(Radio Iowa) – A coalition of agencies and organizations is preparing to help as many as 13-hundred Afghans resettle in central Iowa by the middle of next year. Mak Suceska is head of the Iowa Bureau of Refugee Services, the state agency that’s providing technical assistance to organizations sponsoring Afghans evacuated from their home country this summer.  “The situation is ever changing and ever fluid with respect to numbers and when folks will be arriving. We currently have families and individuals that have been resettled today and will continue to arrive,” he says.

Iowa officials working on the resettlement process get a couple of weeks notice that a group of Afghans will be flying into the Des Moines Airport. “Refugees don’t just show up. They are resettled through resettlement organizations and through a process of travel and assurance before they are set to arrive in their respective community,” Suceska says. Kerri True-Funk is the director of the U.S. Committee for Refugee and Immigrants in Des Moines. She says the Afghans who were evacuated in August were fleeing persecution and violence, often because of their work with or support of the U.S. military over the past 20 years.

“One of the things that we have to remember about the people who have been evacuated from Afghanistan is that they may have never lived in a country that was not actively at war,” she says. “From the Soviet invasion in the 1970s up until now, there has been constant conflict and the government has moved back and forth and at different times has been authoritarian and democratically elected.”

The tens of thousands of Afghans flown to airports overseas underwent initial screenings there to determine if they were eligible for resettlement, then once they arrived at eight different military installations in the United States, there were more extensive medical checks. “The people that were evacuated and processed received two-year humanitarian parole. The clock on that started when they actually had their passport stamped and came into the U.S..” she says. “One year after they have been here they must apply for asylum in order to stay legally in the U.S. and continue to work and they are all authorized to work while here.”

Once the Afghans arrive in Iowa, they’ll get financial support and assistance from government agencies and private organizations for three months. “They’re coming to a country without Social Security numbers, without work authorizations. Many of them don’t speak English and so they need their kids registered for school, they need places to live, they need help accessing health care — and that’s really what those first 90 days are for,” True-Funk says. A federal program to help Afghans enter the U.S. workforce lasts for eight months.

Most of the Afghans who were flown out of their country in August were living in cities like Kabul, which has a population of more than four million and Kandahar, which is about the same size as Des Moines. True-Funk says there are no restriction on where the Afghan evacuees may live here and many are likely to choose to stay close to urban areas, but some may relocate to rural America.

“Afghanistan has a very strong agriculture and farming culture and Afghan people are very used to owning their own homes and having their own gardens,” True-Funk says, “and so we may see over time as they get more adjusted — working more, speaking more English — populations moving outside of the city centers.” A handful of Afghans had resettled in Cedar Rapids by the end of October. In mid-November, an agency leading the resettlement process in Cedar Rapids indicated about 115 more are likely to arrive by next fall.

(Radio Iowa) – Governor Kim Reynolds says they are getting the documentation together to provide justification for spending $450,000of federal COVID relief funding on staff salaries last spring. “I just want to remind people that that was March, April, and May. That was when we just didn’t know a lot about the pandemic. We were working seven days a week….we had a morning meeting, I did a press conference every single day to let Iowans know what we were working on,” Reynolds says.

Reynolds is a Republican and Democrat State Auditor Rob Sand released a report last week accusing her of improperly using the funds. Reynolds says they had to be sure the state had all the ventilators, supplies, and tests needed, and that took all of their time.

Gov. Kim Reynolds (RI Photo)

“They said that it’s an allowable expense — they just need the documentation. We’ll have no problem providing them with the documentation that they need. Because that’s what we were doing,” she says. Reynolds says most governors and their staff were doing the same thing across the country as the pandemic took hold. “Projections were horrific, and we were doing everything that we could to make sure that Iowans were safe and secure and that we weren’t overwhelming our hospitals,” Reynolds says.

Auditor Sand accused the governor of trying to hide the use of the money because it wasn’t listed as an individual department expense for the employees who worked on her team. “Because we were working on COVID 100 percent of the time we didn’t think that it was fair for the agencies to pay for the team — because we weren’t working on policy-specific issues that were related to each one of the agencies. We were actually working on COVID,” according to Reynolds.

The governor says all the supporting information will soon be ready soon to send to federal officials to verify the use of the funding.

(Radio Iowa) – More than 180 insurance companies are now headquartered in Iowa — and Iowa Economic Development Authority director Debi Durham says no other state gets a higher percentage of its Gross Domestic Product from the insurance and finance industry.

“I have to say this is bragging rights for the state of Iowa. We took over the number one place in the nation ranking as far as GDP growth for insurance,” Durham says. “It used to be Delaware, Connecticut, then Iowa, but we were kind of far behind Connecticut and then Nebraska and so we took that number one space.”

According to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the insurance industry accounts for at least 16% of the jobs in metro Des Moines. Durham says manufacturing remains the dominant industry in the entire state of Iowa, however. “Manufacturing is actually our DNA,” Durham says. “It is the largest part of our Gross State Product.”

Sixty-four percent of Iowa’s exports come from Iowa manufacturing plants and 15% of Iowa’s entire workforce is employed by a manufacturer. “A large amount of research and development happens in this space,” Durham says.

According to the Iowa Economic Development Authority, manufacturing jobs in Iowa pay 25% more than the average wage for a private sector job.

(Radio Iowa) – Studies show there are more cooking fires on Thanksgiving than any other day of the year. Fire prevention expert Amanda Swenson says all Iowans should know how to use a fire extinguisher before there’s a sudden flare-up on the stove. “That’s a scary situation and that’s not the time to learn how to use an extinguisher,” Swenson says, “so be familiar with how to pull out the pin, how to unhook a nozzle if there’s a hose with the nozzle attached.”

Twenty lives have been lost in house fires in Iowa so far this year, which tracks closely with last year during which 24 people died statewide during all of 2020. Whenever you’re cooking on the stove, whether it’s in a pot, saucepan or skillet, Swenson suggests you have a big metal lid nearby that could fit over any of them.

“Plan ahead of having a lid close by to the stovetop,” she says, “because the easiest thing to do is if there is a fire on the stovetop, just slide a lid on, turn off the burner and let it sit.” While Thanksgiving is the worst day of the year for cooking fires, officials with the National Fire Protection Association say Christmas Day and Christmas Eve are a close second and third.

(Des Moines, Iowa) — The Iowa Department of Public Health (IDPH) reports that while fewer Iowans tested positive for COVID-19 in the last seven days, the state’s 14-day positivity rate went up slightly. The IDPH’s latest data released today (Wednesday) shows 9,038 positive tests in the last seven days, which is down from 9,560 in their last report on Monday. The state’s 14-day positivity rate increased from 10.3% to 10.4% since Monday.

Iowa reports 86 additional COVID-19 deaths, bringing the total to 7,354 since the start of the pandemic. The newly reported deaths happened between Sept. 2 and Nov. 17. The number of patients hospitalized with COVID-19 increased from 579 to 623 since Monday. Of those hospitalized with the virus, 75.1% are unvaccinated, while 85.6% of those listed in intensive care with COVID-19 are unvaccinated. The number of long-term care facilities reporting a virus outbreak remains at 27.

There have been 4,118,565 vaccine doses administered in Iowa, with 68.9% of those 18 and older fully vaccinated and 71.9% of those 12 and older with at least one dose.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – Officials with Cass Health, in Atlantic, announced today (Wednesday), that Sara Beth Jones, BSN, RN was honored with the DAISY Award on November 17, 2021.

She said also…

Sara Jones says “I am humbled and grateful that someone felt that I deserved this, even though I can think of many others that are just as deserving.”  Jones said that she chose nursing as a career because it is rewarding profession and “Being able to help people and make them feel safe is quite the daily accomplishment.”

Sara Beth Jones, BSN, RN (Photo submitted by Cass Health)

As the Lead House Supervisor, Jones oversees the day to day operations regarding the hospital, specifically working on the communication and workflow between departments.  Additionally, Jones is the Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE) coordinator, teaches the siblings class, and teaches clinicals to RN students.

Her nominator said, “God called Sara Beth to her workplace because she brings a calm demeanor to people who often are going through a tragedy. She also often covers for the employees when their personal lives call them away from their jobs. She truly is a lifesaver in more aspects than one. She will be the first to say she does not do any of this for the spotlight but more so for her workplace so that it can run smoothly and continue to bring top notch care to southwest Iowa. We are all better people to know, work, and interact with such a shining star!”

Nurses at Cass Health are honored twice annually with The DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurses.® The award is part of the DAISY Foundation’s mission to recognize the extraordinary, compassionate nursing care they provide patients and families every day. The DAISY Foundation is a not-for-profit organization. More information is available at http://DAISYfoundation.org. An online nomination form is available at https://www.casshealth.org/daisy.

The Glenwood Police Department reports two people were arrested Tuesday:

• 59-year-old Mark Uebele, of Glenwood, was arrested for Domestic Abuse Assault. (Cash or surety bond: $1,000)
• 31-year-old Robert Kramer, of Henryetta, OK, was arrested for Control of a Firearm by a Felon, and 2 counts of assault while displaying a dangerous weapon. (C/S bond: $9,000).

(Glenwood, Iowa) – The Mills County Sheriff’s Office today (Wednesday) reports three people were arrested on separate charges, Monday. 38-year-old Jessica Gonzalez Hernandez, of Council Bluffs, was arrested at the Mills County Courthouse, on a warrant for Violation of Probation. Bond was set at $5,000.  40-year-old Melissa Louise Gammell, of Shenandoah, was arrested at Pottawattamie County Corrections, on a Mills County warrant for Violation of Probation. Bond was set at $7,500. And, 65-year-old Lynette Kay Thomas, of Essex, was arrested Monday for OWI/1st offense, with bond set at $1,000.

And, there were amazingly no injuries reported following a crash Tuesday on Bunge Avenue, in Mills County. The Sheriff’s Office reports a 2006 Peterbilt semi tractor-trailer driven by 41-year-old Adam Wyant, of Malvern, was northbound on Highway 275 at around 11:55-a.m., and slowing to turn east onto Pruden Avenue. He told authorities his turn signal was on and when he looked, he was clear to make the turn. When he proceeded to turn, he looked in his mirror to make sure the trailer would clear the ditch. That’s when he saw a northbound 2012 Hyundai collide with the passenger side of the trailer.

The driver of the car, 28-year-old Tabitha Madsen, from Tabor, said she did not see the turn signal and did not believe it was on. She was unable to stop before her vehicle hit the trailer and came to rest beneath the trailer.

(Malvern, Iowa) – Two people were arrested on felony charges of Neglect of a Dependent Person and Child Endangerment. According to the Mills County Sheriff’s Office, on Nov. 12th at around 3:42-a.m., Deputies were contacted by the Omaha Police Department in regard to a six-month old child who tested positive for methamphetamine. The child – who resided in Malvern – was receiving care at an Omaha area hospital. The infant was released from the hospital and taken into the protective custody of the Iowa Department of Human Services.

The parents and caretakers of the child were identified as 24-year-old Lydia Ann Hadland, and 34-year-old Benjamin Jay Chenier, both of Malvern. Arrest warrants were obtained for the pair, after which they were taken into custody on the charges mentioned. In addition, Chenier was arrested for Possession of a Controlled Substance, a Controlled substance violation. His bond was set at $23,000. Hadland’s Bond was set at $12,000.

Hadland & Chenier

(Greenfield, Iowa) – The Adair County Board of Supervisors, Wednesday morning, approved a donation of $5,000 toward the cost of a new Community Center, in Adair. Their unanimous decision followed a brief presentation by Adair Public Works Director Ryan Billheimer, who said the funds will help the City in its efforts to obtain a CAT (Community Attraction and Tourism) Grant, which weighs heavily on community support.

Back in April of this year, the Adair County Board of Supervisors approved the commitment of $5,000 as part of a local match to construct a new Community Center. The funds were contingent upon the City being approved for the CAT grant, for which the maximum grant amount is $250,000. Billheimer said at the time they originally applied for the CAT grant, they were $66,000 short of the threshold required for the application to be considered by the Iowa Economic Development Authority (IEDA).

Since then, other funds have come in that has brought them closer to their contribution and project support goal, but they need a bit more to be considered for the grant.

In other business, the Adair County Supervisors approved a courtyard use permit for a Main Street Greenfield, sponsored event, contingent upon the allowance of insurance. It would take place after the parade on November 26^th.

The Board also approved the resignation of Karen Varley from the Adair County Tourism Council, and the appointment of Greg Dudley, with approval from the City of Stuart. Dudley manages the Saints Center for Culture and Arts, in Stuart, and is a local business owner. The Supervisors also approved a liquor license renewal for the Five by 80 Golf Course, and various reports/resolutions for the Adair County Auditor’s Office.