LEXINGTON, Ky.--The Bluffton University women's basketball team wrapped up its season on Friday, Feb. 24, 2023, following a tough matchup with the 2nd ranked team in the nation for Division 3, the Transylvania University Pioneers. The Beavers finished with a 16-10 record. Transy stays perfect with an impressive 26-0 mark as they remain the favorites to take home the Heartland Conference trophy again this year.

By Jay Salyer, APRN-CNP
Endocrinology & Diabetes Specialists of Northwest Ohio

Type 2 diabetes is an illness that interferes with the way in which your body utilizes blood sugar. The human body is made of trillions of cells (brain cells, muscle cells, skin cells, hair cells, etc.) and all of those cells need sugar to function properly. Sugar is transported to body cells with the help of the hormone insulin. If your body stops making insulin (type 1 diabetes) or stops responding to insulin appropriately (type 2 diabetes), sugar can elevate in the bloodstream rather than getting to the cells where it belongs. Insulin resistance, a major contributor to the development of type 2 diabetes, can be improved through regular physical activity, which dramatically improves diabetic control by reducing the amount of medication needed to treat the disease.

Benefits of activity 

Regular physical activity helps to prevent and/or improve a variety of chronic illnesses including heart disease, osteoporosis, various cancers, depression, anxiety, as well as type 2 diabetes. With a focus on diabetes, activity increases the effect of insulin within the body. Medications used to treat the disease are also more effective with regular activity. These improvements are not only witnessed during activity itself, but last for several hours following exercise completion. Additionally, long-standing increase in insulin sensitivity happens from increased muscle mass, reduction in fat tissues, and changes within the liver all of which, in turn, significantly improves blood sugar control.

COLUMBUS—Ohio Governor Mike DeWine has made appointments including:

Kathryn N. Farmer of Bluffton has been reappointed to the Ohio AMBER Alert Committee for a term beginning February 24, 2023, and ending February 6, 2025.

Keith A. Cheney of Lima has been appointed to the Ohio Casino Control Commission for a term beginning February 24, 2023, and ending February 21, 2027.

Annie Mae Palte, affectionately known as Shorty since she was two years old, went to her heavenly home on February 23, 2023, at the age of 69. She passed surrounded by her dear family at Lima Memorial Health System. 

Shorty was born June 6, 1953 in Cannon, KY, to Richard and Nellie (Mason) Smith who preceded her in death. On December 12, 1986 she married Robert "Poke" Palte who survives.

Beavers will play #2-ranked Translvania on February 24

By Ethan Stearns, sports information assistant

ANDERSON, Ind. --The Bluffton University women's basketball defeated Anderson University in the first round of the Heartland Conference Tournament on Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2023. The Beavers improved to 16-9 and Anderson finished its season with a 15-10 mark. The victory avenged two straight conference tourney knockouts at the hands of AU.

See attached graphic for Allen County data

COLUMBUS–The Ohio State Highway Patrol joined forces with other members of the 6-State Trooper Project to focus on speed, safety belt and OVI enforcement on Interstate 75. During the project, 682 people in Ohio were issued citations including 618 for speed and 52 for safety belt violations. Additionally, 12 people were cited for OVI.

The number of farms in Ohio in 2022 was 76,500, according to the USDA, NASS, Great Lakes Regional Office. Land in farms was 13.1 million acres, down 400,000 acres from last year. The average size farm in Ohio was 171 acres per farm, down 5 acres 2021. 

The number of farms in the United States for 2022 is estimated at 2,002,700, down 9,350 farms from 2021. Total land in farms, at 893,400,000 acres, decreased 1,900,000 acres from 2021. The average farm size for 2022 is 446 acres, up from 445 acres the previous year.

Letter to the Icon from William Kose, MD, JD, Vice President of Special Projects, Blanchard Valley Health System

Those of you who receive health insurance through Medicaid, or food through Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, will be affected by some changes happening soon.

While these changes are happening at the federal level, and affect multiple agencies, we here at Blanchard Valley Health System want to help make sure everyone has the information they need.

Both Medicaid and SNAP have been operating under different regulations ever since public health declared a federal emergency on Jan. 31, 2020, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. States could not remove the insured from their Medicaid rolls as long as the public health emergency was in effect.