(Radio Iowa) – Iowa Congresswoman Ashley Hinson says the House continues to work to try and get a budget package done everyone can agree on to avert a government shutdown Saturday. ” I’m not given up until it’s 11:59:59. Right. I’ll fight until midnight tomorrow night to get something done,” she says. The Republican from Marion is a member of the House Appropriations Committee and says she has been focusing on conservative measures that cut spending. “We’re going to try to bring a continuing resolution or some sort of stopgap funding measure to the floor today that I think does that,” Hinson says. “It cuts wasteful spending, it funds the government for only about 30 days so we can continue to do our work and get these bills across and start those conversations.”

Hinson says she’s hopeful they will get something done by the deadline. “If it does indeed get to a point where we don’t have a solution, I will continue to work to make sure we’re having those conversations. But my priority is the next 24 hours continuing to push to get the government funded in a responsible way,” she says. Hinson says she voted against
the Ag F-D-A funding bill last night because it was not good for farmers.

“We passed legislation out of the House Appropriations Committee that cut wasteful spending at these agencies, while still investing in agriculture, and again, Iowa’s priorities,” Hinson says. “And last night’s bill goes beyond redlining waste in my mind, it undermines rural America. And I will not compromise when it comes to investing in Iowa agriculture, I will not allow this process to happen on the backs of our farmers.”

Hinson says there are 435 different congressional districts, and 435 different opinions right now in the House on how to get the budget bill done.

September 29, 2023 (DES MOINES, IA) – The Iowa Economic Development Authority (IEDA) Board has approved awards for two companies, which will assist in the creation of 123 jobs and result in over $29 million in new capital investment for the state. These projects are located in Camanche and Polk City. The board also approved innovation funding in support of two startups located in Ames. In addition, IEDA recently approved assistance from Iowa’s State Small Business Credit Initiative (SSBCI) Innovation Fund for two startups in Urbandale and West Des Moines.

Merrill Steel to expand in Camanche
Merrill Steel, a third-generation family business, is a leading supplier of complex structural steel and heavy plate fabrication. The company plans to expand structural steel fabrication operations into Camanche, where they currently lease space, with the purchase and redevelopment of an existing facility. The project represents a capital investment of $18.3 million and is expected to create 94 jobs incented at a qualifying wage of $19.57 per hour. The board awarded $800,000 in direct financial assistance through the High Quality Jobs (HQJ) program.

Ihle Fabrications to expand operations in Polk City
Ihle Fabrications, LLC manufactures combine wear parts for Case IH, John Deere and New Holland combines. The company plans to expand manufacturing and warehousing space in Polk City by 76,000 square feet and also purchase additional equipment. The board awarded the $10.9 million capital investment project tax benefits through the HQJ program. It is expected to create an additional 29 jobs, of which 27 are incented at a qualifying wage of $33.40 per hour.

Awards made to two startups

GeoVention, Inc., headquartered in Ames, designs products for the HVAC industry. Their three primary proprietary products are the FloVector, FloHelix and TerraLink, which address issues and costs with residential geothermal and air-to-air heat pump system installation. The company was awarded a $50,000 Proof of Commercial Relevance (POCR) loan for IP development and evaluation, market analysis, proof of concept work, product refinement, and market planning and entry activities.

Based in Ames, Salin 247, Inc. developed a platform for small-scale, lightweight, autonomous farm machinery for growing crops. The system navigates the field using various implements for crop production with a goal of increasing sustainability and profitability. The company was awarded a $50,000 POCR loan for feasibility and market analysis, key personnel and market planning and entry activities.

Award recommendations for these funds are made by the Technology Commercialization Committee to the IEDA Board for approval.

SSBCI awards made to two startups

Urbandale’s ClinicNote is the leading provider of clinic management software for universities. The technology is used for 158 discipline programs across 96 universities, with plans to expand further into the private sector. The company was awarded a $250,000 Innovation Acceleration Launch Fund loan for market planning and entry activities.

Through the merger and expertise of Redshield Electronics and LSA Autonomy, Mach Acquisition, Inc. was established in West Des Moines to develop vehicle automation software and hardware for manufacturers. The self-driving systems are implemented by original equipment manufacturers for off-road autonomy in agriculture, construction and industrial applications. The company was awarded a $1 million Innovation Acceleration Expansion Fund loan for IP development and evaluation, competitive analysis, proof of concept work, product refinement, key personnel, equipment, construction and market planning and entry activities.

The SSBCI program’s Innovation Fund increases assistance available through Iowa’s innovation continuum to support entrepreneurs through concept, launch and expansion. Award recommendations for these funds are made by the SSBCI Review Committee to the IEDA director for approval. The committee met on September 19, 2023, to review eligible applications.

(Cass County, Iowa) – Atlantic, Massena, and Anita are all hosting mobile food pantries in October. These will be the last mobile food pantry distributions for 2023. A mobile pantry is a traveling food pantry that delivers food directly to families in need for a one-day distribution. People from surrounding towns and communities are welcome. Mobile food pantries are available free of charge. Anyone in need is welcome, and no documentation is required. Each car can take food for up to two households at a time. Both Atlantic and Massena will be distributing the same food products. If supplies run low in Massena, families will be directed to Atlantic. Full details about the October Mobile Pantries are listed below:

Atlantic Mobile Food Pantry- Wednesday, October 11

Time: 4-6 p.m.

Location: Cass County Community Center (805 W. 10th St., Atlantic, IA 50022)- enter from 10th street near the tennis courts and follow signs

Massena Mobile Food Pantry- Wednesday, October 11

Where: Southwest Iowa Egg Coop (74877 Clarke Ave. Massena, IA 50853) Enter from the west and drive across the scale for pick up. Time: 4:30-5:00 p.m.

Time: 4:30-5:00 p.m.

Anita Mobile Food Pantry- Wednesday, October 18

Where: Anita Food Pantry (208 Chestnut Street, Anita IA 50020)

Time: 4:00-6:00 PM

Mobile pantry dates, times, and locations are subject to change. For the latest information on mobile pantries in Anita and Atlantic, visit https://foodbankheartland.org/food-resources/find-food/. For the latest information on Massena pantries, call (712) 779-3447. For information on upcoming events and local food, farmers markets, and food access activities, follow the Cass County Local Food Policy Council’s Facebook page @CassCountyLocalFood.

(Radio Iowa) – With cases of COVID-19 rising again, the federal government has re-started its program of offering Americans free at-home testing kits. A health official says Iowans should double-check the expiration date on any older kits they have before throwing them out — and before using them. Brian Benson, executive director of UnityPoint Health’s Pharmacy Department, says the solution you mix with the swab or the indicator panel could go bad over time. “You might get a false positive, meaning, it could indicate that you have COVID when you don’t, or you could get a false negative where it would say you don’t have COVID and you do,” Benson says, “so the accuracy could be suspect.”

The feds are now offering up to four at-home rapid tests to each household that requests them, though the tests do expire after a number of months. Benson says if you’re not sure how old your COVID test might be, don’t use it. “If there’s a question on the test and you can’t find any data, and it’s been sitting in your closet for a while or your cupboard for a while,” Benson says, “it’s probably best to, when in doubt, throw it out and get a brand new one and use that.”

The Food and Drug Administration’s website (fda.gov) has a section that indicates whether expiration dates on various tests have been extended. Order the free tests at: COVIDTests.gov.