OMAHA, Neb. (AP) – A national conference in Omaha next month will help long-term care facilities plan for disasters.  The two-day conference will feature speakers from around the country who have been through disasters at nursing homes or rehabilitation facilities. And experts will offer advice on meeting Medicaid and Medicare requirements.

Residents of long-term care facilities are already often in poor health and may need special care after a disaster.  UNMC Dr. Philip Smith says planning and preparation are critical for these facilities. The conference will be held May 21-22 at the CenturyLink Center in downtown Omaha.

More details about the conference, which costs $195, are available online at www.preped.org.

Two teens from Villisca were charged in connection with alledged thefts from two local stores. The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office reports 14-year old’s Cordell Ryan Straw and Wyatt Dean Baldwin, both of Villisca, each face two counts of Theft of in the 5th Degree/Shoflifting, after they allegedly took items from the Villisca Foods and Casey’s General stores, in Villisca.

The incidents were investigated by authorities a little after 6-p.m., Wednesday. Straw and Baldwin were cited into Juvenile Court and released to the custody of their parents.

A Republican from southwest Iowa who has been a member of the Iowa Senate since 2011 is considering a bid for the U.S. Senate. Forty-two-year-old Joni Ernst of Red Oak also serves as a major in the Iowa National Guard. “Most of my adult life has been service-driven through the National Guard, the Reserves, public service,” Ernst says. “This is one way to take it a step further and try and be part of a solution to what I see as a problem right now in Washington, D.C.” Ernst says if she were a member of the U.S. Senate, tackling the federal deficit would be her top priority.

“We haven’t had a federal budget in four years now. That to me is a huge issue, so that’s number one,” Ernst says. “But with the budget concerns and our deficit, then it ties into national security which is something that I am very, very concerned about as a member of the military. My husband’s retired military. This is an issue we talk about daily.” Ernst and her husband have three daughters. Their youngest is 13 and will be entering high school next year.

“That’s something that my family and I discussed,” Ernst says. “My husband is a very good father/mother when I am away and I have a very tight-knit family also with a brother and sister that are close and a mother that just lives up the street. My father still lives in the area and all are very active with my family.” Ernst hopes to make a final decision about running for the U.S. Senate in 30 days.

“I really would like for Congressman King to make his decision because if he says he’s pursuing this, I will not be pursuing it,” she says. Republican Congressman Steve King has been considering a bid for the U.S. Senate since Democrat Tom Harkin announced in January that he would not seek reelection. Earlier this week King said he was “still on the bubble” about the race. Ernst served six years as the Montgomery County Auditor before running in a special election for the state senate seat Kim Reynolds gave up to become Iowa’s lieutenant governor. The district changed for the 2012 election. Between the two districts, Ernst has represented 10 different counties in southwest Iowa.

(Radio Iowa)

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press

The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office reports the arrest this (Wednesday) afternoon of 18-year old Michael Otis Kleindienst of Coin. He was arrested on a Pottawattamie County Warrant for false reports with public safety entities and is being held on $5,000 bond.

Also arrested today (Wednesday) was 34-year old Amy Dawn Clemmons of Red Oak. The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office reports that Clemmons was arrested on a charge of disorderly conduct. No bond was set per the magistrate.