident symptoms surface days laterSomeone walks away from a collision, waves off the ambulance, and drives home sore but more or less functional. Then morning comes with a headache that won't quit, a hand that's gone numb, or a stomach that feels tight and wrong. But those injuries didn't appear overnight: They were slowly coming to the surface the whole time.The delayed onset of serious symptoms is a documented part of how the body responds to trauma. That process carries real stakes for a person's health, and for the medical record eventually attached to the injury. Knowing why serious harm can stay quiet, and what to watch for when it does, is worth keeping in mind after any wreck. The Callahan Law Firm examined why symptoms from an automobile collision can appear days later, and which injuries require medical attention.Crashes are common. The aftermath isn't simple.For an overwhelming number of Americans, the emergency room is the immediate next stop after a car wreck. Working from a nationally representative federal survey, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for Health Statistics clocked an average of 3.8 million emergency room visits a year for motor vehicle crash injuries between 2019 and 2020. That’s about 11.6 visits for every 1,000 people. Drivers and passengers aged 15 to 24 showed up most often, at 19.1 per 1,000. Roughly 90% of those injuries were unintentional injuries to passengers. Whatever else a fender bender may be, it isn't rare.The brain hides the damageConcussions and other mild traumatic brain injuries (TBI) are prime examples. The CDC doesn't hedge about it: Some symptoms land right away, others hold off for hours or days. That's the trap: You can clear your own "I feel fine" test and still be concussed.Taken individually, the symptoms may not make the injury any more apparent, since nearly all of the symptoms could have an innocent explanation. The CDC groups symptoms by how they impact the way you feel, think, act, and sleep. You might experience headaches, dizziness, a sudden intolerance for light or noise, fog where your concentration used to be, dropped memories, a short fuse, anxiety, or nights of bad sleep. But these are all easy to chalk up to stress or exhaustion. As the agency notes, this makes potential injuries easier for the injured person to miss — and for their family and doctor to miss as well.Of course, not every postcrash headache is an emergency. The CDC is clear that symptoms usually ease off, and plenty of people with a mild TBI feel like themselves again within a couple of weeks. The catch is timing: Getting better isn't always immediate, and neither is getting worse. The CDC flags a handful of adult danger signs that require an ER visit, now: a headache that keeps climbing and won't quit, repeated vomiting, slurred speech, weakness or numbness, one pupil blown wider than the other, convulsions, or a slide into confusion and drowsiness."Your scan came back clean"A normal head CT scan is genuinely good news, but it doesn't promise a fast or full recovery. One large U.S. study in JAMA Network Open in 2022 tracked 991 patients who turned up at one of 18 level I trauma centers with a mild TBI — wide awake, a Glasgow Coma Scale score of 15, and a head CT scan that showed nothing acute.Recovery dragged well behind the reassurance. Two weeks out, 73% of the patients who followed up still hadn't gotten back to their old level of function on the study's yardstick. Only 27% had fully recovered. At six months, 56% were still short of the mark. And among that incomplete-recovery group, 88% said they hadn't returned to the life they had before the crash. The authors' recommendation was blunt: Send these patients back for a check around the two-week point, specifically to flag the ones who aren't bouncing back.These were people hurt badly enough to land at a trauma center, not every minor bonk on the head, and "incomplete recovery" tracks how someone is functioning and feeling, not some structural injury a scanner missed. Even so, the lesson sticks: A clean scan in hour one is not a clean bill of health in week six. That gap is the whole reason follow-up exists.What's actually worth a doctor's visitWhen you drop the medical vocabulary, it comes down to a short list. Any of these symptoms earns a check-up after a crash, even if it surfaces days later:Pain or swelling that doesn’t improve with rest — especially the kind that ruins your sleep or gets between you and an ordinary day.Anything off in your head after a hit — a headache that keeps building, dizziness, confusion, blurry vision, holes in your memory. The CDC links these to mild TBI, and at their worst, requires the ER.Numbness, tingling, or weakness anywhere in the arms, hands, legs, or feet, which can mean a nerve is getting pinched.Bruising, pain in the belly or chest, or trouble breathing — any of which can travel with deeper tissue damage or internal bleeding, the kind of thing you really don't want overlooked.Symptoms that arrive late or keep getting worse over the following days — the exact pattern the research keeps turning up.It comes down to timingStrip everything else away, and you're left with this: Not hurting yet isn't the same as not being hurt. In those first hours, adrenaline is running high, the swelling hasn't crested, and the brain is busy covering for itself. This combination can easily mask an injury that later comes to the surface. The CDC's head-injury guidance and the trauma research agree on the fix: See someone promptly, and go back if anything shifts. That's how you catch what a single early look slides right past.So when you're three days past a crash, wondering whether that ache that won't quit is worth a doctor's time, the trade is lopsided. Getting checked and cleared costs you an afternoon. A serious injury that tips its hand too late can cost you a great deal more.Methodology and sourcesThis article draws on three sources, each selected for authority, recency, open access, and relevance to a U.S. audience.The first is the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's clinical guidance page on the symptoms of mild traumatic brain injury and concussion (last reviewed 2025), which describes symptom onset, recovery timelines, and emergency danger signs.The second is a CDC National Center for Health Statistics Data Brief (No. 466, April 2023), "Emergency Department Visit Rates for Motor Vehicle Crashes by Selected Characteristics: United States, 2019–2020." Its figures come from the National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey, a nationally representative survey of U.S. nonfederal, general, and short-stay hospitals; the 3.8 million annual ED visits and the 11.6-per-1,000 rate are national estimates based on a sample of 902 ED visits for motor vehicle crashes across 2019 and 2020. As the brief notes, race and ethnicity data were imputed for roughly 13%–15% of records, a limitation the authors disclose.The third is a peer-reviewed cohort study, "Outcomes in Patients With Mild Traumatic Brain Injury Without Acute Intracranial Traumatic Injury," by Debbie Y. Madhok and colleagues, published in JAMA Network Open in August 2022 under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) license. It analyzed 991 participants (mean age 38.5; 64% male) enrolled from 2014–2018 in the multicenter TRACK-TBI study across 18 U.S. level I trauma centers, all with a Glasgow Coma Scale score of 15 and a negative head CT. The recovery figures cited here — 73% with incomplete recovery at two weeks and 56% at six months, measured by the Glasgow Outcome Scale–Extended — are reported directly by that study. As the authors note, this is a trauma-center population followed up at 76% (two weeks) and 66% (six months), and the measure reflects function and symptom burden rather than a specific missed injury.This story was produced by The Callahan Law Firm and reviewed and distributed by Stacker.
	Moline City Council reduces speed on portion of Avenue of the Cities The Moline City Council has reduced the speed on Avenue of the Cities from 40 mph to 30 mph from 41st Street to the East Moline border.
	8 ways to treat ADHD that aren't medication 8 ways to treat ADHD that aren't medication Treating ADHD isn’t a “one size fits all” journey — there’s no one treatment that works for everyone. Medication remains one of the most effective options for kids and adults. Stimulants are the most common type of medicine for ADHD. Research shows that about 70% of children and adults taking stimulants notice an improvement in ADHD symptoms. But some people experience side effects from ADHD stimulants or non-stimulants. Or they want to try natural or holistic methods, in addition to medication, to manage common symptoms — like trouble focusing, fidgeting, and making impulsive decisions. These alternative ADHD treatments include everything from behavior therapy and mindfulness to exercise and dietary supplements. And there’s no shortage of ADHD remedies that have gained popularity on social media. So do they actually work? And what does science say about how effective alternative ADHD treatments are for kids and adults? Understood breaks down which non-medication treatments can help manage ADHD symptoms — and which don’t — and how to use them. 1. Therapy Therapy is a scientifically proven non-medication treatment that can help manage ADHD symptoms. After an ADHD diagnosis, short-term therapy can be especially helpful for learning about ADHD, identifying symptoms, and working on executive functioning skills. And for people with ADHD and anxiety, therapy in addition to medication can be the most effective treatment plan. The most well-known therapy for ADHD is cognitive behavioral therapy. CBT is a form of talk therapy that helps you recognize negative thoughts or challenging behaviors and reframe them into more productive ones. Evidence suggests that CBT is most helpful for adults with ADHD who have mood symptoms like anxiety, depression, or high stress. CBT can also improve executive function. This includes things like memory, focus, resisting impulses, and regulating your emotions. And it can be helpful for teens with ADHD who also have mood-related symptoms like anxiety or depression, says Elizabeth Harstad, M.D., M.P.H., a board-certified pediatrician and assistant professor at Harvard Medical School. But while CBT is very popular, the most useful type of therapy for ADHD really depends on your age, Harstad points out. “For school-age children, cognitive behavioral therapy isn’t proven as a therapy to reduce core ADHD symptoms, though it can help with organization and planning skills for some people with ADHD,” she says. For children under 6 with ADHD, Harstad suggests that parents may first want to consider behavioral parent training. BPT focuses on improving parenting skills, helping kids manage their behavior, and enhancing the parent-child relationship. In BPT, parents learn strategies like “positive reinforcement, consistency, follow-through, and using charts and checklists,” says Harstad. Older children, teens, and adults may also benefit from organizational skills training. OST helps develop time management skills, improve planning and scheduling, and support homework or task completion. 2. Exercise Exercise is an important part of a comprehensive treatment plan for ADHD. Research shows that exercise can improve core ADHD symptoms, particularly when it comes to executive functioning skills. Moving your body can be beneficial for ADHD because it releases dopamine and norepinephrine. These are brain chemicals that help improve focus and manage impulses. “It’s generally recommended for all children to engage in 60 minutes of exercise per day and for all adults to get at least 150 minutes [of] moderate to high intensity [exercise] each week,” says Harstad. You don’t always need a structured exercise regimen. But it’s a good idea to make sure you’re getting enough physical activity throughout the week. Most importantly, get your body moving in ways that you enjoy so you stay consistent with your routine, says Harstad. Consider these activities: For kids Running around at the park Playing games like tag and hide-and-seek Doing gymnastics For teens Participating in team sports Riding a bike Going for a jog after school For adults Doing yoga Taking a dance class Lifting weights 3. Taking breaks in nature People with ADHD can have a hard time sustaining attention. Spending time outside, especially in a natural setting, gives their brains a much-needed break. The brain has two types of attention it uses to keep focused: Voluntary attention: This requires you to put in effort to focus on something important, like homework or meetings. Involuntary attention: This is a more passive or effortless type of attention. You use it when your attention is naturally drawn to something stimulating, like a loud noise or a moving object. When you spend time in nature, your mind uses involuntary attention to focus on outdoor stimuli, like a squirrel running across the field or waves crashing on the shore at the beach. Because your involuntary attention switch is on when you’re outside, it allows your voluntary attention to turn off and take a break. This is important for ADHD brains. By giving your voluntary attention a chance to recover, you’ll be better able to use it later to focus on an important task. Best of all, you don’t need to head to the forest or ocean to give your voluntary attention a much-needed break. Consider these activities closer to home: Take a 15-minute walk around your neighborhood every evening after dinner. Check out a new trail or hiking path with friends. Sit next to a big window on a sunny day. 4. Mindfulness and meditation Mindfulness is a practice that helps train your mind to stay in the present moment. Some people assume that mindfulness requires sitting still, but that’s not entirely true. Being mindful doesn’t mean you have to be frozen in place or keep the voice in your brain completely quiet. It just means becoming more aware of your thoughts and how your body feels. Mindfulness is helpful for people with ADHD because it can support executive function and self-regulation skills. And it can reduce ADHD mental health symptoms, like stress, anxiety, or emotional dysregulation. There are plenty of mindfulness options to choose from, so you can select the type of mindfulness that works best for you. Here’s a look at some common mindfulness strategies for ADHD and how they work: Understood 5. Nutrition You might hear a lot of online discussion about the connection between food and ADHD, and the effectiveness of supplements. It’s important to understand what the science says about these popular natural ADHD remedies. Omega-3 fatty acids Though not a replacement for stimulants, omega-3 fatty acids have been shown to improve ADHD symptoms in kids. Some research suggests that people with ADHD may have lower levels of omega-3 fatty acids in their blood. These fatty acids help neurons in the brain communicate more effectively, so low omega-3 levels may play a role in worsening ADHD symptoms. Fatty fish like salmon and sardines, as well as fish oil supplements, are good sources of omega-3 fatty acids. It’s always a good idea to let your doctor know about any vitamins or supplements you or your kids are taking. Dietary changes If you’ve ever scrolled social media, you may have come across people recommending certain diets for ADHD. As Harstad points out, “All people should aim for a diet that prioritizes nutrient-dense foods, such as fruits, vegetables, protein, grains, and dairy, and that limits added sugars and saturated fats. Having ADHD doesn’t change this general diet recommendation.” That hasn’t stopped elimination diets from getting a lot of buzz. Like the Feingold Diet, which cuts out artificial sweeteners, food dyes, and salicylates (compounds that can be found in fruits like apples or berries). There are also claims that foods with a high amount of sugar can cause ADHD. But research doesn’t back up these diets or claims, Harstad says. “There isn’t sufficient medical evidence to make the claim that eating a diet low in sugar and food dyes is better for ADHD,” Harstad explains. “But aiming for a diet low in sugar and with limited food dyes could be recommended for general health.” Essentially, focusing on whole foods and eating a well-balanced diet with lots of fruits, veggies, lean proteins, and whole grains can support your overall well-being. If you’re a parent who has a child with ADHD, it’s a good idea to focus on a well-balanced eating plan for them. But if your child wants a little treat once in a while, that’s OK. In fact, research shows that restrictive diets can be difficult to maintain, increase frustration or anxiety, and worsen overall quality of life. Herbal supplements Some people try certain herbal supplements to keep ADHD symptoms at bay. Common options include ginkgo biloba, melatonin, or St. John’s wort. At this time, there isn’t enough evidence to show that any of these supplements can effectively help manage ADHD for kids and adults. It’s also important to note that supplements aren’t regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Check in with your health care provider to ensure that they’re safe for you to take, won’t cause interactions with any medications you take, and don’t cause any side effects. 6. Neurofeedback Neurofeedback is a type of biofeedback. During a session at a neurofeedback clinic, sensors are placed on your scalp. A licensed technician will ask you to focus on a specific activity — usually a movie or a video game. As you focus on the activity, the sensors use very tiny electrical signals to pick up on different brain waves. When you’re focused, these brain waves are fast. And when you’re distracted, the brain waves slow down. The purpose of this therapy is to gently encourage you to focus more by giving you reinforcement based on your behaviors. If the neurofeedback machine detects a slower brain wave, it might slow down the game, darken the screen, or pause the movie. When you bring your attention back to the activity, the game or movie will likely go back to its original quality. This is the machine’s way of rewarding you for concentrating on the activity again. While this sounds promising, the research on the effectiveness of neurofeedback for ADHD is still mixed. Health care providers don’t recommend it as an alternative to medication and therapy. However, neurofeedback is safe to try. So if you or your child is interested in attending a neurofeedback session, talk to your health care provider about your options. In some states, neurofeedback is starting to be covered by insurance. Check your insurance plan to see how much a neurofeedback session may cost you. 7. Brain training games In recent years, brain training games have started to become a potential treatment option to help improve cognitive and executive function in people with ADHD. The first FDA-approved video game treatment for ADHD was EndeavorRX, an immersive mobile video game that helps strengthen certain brain skills like memory, attention, and impulse control. Early research suggests that people who engage in these types of brain training do improve their skills as they continue playing. But, research also shows that those improvements don’t necessarily translate outside of the game. So, even if your focus improves in a game, it doesn’t mean you’ll be more focused in your everyday life. As of now, scientists can’t recommend these games as effective treatment options. But there’s no physical harm or safety risk in giving cognitive games a try. As always, before you make any changes or additions to your ADHD treatment plan, check in with your health care provider. They can recommend the best options for your overall health goals. 8. Prioritizing sleep ADHD can affect your sleep quality and sleep patterns. Not getting enough sleep can cause ADHD-like symptoms — like trouble with focus and managing emotions — in anyone. Or it can make these symptoms worse in someone who has ADHD. There are some strategies you can try to improve sleep quality for both kids and adults. One study showed that improving “sleep hygiene” for kids with ADHD improved their quality of life and reduced their ADHD symptoms. Here are some healthy sleep habits you can try: Get daytime exercise. Spend time outside in sunlight. Skip caffeine later in the day. Avoid screens before bed. Keep a consistent bedtime. Set a sleep routine focused on unwinding and getting ready for sleep, like a bath, followed by dimming the lights and reading a book. Set your room for sleep with a cool temperature. Some people also use blackout shades and white noise. This story was produced by Understood and reviewed and distributed by Stacker.
	D.C.'s IndyCar race will zoom past museums. Some worry it could harm the art inside Sunday's course takes high-speed cars right past the National Gallery of Art and three Smithsonian museums. Art experts worry about the works inside, but organizers say they don't expect damage.
	An art-rock illusionist rewrites pop in her own image Taja Cheek's psychedelic project L'Rain has always been tagged as experimental. On fata morgana, she asks what separates music like hers from the mainstream.
	Musser Public Library to temporarily close for roof repairs Musser Public Library will be closed for roof repairs Monday through Wednesday. The library will also be installing a new HVAC system.
	How to prepare your car during a hurricane How to prepare your car during a hurricaneHurricane season in the Atlantic Ocean runs June 1 through Nov. 30, and the financial toll it leaves behind is staggering. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), hurricanes have caused more than $1.5 trillion in damages in the United States since 1980, averaging $23 billion per hurricane.In 2024, Hurricanes Helene and Milton alone caused more than $100 billion in combined damage over two weeks. Those numbers represent homes, businesses, infrastructure—and vehicles, which are among the most commonly overlooked assets when families prepare for a storm.Most people spend time thinking about their homes before a hurricane makes landfall—which is perfectly valid. That home and everything in it is typically the culmination of your life’s labor. And while people tend to view a house as their most expensive single purchase, do you know what comes second? Your car.Still, few think systematically about what’s parked in their driveway. But in the event of a natural disaster, a car, truck, or SUV isn’t just the most valuable movable asset a household owns, but also the primary tool for evacuation, supply runs, and poststorm recovery. This guide from RealTruck.com covers what to do before the storm arrives, what to keep in the ride year-round, and what to do if your vehicle takes on water.Know Your Risk Before the Storm ArrivesNot every hurricane threat requires the same response—it all depends on where the storm will make landfall, its subsequent path, its strength, and your location. Understanding the difference between threat levels helps you act at the right time rather than too late—or unnecessarily.A hurricane watch means conditions are possible in your area within 48 hours, per NOAA. This is the time to start preparations, such as filling the tank, checking your kit, and deciding whether to evacuate. A hurricane warning means conditions are expected within 36 hours. If your local emergency management has issued evacuation orders, follow them. Do not wait for the storm to make final landfall before moving.Storm category matters specifically for vehicle planning. Category 1 and 2 storms bring strong winds and storm surge, while Category 3 and above can push storm surge deep inland and produce flooding well outside the immediate coastline. Knowing your flood zone indicates how much risk your parked vehicle faces, even if you shelter in place. FEMA's Flood Map Service Center lets you search by address to see your zone designation. If you're in a Zone A or AE area—high-risk flood zones—your vehicle should not be sitting in a driveway or low-lying parking area when a major storm approaches.How To Prepare Your Car/Truck During a HurricaneWith a storm on the horizon, it’s important to prep your vehicle for the impending struggles.Prestorm Vehicle ChecklistThese tasks should be completed as soon as a storm watch is issued for your area—not when the warning is upgraded, and drivers are clambering for resources.Fill the tank: Gas stations in storm-affected areas run out of fuel within hours of a watch being issued and may be without power for days afterward. A full tank is nonnegotiable. If you have a jerrican, fill it as well and store it safely.Check tire condition and pressure: A blowout is a dangerous problem—even in ideal conditions. Check tread depth and inflate to the manufacturer's recommended pounds per square inch (PSI) before the storm hits to improve your chances of a safe evacuation.Top off fluids: Engine oil, coolant, brake fluid, and windshield washer fluid should all be at full levels. Poststorm roads can involve debris, standing water, and long detours—your vehicle needs to be in tip-top condition for that kind of use.Check the battery: A battery that's on the way out in normal conditions can fail after sitting through a storm. If yours is more than three years old and you haven't tested it recently, do so before the storm hits.Inspect the wipers: You may be driving in heavy rain before, during, or after the storm. Worn wiper blades significantly reduce visibility—replace them if they leave streaks.Document the vehicle’s condition for insurance: Walk around the vehicle and take photos and video of every panel, the interior, the under-hood area, and the undercarriage before the storm arrives. This documentation is your baseline if you need to file a claim.Move the vehicle to higher ground or a covered shelter: A parking garage above the projected storm-surge elevation is the best available option if you can access one. If you can't, move the vehicle to the highest point on your property or in your neighborhood, away from trees.Clear truck beds: If you drive a truck, clear the bed before the storm hits. Loose items in an open bed become projectiles in high-wind conditions—a risk to other people, vehicles, and property. Remove everything that isn't secured. If you run a bed rack or removable tonneau cover that could act as a sail in sustained winds, take it off before the storm.Build a Hurricane Emergency Kit for Your Car/TruckThis isn't a kit you assemble the night before—it should be pieced together well in advance and stored in the vehicle throughout hurricane season. Refresh it annually to ensure all essentials are up to date. While not identical to an emergency roadside kit, a hurricane emergency kit has several overlaps. Think of the emergency kit as a go-bag for the vehicle itself, including everything from important documents to a tool kit. Here’s a list of supplies you should carry during storm season:Recovery and RoadsideJumper cables or a jump starter packTow strap or recovery strapBasic tool kit (pliers, adjustable wrench, screwdrivers, duct tape, zip ties)Flashlight with spare batteries or a rechargeable unitWork glovesEmergency and MedicalFirst aid kitPrescription medications (a minimum three-day supply)Blankets and a change of clothes per person SuppliesWater—at least 1 gallon per person per day for three daysNonperishable food for three daysPhone charger and portable power bankCash in small bills—ATMs go offline and card readers stop working without powerDocumentsCopies of your insurance card, vehicle registration, and ID in a waterproof bag or sealed plastic bag. Original documents are better if you can safely carry them.What To Do If Your Car/Truck FloodsDon't drive into standing water. This is the single most important rule and the one most often ignored. The National Weather Service reports that more than half of all flood fatalities occur in vehicles. Just 6 inches of moving water can knock a person off their feet, and 1 foot of moving water can sweep a vehicle. If you cannot see the road surface beneath standing water, do not drive through it.If water levels rise high enough to enter the engine bay, don’t attempt to start the engine. A hydrolocked engine—one in which water enters the cylinders during a cranking attempt—can cause catastrophic engine damage. Even if the engine doesn't hydrolock, starting a flooded engine without professional inspection can cause issues like damp electronics, contaminated oil, and more.Document everything before cleanup. Photograph the water line inside and outside the vehicle, the interior condition, and any visible damage before any cleaning or drying begins. This documentation is essential for an insurance claim.Contact your insurance provider before repairs. Most comprehensive auto insurance policies cover flood damage, but the claims process typically requires a prerepair inspection. Starting repairs before the adjuster has evaluated the vehicle can complicate or reduce your payout.Have a mechanic inspect it before driving. Even if the vehicle appears to have dried out and starts normally, floodwater can infiltrate electrical systems, brake components, transmission fluid, and differentials in ways that aren't visible from the outside. A full mechanical inspection is the only reliable way to confirm the vehicle is safe to drive.After the Storm: Getting Back on the RoadBefore you move the car/truck after the storm has passed, do a full walk-around in daylight if possible.Check for debris damage—branches, roofing material, and other projectiles can puncture tires, crack windshields, and dent body panels during the storm without your knowledge. Check all four tires for obvious damage before moving.Look for fluid leaks under the vehicle. If something was struck or shifted during the storm, a leak under the vehicle is a sign the vehicle may not be drivable without repairs.Check for downed power lines before driving. A line on the ground or across the road may still be energized and can be fatal to contact. If a power line is on or near your vehicle, stay inside and call emergency services—do not exit the vehicle and do not attempt to drive over the line.Road conditions poststorm include debris, washed-out sections, and displaced wildlife—all of which require slower speeds and more attention than normal driving. Many poststorm fatalities occur in the days immediately following a hurricane when drivers encounter hazardous road conditions at normal speeds.Fuel will be scarce for days to weeks following a major hurricane. Plan routes with that in mind and keep your tank topped off whenever you have the opportunity.FAQsQ: When does hurricane season start and end?A: Hurricane season in the Atlantic runs June 1 through November 30, with the peak period between mid-August and mid-October. The National Hurricane Center recommends having preparations in place by June 1 each year—not when the first storm of the season forms.Q: Should I evacuate or shelter in place?A: Follow the guidance of your local emergency management officials—that's a decision that depends on your specific location, flood zone, storm category, and the infrastructure of your home. NOAA's National Hurricane Center and your local emergency management agency are the authoritative sources for those decisions.Q: How Do I Protect My Car If I Can't Move It Before the Storm?A: If you can't move the vehicle to higher ground or covered shelter, position it away from trees and low-lying areas as much as possible. Remove anything from the bed that could become a projectile. Document the vehicle thoroughly with photos and video for insurance purposes. Beyond that, your options are limited—the best protection is to stay far from the storm path.Q: What flood damage is covered by insurance?A: Flood damage to a vehicle is typically covered under comprehensive auto insurance, not liability or collision coverage. Standard homeowners insurance does not cover vehicles. If you're uncertain whether your policy includes comprehensive coverage, call your provider before storm season rather than after an event. National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) policies cover structures and contents but not vehicles.Q: How long can a car/truck sit in floodwater before it's totaled?A: There's no universal threshold—it depends on the water depth, how long the vehicle was submerged, whether it was saltwater or freshwater, and which systems were affected. A vehicle that sat in shallow freshwater for a few hours may be restorable with thorough drying and inspection. A vehicle submerged above the dashboard in saltwater for extended periods is almost certainly a total loss. The key variable is electrical system damage, which is difficult to assess without a professional inspection regardless of submersion depth or duration.Q: Can you drive a car that has been flooded?A: Not until it's been professionally inspected. Water intrusion affects the electrical system, braking components, transmission, differential fluid, and potentially the engine—none of which can be reliably assessed by visual inspection alone. A vehicle that starts and drives normally after flooding may have compromised components that fail unpredictably. Have it inspected by a mechanic before returning it to regular use.This story was produced by RealTruck.com and reviewed and distributed by Stacker.
	Report: The state of game-based learning in America Report: The state of game-based learning in AmericaFor most of the last century, American classrooms looked roughly the same, whether you were in Seattle or rural Mississippi. A teacher stood in the front of the room, textbooks were open, and students took notes. Today, technology is reshaping how many students learn, but that transformation isn’t happening equally across the country. Many educators are embracing game-based learning, using games as a core teaching method rather than as a reward at the end of a lesson.But not every classroom is equally equipped to make that shift. While game-based learning is gaining momentum across the U.S., access to these learning experiences varies significantly by state. Quizlet analyzed all 50 states and the District of Columbia using school technology and household broadband access, as well as search interest, to measure game-based learning readiness alongside demand.The findings reveal a 62-point gap between the highest- and lowest-ranked states, with strong digital infrastructure emerging as the biggest differentiator, suggesting that access to these learning experiences can vary substantially depending on where students live. While demand for game-based learning is high in many parts of the country, expanding access will depend on closing the technology and connectivity gaps that still limit adoption.State readiness at a glanceWashington state ranks No. 1 with a Game-Based Learning Readiness Score of 80.4, just ahead of Utah at 80.1 and Maryland at 78.2.The Northeast leads all regions with an average score of 65.7, ahead of the Midwest at 56.0, the West at 55.6, and the South at 48.5.Kansas ranks No. 8 at 73.0, despite more modest school technology and broadband scores, driven by the strongest search interest of any top 10 state.Wyoming reached a Google Trends index of 100 for both "learning games" and "educational games" over the past year, the highest relative search interest recorded during the study period.West Virginia ranks last at 18.3, more than 62 points behind the leader, undercut by overlapping gaps in school technology and home broadband.Six of the bottom 10 states, including Mississippi, Louisiana, and Alabama, pair high search demand for learning games with comparatively low school technology and broadband scores, highlighting a gap between interest and digital readiness.South Carolina, Texas, and Ohio recorded the highest search interest for "classroom games" search scores 100, 99, and 92, respectively, suggesting particularly strong interest in game-based learning resources.Infrastructure is key to state readinessThe highest-ranked states combine strong digital infrastructure with sustained interest in game-based learning. Washington state leads at 80.4, followed closely by Utah at 80.1 and Maryland at 78.2. All three scored above 85 on school technology access and above 90 on household broadband, suggesting that the devices and the internet connectivity needed to support digital, game-based learning is already in place. Their search interest scores landed in the 50–63 range, indicating that interest in game-based learning extends well beyond infrastructure alone.You don't have to look far to find examples of how the top-ranked states are deploying games in the classroom. In Washington, the state's own education office reports that gamification has steadily gained traction in math classes, with districts blending analog games, like cards and dice, with digital platforms that give students instant feedback. In Utah, a state-funded study of the most effective fourth-grade teachers found that many use adaptive online games to drill math facts, with software that automatically adjusts to each student’s progress. And in Maryland, the state education department funded a grant to launch game-based learning software for gifted kindergartners and first graders, with a focus on expanding access for historically underrepresented learners.While these examples don’t represent every classroom, they illustrate how states with strong digital infrastructure are already leveraging game-based learning into instruction for effective education.Game-based interest extends beyond tech hubsDigital games might conjure images of tech-forward California, but there are plenty of examples of states outside of the West that have integrated game-based digital learning in the classroom. Kansas is one of the rankings’ biggest surprises. It places eighth overall with a Game-Based Readiness Score of 73.0 despite more modest school technology and broadband scores than many of the states above it. What lifts Kansas into the top 10 is search interest. It topped the charts for the highest search interest score of any top-ranked state across the study’s game-based learning terms. In other words, appetite has already arrived despite its lagging infrastructure score.Wyoming stands out even more in search behavior. Over the 12-month period, it reached a Google Trends index of 100 for both “learning games” and “educational games,” the maximum value reported. Averaged with its lower score on "classroom games," that still gives Wyoming an 81.3 search interest score overall, among the highest in the country. While smaller states can reach peak index values more easily because the metric is relative rather than absolute, Wyoming’s consistently high scores across multiple search terms suggest sustained interest in game-based learning resources. Together, Kansas and Wyoming illustrate the important pattern that interest in game-based learning isn’t limited to states with the strongest digital infrastructure.Interest in game-based learning is also reflected in the broader education technology market. Industry forecasts project the game-based learning market to reach $17.82 billion by 2030, with a compound annual growth rate of 23.4%. It's a category betting on permanence, and states like Kansas and Wyoming are exactly the demand it's counting on.Teacher demand outpaces infrastructureThere's a second demand signal in the data, and it's more specific than general curiosity. South Carolina, Texas, and Ohio posted the three highest raw scores in the country for "classroom games" searches at 100, 99, and 92, respectively.High search interest for classroom games specifically, rather than general educational games, suggests a professional demand rather than a consumer demand. These states likely have active teacher communities who are already incorporating game-based structures into their classrooms.What's striking is that none of those three states cracks the top 10 overall. Their school technology and broadband scores hold them back, yet their teachers are clearly looking for solutions to help them bring games to the classroom. The gap between demand and infrastructure is the tension running through the entire bottom half of this ranking, and it sets up the divide that defines the map.The Northeast leads the pack, while the South trailsThe regional breakdown reveals patterns that go beyond individual state rankings. The Northeast averages a Game-Based Readiness Score of 65.7, nine points ahead of the next region. High per-pupil education spending, dense broadband markets driven by competition among providers, and strong state technology investment policies create favorable conditions across the region. Six of the top 15 states nationally are in the Northeast.The Midwest, scoring a 56.0 average across the region, exhibits the nation's sharpest internal divide. While Kansas and Minnesota land near the top of the national list, Missouri and South Dakota fall into the bottom third. This disparity highlights a severe urban-rural gap where well-funded metro areas enjoy competitive broadband access, but rural communities remain structurally disconnected from essential digital resources.The West, scoring a 55.6 average across the region, tells a story of extremes. Washington and Utah are two of the top three states in the entire country, while Alaska and New Mexico are in the bottom five. The interior West's broadband gaps and lower school technology scores offset what would otherwise be a strong regional showing from the Pacific Northwest and Mountain states.The South, scoring a 48.5 average across the region, has the most ground to cover. The region benefits from Virginia landing in ninth, but the weight of lower broadband penetration, lower school technology investment, and lower search demand in states like Louisiana, Alabama, and Mississippi pulls the regional average well below the national median.Infrastructure gaps hold states backThe bottom of the table is where the stakes get concrete. West Virginia ranks last at 18.3, more than 62 points behind Washington, and Mississippi sits just above it. Both are dragged down by thin school technology and home broadband, two gaps that feed each other.For most of the bottom 10, the story is the same. High search demand but low school technology and broadband access collectively drag down digital Game-Based Readiness scores.Mississippi: 92.7 search demand, 0 school technology, 0 broadbandLouisiana: 87.3 search demand, 13.6 school technology, 17.6 broadbandArkansas: 77.3 search demand, 19.6 school technology, 18.2 broadbandAlabama: 77.3 search demand, 8.0 school technology, 40.3 broadbandKentucky: 60.0 search demand, 33.6 school technology, 35.8 broadbandNew Mexico: 60.7 search demand, 16.8 school technology, 22.2 broadbandWhen a student can't access a game-based learning platform at home, and the school lacks the device infrastructure to make up the difference, the readiness gap becomes structural rather than circumstantial.Two states land near the bottom for opposite reasons. Nevada at 40.5 and Montana at 36.5 carry middling infrastructure, not rock-bottom infrastructure, but their search interest is among the lowest in the country, at 18 and 16. Their low rankings reflect quiet demand rather than a stranded one. It's a useful reminder that readiness is a composite and a state can fall to the bottom because the appetite never showed up, not just because the wiring isn't there.SummaryThe evidence on game-based learning is increasingly settled. Researchers have shown gameplay can match traditional instruction, and the market is projected to nearly triple by 2030. In states like Kansas and Wyoming, demand is absolutely in place. The key differentiator between states isn't interest, but infrastructure readiness and access.MethodologyTo understand how Americans are adopting game-based and interactive learning, Quizlet ranked all 50 states plus the District of Columbia (n = 51) on their readiness to support digital learning games in K-12 classrooms.Each state's Game-Based Learning Readiness Score is a weighted composite of three components, each normalized to a 0–100 scale before weighting: School Technology Access (40%), from student-to-device ratios, school broadband, and per-pupil technology spending (NCES, FCC E-Rate, and COSN data); Household Broadband Access (30%), the share of households with a broadband subscription (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2022, Table B28002); and Search Interest (30%), the average of Google Trends interest in "learning games," "educational games," and "classroom games" over the trailing 12 months.Regional averages follow the U.S. Census Bureau's four standard regions, with each state's score averaged within its region. Where Google Trends reported a maximum index of 100, that figure is preserved as reported; because Trends measures interest relative to each state's own search volume, values from smaller states reach that ceiling more easily and should be read as relative signals, not absolute counts.This story was produced by Quizlet and reviewed and distributed by Stacker.
	What is postpartum psychosis, and what are the signs? What is postpartum psychosis, and what are the signs?Postpartum psychosis is one of the most serious (but most misunderstood) perinatal mental health conditions. It’s a psychiatric emergency that requires urgent care, yet many people don’t recognize what it can look like. Unfortunately, lack of knowledge, stigma, and fear often delay diagnosis and treatment. What matters most is that it is treatable, and getting help quickly can save lives. No one who experiences it is to blame, and they deserve care, compassion, and support.Postpartum psychosis involves a disconnect from reality, often accompanied by delusions and hallucinations that make it hard to tell what's real and what isn't. While often misunderstood, it’s a serious psychiatric crisis that requires immediate medical attention. Unfortunately, symptoms are sometimes misinterpreted by partners and family members, and the person experiencing them typically lacks the insight into their perceptions and behaviors needed to seek help on their own. That's why it's so important for partners and loved ones to know what to watch for and when to seek help, Radial Health reports.What is postpartum psychosis (PPP)?Postpartum psychosis, or PPP, is a severe, rapid-onset mental health emergency that can develop after giving birth. It’s also sometimes referred to by other terms like perinatal psychosis and puerperal psychosis.Unlike the more common “baby blues” or postpartum depression, PPP is a psychiatric crisis that leads to a break with reality. Someone with postpartum psychosis may experience hallucinations (seeing or hearing things that aren’t there), delusions (strongly held false beliefs), and extreme confusion and paranoia. It can happen quickly, starting within days of delivery, though it can begin weeks or months later.It’s a relatively rare condition, affecting about 1 in 1,000 births. Most people develop symptoms within the first two weeks after giving birth, often around days eight to ten. Symptoms can emerge later, but episodes usually begin sometime within the first three months postpartum."Women may appear ‘off’ or unwell at one part of the day and then ‘better’ or like their usual self later on. This waxing and waning mental status is often misunderstood as a sign of improvement, when it's actually a very concerning and hallmark red flag for postpartum psychosis,” says Katrina Furey, MD, a reproductive psychiatrist who specializes in perinatal mental health.This can be confusing for loved ones and may delay seeking needed medical attention. Such delays are serious because postpartum psychosis is considered a psychiatric emergency that requires immediate medical attention to ensure that both the parent and baby are safe.Because it fundamentally changes a person's perception of reality, it can affect their judgment and ability to make safe decisions.They lack insight into their own perceptions, so they usually can't recognize they are ill.Thoughts of self-harm are common, and delusions often center on the infant. For example, they might believe the baby is in danger or think it needs to be protected in unusual ways. This can lead to high-risk situations that require professional help.Symptoms can also progress rapidly. A person might quickly shift from what seems like mild disorientation to full-blown psychosis.No matter how it presents, it’s important to remember that this is a brain-based illness, not a reflection of a parent's love for their child. It’s driven by biological and hormonal factors and needs immediate care just like any other medical emergency.What are the signs and symptoms of postpartum psychosis?Symptoms of postpartum psychosis can fluctuate in intensity and escalate quickly. Being alert for early signs is key. “Postpartum psychosis often looks less like a ‘primary psychotic disorder’ and more like a severe bipolar-spectrum episode triggered by childbirth, with mania, mixed states, or depression plus psychotic symptoms,” says Greg Malzberg, MD, a psychiatrist at Radial.These symptoms cause profound disturbances in a person's thinking, mood, and behavior and include:Depressive symptomsFeeling low, hopeless, or emotionally numbFeeling very emotional and crying easilyConstant worry, tension, and anxietyFeeling withdrawn and not wanting to be around othersFeeling heavy, tired, and overwhelmedLosing interest in things that matter to youHaving problems concentrating or making decisionsStruggling to take care of yourself or your babyManic symptomsFeeling unusually energetic, confident, or elevatedRacing thoughtsTalking very rapidly or more than usualNeeding very little sleep or not wanting to sleepBeing very distracted and jumping from one idea to the nextFeeling restless or agitatedActing impulsivelyFeelings of postpartum rageMixed symptomsSevere confusion or disorientationSeeing, hearing, or feeling things that aren't thereStrong beliefs that aren't based in realityFeelings of postpartum paranoia and suspicionBelieving that others are trying to hurt youActing in ways that seem unusual for youFeeling a sense of unreality or detachmentDissociation after birthFeeling disconnected from the baby Radial Health How is postpartum psychosis treated?Postpartum psychosis is a psychiatric emergency. Immediate care is crucial. Symptoms can escalate rapidly, leaving the person and sometimes their baby at risk.If you suspect someone is experiencing postpartum psychosis:Seek emergency care right away by going to the closest ER or calling emergency servicesIf you are in the U.S., call the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, which is available 24/7 for urgent mental health supportIf you are concerned about another person, whether it's your partner, a loved one, or a friend, remember that it's appropriate to seek help even if they say they are fine. People with postpartum psychosis often lose insight into their own perceptions and behaviors, so if things seem off, talking to a professional is the best course of action.Treatments include:Inpatient treatment: Most people with postpartum psychosis require hospitalization, at least early on. This might involve:Inpatient psychiatric treatment to provide rapid stabilizationMedication adjustments in a safe, closely monitored environmentMedications: Medications are a cornerstone of treatment for postpartum psychosis, particularly during the acute phase, where they can bring symptoms under control and provide the stability needed for further recovery. The exact approach can vary depending on the symptoms, the individual's medical history, and whether someone is breastfeeding. Medications that may be prescribed include:Antipsychotic medications help reduce delusions, hallucinations, and confusion.Mood stabilizers may help when manic symptoms are present.Benzodiazepines are sometimes used to address severe agitation, anxiety, or insomnia.Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT): ECT is a well-established, safe, and highly effective treatment for severe psychotic and mood disorders, including postpartum psychosis. While stigma persists, of available treatments, ECT remains the most effective intervention for postpartum and peripartum psychosis.Emerging neuromodulation optionsTreatments like transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) and related neuromodulation techniques are being investigated as potential treatments for some postpartum mental health conditions, such as peripartum depression, but are not treatments for PPP.The bottom linePostpartum psychosis is rare, serious, and often frightening, both for the person experiencing it and for the people who love them. The key thing to remember is that it is also highly treatable. Timely care is crucial to ensuring that mom and baby are safe, so being aware of early symptoms can help people get help as soon as possible.Anyone can experience psychosis after pregnancy, but your risk is higher if you have a history of bipolar disorder. If something feels "off" after childbirth in a way that doesn't seem like it can be explained by the normal exhaustion and mood swings that happen in the postpartum period, help isn't just warranted—it can be a lifesaving first step toward recovery.Healing takes time, so give yourself grace. Postpartum psychosis is not a reflection of a mother’s love or worth—it’s a medical condition that requires care and support. Getting help and healing from the experience is a testament to your strength and resilience.This story was produced by Radial Health and reviewed and distributed by Stacker.
	Why consumers are reading supplement labels closely Why consumers are reading supplement labels closelyOver the last few years, people have grown more careful about what they put into their bodies.Before a consumable product goes into the cart, many shoppers examine the ingredient panel to see what a brand is willing to show: A March 2026 survey by the International Food Information Council found that 79% of respondents check the label when grocery shopping at least sometimes.For some consumers, what appears on the label may influence whether the sale happens, and a confusing or hidden label may send them looking elsewhere. Trust is a key factor that drives decision-making. It is something a brand can earn by giving clear answers about where ingredients come from and whether an outside lab has checked the batch.This demand for proof has drawn attention from companies throughout sports nutrition and wellness. NutraBio shares a few reasons that explain why shoppers are asking deeper questions.Why Consumers Are Asking More QuestionsStore shelves once carried a certain authority, with hoppers assuming a wellness product had cleared enough checks to deserve its place there. But easy access to health information has weakened that old confidence, especially now that a claim on a bottle can be compared with expert commentary before a person decides to buy.And social media has amplified this behavior, with dietitians and fitness creators turning label breakdowns into public lessons. IFIC president Wendy Reinhardt Kapsak said Americans are actively engaging with label information, and her point helps explain why shoppers want more than a clean phrase on the front of a package.Research also suggests that common label claims are often taken as promises about disease. So a buyer who sees how easily wording can be misunderstood has more reason to look for evidence before trust ever forms.What People Look For on Supplement LabelsUnderstanding the information on a supplement label can help consumers evaluate a product before buying it. Dinar Sayani, an internal medicine physician at Summit Medical Group, told Vogue that shoppers should study the fact label first, since the ingredient list spells out exactly what a supplement is made of.Scanning that panel is where the habit starts, and most people move past the bold front promises to check the serving size and see how many capsules or scoops make one dose. Sayani also warns shoppers to be wary of any label that promises to "cure" or "prevent" disease, since real supplements cannot make those claims under U.S. law.Sayani's advice carries down to the "other ingredients" line, the short list beneath the active nutrients that holds the binders and fillers added during manufacturing. Healthline's guide to supplement labels flags that section as the spot where additives hide, steering shoppers away from any product carrying a long list of them.Near the same spot sits the allergen statement, which Healthline notes must disclose major triggers like milk, soy, or wheat, and a certification seal that tells a shopper an outside group checked the product.Why Third-Party Testing MattersA supplement can reach store shelves without any government approval or testing behind it, since the FDA steps in only after a product is already sold. Because supplements do not undergo FDA premarket approval, third-party certification can provide an additional level of product verification.Former FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb tied the concern to product integrity, calling for supplements to hold the ingredients they claim and nothing else. The FDA says companies are responsible for making sure their products are safe and labeled truthfully before sale, and that leaves buyers leaning harder on independent review.According to the NSCA’s review of third-party certification, one round of testing checks identity, making sure the ingredient named on the bottle is really there. Another looks at purity and contamination, screening for heavy metals, bacteria, or other material that should not be present. Potency follows from there, asking whether the dose matches the claim.Once those checks are complete, a seal on the bottle or a certificate tied to the product tells a shopper that an outside group reviewed the product and verified specific parts of the label. It does not answer every question, but it does tell a shopper that someone outside the brand checked whether the bottle lines up with its claims.Ingredient Sourcing Has Become Part of the ConversationIngredient sourcing can provide additional information about how a supplement is produced. Every vitamin or botanical begins as a raw crop or compound, and the soil and climate of that spot shape its quality well before a factory ever handles it.A weak starting crop cannot be corrected down the line, so careful brands trace each material back to the farm that grew it, holding the paper trail that lets them flag a single bad harvest without guessing which bottles carry it.And the paper trail counts for more once an outside group stands behind it, and the National Strength and Conditioning Association notes that raw-ingredient certification puts a supplier's material through outside testing for identity and purity, confirming it was prepared and handled under strict manufacturing practices.Transparency Is Becoming a Competitive AdvantageRising awareness has turned openness from an optional selling point into a business requirement that shapes whether shoppers return to a brand. And survey data from the Food Industry Association (FMI) puts numbers behind that pressure, since 76% of shoppers surveyed in 2023 called ingredient and manufacturing transparency important when it comes to food, up from 69% when the group first tracked it in 2018.Steve Markenson of FMI tied that demand to loyalty, noting that shoppers reward brands that provide information with trust and are more willing to move from one brand to another when the facts are easier to find. The survey also found that consumers expect product information to be available both in stores and online.What the Future of Supplement Shopping Looks LikeThe future of supplement shopping is moving closer to the product record behind each bottle. Michelle Anstey, regulatory manager at the National Sanitation Foundation, said the food industry must respond to changing shopper demands by making labels more transparent and reliable as new rules arrive.FMI research shows that more than 80% of shoppers would likely use a QR code, website, app, or other tool to get more product details, whether they buy online or in a store. NielsenIQ’s Sherry Frey has made the same connection between transparency and loyalty, noting that brands willing to share more information stand to gain more trust from shoppers.Evidence is becoming part of the buying process, and everyday buyers are pushing the supplement category toward a higher standard from the outside in.This story was produced by NutraBio and reviewed and distributed by Stacker.

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