COMMUNITY NEWS
Summer Safety Tips for Your Home
As the start of summer nears and you begin to spend more time outside, there are some easy steps to take to keep your home safe. Consider these tips to remove hazards around your home and protect your belongings.

  • Find and fill holes in your yard (depending on your Declaration of Covenants). Do a thorough walkthrough of your front and back yards, looking for loose soil and dying tree roots. Fill holes with soil to limit the potential for twisted ankles.
  • Secure your garage and belongings. It's likely full of expensive equipment such as lawn mowers and bicycles, so keep the garage door closed when you're not around to keep a watchful eye. And don't leave these things lying on your lawn overnight for someone to take.
  • Inspect and test play equipment. Look over your children's playset and toys to make sure there aren't loose screws, bolts or nails. Leave enough clearance around a swing set — at least 6 feet on all sides.
  • Don't invite crime. It's tempting to hide a spare key under the front mat, but it's also the first place someone will look to gain access to your home. Avoid leaving your unlocked car in the driveway with the windows rolled down — burglars can steal an automatic garage door opener to easily get into your home later.
  • Ask a neighbor to watch your home. If you have travel plans, arrange for a trusted friend or relative to keep an eye on your home. Ask them to collect newspapers, mail and other telltale signs that a house is empty.
Manager of the Year Award Winner!
We are proud to announce that Kate Hightshoe, Director of Hubbell Community Management, has been named the 2018 National Portfolio Manager of the Year ! Kate finally took home the top prize after being recognized as a Top 10 Finalist for three consecutive years, and she was the only manager from the Midwest to make any stage of the finals. This prestigious award recognizes exemplary community managers who are dedicated to their communities and the people who live within them. 

Thanks to all of you who voted for Kate for National Manager of the Year, and congratulations to Kate for her well-deserved recognition!
Monthly Wellness Update: Ways the Sun Affects Your Body
This is an ongoing series dedicated to health and wellness provided by our partners at UnityPoint Health. Each month, look for an article discussing general nutrition, exercise and well-being from the health experts at UnityPoint.
The sun can sometimes get a bad rap for only having negative effects on our health when, in fact, it has several positive effects for our overall health. Carey Bligard, MD, UnityPoint Health, says like many other things, sunshine should be enjoyed in moderation to avoid painful sunburn, heat rash, wrinkles and skin cancer.

Positive Effects of the Sun
Enhances Your Mood
Dr. Bligard says there are many benefits from sunlight, including that it is a free mood enhancer. Days full of sunlight make people feel better and have more energy, but it also increases the levels of serotonin in the brain, which is associated with improved mood.

Relieves Stress
Everyone experiences stress for various factors, such as family, work and health issues. Dr. Bligard says stress can be relieved in a variety of ways, including exercise, having relaxing hobbies, walking the dog or by getting out in the fresh air for a little sun exposure.

Improves Sleep
Sunlight exposure impacts how much melatonin your brain produces and melatonin is what tells your brain when it is time to sleep. When it gets dark, you start producing melatonin so you are ready to sleep in about two hours. With more sunlight in the summer, you are likely to feel more awake.

Vitamin D
Vitamin D is a vitamin involved in maintaining healthy bone strength. One way you can get this sun vitamin is exposure to the ultraviolet light in sunlight. However, Dr. Bligard recommends only 15 minutes of sun exposure to provide all the Vitamin D you need.

The Harmful Effects of the Sun
Sun Damage to the Eyes
Long-term, unprotected exposure to ultraviolet light from the sun can damage the retina, which is the back of the eye where the rods and cones make visual images. Damage from exposure to sunlight can also cause the development of cloudy bumps along the edge of the cornea, which can then grow over the cornea and prevent clear vision. UV light is also a factor in the development of cataracts.

Heat Exhaustion or Heat Stroke
According to the CDC, heat exhaustion is the body’s response to excessive loss of water and salt, usually through excessive sweating. Symptoms of heat exhaustion include headache, nausea, elevated body temperature and decreased urine output. If heat exhaustion is left untreated, it can lead to heat stroke. Heat stroke requires immediate medical attention because if it is left untreated, it can cause death or permanent disability. If you notice heat stroke, call 911 immediately.

Heat Rash
A heat rash is a skin rash that occurs when sweat ducts trap perspiration under the skin. Heat rash often takes place during hot, humid weather and, according to the CDC, often looks like red clusters of pimples or small blisters. Heat rash develops in skin folds, elbow creases, the groin or on the neck and upper chest. 

Skin Cancer
Dr. Bligard says the worst consequence of long-term exposure to the sun is the development of skin cancer. Because the sun damage to the skin develops over years, the older you are, the greater the risk of developing skin cancer. After years of exposure to the sunlight, providers look for three common types of skin cancer (in order of how often they occur): basal cell carcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma and malignant melanoma.
Monarch Butterflies
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The spring and summer are an exciting time in Iowa, especially in our native prairies where flowering plants, fauna and butterflies can be seen. In particular, monarch butterflies will be present around prairies this June.

Monarch butterflies have started their migration north from the mountains in Mexico and have already started to show up in Iowa. Monarchs have a very interesting life cycle, each year going through four generations of butterflies that starts at generation one in early March in Northern Texas and ending with generation four that will depart from lower parts of Canada, traveling 3,000 miles back to Mexico, and eventually will restart the cycle the next spring. Each generation of monarchs travels farther north to lay their eggs, and eventually, around early June, generation two comes to Iowa to lay eggs that will become the third generation.

Monarch butterflies lay their eggs on leaves, but not just any leaf will do. They will only lay their eggs on the underside of a milkweed plant. This plant is food for both the larvae (caterpillar) and the adults (butterfly). Milkweed is one of the two reasons for the butterfly’s migration, the second being that they cannot withstand the cold winters in the northern portion of the continent, where their food can be found. The milkweed plant is actually what causes the monarch's wings to appear bright orange. The bright color displays to predators that the poison present in milkweed plants are also in monarchs, suggesting they will have an undesirable taste.

Within the next month, you will be able to see on the underside of milkweed leaves small yellow eggs. Monarchs stay in egg form for about 3-5 days, after which they will hatch as caterpillars for between 11 and 18 days and will feast on the milkweed leaves until they become a chrysalis for 8 to 14 days. After transforming inside the chrysalis, they will emerge as an adult monarch butterfly and continue on their journey north.
This month's Outdoor Report was written by Joe Anderson, a summer intern with Hubbell Community Management.
Homeowner Rewards
Clean up in June with this exclusive offer from Aspen Waste Systems. Have a dumpster delivered to you, fill it with accepted waste items and Aspen will haul it away.

Save 20% on a lease of at least six months at Cityville Storage, a climate-controlled and secure storage facility. This promotion runs through Oct. 31.
 
Buy $25 worth of food and get a FREE drink of your choice at The Bunker Sports Pub and Grille at Copper Creek.

Beef Cake Fuel is offering Hubbell Community Management homeowners a free Acai Bowl with the purchase of two dine-in meals.
 
Enjoy a $10 meal deal from Papa Murphy's that includes a large one-topping pizza, 2-liter bottle of soda and one side. Use this deal multiple times through Dec. 31.

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UnityPoint is providing a wide spectrum of blood screening tests at a discounted price. The Blood Service Menu offers a variety of tests at various metro locations .
 
Buy a 2018 Season Pass to Woodland Hills Golf Course and receive a 2019 Season Pass at no additional cost!
 
To learn more, contact Ken Norland at 515-289-1326 or 515-263-1600.
Don't forget to take advantage of the Homeowner Rewards offerings, and keep checking online for our latest deals!
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Phone: 515-280-2014
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This email is the latest in our monthly series intended to keep you up to date on Hubbell Community Management happenings.