(Radio Iowa) – Governor Kim Reynolds is using 100 million dollars in federal pandemic relief for water quality infinitives. Twenty-five million is going into a state fund that provides grants to farmers implementing conservation practices, as part of the voluntary Iowa Nutrient Reduction Strategy. Reynolds has announced the remaining 75 million dollars will go into a Water Infrastructure Fund. Grants from the fund will help finance projects that do things like reduce agricultural run-off, reduce flood risks and reuse wastewater.

According to a news release from the governor’s office, carbon sequestration projects would also be eligible, meaning some of the 75 million dollars could finance construction of carbon pipelines through the state. In a written statement, Governor Reynolds called the investments historic and said the money will help protect, preserve and restore Iowa’s water resources.

(Greenfield, Iowa) – The Adair County Board of Supervisors, today (Wednesday) approved by a vote of 4-to 1, a Resolution accepting Reprecincting Ordinance #28. Districts are established after each census. Each District is required to be equal in population. The plan was presented by Ryan Frederick with the Adair County Reprecincting Committee.

Frederick said the committee discussed a few different versions before they settled on the plan presented. He said most of their time was spent discussing how the City of Greenfield would fit into the latest precinct map in a way that makes sense.

He said in previous maps, the city was split with the residents in the southeast part of Adair County. Frederick said where possible, the committee tried to use township boundaries as the means to make the numbers fit. During a vote on the Resolution accepting the reprecincting plan, Jodie Hoadley was the lone no votes.

She asked Frederick prior to the vote, if they had not redistricted the City of Greenfield, would they had to have adjusted the other districts as much as the committee did. Fredericks said “Greenfield is where all the people live,” and the first draft they drew up, ended up with a tiny district, and voters from Bridgewater traveling all the way to Orient to vote, among other changes. He said essentially, “The Greenfield District had to shrink, because it had too many people.” The committee, he said actually came up with somewhere from eight to 10 maps before settling on the version that was sent to the Supervisors.

The Board set their meeting on Dec. 22^nd at 9:15-a.m., as the date and time for a public hearing on the Resolution before making the Ordinance official.

(Radio Iowa) – A University of Iowa researcher whose two-year-old son died from influenza in early 2020 has helped develop an online game to teach children about about the flu and the importance of vaccines. U-I biology professor Maurine Neiman is co-creator of the game, “Flu’s Clues,” where players try to determine which countries around the world are seeing flu outbreaks. “You travel virtually to these different places with potential outbreaks,” Neiman says, “and you get to interview local scientists or doctors to find out what they’re observing, what they’re seeing, and figure out for yourself, based on information that you’ve learned in the game, is what you’re seeing consistent with influenza.”

Once outbreaks are identified, players return to their virtual lab to work on creating a serum for the vaccine. “The overall objective is to help teach really anyone but the overt focus of the game is on kids about what influenza is and what it isn’t, why it’s something to take seriously,” Neiman says, “and how to protect yourself and your family and your community from the flu and, in particular, by vaccinating.” Neiman and the Iowa City Science Boosters Club teamed up with the Virginia-based non-profit organization Families Fighting Flu to create the game. “This is really exciting for us because a virtual setting, while it has its constraints, it also has its opportunities,” Neiman says. “In particular, you can reach many more people potentially across the country and even around the world.”

Maurine Neiman. (U-I photo)

The game also contains important lessons about viruses in general, such as how to identify symptoms, determine differences between the flu and other viruses, and learn how vaccines are made. In large part due to masking and social distancing, the state health department says only six flu deaths were confirmed in Iowa during the 2020-21 flu season, versus 103 the previous season and 270 deaths during the 2017-18 season.

(Atlantic, Iowa) –  The City of Atlantic’s Parks and Recreation Department will be hiding Candy Canes in City Park starting Friday December 10th, and continuing through Sunday, December 12th.  Parks & Rec Director Bryant Rasmussen said “Blue candy canes, which are hidden, and can be returned to the Parks and Rec Office for a special prize.  If people go on Saturday, Santa will be at the (downtown) City Park, from 1:30-to 3:30-pm. 

(Red Oak, Iowa) –  Montgomery County Auditor Stephanie Burke, today (Wednesday), said a proposal introduced by the Montgomery County Auditor’s Office and the Temporary Redistricting Commission to the Montgomery County Board of Supervisors, would reduce County voting precincts by one.  According to Iowa law, every county in Iowa must review its precinct boundaries after a federal decennial census. As part of this process, the Montgomery County Board of Supervisors has scheduled a public hearing for 8:45 a.m. on December 21, 2021, to solicit public input in regards to the proposed changes to the County ordinance setting polling precincts.

Montgomery County currently has seven total polling precincts including three in Red Oak. Red Oak’s precincts are set by the city council. That leaves four precincts currently set by the County. The current  proposal would reduce that number by one. Burke says “We are considering combining precincts for reasons of electoral efficiency. Every ten years, we review how our
polling precincts perform and consider how we can best use tax payer dollars while administering our electoral process in Montgomery County.”
Burke said some of the considerations for combining precincts is number of voters in the precinct, cost to run a polling location in the precincts and voter convenience. Facilities are also re–evaluated to ensure convenience, availability and polling place set–up. She said the Board of Supervisors ultimately approves the ordinance setting the polling precincts. Due to federal census being delayed this year, this process is being conducted under an expedited timeline.  Burke said the process must be completed by January 15, 2022. She said the County is currently on pace
to meet that deadline.

Maps can be reviewed at the Montgomery County Auditor’s Office located in the  Courthouse and on–line at www.montgomerycountyia.gov.

(Radio Iowa) – The Kossuth County Board of Supervisors is formally expressing its opposition to the use of eminent domain for a pair of proposed carbon pipelines that would run through the county if constructed. Eminent domain is the government’s power to declare private property can be converted to a public use, like the pathway for a pipeline. The Kossuth County Supervisors’ letter to the Iowa Utilities Board says it should be up to landowners to decide if they want the carbon pipelines on their property.

Summit Carbon Solutions has proposed a pipeline to ship liquefied carbon dioxide from Iowa to North Dakota. The proposed pipeline would run through Kossuth County from east to west South of Algona. Navigator Carbon Ventures has proposed a pipeline that would run in the northwest part of Kossuth County.