GREENFIELD, Iowa — [KCCI] – Greenfield is celebrating homeowners and businesses rebuilding after an EF-4 tornado devastated the town back in May. Seven groundbreaking ceremonies were held Sunday across town for six homes and one business who are rebuilding, according to the Greenfield Chamber Main Street. The business breaking ground is Super Suds Auto Wash.

Organizer Gina School said her home and business were ok from the storm so it’s important to be able to give back to people who need it. The chamber says this is just the first round of groundbreaking ceremonies. School said they saved dirt from each house and will use it to plant trees in public places next year.

Pam and Dean Wiggins’ family did start fundraising for new trees in town. The hope is to use the dirt to plant one of the trees. School says she’s also planning another project ahead of the holiday season. She’s raising money to buy Christmas decorations for people who lost their homes so they can have a new tree and decorations.

(Radio Iowa) – Texas Governor Greg Abbott says the Iowa National Guard and state law enforcement officers Iowa’s governor deployed to the southern border earlier this year denied illegal entry to countless migrants.  “Thank you to Governor Reynolds. Thank you to your state legislature. Thank you to the taxpayers of the incredible state of Iowa for sending your National Guard and law enforcement officers to our border to help us secure our border and protect our sovereignty,” Abbott said.

Abbott was the keynote speaker Saturday in Des Moines at Governor Kim Reynolds’ annual campaign fundraiser.  “I invited Governor Abbott tonight so he can give us a real, raw account of the mess Kamala Harris has made at the southern border,” Reynolds said, “and share how he’s been fighting back.” Abbott says there’s been total chaos at the Texas border during the Biden-Harris Administration and he’s been forced to call upon other states for help.

“I cannot count the number of illegal immigrants who tried to get into the United States, but were denied by the help of the Iowa National Guard,” Abbott said, to cheers. Reynolds has deployed Iowa State Troopers, Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation agents and the Iowa National Guard to Texas on three occasions, starting in 2021.

Governor Kim Reynolds at her annual campaign fundraiser on Oct. 5, 2024 (Radio Iowa photo)

Reynolds, the first speaker at her fundraiser, drew cheers from the crowd when she mentioned the tax cuts and teacher pay raises she’s approved. She also recognized Iowa native Caitlin Clark, who was named the W-N-B-A’s Rookie of the Year late last week. “How great is it that kids around the country and around the world are learning from this example of Iowa character. And let’s be honest, it’s not just something that kids can learn. It’s something that all of us can learn from her example,” Reynolds said. “This is a political event, but the funny thing is I don’t even know Caitlin’s politics and frankly I don’t care. It doesn’t matter. She’s doing amazing things and we are lucky to call her one of our own, so let’s give her a big round of applause that shows just how much we appreciate her and all that she represents.”

Last month, Clark said this is the second election she’s been able to vote in and she encouraged people to register to vote. Reynolds and other top Iowa G-O-P leaders used this weekend’s event to repeat their calls for Iowa Republicans to vote early. Iowans may start voting at county auditors’ offices on October 16th.

(Creston, Iowa) – An accident in Creston early Friday night resulted in a woman being transported to the hospital. According to the Creston Police Department, the accident happened at around 7:40-p.m. on North Division Street, just north of the intersection with West Irving Street. Authorities say a 2016 Dodge SUV was legally parked, when a 17-year-old female from Shannon City, attempted to turn the car she was driving, around. The 2004 Mercury Grand Marquis was backing up, when it struck the SUV.

The teenage driver said she looked but didn’t see the Dodge. The owner of the Dodge, 28-year-old Crystal Whitney Jacobe, of Creston, was in the process of putting her children in the vehicle at the time of the accident. The impact caused her to be struck by the door of her vehicle, causing an injury to her right hip. Jacobe was transported to the Creston hospital by ambulance.

Both vehicles sustained minor damage and were driven away from the scene. The damage amounted to $1,500 altogether, according to the police report. There were no citations issued. The report only noted contributing factors in the accident were starting or backing improperly.

(Red Oak, Iowa) – The Montgomery County Board of Supervisors, during their meeting Tuesday morning (Oct. 8^th), are expected to approve an Informal Resolution with regard to a complaint to the Iowa Public Information Board (IPIB), about an alleged violation of Iowa’ Open Meeting Law, by the County Supervisors. On a related note, the Supervisors are expected to acknowledge the IPIB opinion found after the complaint that was filed following a Supervisor’s meeting in July, 2024.

In September, the IPIB scolded Montgomery County for what a complainant called “egregious” violations of the state’s open meetings law. In September, the Montgomery County Supervisors accepted a complaint filed by West Township resident Jan Norris against the Board of Supervisors. The IPIB says Norris’ complaint alleged the supervisors violated chapter 21 of the Iowa Code by conducting an open session requirement in a closed session. In written comments last month accepting the IPIB’s findings, the Supervisors noted violations were unintentional, and in no way intended to conceal information from or mislead the public in any manner.

In other business, the Montgomery County Board of Supervisors are expected to approve: Board representatives for the County Compensation Board; Oct. 9^th claims; and, Recorder’s and Sheriff’s Department fees for Sept. 30^th. Tuesday’s meeting will be held in the Montgomery County Courthouse Supervisor’s meeting room in Red Oak, beginning at 8:30-a.m.

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(Des Moines, Iowa) – More than 50 privately owned Iowa nursing homes have agreed to reimburse taxpayers for $13.9 million in unpaid fees owed to the state. In August, Iowa Capital Dispatch reported that records obtained though the state’s Open Records Act showed that 49 Iowa nursing homes owed the state more than $10.7 million in fees the state had so far failed to collect. At the time, the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services said it had entered into payment plans with many of the care facilities.

In response to a subsequent request for the amortization schedules that detail the schedule of payments for individual homes, DHHS recently turned over records pertaining to 52 care facilities, indicating a few facilities that hadn’t agreed to payment plans in August have since been added to the list. The newly disclosed documents show that:

— The payment plans total $13.9 million: The 52 nursing homes are in the midst of reimbursing the state for $13,914,672 in unpaid fees, with many of the monthly payments having been initiated in April of this year. Most of the agreements call for the companies to have their debt paid off by September 2025.

— Two homes owed $1.3 million each: Two of the nursing homes that accrued a large amount of debt are owned by one for-profit company called Pacifica Health Services. That company operates the Carlisle Center for Wellness and Rehabilitation, and the Fleur Heights Center for Wellness and Rehabilitation in Des Moines.

— One chain owed $4 million: The nursing home chain that accrued the largest debt is Accura Healthcare, which operates 19 care facilities in Iowa that are now on payment plans totaling $4,073,725. The chain has been hit with more than $1.1 million in fines for quality-of-care violations, and regulators have suspended Medicaid payments to various Accura facilities at least 11 times. In a written statement, the company said Friday that it is “fully committed to fulfilling its repayment obligations.”

— Some homes charged interest: DHHS is characterizing some of the financial arrangements with nursing homes as the repayment of “loans,” rather than the collection of unpaid fees. In some cases, the documents show, the state is charging the facilities interest, but in other cases the payment plans speak only to the amount of principal that will be paid, with no mention of interest.

— Debtors include closed facilities: Two now-shuttered care facilities — the Donnellson Health Care Center and Fremont County’s Tabor Manor – owe the state close to $1.3 million. The state appears to have no payment plan in place for Tabor Manor, which is currently in bankruptcy and owes the state roughly $1.1 million, but it does have a payment plan that calls for the Donnellson home to make an escalating series of payments through September 2025 to pay $282,265 it owes the state.

— Million-dollar balloon payments: Many of the facilities that owe the state hundreds of thousands of dollars will pay a relatively small amount toward their debt until 2025, when balloon payments of $400,000 or more will come due.

Among the care facilities on a payment plan, is:

Accura Healthcare of Carroll: This facility agreed to make an escalating series of 18 monthly payments, beginning in April 2024, to repay $345,222 that is owed. The plan includes a balloon payment of $309,222 to be made in September 2025.

Accura Healthcare of Shenandoah: In April 2024, this facility agreed to repay the state $62,274 by making 18 monthly payments of $3,460.

Accura Healthcare of Stanton: This facility has agreed to make a series of 18 monthly payments, beginning in April 2024, to repay $31,478 that is owed.

Crest Haven Care Center, Creston: This home agreed to repay the state $24,660 by making 12 monthly payments of roughly $2,055 each, beginning in April 2024. This facility is owned or operated by Trillium Healthcare Group.

Denison Care Center: This home agreed to repay the state $30,480 by making 12 monthly payments of roughly $2,540 each, beginning in April 2024. This facility is owned or operated by Trillium Healthcare Group.

Garden View Care Center, Shenandoah: This home agreed to repay the state $231,639 by making 12 monthly payments of roughly $19,303 each, beginning in April 2024. This facility is owned or operated by Trillium Healthcare Group.

Lenox Care Center: This home agreed to repay the state $30,754 by making 12 monthly payments of roughly $1,729 each, beginning in April 2024. This facility is owned or operated by Trillium Healthcare Group.