(Radio Iowa) – Residents in the Sioux City area say their local community college needs to be more transparent about a $3 million settlement with 13 Chilean students who accused the school of human trafficking.

Three other international students from Chile have not yet settled with Western Iowa Tech. Dave Bernstein, the president of State Steel in Sioux City and a former member of the Iowa Economic Development Board, addressed the Western Iowa Tech board yesterday.

“I think there’s great concern over the fact that most likely there will be additional settlements taking that number up significantly, whether or not you actually have insurance in place to cover that or not, whether that’s going to take a hit to tuition’s or come out of your state funding or come out of the levy that goes against property tax holders within this area,” he said. “I think that’s a very significant concern that all taxpayers have a right to know.”

Rosanne Plante, a Sioux City lawyer, is a former instructor at the college. She said the school’s reputation has been tarnished. “You don’t reach a settlement of $3 million without spending a significant amount of money on lawyers,” Plante said, “and without determining that it’s far better to settle than it is to have your dirty laundry aired.”

The students say the college promised a free two-year program with internships, but they were forced into manual labor jobs at a dog food factory and a food processing plant to pay off tuition. The trial in a separate case involving Western Iowa Tech students from Brazil is scheduled to start about a year from now.

(Glenwood, Iowa) – The Glenwood Police Department reports the arrest today (Tuesday), of 19-year-old Jonathan Young, from Glenwood. Young was taken into custody for Failure to appear. His cash-only bond was set at $300.

DES MOINES – Governor Reynolds today sent a letter co-signed with Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig to Secretary Tom Vilsack at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) requesting federal assistance for farmers whose properties were damaged or destroyed by severe weather on April 26-27, 2024. 

The governor issued the letter after being notified earlier in the day that a Presidential Major Disaster Declaration had been authorized by the White House, opening Federal Emergency Management Agency and Small Business Administration programs to disaster-affected homeowners, renters, and businesses in eight counties. 

An excerpt from the letter to the USDA is included below: 

“Iowa farmers have been significantly impacted by these storms and require assistance to recover from these catastrophic damages and to rebuild and replace destroyed grain bins, farm equipment, and operational business losses.  Disaster assistance programs only offered through the Farm Service Agency following a Secretarial Designation, including the Farm Loans Program and the Emergency Assistance for Livestock Program, are needed to help Iowa farmers recover from these storms. 

“As a result, we respectfully request your consideration and prompt issuance of U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretarial Designation and activation of any and all eligible assistance for the following eight Iowa counties:  Clarke, Harrison, Mills, Polk, Pottawattamie, Ringgold, Shelby, and Union.” 

The letter can be read in its entirety online. 

DES MOINES – Gov. Kim Reynolds announced today that President Biden has approved Iowa’s request for a Major Disaster Declaration. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) are now authorized to provide assistance to Clarke, Harrison, Mills, Polk, Pottawattamie, Ringgold, Shelby, and Union Counties that were impacted by severe weather on April 26, 2024.

Residents in these counties can now apply for the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) Individual Assistance Program, which provides disaster-affected homeowners, renters, and businesses with programs and services to maximize recovery, including assistance with housing, personal property replacement, medical expenses, and legal services. Individuals and business owners who sustained losses in the designated areas can begin applying for assistance by calling 1-800-621-3362. The helpline operates from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m., 7 days a week. Anyone using a relay service, such as video relay service (VRS), captioned telephone service or others, can give FEMA the number for that service. Other options include registering online at www.disasterassistance.gov or downloading the FEMA app.

Homeowners, renters, businesses, and nonprofit organizations whose property was damaged or destroyed by this disaster, may be able to apply for low-interest disaster loans from the SBA. In addition, small businesses, agricultural cooperatives, and private, nonprofit organizations impacted by the severe weather may be eligible to apply for working capital loans.  Applicants may apply online, receive additional disaster assistance information, and download applications at www.sba.gov/funding-programs/disaster-assistance.

Applicants may also call SBA’s Customer Service Center at 1-800-659-2955 or email disastercustomerservice@sba.gov for more information on SBA disaster assistance. For people who are deaf, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability, please dial 7-1-1 to access telecommunications relay services.

The Iowa Individual Assistance Grant Program is no longer available in counties where the FEMA Individual Assistance Program has been made available and residents should apply for the FEMA Individual Assistance Program.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – Officials with Cass Health have announced Linda Edelman, RN, BSN is the newest recipient of The DAISY Award, which celebrates excellence in nursing. Edelman has been a nurse for 37 years, and she has worked primarily in public health, with several years of home health experience also. She says “While I was working on my BSN, I was doing my community health rotation in Council Bluffs and that’s when I first found my interest in public health. I loved being able to go into the community and being able to take care of people of all ages from young, pregnant women to my patients who were well into their 90s.” .

Edelman was nominated by Cass County Public Health Director Beth Olsen. In her nomination letter, Olsen said “My nomination is based specifically on the care she provides to our Pacific Island community members. Linda has taken the time to learn about their culture and wants to deeply understand the issues that this community faces each day. She meets them where they are and understands the deep and complex layers of working with an entire community whose culture and approach to healthcare is quite different than what an American nurse is trained for.

“Linda adjusts her works hours to accommodate their long and varying shift work, going above and beyond to meet their needs. It is not uncommon for Linda to work an evening, weekend or on her day off- if that is when the patient has time to meet with her. This community trusts Linda deeply with their healthcare needs. She is known as a resource for the entire community, helping with many things beyond her original intentions of connecting with these individuals. It’s not uncommon to see them greet her in the grocery store or for children to run up and give her a hug when they recognize her on the street.

Linda listens attentively to each concern she is presented with and seamlessly connects each individual and family to the care and services they need to have a better life and experience in Atlantic.” Edelman said, “I love what I do, and I am passionate about helping this community. There’s so much work to be done, and I really want these new residents to feel like this is their home, and we care about them. I really care about them, and I get back so much gratification from helping them.”

Linda Edelman, RN, BSN

As for the DAISY Award, Edelman said it was a huge surprise and shock. “Never in my wildest dreams did I think this would happen. It is a complete honor, and I want to make sure to say that I am so blessed to work with such wonderful people. I’ve worked with a lot of terrific people, a lot of departments, a lot of people in the community – and I’m just so lucky be part of an amazing team,” she said.

Nurses at Cass Health are honored twice annually with The DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurses.® The award is part of the DAISY Foundation’s mission to recognize the extraordinary, compassionate care nurses provide to patients and families every day. The DAISY Award committee at Cass Health thanks all nominators for their submissions. Each nurse who was nominated will be presented with a special pin and a copy of the nomination.

The DAISY Foundation is a not-for-profit organization, established in memory of J. Patrick Barnes, by members of his family. Patrick died at the age of 33 in late 1999 from complications of Idiopathic Thrombocytopenic Purpura (ITP), a little known but not uncommon auto-immune disease. (DAISY is an acronym for Diseases Attacking the Immune System.)  The care Patrick and his family received from nurses while he was ill inspired this unique means of thanking nurses for making a profound difference in the lives of their patients and patient families.

This is one initiative of The DAISY Foundation to express gratitude to the nursing profession.  Additionally, DAISY offers J. Patrick Barnes Grants for Nursing Research and Evidence-Based Practice Projects, The DAISY Faculty Award to honor inspiring faculty members in schools and colleges of nursing, and The DAISY in Training Award for nursing students. More information is available at http://DAISYfoundation.org. An online nomination form is available at https://www.casshealth.org/daisy.

(Red Oak, Iowa) – The Montgomery County Board of Supervisors have approved a request to abate Red Oak City-owned property taxes for parcels at 300 E. Market Street, 818 E. Nuckols Street, and 306 E. Elm Street. Auditor Jill Ozuna said the City has not provided her with details on plans for the use of the properties, including whether or not the houses on those lots will be demolished.

The Board discussed and then approved the abatement and refund of Red Oak City-owned property tax paid in error by Bruce Reich, for 210 N. 5^th Street, in the amount of $324.00. Jill Ozuna said…

The Supervisors in Montgomery County discussed the FY 25 County Budget w/regard to a revenue correction on the Long-Term Debt Schedule. Jill Ozuna explained no action was needed by the Board.

She said also, on the presentation she gave on the budget, the levy amounts are different than what was presented. The budget was corrected, with no affect on the actual budget.

And, the Board set June 11, 2024, at 8:30-a.m., as the date and time for a canvas of the June 4^th Primary Election results. Jill Ozuna reminds voters in Montgomery County, that in-person absentee voting for the June 4^th Primary, begins Wednesday, May 15^th. Montgomery County Engineer Karen Albert provided the Board with a weekly Secondary Roads Department report.

The next Montgomery County Board of Supervisors meeting on May 21^st, will include discussion and action on updating the County Ordinance pertaining to vendor permits for the July RAGBRAI® event.

(Hamburg, Iowa) – The Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR), next month, is hosting a public meeting to discuss past and future management of the 1,317-acre Forney Lake Wildlife Area. The meeting takes place June 4th, from 6-8 p.m., at the Wa-Shawtee Lodge within Waubonsie State Park, located at 2635 Wa-Shawtee Rd., northwest of Hamburg.

Staff with the Iowa DNR will give a presentation on Forney Lake, and then listen to comments and concerns from the public.

If you have special requirements such as those related to mobility or hearing impairments, please contact the DNR or ADA Coordinator at 515-725-8200, Relay Iowa TTY Service 800-735-7942, or Webmaster@dnr.iowa.gov, and advise of specific needs.

(Radio Iowa) – Artificial intelligence or A-I could play a larger role in caring for Iowa’s 182-thousand military veterans. Dr. Mahsaw Mansoor is a resident physician at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics. Through her work in the Veterans Affairs health care system, she says they’re testing the use of A-I technology to recognize eye degeneration in people with diabetes, all without a physician being present.

Mansoor says, “If we can deconstruct that work, especially in a state like Iowa where the majority are coming from rural areas, small towns, I think it’s hard to imagine a reality where we are not going to be improving the status quo.” Mansoor made her comments during a hearing Monday in Iowa City that was called by Congresswoman Mariannette Miller-Meeks, who chairs a House subcommittee that looks at veterans’ healthcare. Miller-Meeks, who was an ophthalmologist before going to Congress, says she supports tools that can get Iowans the care they need, especially given the state’s shortage of health care workers.

“You want to have access to healthcare, even if you live in a rural area, so how do you do that,” Miller-Meeks says, “and one of the ways to do that is to leverage AI.” During the hearing, Mansoor said the V-A is also testing the use of A-I to flag veterans who might be at higher risk of suicide.

(Red Oak, Iowa) – Police in Red Oak say a man was arrested this (Tuesday) morning in the 200 block of W. Washington Avenue. 35-year-old Chase Michael Samples, of Red Oak, was taken into custody at around 5-a.m., for Domestic Abuse Assault while displaying a dangerous weapon – an Aggravated Misdemeanor. Samples were being held without bond in the Montgomery County Jail.

(Creston, Iowa) – An accident Sunday afternoon on eastbound Highway 34 in Union County caused an estimated total $7,000 damage, but no one was injured. According to the Union County Sheriff’s Department, 59-year-old Michael Joe Podliska, of Ottumwa, was driving a 2023 GMC Acadia SUV that was pulling a camper trailer. When Podliska went to pass a vehicle, the camper blew apart and hit both sides of the SUV. The top of the camper came apart and separated from the bottom part of the trailer.

Authorities say Podliska was able to drive away. The camper and trailer were later picked-up, and towed away.