(UPDATED/Radio Iowa) -Governor Kim Reynolds will allow the COVID-19 disaster emergency declaration to expire next week. Iowa Department of Public Health director, Kelly Garcia, talked with reporters today (Thursday) about the move. “After nearly two years of experience with an ever-evolving virus — we have shifted our response and reporting several times. And that continues with our announcement today. Effective February 16th, so midnight February 15th, the state’s public health emergency declaration will expire,” Garcia says.

Garcia says the department has focused thousands of hours and dollars in responding to the pandemic. “A significant portion of those resources have been dedicated to COVID-19 reporting. Including the creation and maintenance of the state’s COVD website coronavirus.Iowa.gov. And the vaccine resource vaccinateIowa.gov,” she says. “It makes sense that with the expiration of the proclamation we would shift this reporting to an I-D-P-H maintained website.”

IDPH Director Kelly Garcia.

The weekly reports on COVID-19 data will be published on the I-D-P-H website, the state will no longer require long-term care facilities to notify the department when they have three or more infections in residents. I-D-P-H will use C-M-S data to identify facilities with positive cases and will assist in infection control. The vaccine finder tool will also no longer be available.

“With this new phase, does it mean that we will stop thinking about COVID — no, not at all — this change is in line with more than half of other states, and we have been in contact with our regional and federal partners,” Garcia says. Garcia says COVID has not gone away and that is not what this move means.

“Does making COIVD normal mean that we are any less concerned with the health of Iowans? No, it means that we must shift to a more sustainable approach to allow our health professionals to manage this virus like we do others,” Garcia says. Garcia says the change will allow them to focus on some things that have not gotten as much attention with all the attention paid to the virus.

“There is a significant behavioral health crisis that is emerging from the pandemic. We continue to see delayed care for patients and an overtaxed workforce. And recently a significant increase in suicide deaths among young people in central Iowa. And we have made connections with federal partners and locals a messaging strategy and response to reach these young Iowans in crisis.” Garcia says they made the decision after talking with health professionals and it was the ultimate decision of the governor to let the proclamation expire now.

(Radio Iowa) – The Senate G-O-P’s five-year plan to cut the state income tax rate to three-point-six percent has cleared the Senate Ways and Means Committee. The bill also cuts the corporate tax rate, reduces and eliminates some business tax credits, provides a tax break to banks and proposes a new way to finance water quality and outdoor recreation projects. Senator Dan Dawson, a Republican from Council Bluffs, says it’s a tax reform package.

“I feel that this bill goes well beyond just tax cuts,” Dawson says. “It actually modifies and modernizes our system for an economy of the future, the 21st century.” Senator Pam Jochum, a Democrat from Dubuque, says the initial analysis shows the tax cut will amount to no more than 28 cents a week for the more than 560-thousand Iowans who’re at the bottom of the income ladder.

“I’m not opposed to tax cuts,” Jochum says. “I just want to make sure they’re very targeted to those who need it the most.” The bill is now eligible for debate in the full, 50-member Senate.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – Officials with Rolling Hills Bank & Trust, in Atlantic have announced that Keith Honke was recently promoted to the position of Bank President. Honke has been with Rolling Hills Bank & Trust since 2008 and most recently as Executive Vice President and serving on the Board of Directors. As President his duties will be expanded to overall bank operations.

Keith Honke says “I am very lucky to work with such a dedicated group that truly care about our customers and their needs. I look forward to assuming this new challenge and appreciate the Board’s confidence in me. We will continue to offer a full line of services that will best support our customer’s needs.”

Keith Honke

Rolling Hills Bank and Trust is a locally owned bank with a total of 13 branches; 10 in Iowa including the main office in Atlantic, two in Minnesota and one in Wyoming. Darrell Hockenberry remains with Rolling Hills Bank and Trust as CEO and Chairman of the Board.

(Atlantic, Iowa)- The $500 Reanne Gruhn Memorial Scholarship is awarded annually to an Atlantic High School graduate who benefited from Resource Room Services in the Atlantic Community School District, or is planning a career in education. The scholarship was established by Xi Beta Phi Sorority in 2003 as a memorial to their sister, Reanne Gruhn. Reanne was an outstanding educator in the Atlantic Schools, specializing in Resource Room education.

This scholarship is a tribute to her dedication and continuous love for all students. All graduating seniors or alumni are encouraged to apply for the scholarship. More information can be found on the AHS Guidance link on the website-atlanticiaschools.org. Applications must be turned in by March 29, 2022

(Glenwood, Iowa) – The Mills County Sheriff’s Office today (Thursday), said a Red Oak man was arrested Wednesday evening on a warrant for Indecent Contact with a Child. Authorities say 68-year-old Michael Joseph Silveira was being held without bond in the Mills County Jail.

Clarinda, Iowa – Officials with the Southwest Iowa Planning Council (SWIPCO), say the organization recently helped the City of Clarinda obtain a $600,000 Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) from the Iowa Economic Development Authority, which announced awards to cities last month. Southwest Iowa Families, Inc., Clinical Director Berneeta Wagoner says “One in five persons will have a mental health diagnosis in their lifetime, so even if you’re not the one, you’ll have a family member or be close to someone who does. With the stigma around mental illness becoming less, we’ve seen a 30% increase in the number of people seeking out mental health services per year.”

Wagoner said the agency simply did not have capacity to meet growing demand in the current building, and the CDBG dollars are a crucial piece of the funding puzzle for the long-awaited expansion project. The renovation and expansion will allow Southwest Iowa Families, Inc., to reduce overcrowding, reduce wait times for services, and allow staff to meet increased demand for mental health services in the southwest Iowa region. Clarinda City Manager Gary McClarnon first encouraged the agency to partner with the regional council of governments. The city’s agreement to act as a fiscal agent for the CDBG award opened up additional funding for the Southwest Iowa Families, Inc., expansion project that otherwise would not have been available.

SWIPCO routinely provides grant writing and administration services to its member communities in Cass, Fremont, Harrison, Mills, Montgomery, Pottawattamie, and Shelby Counties and brought over $53 million in grants to the region in the last two years alone. Southwest Iowa Families, Inc., is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit providing several services to children and families including mental health, support for parents, and foster care after care services. The organization serves more than 1,000 clients from several southwest Iowa counties.

(Radio Iowa) – A northwest Iowa lawmaker says legislature should act to protect the private property rights of Iowans who do not want a carbon pipeline to cut through their land. Representative Steven Hansen of Sioux City says developers stand to reap millions of dollars from these proposed pipelines. “Without federal incentives, we wouldn’t be talking about these pipelines, so there’s going to be winners and there’s going to be losers, but it should be our landowners,” Hansen says.

Hansen notes the Woodbury and Plymouth County Boards of Supervisors are opposed to the state granting eminent domain — so developers can acquire land from property owners who haven’t agreed to easements for the pipelines.  “For all the talk about different rights, I don’t know what is probably more important than the right to do what you want to with your land,” Hansen says. “And I think that’s a bipartisan agreement.”

Rep. Steve Hansen, Sioux City.

Hansen, a Democrat, says legislators shouldn’t defer to the Iowa Utilities Board on the decision for granting eminent domain for the carbon pipelines. Republican Representative Bobby Kaufmann has tabled his plan to require that at least 70 to 75 percent of landowners sign pipeline easements before the Utilities Board could grant developers eminent domain authority to land along the rest of the route. Kaufmann says other recent utility projects in Iowa have been successful in offering landowners enough money that eminent domain has not been used.