(Radio Iowa) – Attorney General Tom Miller says Iowa will get 25 million dollars from a settlement in a lawsuit over opioid abuse. A-G spokesperson, Ashlee Kieler (Kee-ler) says it involves the Sackler family and their company Purdue Pharma. “The settlement stems from the lawsuit that was filed back in the spring of 2019. It looks to hold the Sackler family and Purdue Pharma responsible for their actions with regards to the opioid epidemic,” Kieler says.

The lawsuit alleged that Purdue officials repeatedly made false and deceptive claims that OxyContin was safe and suitable for a wide range of pain patients. Iowa’s share of the money comes from a total settlement of four-point-three BILLION dollars. “The money would be used for opioid treatment prevention programs and recovery for people affected,” she explains.

The Sacklers will the settlement amount over the next nine years as part of the agreement — and the Sacklers will be permanently banned from the opioid business. She says Purdue Pharma filed for bankruptcy after the lawsuit was filed and the company will wind down operations by 2024. The settlement requires Purdue and the Sacklers to make public more than 30 million documents, including attorney-client privileged communications about the original F-D-A approval of OxyContin and tactics to promote opioids.

The top Democrat in the Iowa Senate is blasting Republican Governor Kim Reynolds for how the state has managed federal funds to help low-income Iowans pay overdue rent and utility bills during the pandemic. A Des Moines Register analysis found the state has awarded about two percent of the 195 million in rent relief it received from the last round of pandemic aid approved during the Trump Administration. Senate Minority Leader Zach Wahls of Coralville says that’s unacceptable. “This is another example of the governor saying one thing and doing another,” Wahls says. “She has said that affordable housing is a priority…and obviously they’re slow-walking getting these dollars out the door.”

The State of Iowa is eligible for another 120 million dollars worth of rental assistance. A spokesperson for the state agency that’s managing the program says a final decision has not been made yet on whether the state will apply for those funds. Iowa Congressman Cindy Axne, a Democrat from West Des Moines, says the state should be using all of that money. “I talk to people all the time who can’t afford the roof over their heads. I’ve talked to landlords who are having a difficult time,” Axne says. “Let’s put some rental assistance into those hands so those landlords who have the affordable housing can keep the affordable housing in our communities.”

A federal moratorium on evictions for renters who’ve lost work due to the pandemic is set to end July 31st. State officials have thus far awarded about four million dollars in rent and utility assistance out of the initial 195 million dollar allotment.

AMES, Iowa – The Iowa Dept. of Natural Resources reports DNR staff investigated a fish kill along Ioway Creek in Ames, Thursday (July 8th), after a passerby noticed dead fish mid-morning and called the DNR. The impacted area begins near the pedestrian bridge in Stuart Smith Park and continues south approximately a mile. Several different species and sizes of dead fish were observed in the area; however, live fish were observed at the Duff Avenue bridge.

DNR staff believe a water main break that happened late afternoon Wednesday on South Riverside Drive, which discharged approximately 700,000 gallons of drinking water according to the City of Ames, is to blame, but the investigation continues. The drinking water is believed to have entered into a nearby storm sewer that leads directly to Ioway Creek. Drinking water contains chlorine and has a temperature of 55 degrees, both of which can stress fish, especially during times of low flow such as now.

The water main was repaired and there is no on-going discharge. DNR Fisheries staff will be conducting a dead fish count and the DNR will determine appropriate enforcement action.

At least four people were injured in a crash that happened early this (Friday) morning on eastbound Interstate 80 in Cass County. The accident happened at around 3:35-a.m., near mile marker 58. Atlantic Fire and rescue, Cass EMS and Anita Rescue were called to the scene. LifeFlight was requested at the scene but they declined due to storms in the area. Two dogs in the crashed vehicle were transported to the Atlantic Animal Shelter.

Additional details were not immediately available.

In an update to our previous reports, the Iowa State Patrol early this (Friday) morning, said two of three people who were injured in a crash Wednesday evening on I-80 in Adair County, have died from their injuries at a hospital. Two passengers in the vehicle, 85-year-old Harold Willey, and 68-year-old Faye Frolic, both from Rock Springs, Wyoming, died from injuries they sustained when the 2013 Toyota Camry the were in struck the rear of a semi-tractor trailer at around 7:52-p.m. Wednesday, on I-8 eastbound, near mile marker 75.

The driver of the car, 68-year-old Pamela Willey, also of Rock Springs, was injured in the crash and transported by LifeFlight to Methodist in Des Moine. None of the crash victims were wearing a seat belt.  The driver of the semi was not hurt.

(Radio Iowa) – Recent rains have helped with dry conditions — but they have been spread out and some areas of the state could use much more rain. The Iowa D-N-R’s Tim Hall says severe drought conditions expanded in June from 12 counties in northwest Iowa across nearly all of northern Iowa. “Sixty-two-percent is now severe drought — up from only about eight percent at the beginning of the month,” Hall says. “So that is a significant uptick in coverage of the D-2 drought.”

While the severe drought has spread across the state — the rain we did get in June was beneficial. “June was drier than normal. Normally we get about five inches of rain. We ended up getting about three inches. That three inches of rain certainly has helped to push off any of the real severe conditions that we might otherwise be seeing right now,” according to Hall. Streamflow conditions across approximately half of the state remain in the below normal condition. Hall says other states are in worse shape coming out of June.

“As dry as it is in Iowa, it gets progressively worse as you go north and west into the Dakotas and Montana,” Hall says. “And the prediction in the Missouri River basin is that the runoff north of Sioux City could very well be the tenth lowest on record, going back to the late 1800s.” He says that is a big contrast to the flood fears on the Missouri River in the last couple of years.

)”The Missouri River is in as bad a shape as anything we’ve got here in the state. And it does not look like they are going to come out of that anytime real soon,” Hall says. Hall says the crops need continued moisture as they grow and there is hope we can get more rain as we move through July.

(Radio Iowa) – While many Iowans are relieved most of the “Masks Required” signs have come down, there are some who will continue keeping their faces covered well after the COVID-19 pandemic fades away. Epidemiologist Ajay Sethi says the U-S may be on the verge of joining other countries where mask use by those who are sick is much more commonplace.

Sethi says, “There are already people today who are more likely to wear a mask simply because they had the experience of the previous year of witnessing what the benefits can be.” In addition to helping prevent the spread of coronavirus, Sethi says masks work just as well with other respiratory illnesses like the flu or the common cold.

“Maybe folding mask use into ordinary cough etiquette that we already had before COVID,” Sethi says. “To cough into your elbow, to wash your hands frequently, to keep your distance from others if you have symptoms.” Sethi says the extremely low rate of influenza cases during the pandemic can be credited to social distancing and the use of masks.

“Mask use consistently every year will prevent the spread of things like influenza,” he says, “and I think that’s not a bad thing to do particularly since influenza is a virus that is very dangerous for people, particularly the elderly.” While not everyone will be wearing masks all the time, Sethi says you can expect masks to become part of a basic routine for the sick.

(Radio Iowa) – Iowa Congresswoman Cindy Axne says she’s working to make the temporary federal child tax credit permanent. The new credit was included in the pandemic relief package passed in March and starting next week low and middle income parents of kids under the age of six will get 300 dollars a month through the end of the year, while parents of kids who’re six through 17 years old will get 250. Axne, a Democrat from West Des Moines, says almost 200-thousand Iowa families qualify.

“This isn’t just a handful of people. Eighty-five percent of Iowa families are going to see support on a monthly basis to help them out,” Axne says. “…This is four out of five Iowa children who will qualify for this benefit.” The last federal child care tax credit payment will be made in December. Axne held a news conference outside a Des Moines preschool to tout the program’s potential to help current and future parents.

“We know too many people are deciding not to have kids just because of the cost, so it’s time to support young people. It’s time to support working families and ensure that they can raise their kids successfully and be prepared for the world,” Axne says, “and this tax credit will directly support that.” Tiffany Welch of Clive and her husband have two children. She brought her 13 year old son to the news conference.

Rep. Cindy Axne

“If these expanded tax credits had been available 12 years ago when he was a baby and I was trying to afford child care, I would have been able to keep working in the job that I loved,” she said. “Instead, I had to quit to stay home because it was taking two-thirds of my pay to keep paying child care.” Reverend Robyn Bles, pastor of the Wakonda Christian Church in Des Moines, is a single mom who may use some of her tax credit to pay for swimming lessons.

“It also means for my daughter but also for other single parents households, we can now afford better quality food for our children,” Bles said, “…the apples that my four-year-old will just grab and walk around eating as she is playing.” Some critics have questioned making these tax credits permanent based on the cost, while others say there may be better, more targeted ways to spend the money to improve the economic prospects for low income adults and children.

DES MOINES – More than 200 Iowa organizations and individuals working in arts and culture, film and media, and history and historic preservation will receive a boost from $2.3 million in grant awards announced today (Thursday), by the Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs. Among the Arts and Culture Grant recipients, is The New Century Art Guild in Elk Horn received $5,000 to develop a series of public art exhibitions, called “Walls of Honor,” created by military veterans.

Elk Horn, New Century Art Guild

The grants are funded through the annual appropriations passed by the Iowa Legislature and signed into law by Governor Reynolds, effective July 1, 2021. The state’s investment is enhanced by funding from two federal agencies, the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities, and administered by the department’s three divisions: the Iowa Arts Council, State Historical Society of Iowa and Produce Iowa, the state office of film and media production.

“The annual funding has never been more important than this year’s investment, which will help fuel the resurgence of Iowa’s arts, film, heritage, humanities and creative sectors,” Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs Director Chris Kramer said. “Audiences and visitors are eagerly returning to museums and historic sites, concerts and cultural festivals this summer, even as our industry continues to rebound from substantial financial losses from the pandemic.”

In this round of funding, the department made 244 grant awards for community initiatives and creative projects across the state, arts and cultural organizations, individual artists and filmmakers and historic preservation efforts in 46 counties and 71 communities. The department also designated 58 of Iowa’s leading arts and cultural organizations as Cultural Leadership Partners, a competitive process that occurs once every three years. Cultural Leadership Partners receive annual operational support in recognition of their role as community and cultural anchors that maintain high standards of excellence, generate tourism and support high-quality jobs.

The grants are divided into the following three general categories:

• Arts & Culture Grants – This year, the Iowa Arts Council awarded $1,632,495 in grants to 192 projects across the state.
• Film & Media Grants – Produce Iowa, the state office of media production, awarded $164,870 to five Greenlight Grants for film and digital media productions that will be produced in Iowa.  Now in its third year, this program encourages Iowa filmmakers to build a more robust film and media industry in Iowa. The grants can be used to produce features, shorts, pilot episodes or proof-of-concept videos to help propel a script to the screen. Eligible projects must be ready for production and demonstrate public value.
• History Grants – The State Historical Society of Iowa awarded $550,946 in 47 grants for research projects as well as other projects supported by the Historical Resource Development Program, funded through the state’s Resource Enhancement and Protection (REAP) funds, to preserve historical collections, invest in communities through historic preservation and promote Iowa history.

More information is available HERE.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – The Nishna Valley Family YMCA Staff and the Park and Recreation Staff would like to inform the public of a change in the meeting date/location for a community input session pertaining to the future of splash pad or aquatics facilities. The original meeting date was July 13^th but that date conflicted with several community meetings.

In order to accommodate everyone, the new date/time/location for the discussion on aquatics will be Tuesday July 20th, at the YMCA, and it will take place at 6:00pm. Anyone interested in future aquatics facilities is encouraged to join the public discussion and give input.

For further information, you may contact the Park and Recreation Office at 712-243-3542 or Dan at the YMCA at 712-243-3934.