The chief of the state’s energy assistance bureau says more than 31-thousand low income Iowa households already have qualified for help in paying their utility bills this winter. Jerry McKim works with Community Action Agencies across the state to enroll Iowans in the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program. “Energy is clearly unaffordable for a large segment of our population,” he says. Each Iowa household that qualifies for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program will receive a one-time payment this winter of about five-hundred dollars.

“Between the weather and some of the fuel prices, we’re maybe holding our own — up to a point,” McKim says. “I still believe my benefit is wholly inadequate to address the energy insecurity that a lot of Iowa households experience.” Iowa utilities sent disconnect notices to 91-thousand Iowa households in September.  “My phone number is on every one of those notices,” McKim says. “Now, I don’t get 91,000 calls, but I’m getting probably about half a dozen a day, folks who are being threatened with disconnection and they’re wanting to know what we can do to help them, if they’re eligible, etc.”

The state ban on disconnecting gas and electric service went into effect November 1st and lasts through April 1st, but it ONLY applies to low-income households that are signed up for a government program to weatherize their home or the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program McKim manages in Iowa. “Even if a household’s eligible, but doesn’t apply, they could be disconnected,” McKim says. “The only other protection from disconnection is a severe weather one that if the National Weather Service says it’s going to be 20 degrees or colder within 24 hours of your scheduled disconnection the utility has to hold off, but of course they’ll have to hold off until it’s a balmy 21 degrees.”

Applications for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program are accepted from October 1st through April 30th.

(Radio Iowa)

There have been a lot of home fires in recent days around the state and Kara Kelly, with the American Red Cross in Des Moines, says volunteers from her agency are working to help the victims. “We’ve been incredibly busy the last four days…with 15 home fires since Friday,” Kelly said. Those fires have occurred in Lamoni, Centerville, Des Moines, Denison, Libertyville, Hampton, Albert City, Strawberry Point, Dubuque, Charles City, Ogden, and Cedar Rapids. The Red Cross volunteers are helping more than 60 Iowans affected by the fires.

“In most cases, the homes are deemed unlivable so we want to make sure they have a hotel, or a family member, or somebody to stay with. From there, we make sure they have money for clothes and food. We want to move them toward recovery,” Kelly said. Temperatures are expected to plummet around Iowa in the coming days, so Kelly is urging Iowans to be cautious when heating their homes.

“Typically, when the temperature starts to go down and people start to use alternative heating sources like space heaters and fireplaces, we tend to see an uptick in home fires,” Kelly said. “We really want people to be aware of some safety tips so they can make sure they stay safe.”

To reduce the risk of heating related fires, the Red Cross recommends the following tips:
* All heaters need space. Keep children, pets and things that can burn (paper, matches, bedding, furniture, clothing, carpets, and rugs) at least three feet away from heating equipment.
* Never leave a fire in the fireplace unattended, and use a glass or metal fire screen to keep fire and embers in the fireplace.
* Never use a cooking range or oven to heat your home.
* Turn off portable space heaters every time you leave the room or go to sleep.
* Have wood and coal stoves, fireplaces, and chimneys inspected annually by a professional, and cleaned if necessary.
* If you must use a space heater, place it on a level, hard and nonflammable surface (such as ceramic tile floor), not on rugs, or carpets or near bedding or drapes. Plug power cords directly into outlets and never into an extension cord.

(Radio Iowa)

The Iowa State Patrol reports a woman and a teenager died, while two others were injured, during a rollover accident Tuesday afternoon in Jasper County. All of the victims are from Des Moines. Authorities say a 2003 GMC Envoy, driven by 14-year old Bryneisha Watkins was traveling west on I-80 about a mile east of Newton, when the teen lost control the SUV while it was passing a semitrailer. The vehicle ran off the roadway into a roadside ditch, and rolled over.

Two passengers in the vehicle, 13-year old Natasha Watkins and her mother, 30-year old Sabrina Watkins, died in the crash. The driver, and 11-year old Nataija Watkins, were injured and transported to Iowa Methodist in Des Moines.

The accident, which happened at around 12:30-p.m., Tuesday, remains under investigation.

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press

LYTTON, Iowa (AP) — Three people have been taken to hospitals in serious condition after an explosion at a protein processing plant in northwest Iowa. The Sac County Sheriff’s Office says three people were involved in a welding storage tank when the explosion occurred just before 6 p.m. at the Proliant facility in Lytton.

The Sioux City Journal reports that two people were taken to Loring Hospital in Sac City. A third person was taken to Stewart Memorial Hospital in Lake City and then transferred to an Omaha hospital. Their names have not been released. The State Fire Marshal’s Office and emergency personnel from Lytton, Sac City, Rockwell City and Lake City assisted with the incident.

Lytton is about 83 miles east of Sioux City.

Presidential candidate Ted Cruz, a Republican Senator from Texas, will travel to Iowa Friday and Saturday. Cruz, who was elected to the U-S Senate in 2012, will start off his tour of Iowa 9:45-a.m. Friday in Sioux City, where he and Iowa Republican Congressman Steve King will hold a Town Hall meeting at Briar Cliff University, Stark Student Center – Clare Room (3303 Rebecca Street).   And, at 1-p.m., Friday, Cruz and King will hold a Town Hall meeting in Harlan. The event takes place at the American Legion Hall (7th and Chabturn Avenue).

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) — A Nebraska man convicted in the hit-and-run death of an Iowa man who was trying to help him has been sentenced to 25 years in prison. Twenty-nine-year-old Dustin Suppi was sentenced Tuesday on a vehicular homicide charge in the August death of Troy Ford, of Sioux City. A plea deal with prosecutors dropped a charge of leaving the scene of a fatal accident.

Troy Ford and his wife, Liz Ford, found Suppi on Aug. 8 slumped over the steering wheel of a pickup. As Liz Ford called for help, Suppi woke up and put the pickup into drive. A trailer attached to the vehicle ran over Troy Ford. The Sioux City Journal reports Suppi, of South Sioux City, Nebraska, told Liz Ford during the sentencing hearing he was sorry.