State House Approves Bill To Limit Amount Paid For Insulin
(Le Mars) — The state legislature took action this past week on the amount a patient can be charged for medical insulin. State representative, Dr. Tom Jeneary of Le Mars managed that bill and offers a comment.
Jeneary says the Iowa House also passed a bill requiring public school student to recite the Pledge of Allegiance as they begin a school day.
The state representative says lawmakers also approved House File 313 which says a county or city government cannot require minors to obtain a permit when selling lemonade.
Jeneary will hold town hall meetings at Akron, Le Mars, and Remsen on Saturday, February 27th.
Farmers May Benefit Due To Changes In The PPP Program
(Des Moines) — Changes members of Congress made to the Paycheck Protection Program could mean bigger payments to Iowa farmers who’ve seen their operations hurt by the pandemic. Iowa Farmers Union president Aaron Lehman
(LAY-mun) says those tweaks to the program were much-needed.
Under recent P-P-P provisions, Lehman says that money won’t be taxed as income and won’t affect any deductions farmers may take.
Lehman says federal aid is critical for agriculture, especially since
farmers and ranchers have a long road to economic recovery following the pandemic.
Farmers and small businesses can apply for P-P-P loans through their traditional lenders such as banks and farm credit institutions.
IDPH Reports Second Straight Day Of No COVID-19 Deaths
(Des Moines, IA) — The Iowa Department of Public Health is reporting a second straight day of no COVID-19 deaths. The state did confirm 423 new cases. Officials say Iowa’s 14-day positivity rate is four-point-four-percent. So far, 574-thousand-845 vaccine doses have been administered and nearly 144-thousand people have received both doses. The number of patients being treated in hospitals has fallen to 229, with 58 in intensive care and 27 patients still on ventilators.
Iowa State Senator Found Carrying Handgun At Des Moines International Airport
(Des Moines, IA) — An Iowa state senator was found carrying a handgun at Des Moines International Airport last week. Des Moines police confirm the weapon was found on Republican Senator Brad Zaun while he was being screened.
Zaun does have a carry permit, but he was cited for violating an ordinance.
He says he accidentally left his firearm inside a bag he was carrying at the time. He calls it an “innocent mistake” and praised the T-S-A officials who scanned the bag for the way they handled the situation. Zaun went ahead and boarded his flight as planned.
One Woman Dead, One Injured – Stabbing Suspect Shot By Police
(Cedar Rapids, IA) — One woman is dead and a second is injured after being stabbed at a Cedar Rapids motel. The man suspected of stabbing the two victims was taken to a hospital after he was shot by a police officer. No names have been released. Cedar Rapids police were called to a disturbance
at the Rodeway Inn Saturday at about 1:45 a-m. They were met by two women suffering from stab wounds and were told about a man who was running away from the motel. One of the officers chased the suspect and shot him. The two women were taken to a hospital where one of them died. The Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation’s Major Crime Unit is handling the case.
Iowa Man Admits to Stalking Minnesota Woman
(Cresco, IA) — A man from northeastern Iowa admitted to cyberstalking a woman in Minnesota. The 57-year-old from Cresco said he used social media and the mail to harass and intimidate the woman. He bombarded her with messages,
many of which were sexually explicit in nature. He also admitted to sending nude photos of the woman to her friends and family members and setting up fake dating profiles associated with her. The harassment reportedly caused the victim substantial emotional distress.
