DES MOINES – Today, Gov. Kim Reynolds requested a Presidential Disaster Declaration for eighteen Iowa counties due to significant snowfall during the January winter storms.  

The governor requested funding under the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) Public Assistance Program for Adair, Black Hawk, Cedar, Clinton, Davis, Delaware, Dubuque, Jefferson, Johnson, Jones, Linn, Lucas, Montgomery, Polk, Scott, Story, Wapello, and Washington counties for the significant record-breaking snowfall that occurred between January 8 through January 14, 2024. 

Following a joint federal, state, and local damage assessment of the affected counties, it was estimated the significant snowfall resulted in more than $8 million worth of damage that could be eligible under the Public Assistance program. Funding from this program is used to recoup costs related to snow removal, de-icing, salting, sanding of roads and other eligible facilities, and other emergency protective measures including but not limited to search and rescue and sheltering.  

The letter can be read in its entirety here. 

(Radio Iowa) – The director of the Iowa Department of Transportation says it took millions of dollars to clear the roadways from the double dip of blizzards in early January.

Director Scott Marler says the storms also generated millions of clicks on the 511ia.org road conditions site. “We had over 32 million hits on five on one during those back-to-back winter storms. We also had nearly 12 million impressions on our social media,” he says. The storms the second week of January dumped more than 24 inches of snow in some areas to go along with double-digit negative temperatures, and wind gusts of 45 to 50 miles an hour that created whiteout conditions.

Marler reported on the DOT’s costs for the storms today for the state Transportation Commission. “We spent nearly 104,000 in labor, $4.1. Our equipment hours were more than 63,000 hours and that was 2.3 million (dollars) in costs,” Marler says.”We spread nearly 30,000 tons of rock salt, nearly 6 million gallons of brine. That was 4 million dollars in our materials cost. So all in it was about a $10.4 million effort by the department fighting those back-to-back winter storms.”

Marler says there’s one surprising stat after reviewing the storms. “There were zero fatalities from those back-to-back winter storms, which was a miracle in and of itself,” he says. Marler says he traveled the interstate days after the storm and was surprised at the aftermath. “Many portions of the median were just like a litter ground of jackknifed semis and vehicles that had gone in the ditch. I shudder to think some of the conditions that these customers as well as the people working out on the road must have been under,” he says. “But zero fatalities is a wonderful story to tell after winter storms, like we experienced.”

Trucks in the ditch along I-80 after January blizzards. (RI photo)

Marler says many motorists did heed the warnings and stayed off the roadways during the storms. He says the amount of trucks caused problems because once things got slick and they couldn’t move, all traffic backed up and plows couldn’t get in to treat the roadways.

(Radio Iowa) – Senate Democrats are calling for a state minimum wage just for direct care workers in nursing homes. By July of next year, all nursing home direct care workers would have to be paid $15 an hour and Senate Democrats propose that it ratchet up to $20 an hour by the middle of 2030.

Senator Claire Celsi of Des Moines said staffing shortages are a huge issue in the nursing home industry and it’s led to tragic circumstances for some residents. “There are many good facilitis and we applaud them for the hard work they do every day,” Celsi said during a statehouse news conference, “but there are simply some facilities and some situations that just beyond the pale that we need to fix.”

According to state data, the average pay for direct care workers in nursing homes was $13 an hour in 2022. Republicans in the Iowa House say they’re concerned agencies supplying temporary employees to nursing homes are exploiting recently boosted state funding for nursing home care.

Senator Claire Celsi (D-Des Moines) (Official Photo)

Celsi and the 15 other Democxrats in the Iowa Senate are also calling for an increase in the allowance nursing home residents get if their care is covered by Medicaid. It’s called the Medicaid personal needs reimbursement rate, to cover things like hair cuts, clothing and toiletries. “This amount has not been raised in Iowa since 2002,” Celsi said, “and by doing so we can provide a greater level of self-sufficiency in these care settings.”

Senate Democrats say they support raising the state’s Medicaid reimbursement rate for nursing home care to cover these expenses as well as the hike in the minimum wage for direct care workers. It’s unlikely these proposals will be considered by Republican-led committees in the senate, but the proposals could be introduced during Senate debate of bills that outline state spending.

(Early, Iowa) – Sheriff’s officials in northwest Iowa’s Sac and Ida County are investigating an alleged threat of possible violence intended to take place later this week at a school dance. According to a press release, on Monday morning (Feb. 12th), Sac County Sheriff’s Deputies responded to the Ridge View Middle School in Early, following a reported fight between two male students. One student was from Holstein, while the other was from Schaller.

During an investigation, authorities learned there may have been a threat of undisclosed violence at a dance scheduled for this coming Friday night (Feb. 16), in Holstein. After several students were interviewed, it was determined that the threat of violence involved the two male students who had been fighting. One of the students had planned on fighting with the other student Friday night at the dance, however, he had learned that this student was not going to the dance and decided to assault him at school. The altercation is alleged to have occurred over a TikTok video that one of the two males made.

Later in the evening, deputies were dispatched to a residence near Schaller, Iowa. It was learned that the student from Holstein, who had been the primary aggressor in the earlier incident, had sent a threatening message to the other male student. The rumor was that someone had sent a Snapchat photo of a gun. School staff were made aware of this concern from several parents. Deputies from both the Sac and Ida County Sheriff’s Offices interviewed several more students. Nothing was found that corroborates the threat of violence with a gun.

The Sac County Sheriff’s Office says “Law enforcement takes these types of threats very seriously. As a precaution, a law enforcement presence will be seen in and around the Ridge View Middle School. Authorities are asking the public, “If you have any information about this incident or had seen this alleged Snapchat photo of a gun…” contact the Sac County Sheriff’s Office at 712-662-7127, or the Ida County Sheriff’s Office at 712-364-3146.