(Radio Iowa) – Iowa Congresswoman Ashley Hinson is defending her social media comments that Americans hit by Hurricane Helene were “left in the lurch” because FEMA funding was used for illegal immigration. The Administration and FEMA have pushed back after criticism of their handling of hurricane relief, saying there is a lot of misinformation and it is confusing for people. Hinson, a Republican from Marion, says she first raised the issue five months ago during a hearing with the FEMA director before the current Hurricanes.

“These were programs that they had to prop up because of a crisis they created. And the contrast here is that I don’t think a taxpayer dollar, a single one should be spent bailing out sanctuary cities or incentivizing illegal immigration,” Hinson says. Hinson says FEMA’s mission should be clear.

“Their mission should be to singularly focus on helping American citizens. But if you roll back the tape on this, isn’t the first time that the administration has put illegals over Americans,” Hinson says. “They tried to divert resources for veterans to the southern border, trying to take doctors from the V-A and healthcare providers, and then they have diverted federal air marshals from protecting Americans on commercial flights to the southern border.”

Hinson says she has first-hand experience on these issues. “I was down at the border twice, and on one of my trips down there, they had employees helping to navigate the situation at the southern border from FEMA and from T-S-A, and those were just the ones I came into contact with on my short border tour. So Americans are tired of this administration putting illegal immigrants first while families are suffering, and that’s the intention behind my tweets,” Hinson says.

Hinson made her comments during a conference call with reporters.

(Radio Iowa [follow-up to previous story]) -Ryan Melton, the Democrat running against Republican Congressman Randy Feenstra, says the U-S should support Israel’s defense and its response to the October 7th attacks — but there should be limits.  “Hamas is horrible. Everything that can be done that still respects the dignity of the Palestinian folks in Gaza, in the West Bank…should be done to try to rid Palestine of Hamas,” Melton says. “However…we should not be providing offensive military funding to Netanyahu.” Melton says the Hamas attacks on Israeli civilians last October were horrible and indefensible.

“But I think Netanyahu has really amplied problems here and has played into the hands of Hamas here,” Melton says. “…There have been tens of thousands of Palestinians that have lost their lives, the dropping of non-precision munitions upon densely populated areas, while Hamas fighters were in the tunnels, unscathed from those.” Melton points to a recent poll showing 64 percent of Israeli citizens favor a cease fire linked with the release of hostages held by Hamas.

“I think it’s hard for anyone to really put together a robust argument that what Netanyahu is doing in Palestine is increasing the likelihood that Israelis will have a longer lasting peace as well,” Melton says. Israel is fighting Hezbollah, another Iranian-based terrorist group, in Lebanon. Melton says Hezbollah is obviously a horrible organization, but that doesn’t mean Netanyahu’s decision-making can’t be questioned.

“Is the person on the Israeli side that’s leading the offensive cognizant and necessarily concerned about minimizing civilian casualties?” Melton asks. “And his track record pretty clearly since October 7 has been no.”

Melton made his comments during a recent appearance on “Iowa Press” on Iowa P-B-S. As Radio Iowa reported this (Wednesday) morning, Congressman Feenstra says the United States must stand with Israel as it roots out terrorism.

(Radio Iowa) – Iowans are being reminded about the life-saving potential of smoke alarms as part of National Fire Prevention Week. Levi Kinnison, the fire prevention specialist with the Red Oak Fire Department, says smoke alarms can provide crucial time for residents to get out of a house or building if there’s a fire.

“Make sure you have smoke alarms, make sure they’re working, and make sure the batteries have been replaced,” Kinnison says. “Test your smoke alarms once a month, but if you can do it every six months to make sure they’re doing good, that’s perfect. When you change your clocks, change your batteries. That’s what we want to stress this year, just having working smoke alarms throughout the house.”

Studies find smoke alarms reduce the risk of dying in a home fire by more than half. Also, roughly three out of five fire deaths happen in homes with either no smoke alarms or no working alarms. Through a partnership with the American Red Cross, Kinnison says Red Oak is among many Iowa fire departments offering free smoke detectors.

“Usually a fire department person can come and install them for you, especially the elderly, we don’t want them climbing up on ladders trying to put in a new smoke alarm, so we’ll come out and do those,” he says. “Also, most local fire departments also have a smoke alarm program they can help with as well.” He recommends installing smoke detectors in every bedroom, outside each sleeping area, and on every level of a home.

Kinnison says strobe light or bed shaking alarms are available for people with sensory or physical disabilities. He also suggests a few other general fire safety tips. “If your smoke alarms are going off and your house is filling with smoke, we want you to ‘get low and go,’ where we crawl below the smoke and the heat and get outside,” Kinnison says. “Also, ‘get out and stay out.’ We never want anybody to go back inside a house or building that has smoke and fire as that’s what the fire department is there for. We’re trained professionals, so we’ll be the ones that go back inside that ‘not ideal’ environment for you.”

The Iowa Fire Marshal’s office says 24 Iowans have died in fires so far in 2024. Last year, there were 37 fire deaths statewide.

(Clarinda, Iowa) — Sheriff’s officials in Page County report a man from Maine was arrested early Sunday morning, for alleged indecent contact with a child. 54-year-old Timothy Alan Groves of Etna, Maine, was taken into custody at around 2:15-a.m.  His arrest occurred at a residence in rural Page County. Groves is being held in the Page County Jail on a $2,000 bond.