Iowa Congresswoman Ashley Hinson, a Republican from Marion, was one of two members of the Iowa delegation to vote against a U-S House bill that caps the cost of insulin at 35 dollars. Hinson says she doesn’t like the other costs that go with the bill. “It’s a serious issue we should be tackling here in Congress in a bipartisan way. It was disheartening for me to see Democrats and Speaker Pelosi mover forward with this legislation — because it will raise premiums for over 200 million Americans,” Hinson says.

Republican Congressman Randy Feenstra voted against the bill, while Republican Marionette Miller-Meeks and Democrat Cindy Axne voted for it. Hinson says the bill gives too much control to the government. “It also sets a dangerous precedent here that the governor should be able to control in the private sector the price of medications that Americans need,” she says.

Hinson says the favors another bill that includes several bipartisan provisions. “It caps seniors out of pocket for insulin at 50 dollars per month, and it also allows our high-deductible health insurance plans to cover insulin before the deductible kicks in. So, the Lower Cost More Cures Act is a policy of again, 40 bipartisan provisions,” Hinson says. “And that’s the direction we should be moving, not passing on that premium increase to more than 200 million Americans.”

Hinson is seeking her second term in Congress. Democrat State Senator Liz Mathis is challenging Hinson for the seat. Mathis released a statement which says Hinson “would rather protect the profits of her pharmacy donors than deliver on her promises to Iowans. Instead of honoring her word and Iowans’ wishes, Ashley Hinson sided with party bosses and her drug company donors.”

(Radio Iowa) – An Iowa native and his wife have joined efforts to welcome refugees from Ukraine into neighboring Romania. Tim Bailey, a Webster City native, is a Christian missionary who’s part of a group called Youth With A Mission.“We have teams in Hungary, Slovakia, Poland, Romania — countries around Ukraine — who are helping place refugees, get refugees out and bring aid into Ukraine,” he says. “We also have teams in Ukraine.”

Bailey says his colleagues are helping get much needed supplies to desperate areas of the county. Bailey and his wife have lived in Romania for 10 years and have made connections with people on both sides of the border with Ukraine. “It’s heartbreaking on so many levels and there’s such a variety of situations and people,” he says. “I mean there are people who have fled. Their husbands had to stay behind and others are in safer parts of western Europe and others said: ‘No, I’m going to go fight.’”

The Baileys. (photo provided)

Bailey says some of the refugees know their homes in Ukraine have been destroyed, while others have no idea if they have a home to return to. “Every single family is in a different heartbreaking situation,” he says. The Webster City Rotary Club is conducting a fundraiser for Bailey’s organization. Bailey graduated from Webster City High School 22 years ago.

(Radio Iowa) – Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program or SNAP benefits were increased during the pandemic. That ends, starting today. Cecelia Profitt of Iowa City says she used the extra money to buy more fresh fruits and vegetables for her family of four.  “You don’t have to make every single decision based on maximum, you know, calories per dollar or whatever,” she says.

Profitt expects to lose around two-hundred-50 dollars ($250) in food assistance per month. Individuals could see their benefits reduced by up to two-hundred-30 dollars ($230) a month. Tara Kramer of Des Moines says during the pandemic she’d been getting two-hundred-50 dollars ($250) a month in food assistance and that will drop to 20-dollars ($20). “I have a dynamic disability, so I go to the doctor a lot and I am not going to be able to continue with physical therapy because I won’t be able to afford those co-pays,” she says.

According to state data, nearly 290-thousand Iowans receive SNAP benefits. SNAP benefits, previously known as food stamps, are paid out over the first 10 days of every month. The payment date is based on the first letter of the recipient’s last name.

(Reporting by Iowa Public Radio’s Natalie Krebs)

(Atlantic, Iowa) – The Atlantic Area Chamber Ambassadors, Thursday (March 31st), were hosted by Angie Johnson, owner of Gracefully Groomed, LLC.  The Ambassadors joined Angie in celebrating the opening of her pet grooming business in Atlantic.

Angie Johnson, a life-long resident of Cass County, has spent most of her adult life as a registered nurse, always having a passion for helping others. In her down time, she said her other passion was spending time with her animals and loved grooming them herself. A friend suggested she open her own grooming business, but Johnson never felt like the timing was quite right. Fast forward to late summer 2021 when a storefront became available downtown with the retirement of “Mike the Barber”. Johnson said everything began falling into place and she decided to take the leap and open her dream business.

Photo courtesy of the Atlantic Chamber.

Gracefully Groomed, LLC. specializes in the grooming of dogs and cats, with each pet being treated with care and respect. Gracefully Groomed, LLC. is open Monday – Friday, 8 AM – 5 PM and by appointment on Saturday’s. To book an appointment, call 712-249-5483. Gracefully Groomed is located at 9 East 4th Street in Atlantic.

Find them on Facebook at GracefullyGroomedLLC.

(Creston, Iowa) – Two people from Creston were arrested on separate Assault charges. Creston Police reports 37-year-old Santos Olivera-Martinez was arrested at his home in the 600 block of S. Elm Street in Creston, at around 12:50-a.m. Friday (Today). He was charged with Domestic Abuse Assault Strangulation with Bodily Injury. Olivera-Martinez was being held without bond in the Union County Jail until seen by a Judge. And, at around 4:07-p.m. Thursday, Creston Police arrested 56-year-old Rickie Allen Foster in the 300 block of N. Pine Street. Foster was charged with Assault. He was cited and released with a Summons to Appear in court.

Also arrested Thursday afternoon, was 32-year-old Chelsie Nicole Liesener, of Creston. She was charged with Driving While Suspended, cited at the scene, and also released on a Summons to Appear.

Nearly four years after a massive tornado hit the community of Marshalltown, work is getting underway to demolish and clean up damaged buildings that lie within the main downtown business district. Marshalltown city administrator, Jessica Kinser (formerly of Griswold), says this is the first phase.

If all goes according to plan, the demolition should be finished in two weeks. The city then hopes to start rebuilding.

(Radio Iowa) – Disconnection notices will start going out to thousands of Iowa residents behind on their bills for electricity and natural gas as the winter moratorium on utility disconnections ends today (Friday).

Figures from the Iowa Utilities Board show as of February more than 179-thousand accounts were past due, up from 165-thousand last year. The Iowa Department of Human Rights Energy Assistance Program Manager, Christine Taylor, says that has led to more interest in the state assistance program. “This year we have seen about a 21 percent increase in families coming to Community Action to apply for assistance,” Taylor says.

The moratorium on disconnection begins in November and is designed to help the state’s most vulnerable households. “Most of the time low income households do not live in energy efficient homes. So what that means is their homes tend to be leakier and colder and so they have to use more natural gas or electric to heat their homes than some of the other households have to,” according to Taylor.

Taylor says anyone now facing disconnection should contact their utility and their Community Action agency for help.

(Radio Iowa) – It’s the end of the 2022 Iowa legislature’s 12th week and some of the priority issues Republican Governor Kim Reynolds unveiled in January remain in legislative limbo. Reynolds wants to establish state scholarships for parents to send their kids to private schools. Senate Republicans voted for her original plan last year — and this week they passed the governor’s revised proposal. Speaker Pat Grassley says Republicans in the HOUSE are working through concerns raised by rural lawmakers, discussing alternatives, trying to line up more yes votes.

“Ultimately at the end of the day from our perspective, we understand that you’re not going to get every single piece in every bill,” Grassley says. “That’s just the legislative process. There are some things that we hope to work on with the Senate and find some common solutions.” Senate Majority Leader Jack Whitver, a Republican from Ankeny, says any adjustments House Republicans hope to make have to get a go ahead from the governor.

“We’re on the same page with the governor. It’s a very important thing in our eyes to get done and now it’s the House’s court and hopefully we can get something done on that,” Whitver says. “…This is one of (the governor’s) major priorities for the year, so I’m not going to unilaterally negotiate with (the House GOP). It’s going to have to go through the governor.” Reynolds says she meets regularly with these two leaders and is optimistic they’ll find a path forward.

“As we get down to, hopefully, the last few weeks of the legislature — so who’s ready? I am! God bless them. I love them. At one point, I was a legislator…so everybody’s talking. That’s a good thing,” Reynolds told reporters earlier this week. House AND Senate Republicans have voted for the governor’s plan to reduce the maximum number of weeks someone can receive unemployment from 26 to 16 — but only the Senate has agreed to a one-week delay in payment of the first week of unemployment benefits.

“We’re one of the few states that don’t do that. Almost every other state does,” Reynolds says. “Iowa is really an outlier when it comes to that.” Whitver says these two moves have been priorities for the governor from day one of the 2022 legislative session. “And we passed exactly what she laid out and the House has watered that down a little bit,” Whitver says. “We’ll see if we can find agreement on that and everything else here at the end.”

Grassley says House Republicans approved the major piece of this particular puzzle — reducing the duration of unemployment benefits by 10 weeks — to ensure the solvency of the fund that covers the checks. “That’s the good news, that on that piece, it looks like there is that level of agreement,” Grassley says.

Reynolds, who served two years in the state senate, says momentum for reaching agreements and ending the 2022 legislative session will build — as the temperature OUTSIDE the Capitol rises and it feels more like spring planting season.

(Radio Iowa) – The U-S-D-A estimates American farmers will plant more soybeans and less corn this year compared to last year. Randy Broesder, general manager at the Forest City Farmers Coop, says that’s not quite the trend locally. “Around here, a lot of people did a pretty good job of buying fertilizer early, so there’s still a lot of corn here,” Broesder says. The U-S-D-A estimates Iowa farmers will plant at least 200-thousand fewer acres with corn this year compared to 2021.

Meanwhile, the agency predicts a four percent increase nationwide in the number of acres planted with soybeans. The estimate is impacting prices and Broesder says it’s having an effect on planting decisions, too. “Beans were down 40 cents and corn was up 20, so when you change the market 60 cents, it’s going to change what people plant,” Broesder says. “That’s too big.” There are other factors roiling the grain markets, like the war in Ukraine and the soybean harvest in South America.

Broesder says weather here will also be a factor in market fluctuations. “We’re just so dry — and there’s a big dry area — any little hiccup and it could be explosive,” Broesder says. This week’s U.S. Drought Monitor indicates about two-thirds of Iowa is either abnormally dry or in moderate drought, with severe drought conditions reported in Woodbury and Monona Counties.

(Emerson, Iowa) – A narcotics investigation Thursday evening in Mills County resulted in the arrest of two men on drug charges and separate warrants. According to the Mills County Sheriff’s Office, deputies conducted a narcotics investigation in Emerson, at around 6-p.m., Thursday. During the course of their investigation, a traffic stop was conducted on a vehicle just south of Emerson, on Highway 59.

Authorities say during the traffic stop, the driver, 41-year-old Louis Hardrock Younger, of Bedford, and his passenger, 37-year-old Andrew Thomas Copeland Falk, of Council Bluffs, were arrested on several felony charges, including the delivery of methaphetamine.

Records indicated Younger was also wanted on a nationwide felony warrant out of Washington State, for narcotics-related offenses. Falk was also found to have a nationwide warrant out of Pottawattamie County, where he was wanted for Parole Violation. Both men were transported to the Mills County Jail. In total, more than 38 grams of meth were recovered.

Assisting Mills County deputies during the investigation, was the Mills County K9 Unit and Drone Team, the Montgomery County K9 Unit, and Montgomery County Sheriff’s Deputies.