The National Multiple Sclerosis Society is pressing state officials to create a new grant program to help elderly and disabled Iowans renovate their homes. Dan Endreson is a public policy manager for the organization’s upper Midwest chapter. “That goal is that by creating homes that are safe, they can either delay or forego the need to move into long-term care,” he says.

Endreson and others met privately with Governor Branstad in August to discuss the concept. Endreson made the case in public last week at a budget hearing, asking Branstad to set aside 600-thousand dollars in state money for a Home Modification Assistance Program. “The purpose is to provide grants to Iowans who are elderly or living with the disability to modify their homes, to increase accessibility and safety,” Endreson says.

Endreson argues the investment ultimately would save the state money, keeping more Iowans living independently at home rather than moving into costly long-term care facilities. Traditional health insurance, Medicare and Medicaid typically do not cover modifications like grab bars in the shower that make a home more accessible and safe for an elderly or disabled resident. Several other states offer mortgage assistance or grant programs to help finance those kind of upgrades.

(Radio Iowa)

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 3:23 a.m. CST

CASCADE, Iowa (AP) — A 61-year-old man has died in an eastern Iowa rollover crash. The Dubuque County sheriff’s office says the man was traveling south on U.S. Highway 151 shortly before 7 a.m. Monday when he lost control and rolled his Chevy Tracker into the median. The crash happened near Cascade. Authorities say the man was not wearing a seat belt, and was ejected from the sports utility vehicle.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Authorities charged a former Iowa judge with insurance fraud days after she appeared in court to challenge her two-year-old firing over the same allegation. Former Administrative Law Judge Susan Ackerman joined her union Dec. 16 in asking a judge to throw out an arbitration decision that upheld her termination. Days later, Ackerman was charged with a felony for allegedly falsely certifying that her daughter was single so that she could qualify for state insurance.

DAVENPORT, Iowa (AP) — A preliminary hearing has been scheduled Jan. 6 for a Bettendorf woman accused of stealing more than $434,000 from her employer. Court records say Joan Maureen Smith is charged with felony theft. Her attorney didn’t immediately return a call Monday from The Associated Press. Smith is accused of stealing from Chest and Vascular Surgery in Davenport.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Utilities have restored power to most of their Iowa and Nebraska customers following the high winds and heavy rains on Christmas. The National Weather Service says 70 mph gusts were recorded Sunday at Nebraska airports in Norfolk and Wayne. Gusts topping 60 mph knocked out power to more than 4,300 customers in the Sioux City, Iowa, area. MidAmerican Energy says fewer than 200 Iowa customers were still without power.

Advocates in the “Y” movement are asking state officials to extend a program that’s financing improvements to Y-M-C-A facilities in some Iowa cities. There are currently 26 “Y-M-C-A” organizations in Iowa, operating buildings at 54 different sites. Craig Hanken is director of the Iowa Alliance of Y-M-C-As.

“In Iowa communities, YMCA facilities serve many important roles. We are the the community center, the day care, the camp, the health care facility, the youth development center and, yes, a fitness facility,” Hanken says. “Iowa YMCAs have been well-loved and well-used and many are in need of support to maintain their aging facilities.”

In 2015, the Rural Y-M-C-A Facility Improvement program was launched. Lawmakers set aside half a million dollars in state tax money for the program. The “Y” getting the money comes up with at least half as much in matching funds. “These funds were designated to assist YMCAs in the renovation or the maintenance of facilities in Iowa’s small communities, so populations of 28,000 or fewer folks,” Hanken says. “This allocation of $500,000, plus $250,000 of match money from YMCAs across the state, brings the total investment in Iowa YMCA facilities to three-quarters-of-a-million dollars.”

Another 600-thousand dollars was handed out a few weeks ago. “Rural YMCA Facility Improvement Grants have assisted and continue to assist YMCAs in meeting critical community needs by creating a safe environment with updated boilers, leak-free roofs, parking access, renovated gyms, classrooms and more and recently we’ve begun to address energy efficiency improvements, just to name a few of the projects that are underway.”

Hanken says the state grants have made a “small, but welcome dent” in necessary facility improvements, but he says there’s another 30 million dollars worth of projects yet to go. Hanken spoke at last week’s budget hearing in the governor’s office. He asked Governor Branstad to include more money for the Y-M-C-As in the state budget plan Branstad will present lawmakers next month. The very first Young Men’s Christian Association was formed in London — in 1844. There have been Y-M-C-As in Iowa for more than a century.

(Radio Iowa)