(Radio Iowa) – Republicans in the legislature are proposing new income thresholds for who qualifies for government food and health care assistance. Committees in the House and Senate have approved bills that say households with more than 15-thousand dollars in liquid assets, like checking and savings accounts, would not be eligible for SNAP benefits — commonly called food stamps — or for Medicaid, although the value of a home or a vehicle would not be included in that calculation. Current rules for Medicaid and food stamps do not have an asset test, but are restricted based on income. The bills also call for a new system to check the finances and verify the identities of Iowans receiving food or health care assistance. Republican Representative Thomas Jeneary, of Le Mars, says the bill would make distributing benefits more efficient and help prevent fraud.

“The legislature is dedicated to protecting Iowa’s safety net for Iowans in need while at the same time protecting the Iowa taxpayer from paying services for ineligible individuals,” Jeneary says. The bill that’s now eligible for debate in the HOUSE also seeks to require some people getting food and health care assistance to work. Democrats opposed the bill. Representative Beth Wessel-Kroeschell of Ames says if the bill becomes law, many Iowans currently receiving SNAP benefits or health care coverage through Medicaid will lose that safety net. “This just seems to me to lack so much compassion for parents who are trying to feed their children and for Iowa’s elderly living on fixed incomes,” Wessel-Kroeschell said.

More than 800-thousand low income and disabled Iowans are currently enrolled in Medicaid. An average of about 280-thousand Iowans received SNAP benefits monthly during the last state fiscal year.

(Radio Iowa) – Preservationists are raising money to buy historical markers for the 182-year-old Oakland Cemetery in Keokuk. The bronze markers will indicate the historic figures buried there, which include a U-S Supreme Court justice, a black abolitionist, and a Union Army general who became one of the first Republicans elected to Congress. Iowa Historical Society President Angela Gates says members launched the initiative as a way to share history with the community.

“You go into the cemetery and you just kind of walk around and you see the markers and you don’t recognize the history behind them,” Gates says. The Lee County Historical Society hopes to raise five-thousand dollars for the markers that would be placed throughout the grounds. Donations can be made by contacting the group. Oakland Cemetery, which opened in 1851, is located on 40 acres adjacent to the Keokuk National Cemetery.

Keokuk National Cemetery (Photo provided by Mayor Kathie Mahoney)

(Creston, Iowa) – Police in Creston Thursday evening, arrested a woman at her residence. 24-year-old Ashley Dawn Eblen, of Creston, was taken into custody for Failure to Serve her ordered Jail Time. Eblen was being held in the Adams County Jail without bond, until her court-ordered time is served.

March 3, 2023 (DES MOINES) – At Thursday’s meeting of the Enhance Iowa Board, the Board awarded a Community Attraction and Tourism (CAT) grant totaling $1 million to improve two city parks in Waterloo. The details for the project receiving a CAT grant follows:

Project Name: Transforming Gates and Byrnes Parks Project, Waterloo
Total Project Cost: $16,918,491
Amount Awarded: $1,000,000
Project Description: This project includes improvements at two city parks. Gates Park improvements include a splash pad, inclusion park, amphitheater and lighted basketball courts surrounded by a roller-skating track. Byrnes Park improvements include the construction of a new aquatic center with a slide tower, 25-yard lap pool, zero-depth entry play area, bathhouse and mechanical building.

The Enhance Iowa Program provides financial incentives to communities for the construction of recreational, cultural, educational or entertainment facilities that enhance the quality of life in Iowa. To date, 105 CAT grants have been awarded by the board, totaling $34,503,023. The next Enhance Iowa Board meeting is scheduled for April 6, 2023.

JOHNSTON, Iowa – March 3, 2023– The National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) recognized Iowa Corn Growers Association members as winners of the 2022 National Corn Yield Contest (NCYC). The top four winners in each category will be recognized during the 2023 Commodity Classic in Orlando, Florida on March 8-11. These selected farmers will be honored for their ability to produce the most corn per-acre, which lends itself to fueling and feeding the world. NCYC grants recognition to the participants for their earned accomplishment and  also gives them the opportunity to learn from their peers.

Among the Top yield winners from Iowa is:

Conventional Non-Irrigated:
Jim Gregory, Tabor, 305.86 bu/acre

No-Till Non-Irrigated:

Taber Anderson, Marne, 310.08 bu/acre
Kirk Hartman, Cumberland, 299.24 bu/acre

Contest winners received national recognition in the publication National Corn Yield Guide, as well as cash trips and other awards from participating sponsor seed, chemical and crop protection companies. The National Corn Yield Contest, now in its 58th year, remains one of NCGA’s most popular programs for members.

For a complete list of national and state winners, visit www.ncga.com.