WOODBURY COUNTY JAIL
The new Woodbury County Jail construction is moving along with early work happening out of state. Jail Authority chairman, Ron Wieck, says the new cells are modular units.
He showed off pictures of the cells to the media, and says they are self contained.
There are different sized cells that can hold two or four inmates, and some are designed for handicapped inmates. Shane Albrecht of the Baker group is overseeing the jail construction, and says the new cells will be very different than the ones in the current jail.
The cells will nearly double the current capacity of the jail, which can hold 236 inmates. The cell modules are expected to be delivered on February 6th, with jail construction slated for completion by September 1st.
BRANSTAD – WORLD FOOD PRIZE
Former Iowa Governor Terry Branstad has a new job. He has been named the new leader of the Des Moines based foundation that awards the annual “World Food Prize.”
In October of each year the foundation presents the World Food Prize and it’s 250-thousand dollar award to people at the forefront of efforts to improve the quality, quantity and availability of food.
Branstad, who served as U-S Ambassador to China, was governor when Des Moines businessman John Ruan donated the seed money for the World Food Prize and its headquarters in Des Moines. Norman Borlaug, the Cresco native who won the 1970 Nobel Peace Prize for his research that developed high-yielding wheat, took the lead in creating the World Food Prize in 1986.
Branstad, who is 76, is America’s longest serving governor. He was U.S. Ambassador to China from mid-2017 to the fall of 2020. As president of the World Food Prize, Branstad will be a lead fundraiser and host of the annual World Food Prize symposium. The event attracts global leaders in research, government and commerce to Des Moines for discussions about advances in food production and food security. Barbara Stinson, who had 30 years of experience in environmental policy and business management, stepped down last week after three years as president of the World Food Prize.
SNAP SNACKS
A key Republican lawmaker says the Iowa House will not move forward with a proposal that would have prevented Iowans from using government food assistance to buy things like fresh meat, butter or flour.
Representative Ann Meyer of Fort Dodge says they’ll instead rewrite the bill to try to bar SNAP recipients from buying candy and soda.
The federal government has twice denied Maine’s request to prohibit food assistance benefits from being used to buy sugar-sweetened drinks or candy. The beverage industry successfully blocked attempts to include the prohibition in the 2018 Farm Bill, where the rules for food stamp are written.
An Iowa House proposal that would have prevented Iowans on food assistance to buy things like fresh meat, butter or flour, will be modified to prohibit SNAP recipients from buying candy and soda.
Iowa Hunger Coalition chair Luke Elzinga says he’s glad the severe restrictions on how poor Iowans may use food assistance are being removed, but he’s concerned about other parts of the bill, like asset limits which would make it hard for families with two vehicles to qualify for food assistance.
The federal government has twice denied Maine’s request to prohibit food assistance benefits from being used to buy sugar-sweetened drinks or candy. The beverage industry successfully blocked attempts to include the prohibition in the 2018 Farm Bill, where the rules for food stamp are written.
A public subcommittee hearing on the bill was scheduled for today at the Iowa Capitol.
VETERANS OFFICERS TRAINING
A bill that would fund training for veterans service officers has moved out of a subcommittee of the Iowa House. Rep. Tom Jeneary of Le Mars chairs the Veterans Affairs subcommittee.
He says there is broad support for the legislation.
Jeneary says service officers need updated training
The bill now moves on to the full Veterans Affairs committee for debate.
BUENA VISTA COUNTY BIRD FLU
The Iowa Department of Agriculture is confirming the first case of avian influenza in the state in more than one month. The case is reported at a commercial turkey flock in Buena Vista County with some 28-thousand birds. The last case of bird flu was reported in Ida County on December 12th. Seven of the 31 outbreaks confirmed since March have been in Buena Vista County. Sixteen of the outbreaks have involved commercial turkey operations.
FEENSTRA AG COMMITTEE
U.S. Rep. Randy Feenstra of Hull was appointed to serve on the House Agriculture Committee for the 118th Congress. Feenstra was first appointed to the Ag Committee in 2021. Bills introduced that year cover issues including support for Precision Agriculture, quantum computing for agriculture, cattle price discovery, foreign investment in farmland, and expanded E-15 availability. This year, the Ag Committee is to write a new five year Farm Bill. Feenstra will serve on both the Agriculture Committee and the tax-writing Ways and Means Committee.
IOWA TORT REFORM
A committee in the Iowa Senate have approved a bill to set a one MILLION dollar cap on non-economic, so-called pain and suffering damages in medical malpractice lawsuits. Governor Reynolds says it’s one of her legislative priorities. Sandra Conlin, a lobbyist for the Iowa Hospital Association, says the industry is in crisis after last spring’s 97-million dollar jury verdict in a medical malpractice claim against a doctor and a hospital in Iowa City. Conlin says there are significant rate increases in medical malpractice insurance and lawsuits are being settled for higher amounts. Chip Baltimore, a lobbyist for Trial Lawyers for Justice, says 97 million dollars isn’t egregious for the family of the baby boy who will require 24/7 medical care his entire life after his skull was crushed. Baltimore, a former legislator, says his fellow Republicans who say every single life at every stage is priceless are about to put a very small price tag on life. The bill has cleared the Senate Judiciary Committee with the support of 11 Republicans.
