(Radio Iowa) – House Speaker Pat Grassley says House Republicans intend to examine the activities of agencies that provide temporary workers, like traveling nurses, in Iowa nursing homes. “We pay for as a state, roughly 50% of the bill…in nursing homes through Medicaid,” Grassley says. “And right now we’re seeing every time we put more money into the sytem, these out-of-state companies continue to skyrocket the rates.” Grassley says it appears the agencies are also “poaching” staff from nursing homes.

“What is the number one priority when it comes to providing care?” Grassley says. “It’s making sure you have proper staffing levels and continuity of care and that’s why we’re going to look at it.” In December, Senate Democrats called on Senate Republicans to launch an investigation of cases of abuse and neglect in Iowa nursing homes. Grassley says as House members being drafting next year’s budget the state agency that inspects nursing homes, those issues will be examined, along with nursing home staffing issues in general.

“Whether it’s accountability for the individuals in the home or its for the taxpayer, I think it’s something we need to engage in,” Grassley says. Grassley made his comments on “Iowa Press” on Iowa P-B-S. Six months ago, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services determined 42 percent of Iowa nursing homes had a shortage of nurses and other staff who provide direct care to residents. That’s nearly double the national average and Iowa nursing homes have begun to rely on temporary agencies to fill key roles.

(Radio Iowa) – Senator Chuck Grassley has been discharged from a hospital in the Washington, D.C. area where he was being treated for an infection. On Tuesday, Grassley’s U-S Senate office announced Grassley was receiving antibiotic infusions as treatment for an infection. His office announced late Thursday afternoon that he’d been released from the hospital and expects to be back to work next week. Just over an hour after that announcement, Grassley posted a message on the social media platform X in his typical syntax, thanking people for the well wishes and prayers, saying he’s happy to be home and he looks forward to getting back to work.

Grassley, who is 90, had hip surgery in January of last year to repair a fracture. He is the oldest currently serving member of the U-S Senate.

(Radio Iowa) – Many Iowa businesses are still struggling to recover from last week’s double-whammy of monster snowstorms, including LifeServe Blood Center. Center spokeswoman Shay Willis says the heavy snowfalls caused the center several setbacks, which impacted perhaps thousands of patients in the 161 hospitals in Iowa, Nebraska, and South Dakota which LifeServe supplies with blood products.

“We have unfortunately had to cancel some of our mobile blood drives,” Willis says. “We’ve also had to either adjust or close some of our donor centers, so we have seen nearly a 1,000-unit loss, and if you really calculate that to the number of lives impacted, it’s nearly 3,000 lives.” That’s because each unit of blood donated can save up to three lives. Willis says all of the non-profit’s facilities in Iowa are open again now, but blood supplies are running critically low. She says all blood types are needed.

“That actually changes daily, but if you were to visit our website and look at our homepage, you can actually see every single day what types of blood are most in need,” Willis says. “Today, our inventory in some cases looks decent, but in other cases, not so much.” It’s been a challenging few weeks for LifeServe, as the mass shootings at Perry High School on January 4th prompted an urgent demand for extra blood at Des Moines area trauma hospitals.

LifeServe photo

“We had to use a lot of O-negative and O-positive blood and so those types of blood are typically the lowest and most critically in need,” Willis says. “I think that’s still the case today, but really I think the moral of the story is, there is always a need for a safe and stable community blood supply.”

LifeServe has 11 donor centers in Iowa: Ames, Ankeny, Des Moines (2), Fort Dodge, Marshalltown, Mason City, Pella, Sioux City, Urbandale and West Des Moines. For more information about blood donation or to schedule an appointment to donate, call 800-287-4903 or visit lifeservebloodcenter.org.

(Radio Iowa) – The Marshall County Sheriff’s Department and other first responders helped a woman give birth during last week’s blizzard. Deputy Joseph McMillen says he was concerned after getting the call because he had gotten stuck in the snow drifts trying to answer an earlier call. “This is going to be a big deal because I don’t think anyone’s going to be able to get to them in that remote part of the county,” he says. Sergeant McMillen says busting through a few snow drifts on the gravel road, the thought of walking did cross his mind. “As I’m driving westbound on 140th I start to process, okay this is going to be me walking,” he says. “So I kind of made that decision before I even got stuck if I did get stuck and once my vehicles disabled it’s I didn’t even I didn’t really think about it.”

Sergeant McMillen approached a house with the front porch light on, and it turned out to be the correct house with the woman and her husband waiting. “I could tell that she was in the advanced stages of labor based on my experience…so I kind of knew that all right this baby’s gonna come soon and I looked at Dad and I said ‘Alright dad it’s gonna be me and you nobody else is coming’,” McMillen says.

Deputy McMillen. (Marshall County Sheriff’s Dept. photo)

McMillen says dispatchers were working to get more help to the farmhouse, and the Clemmons Fire Chief used his tractor to clear a path for the ambulance. “Me and dad are down there, we’re working with mom and I see a tractor go by. and I know there’s an ambulance behind that tractor,” he says. “The feeling of relief is almost indescribable. You know that there’s an advanced level of care there. It’s no longer just Sergeant McMillan. It’s now Sergeant McMillan in whatever level of care showed up, which turns out it was a paramedic. So watching them come in the back door was they were like angels such an answer to prayer.”

He says he assisted the paramedics with the birth. Sergeant McMillen credits dispatchers for finding help, and for working with the woman and her husband before he arrived. McMillen says they are not releasing the name of the family.

(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa House has passed a resolution supporting Israel’s right to act decisively to eliminate Hamas after the October 7th terror attacks in Israel. The resolution expressed sympathy and support for the families of Israelis who were killed or taken hostage three months ago. The resolution was not debated and passed on a voice vote after half dozen Republicans read the document aloud. Representative John Dunwell of Newton read a section of the resolution about Israel’s war aims. “The House of Representatives expresses its support for the State of Israel’s  right to pursue, without interference or condemnation, the elimination of Hamas and any other affiliated terrorist groups until Hamas and all such groups are permanently neutralized and public safety is assured.”

Representative John Wills of Spirit Lake was the resolution’s lead sponsor. “The House of Representatives calls upon Iowa’s state and local law enforcement agencies to remain vigilant in protecting all Israeli Americans and all supporters of the state of Israel from acts of crime and all other unlawful discrimination.”

Representative Sami Scheetz, a Democrat from Cedar Rapids, is the first Arab American of Palestinian descent to be elected to the state legislature and he voted no on the resolution. Scheetz says the October 7th attack by Hamas was brutal and should be condemned, but he says there’s no reason to believe more violence, chaos and destruction will settle a conflict that’s raged for nearly a century.

There were about 60 pro-Palestinian protesters were in the Capitol rotunda earlier today (Thursday), calling for a cease fire in Gaza.

(Radio Iowa) – Governor Kim Reynolds has scaled back her proposal to overhaul Iowa’s Area Education Agencies. Last week, Reynolds released a plan to focus A-E-As solely on special education for children with disabilities. Reynolds says based on feedback from parents, legislators, school superintendents, and teachers — she is dropping the idea of ending the A-E-A’s general education services that focus on things like literacy, math and science for all students.

The A-E-A’s digital resources and lending library for schools were to be closed down in the governor’s original plan, but Reynolds is proposing now that those continue, if schools are asking for those services.

(Red Oak, Iowa) – A traffic stop in Red Oak at around 11:40-a.m. today (Thursday), resulted in the arrest of a man from Creston. Red Oak Police say 24-year-old Brandon Tyler Andrews was arrested for Driving Under Suspension. His bond was set at $491.25.

CLIVE, Iowa — A Pottawattamie County man has claimed a $2 million Powerball prize, while a second multimillion-dollar prize is still up for grabs. The Iowa Lottery says Danny Buckelew, of Treynor, matched all five white balls in the Powerball drawing on Oct. 7, 2023. His initial $1 million prize was doubled because he opted for the Power Play^® option at the time of purchase, which multiplies the prize at the Match 5 level to $2 million. Buckelew purchased his winning easy-pick ticket at Casey^®s, 403 Stephans St. in Tiffin, and claimed his prize Wednesday at lottery headquarters in Clive. Casey^®s received a $2,000 bonus from the Iowa Lottery for selling the $2 million-winning ticket at one of its stores.

The winning numbers in the Oct. 7 drawing were 47-54-57-60-65 and Powerball 19. The Power Play number was 3.

Danny Buckelew (IA Lottery photo)

Meanwhile, another $2 million Powerball prize remains unclaimed nearly two months after it was won. The lucky ticket matched all five white balls in the drawing on Nov. 25, 2023, and was purchased at Clinton Liquor, 1641 S. Bluff Blvd. in Clinton. The winning numbers in that drawing were 27-33-63-66-68 and Powerball 9. The Power Play number was 2. The winner or winners of this $2 million prize will have until the close of business on May 23, 2024, to claim it at Iowa Lottery headquarters in Clive.

Since getting its start in April 1992 in 15 states with jackpots that started at a guaranteed $2 million, Powerball has grown into one of the world^®s biggest and most recognizable lottery games. Today Powerball is played by 48 lotteries with drawings at 9:59 p.m. on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays.

(Grant, Iowa) — A vacant home in Grant was destroyed in a fire, early Wednesday evening. According to Red Oak Fire Chief John Bruce, firefighters in Grant were called-out to a residence just north of Grant at 1194 U Avenue, at around 6:15-p.m., after flames were scene coming from a structure on the property.

When firefighters arrived, they found the two-story residence showing flames. It was also determined the home was unoccupied.  Multiple agencies assisted in battling the blaze, including firefighters from Elliott, Villisca and Red Oak. Others assisting at the scene include Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office, Villisca Ambulance Service, Alliant Power, Southwest Iowa Rural Water. The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office Communications Center coordinated activities at the scene.

Photo courtesy of Grant Fire Chief Greg Vetter

Firefighting operations were terminated at 12:06-a.m. today (Thursday). No injuries were reported. The property–owned by Phillip and Dawn Chalmers–was considered a total loss. The cause of the fire remains under investigation.

(Glenwood, Iowa) – Police in Glenwood report 24-year-old Roseann Brown, of Glenwood, was arrested Wednesday on a warrant for Child Endangerment.  Brown was being held without bond in the Mills County Jail, pending an appearance before a Magistrate.