STATE FLOOD DISASTER PAYMENTS HAVE BEGUN
Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds said yesterday that the first awards under the state Disaster Recovery Housing Assistance Program have been approved. These awards allow homeowners to begin rebuilding or be reimbursed for eligible disaster-related expenses.
This program covers home damage expenses that are not covered by insurance or FEMA. Homeowners can receive up to 50-thousand dollars for repairs or home rehabilitation.
Eligible homes must be located in counties approved for FEMA assistance under presidential disaster declarations issued this spring. 28 Iowa counties, Plymouth, Sioux, O’Brien, Cherokee and Woodbury among them, are included in the program.
TEMPORARY HOUSING FOR FLOOD VICTIMS
Spencer has become the second northwest Iowa community to set up temporary housing for flood victims Under the FEMA Temporary Housing Program, recreation vehicles are being placed in the campground at the Clay County Fairgrounds.
Some of the property owners are awaiting to see if their home might be included in a FEMA buyout program. Under the buyout, FEMA would provide 75 percent of the money to purchase homes and businesses in flood plains. The state and cities must provide the rest.
Earlier, the city of Rock Valley allowed displaced residents with their own campers to use campsites at the Rivers Bend Campground. Under an agreement with Iowa Homeland Security and Emergency Management, up to 40 recreation vehicles were approved for use by flood victims.
439 MORE CENTURY AND HERITAGE FARMS ADDED
Ceremonies at the Iowa State Fair this morning honored 439 families whose farms have been in their continuous ownership for 100 years or more. Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Negg says honoring these families is one of his personal highlights.
Century Farms have been in one family for 100 years or more, and a Heritage Farm is 150 years or more. The ceremony was held in one of the oldest livestock buildings on the fairgrounds that was made of brick. Naig thinks of the founders of the Century farms who might have been in that 122-year-old building.
This years’ honorees bring to more than two-thousand Iowa farms have been owned by the same family for at least 150 years. There are more than 21-thousand Century Farms — including the farm near Cylinder where Naig grew up.
TWO VEHICLE ACCIDENT INJURES ONE DRIVER
An elderly driver was injured Tuesday in an accident near Hull. The Sioux County Sheriffs Office says a car driven by 75 year old John De Vries of George was driving east on US Highway 18, when the vehicle crossed the center line and struck the trailer of a west-bound semi milk tanker. De Vries was transported to Sioux Center health for treatment of minor injuries. The driver of the semi, Anthony Smythe, 55 of Primghar, was not injured.
The Peterbilt and trailer sustained approximately $12,000 in damage; the Ford sustained approximately $7,000 in damage.
DeVries was cited for driving on the wrong side of a two-lane highway.
UKRAINE’S AMBASSADOR TO US VISITS IOWA
Ukraine’s Ambassador to the United States is touring the Midwest, to discuss the stakes in Ukraine’s battle with Russia. Ambassador Oksana Markarova says she was encouraged by conversations she had during her visit to the Iowa State Fair Tuesday.
Last week, the Pentagon announced the U-S has provided over 55 billion dollars in military assistance to Ukraine in the past two and a half years. Markarova says the U-S is Ukraine’s number one strategic partner, but Ukraine’s war time experience is of value to the U-S as well as Europeans.
Russia invaded Ukraine in February of 2022 and this past week thousands of Ukrainian troops have crossed into Russian territory.
Markarova also met with Governor Reynolds, Des Moines city leaders and U.S. Senator Joni Ernst Tuesday. Her trip was arranged by the German Marshall Fund, an organization that promotes alliances among the U-S and European nations.
RULE CHANGE HELPS IOWANS GET REPAIRS ON THEIR WHEELCHAIRS MORE QUICKLY
A rule change will make it easier to receive wheelchair repairs paid for by Medicaid. The Iowa Department of Health and Human Services has removed a rule that you need a doctor’s prescription in order to get Medicaid-funded repairs to your wheelchair. The rule change went into affect in July.
A bill to change the rule was passed in the Legislature. It was sponsored by State Representative Josh Turek of Council Bluffs, who uses a wheelchair. He says that requirement could delay repairs for weeks. The state was also paying for the person’s transportation to the doctor’s office and for the appointment itself.
HOUSE BUILT BY SIOUX CITY STUDENTS GOES TO SOUTH DAKOTA COUPLE
A South Dakota couple who lost their home in this year’s flooding are getting a replacement built by Sioux City High School students. Dave and Judy Oberg put in the winning bid on the house and finally got it Wednesday after a two-month wait.
They got to meet the Career Academy students who built the 16-hundred foot home.
The Obergs live on a 120-acre farm and have made plans to make sure the new house isn’t flooded.
The home was pulled out of the Career Academy building on a semi and will make its way to their home in Jefferson, South Dakota today. It’s expected to take around four hours to drive the house there.
