(Updated 4:45-p.m. 12/19) Students and staff at the IKM-Manning School District are mourning the loss of a Freshman. In a letter posted on the District’s website, Friday, Superintendent Trevor Miller said “It is with a great deal of sadness that I am informing you that Max Sanford, one of our 9th grade students, passed unexpected this [Friday] morning. Our condolences and thoughts go out to the Sanford family and friends, and to all Max’s friends and fellow students.”

Miller said grief counseling services are available to students and staff. He said also, “During this time of grief, please respect the family’s privacy.” Late Friday morning, the school announced the IKM-Manning basketball games vs. Tri-Center for Friday night, had been postponed. On the District’s social media page, the East Sac Community School District posted a message from students and staff, offering their deepest condolences, thoughts and prayers, to the IKM-Manning community.

Funeral services for MAX SANFORD will be held 10:30-a.m. Wednesday, Dec. 23rd, at the IKM-Manning School in Manning. Friends may call at the IKM-Manning gymnasium on Tue., Dec. 22nd, from 4-until 7-p.m.

(Des Moines, IA – 12/18/20) The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Emergency Use Authorization for Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine. Iowa will begin receiving shipments of Moderna doses the week of December 21st.

The Iowa Department of Public Health (IDPH) is collaborating with partners across the state to ensure plans are in place to deploy and administer vaccines as they arrive. IDPH interim Director, Kelly Garcia, will provide an update on Iowa’s vaccine strategy and progress at the Governor’s press conference on Tuesday, December 22nd.

“As with the Pfizer distribution, our state is ready to receive shipments and distribute them quickly. This represents another positive step forward but until the vaccine is widely available, we must continue to mitigate the virus by practicing public health measures so we can protect the most vulnerable and preserve hospital resources, while keeping Iowans healthy, our economy open and our kids in school,” Governor Kim Reynolds shared in a statement.

A Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Deputy was presented Friday (today) with a Life Saving Award, for his actions on September 16th. The award was presented by Sheriff’ Jeff Danker. According to the Sheriff, just before 2-a.m. Sept. 16th, Deputy Trey Carstens was dispatched to a residence where a man was in cardiac arrest. When Deputy Carstens located the subject, the victim’s  spouse performing CPR.

Pottawattamie County Sheriff Jeff Danker (Left) presented Deputy Carstens with his award on Dec. 18th.

Deputy Carstens took over CPR until the man regained a pulse. Once rescue arrived, the man was transported to a local hospital. Danker said the Sheriff’s Office was recently notified that the man was released from the hospital and that Deputy Carstens’ actions helped make that possible.

 WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) and Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) are requesting an update from the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) on their investigation of the Glenwood Resource Center (GRC) and the Woodward Resource Center (WRC) in Iowa.

In their letter to DOJ, the senators request responses to two questions:

1. Please provide:
   1. A timeline of the Department’s investigation into both GRC and WRC, and a status update, given the most recent allegations, which surfaced this month.
   2. An explanation of the Department’s investigation, with respect to whether the DOJ is actively collecting information from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), given its respective oversight functions.

2. Given the Department’s ongoing investigation into both GRC and WRC, which we understand was initiated under the Civil Rights of Institutionalized Persons Act and Title H of the Americans with Disabilities Act, has the DOJ consulted with HHS and/or CMS regarding the operations and status of either Center?  If so, please explain.  If not, please explain why not.

The senators request responses to their letter by the end of the year. To view the senators’ full letter, click here.

Des Moines – Governor Reynolds today (Friday) announced that the cities of Dakota City, Early, Fontanelle, Fort Atkinson, Janesville, Ladora, Lone Tree, Melcher-Dallas, Preston, Runnells and Russell have been awarded a total of $2 million in grants to advance water quality projects. The funding is made available through the Wastewater and Drinking Water Treatment Financial Assistance Program, which was created as a part of Senate File 512, the first legislation signed into law by Governor Reynolds in January 2018.

The Wastewater and Drinking Water Treatment Financial Assistance Program receives a portion of the tax on metered water and had $2 million available for allocation in 2020. Grants will be awarded through the program on an annual basis through 2029 and available funds will increase each year.

The 2020 awards are the second year of awards through the program. In 2019, eight communities were awarded a total of $775,000. The program is expected to have approximately $5 million in available funds in 2021 and will climb to more than $6 million in 2029, based on the increase of the portion of tax that will be allocated to the program.

The 2020 program received 23 applications requesting more than $6 million in water quality investments.
A committee consisting of designees from the Iowa Finance Authority, Iowa Department of Natural Resources and the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship judged the Wastewater and Drinking Water Financial Assistance Program applications based on the program’s priorities.

Priorities for grant awards include: Disadvantaged communities; Projects that will significantly improve water quality in their watershed; Projects that use alternative wastewater treatment technologies; Communities with the highest sewer or water rates; Projects that use technology to address nutrient reduction; and projects to address improvements to drinking water source waters.

2020 Wastewater and Drinking Water Financial Assistance Program Grant Awards 

(Radio Iowa) – A western Iowa man is in jail accused of hitting and killing another man with his car. Twenty-eight-year-old Kristopher Erlbacher of Woodbine was arrested on a charge of first-degree murder Thursday night, following a hit and run incident outside Dave’s Old Home Cafe in Pisgah which left one man dead. Shortly after 10:00 p-m the Harrison County Sheriff’s Department received a 9-1-1 call that someone had just been involved in a hit and run outside the cafe.

Several witnesses were able to provided details about what happened. Erlbacher returned to the scene and was taken into custody without further incident. The victim was identified as 30-year-old Caleb Scott Solberg, of Moorhead. He was died at the scene.