(Radio Iowa) – Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds is using 17-and-a-half MILLION dollars of federal pandemic relief money to pay for prevention and treatment programs for opioid addiction. She made the allocation after the legislature failed for a second year to agree on how the state’s opioid settlement funds should be spent.

“But hopefully then they can move forward with those funds next year because I think they’re sitting on $40-some million now,” Reynolds said. “And there’s such a need.” A residential addiction treatment center in Cambridge for 12 to 18 year olds is getting three MILLION dollars to finish construction of its “Recovery Campus.”

“Get them across the finish line,” Reynolds said. “I’m just impressed with that program and the impact that it has on our youth.” Another three MILLION dollars will be distributed as grants for what are called “sober living environments” that provide safe housing for people exiting an addiction treatment program.