(Council Bluffs, Iowa) – Do you help take care of an adult with chronic conditions? If so, you are not alone. Over 43.5 million family caregivers in America provide a vast array of emotional, financial, nursing, social, homemaking and other services on a daily or an intermittent basis. Powerful Tools for Caregivers is an online educational series designed to provide tools you need to take care of yourself.  If you take good care of yourself, you will be better prepared to take good care of your loved one. As a participant you will learn how to: reduce stress, improve self-confidence, better communicate your feelings, balance your life, increase ability to make tough decisions and locate helpful resources.

Powerful Tools for Caregivers is brought to you by Connections Area Agency on Aging in cooperation with Iowa State University Extension and Outreach starting Thursday, January 26, 2023 from 6:30-8:00 PM (https://connectionsaaa.tiny.us/PTevening) OR Tuesday, January 31, 2023 (Register: https://connectionsaaa.tiny.us/PTafternoon).  Classes consist of six, 90-minute sessions held once a week.  Class size is limited, and registration is required.

The Caregiver Helpbook and handouts will be mailed. There is no cost for the program but participants will receive an opportunity to donate.  Two experienced leaders conduct each class. Interactive lessons, discussions and brainstorming help you take the “tools” you choose and put them into action for your life. For more information, contact Jan Schnack, Family Caregiver Community Engagement Specialist at Connections Area Agency on Aging at 800-432-9209, Ext. 8116 or JSchnack@connectionsaaa.org

Connections Area Agency on Aging Family Caregiver Program supports people who care for their parents, spouses, or others aged 60+ by providing information, resources, and support.

SIOUX CITY, Iowa –  If you’re one of the thousands of tourists who flock to Iowa’s Great Lakes region each summer, a new construction project will help make getting around the area between Arnold’s Park and Okoboji a lot easier. The project led by the Iowa Department of Transportation is planned to be completed in 2024 and will improve pavement, intersections, and sidewalks. Details of the project are now available on a new Iowa DOT website. The DOT says they will do their “best not to interrupt your summer plans in the area by completing the road work during “off-peak” tourist season (before Memorial Day and after Labor Day). The work is scheduled to be completed in four phases over two years.

The website includes more information on the schedule and details of the project including how the project will affect your travel. Improvements you can expect to see in the area when the project is done include:

• New pavement on U.S. 71 from Okoboji Grove Road in Arnolds Park through Okoboji View Avenue in Okoboji
• Extension of the three-lane section of U.S. 71 to the south of Lake Street.
• Improved mobility in the area by updating the sidewalks to be compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act
• New barrier rail that separates vehicles from pedestrians on the causeway
• Aesthetic enhancements on the causeway barrier rail and updated pavement in the space between the road and the barrier rail
• New traffic signals at Lake Street and Linden Street in Arnolds Park

For questions, contact Dakin Schultz at Dakin.schultz@iowadot.us or 712-274-5837

(Radio Iowa) – This could be a pivotal week for Governor Kim Reynolds’ top legislative priority. Speaker Pat Grassley says the goal is for the House to take some level of action on the governor’s new bill to give state money over the next two years to low income parents sending kids to private school. In year three, all private school parents could apply for the state payment. Governor Reynolds told Radio Iowa state money spent on education should benefit all students.

“We made that decision a long time ago when it came to education. We just said we’re going to fund education for students, people that have the means and people that don’t. We fund Social Security the same way. It’s not based on whether you have money or you don’t,” Reynolds says, “so I feel like this is the status quo.” Some House Republicans have publicly said they will not vote for the plan. It would require “no” votes from at least 14 of the 64 Republicans in the House, though, to prevent its passage.

The governor’s bill is eligible for debate in the Iowa Senate this week as well. None of the Democrats in the Senate or the House will vote for the plan. Senator Claire Celsi of Des Moines says the core mission of the the legislature is to fund public, not private schools. “It’s an embarrassing overreach,” Celsi says. “It’s an embarrassing waste of taxpayer dollars for a very small portion of our population.” Senate President Amy Sinclair of Allerton says Republicans in the Senate have been supporting this move for years.

“I don’t think I’ve been shy in six years of introducing possibility after possibility on parents rights and choice in education,” Sinclair says. “For six years I’ve been singing this same song.” Governor Reynolds issued an open letter to Iowans late Friday, calling her plan a worthy investment in the future. The top Democrat in the Senate says the governor’s plan diverts state funding for public education to wealthy Iowans who don’t need the subsidy to pay private school tuition.

Atlantic, Iowa – The Southwest Iowa Housing Trust Fund (SWIHTF) is seeking applicants for its Homeownership Assistance Program. The program is made possible
by a $100,000 grant from the Iowa Finance Authority to SWIHTF which is administered by Southwest Iowa Planning Council (SWIPCO). Over the past 5 years, this program
has assisted more than 100 homebuyers secure $8 million in home mortgages that would have not been able to happen without this program.

The Iowa Finance Authority provides grants and low-interest loans through several programs, many of which are available to southwest Iowans who wish to purchase a
home but may otherwise struggle to obtain resources.

SWIPCO Grant Specialist Ann Anstey says the Homeownership Assistance Program is a little-known but valuable option for homebuyers. “This is a great program for folks who want to own a home of their own,” said Anstey. “A lot of times, people qualify but don’t
even know the program’s there for them to use.”

Anstey said the program is available to individuals and families who earn up to 80% of the area median income where they live. The area median income is calculated each
year in each city or municipality. Applications are approved subject to income eligibility and on a first-come, first-served basis.

The program can assist potential homebuyers of new and existing housing with down payment assistance. The grant can fund up to 7% of the purchase price up to $8,000.
The first $5,000 is a 5-year forgivable loan, forgiven at 20% per year. The remaining amount is a 1% loan for up to 5 years.

The Homeownership Assistance Prgram can help a home buyer cut down on monthly mortgage payments and also ensure that they pay much less overall for the price of
their home. If a home buyer purchases a home for $150,000 at a fixed rate of 7% over 30 years and pays a $15,000 downpayment, they will mortgage a total of $135,000 for their home with a monthly payment of $898 and will pay $323,337 total for the 30 year loan. If a home buyer uses the Homeownership Assistance Program for that same home purchase, they will mortgage a total of $127,000 for their home with a monthly payment of $844 and will pay $304,176 total for the 30 year loan. This means the home buyer will save $19,161 total through the life of their loan.

To apply, homebuyers must have a signed purchase agreement in effect and have a mortgage application in process with a lender. Please allow a minimum of two weeks from application submittal for final approval prior to closing. Applicants can request an application from ann.anstey@swipco.org or call SWIPCO at 712-243-4196.

The Cass County Conservation Board regretfully must cancel the Cabin Fever Escape program due to poor road conditions inside the park. The program/open house was to be held on Saturday, January 21^st from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. at the Outdoor Educational Classroom near Massena.

The Red Oak Police Department reports the arrest of 35-year-old Richard Dean Pierce III of Council Bluffs on a valid Shelby County Warrant for Theft 2nd Degree. Pierce III was arrested at approximately 4:33 p.m. in the 700 block of East Market Street in Red Oak and taken to the Montgomery County Jail. He was held on $5,000 bond awaiting extradition by Shelby County.

(Radio Iowa) – Governor Kim Reynolds is open to repealing the requirement that state and local officials ensure there’s an equal balance of men and women appointed to boards and commissions.

A bill to repeal that gender balance requirement is eligible for debate in the Senate State Government Committee. Reynolds is not committing to sign the bill into law, but the concept is something she supports.

“First of all, I think you need to want to be a part of it, that you want to be on a board because you have a passion about it,” Reynolds said during an interview with Radio Iowa. “…I just feel like the best, most qualified and somebody who wants to do it is the person we should put in that position.”

General balance has been required on all boards and commissions in state government since 1987. In 2009, the legislature passed a law to require gender balance on city and county boards and commissions established by state law.

“Boy, sometimes things go full circle. I actually spoke against that bill when I was a senator in the Iowa state Senate,” Reynolds said.

It has become increasingly hard in rural Iowa to find people to serve on local boards and commissions, according to Reynolds and others who support the bill, and this added requirement makes even it tougher.

Iowa governors are responsible for appointing the members of all boards and commissions in state government. Reynolds said her approach to filling those positions isn’t likely to change if the gender balance requirement is lifted.

“Intuitively I do that anyway because I just think I’m always looking for balance. I think it’s important. I think you need that kind of dynamics to really drive a healthy discussion, get a balanced discussion, so I think that inherently would happen,” Reynolds said. “I just have never have felt good about that: ‘We need three women here to fill three slots.’”

Supporters of the gender diversity requirement say the law helps bring women who might be overlooked into leadership roles on boards and commissions. Iowa is among eight states that have a gender equity requirement for government boards. Last summer, a Los Angeles court ruled California’s gender diversity requirement was unconstitutional. The State of California is appealing that ruling.

(Radio Iowa) – The Marshall County Sheriff is looking for the people who left an SUV stolen in State Center at a train crossing in Marshalltown.

The operator of a passing train noticed a vehicle along the railroad tracks. As deputies responded, a second train struck the vehicle around 3:48 a.m. The 2017 Chevrolet Traverse was found with no occupants and signs that they had fled. There were no indications of injuries. The railroad has resumed operations on one track and full operations are expected once the vehicle is removed.

Anyone with information on the case is encouraged to contact the Marshall County Sheriffs office. 641-754-6380.

(Radio Iowa) – The state unemployment rate held steady at 3.1% in December. Iowa Workforce Development director, Beth Townsend, says there were some positive signs as the year wrapped up.

“Iowa employers added 2,400 jobs in December — we’ve had 10, out of 12 months of job growth, over 2022. That’s a good sign,” Townsend says. “Added 34,200 jobs over the past year. So that’s also a good sign. We have 45,600 Iowans working now that we didn’t have in 2021.”

The labor force participation rate dropped slightly as Townsend says about 1,700 people dropped out of the workforce. “It’s hard to say why or attribute it to a single factor. At the end of the year, we traditionally see that’s when people retire,” she says. “So it could be some folks who retired at the end of 2022. That might explain some of it.”

Townsend says the state entered 2023 on good footing in the face of some ongoing national issues. “It’s solid is how I would rate it. Because when you look at what’s going on nationally, in terms of, you know, fiscal markets, and the high inflation and instability in the supply chain, those types of issues are still around in 2022 and causing problems,” Townsend says. ” So the fact that we added, you know, over 34-thousand jobs in the last 12 months, is a good sign.”

Employers continue to cite the need for more skilled workers, and she says that’s one thing IWD will continue working on. “That’ll remain our focus is making connections between employers and employees, trying to help people find the right training programs they need. You know, we have a lot of workforce training opportunities in Iowa. Our community colleges have a lot of different programs. We have other registered apprenticeship programs,” Townsend says. She says there are lot of good programs trying to create employee pipelines that are crucial to fixing the workforce crisis employers face.