Farmers Face A March 15th Deadline To Enroll In Farm Program
(Le Mars) — Monday, March 15th serves as an important date for farmers.
That date is the deadline for farmers to sign-up for crop insurance coverage, as well as to decide which coverage program they wish to enroll through the 2018 Farm Bill. Jeff Davis serves as the Director for both Plymouth and
Sioux County Farm Services Agency as part of the U-S Department of Agriculture. He says farmers need to contact his office to inform officials if they want to participate in the Price Loss Coverage program or P-L-C, or if they intend to enroll with the Agricultural Risk Coverage plan, or A-R-C.
Davis explains the Agricultural Risk Coverage protects farmers with any anticipated yield loss with their crops, while the Price Loss Coverage protects against any possible price reduction.
The F-S-A director says if a crop loss does occur, the payment won’t be calculated until long after harvest is completed. He says officials will look at the average yield for the county, as opposed to the individual farm.
Davis says farmers need to report to their county U-S-D-A office by Monday, only if they intend on making any changes to their farm bill program coverage.
Davis estimates that nearly 80 percent of the area’s farmers have already signed up, leaving the remaining 20 percent that needs to act before Monday afternoon deadline.
Iowa House Passes Expansion Of Police And Firefighters Pension Plan
(Des Moines) — The Iowa House has voted to ensure about 86-hundred police and firefighters who’re part of a statewide pension and disability system are covered for work-related injuries that developed over time. Representative
Bobby Kaufmann (COUGH-man) of Wilton says the bill also requires coverage for mental disorders.
Kaufmann says the Iowa Public Employee Retirement System has the same benefits in place for state workers, teachers and other public employees.
About four-thousand full-time police officers and firefighters are covered by the so-called 4-1-1 system. Nearly 46-hundred others who’ve retired or are no longer working as a firefighter or police officer get 4-1-1 benefits.
Representative Dave Williams is from Waterloo, one of the 49 Iowa cities where public safety employees would be covered for physical and mental conditions that develop over time.
Representative Mary Mascher (MASH-er) of Iowa City says the benefit changes for these employees were approved by the House a year ago, but the bill was tabled when the legislature went on hiatus due to the pandemic.
Just before the House voted on the bill, Representative Kaufmann acknowledged several firefighters and police officers covered by the 4-1-1 system who were in the House gallery, watching the debate.
The bill passed the House unanimously. It now goes to the Senate for consideration. The Le Mars Police Department is one of 49 Iowa communities participating on the state pension plan.
Here’s the list of cities which have police and firefighters
covered by the 411 system: Ames, Ankeny, Bettendorf, Boone, Burlington, Camanche, Carroll (police only), Cedar Falls, Cedar Rapids, Centerville, Charles City, Clinton, Clive (police only), Council Bluffs, Creston, Davenport, Decorah, Des Moines, DeWitt (police only), Dubuque, Estherville (police only), Evansdale (police only), Fairfield, Fort Dodge, Fort Madison, Grinnell, Indianola (police only), Iowa City, Keokuk, Knoxville (police
only), LeMars (police only), Maquoketa (police only), Marion, Marshalltown, Mason City, Muscatine, Newton, Oelwein, Oskaloosa, Ottumwa, Pella (police only), Sioux City, Spencer, Storm Lake, Urbandale, Waterloo, Waverly (police only), Webster City and West Des Moines.
Legislators Are Close To Securing Funding For Statewide Broadband Plan
(Des Moines) — There’s still no agreement among Republican lawmakers on how much the state should spend to extend broadband service in Iowa — but it appears they’re edging closer to the amount Governor Kim Reynolds has proposed. Representative Phil Thompson of Jefferson says he and his fellow Republicans haven’t been able to hammer that number down yet.
Republicans on a House subcommittee say newly-approved federal funds to cover other state expenses likely frees up the 450 million Reynolds requested over the next three years. Representative John Wills of Spirit Lake, the third ranking Republican in the House, says the final broadband plan will probably be at or near 450 million.
The governor had suggested that all companies getting state grants extend broadband service with speeds of 100 megabits per second, but the bill that cleared a House subcommittee today (Thursday) backed away from that high speed requirement.
The governor says she’s optimistic she and the legislature will find common ground and a broadband expansion plan will be passed by the House and Senate this year.
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Four From Sioux City Sentenced In Wide-Ranging Conspiracy
(Sioux City, IA) — Four people from Sioux City have been sentenced to federal prison terms ranging from nine-to-16 years for a wide-ranging conspiracy. Thirty-nine-year-old Raymond Nieman, 21-year-old Lesandro Jose Alvizo-Allison, 34-year-old Kelly Davis, and 25-year-old Erwin Scott are being held by U-S Marshals until they can be moved to a federal facility.
Nieman was sentenced Thursday and the others were sentenced last year. The four admitted their roles in an illegal conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance, conspiracy to commit robbery and extortion, a conspiracy to commit arson, and the possession, use, and discharge of a firearm while committing a drug trafficking crime.
House Speaker Says Pandemic Relief Strings Might Block State Tax Cuts
(Des Moines, IA) — Iowa House Speaker Pat Grassley says the one-point-nine-trillion-dollar pandemic relief package may prevent Iowa and other states from cutting taxes this year. Grassley said, “there’s a lot of unanswered questions that exist right now. I think first and foremost, we need to get an answer on whether what the feds passed…if you even have the
ability to pass tax cuts.” The State of Iowa will receive one-point-three billion dollars from the American Rescue Plan to cover unexpected expenses during the pandemic. The bill prevents states from using that money as an off-set to cut taxes. Grassley says the other consideration for House Republicans is current state tax revenue and whether there is room to speed
up income tax cuts and eliminate the inheritance tax.
Lawmakers Allow Dentists To Administer COVID-19 Vaccines
(Des Moines, IA) — The Iowa House has voted to let dentists administer Covid vaccines and give the shots at their dental offices if they choose — but there is some push back from the medical community on that last part.
Dennis Tibben of the Iowa Medical Society says the staff in
dentists’ offices may not be properly trained to accurately and quickly record every shot that’s been given into the required database. Sara Allen, a lobbyist for the Iowa Dental Association, which represents the state’s dentists, says with such a short supply of vaccine doses, now is not the time to distribute doses to dentist’s offices.
Des Moines Man Who Fired Into Crowd, Killing 1, Sentenced To 30 Years In Prison
(Des Moines, IA) — A Des Moines man will go to prison for 30 years after firing a pistol into a crowd, killing one person and wounding a second.
Twenty-one-year-old Michael Lyke Junior was sentenced Wednesday. He had been charged with murder, attempted murder, and intimidation after opening fire from a car. Forty-one-year-old Marcello Caldwell was killed and Littleton
Clark suffered a severe gunshot wound. Lyke’s trial was supposed to start next month, but his attorneys and prosecutors agreed on a plea deal this week.
Iowa Cities and Counties Getting $122 Million in Relief For Road Projects
(Ames, IA) — The Iowa Transportation Commission is giving the green light to spending nearly 122-million dollars in federal pandemic relief funds. The Department of Transportation’s Stuart Anderson says the money is targeted at road repairs and related issues. Anderson says “five million of that will be set aside for a one-time application-based program for trails programs across
the state.” There are some 945 cities that will get 20 percent of that funding on a per capita basis. Iowa’s 99 counties will split about 32 percent of the money for their Farm to Market and Secondary Road Fund. The state will get the remaining 47-and-a-half percent. Anderson says the federal money will cover revenue losses during the pandemic. He says the
state, counties, and cities are required to use the pandemic relief funds for road construction or maintenance projects.
Principal Charity Golf Classic To Limit Crowd Size
(Des Moines, IA) — The Principal Charity golf tournament will allow fans into this year’s event. Crowd size will be limited at the June tourney in Des Moines. Organizers plan to allow five-thousand people per day. The Principal Charity Classic has raised more than 30 million for Iowa charities since 2007. Last year’s event raised a record six-point-seven million, despite the event being cancelled due to COVID 19.
