Branstad Declares State Of Emergency Due To Bird Flu
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Iowa Governor Terry Branstad has declared a state of emergency due to a bird flu outbreak that’s forcing farms to kill more than 17 million chickens and turkeys.
Branstad’s proclamation announced Friday will remain in effect until May 31st unless it’s terminated earlier.
The proclamation activates disaster response and recovery procedures for Iowa’s homeland security and emergency management programs. It authorizes use of state money, supplies and equipment to track and monitor bird flu, establish restrictions around affected farms and rapidly detect cases.
It also allows more time to dispose of poultry carcasses.
Iowa Agriculture Secretary Bill Northey says it’s important to step up the response as the disease spreads.
Northey announced four more farms infected – three turkey operations and a 1 million-chicken egg-laying operation in Madison County.
Northey Comments About the Bird Flu
(Le Mars) — KLEM news visited with Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey about the Avian Bird Flu. As of late yesterday afternoon, Northey says Iowa has confirmed 21 cases of the Avian Bird Flu.
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Northey says the process is a bit different for the disposal of chicken laying hens.
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Two Iowa Residents Plea Guilty To Trafficking
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) – Two Iowa residents have pleaded guilty in a federal sex trafficking case in Virginia.
Laura Sorensen and Aldair Hodza entered the pleas Friday in federal court in Richmond to sex trafficking and transporting a person across state lines for prostitution.
Court records show Sorensen and Hodza held a 20-year-old woman captive on a trip in December to Virginia and forced her to have sex with men who answered online ads.
Prosecutors say the defendants tortured the woman with lit cigarettes and other heated objects, pierced her feet with nails and poured bleach into her wounds.
