A conference this weekend in Sioux City will bring Iowa residents, health officials and healthcare providers up to date on Lyme disease. Judy Weeg is co-director of the Lyme Disease Association of Iowa. She says there are Lyme patients all over the state.

The lecture, open to the public, costs 30-dollars but anybody who can't afford that can ask for a "scholarship" and get a free pass by calling her at (515) 432-3628. Weeg says an east-coast doctor (Cheryl Ortell) who's studied with the best experts on the tick-borne disease will speak on Sunday.

She'll be defining Lyme disease, and while it's for the public a part of the lecture also will be aimed at healthcare professionals. Patients who've suffered Lyme disease will be onstage talking about it, and Weeg says there have been entire families afflicted with it in Iowa. The lecture's Sunday afternoon at St. Luke's Regional Medical Center in Sioux City.