POLICE VEHICLE SIDESWIPED
A Plymouth County man was arrested after he sideswiped a police car involved in a traffic stop. Sunday afternoon, the Plymouth County Sherriffs Office was notified that a driver sideswiped a marked Merrill police car that was conducting a traffic stop. Terry Allen Sundt was arrested following the collision. He was booked into the Plymouth County Jail for OWI 1st offense, failing to move over for an emergency vehicle, and possession of a dangerous weapon while intoxicated.
ROCK VALLEY SEEKS FEDERAL FUNDS TO BUYOUT FLOOD DAMAGED HOMES
Some communities in northwest Iowa hit by massive flooding this summer are now able to apply for FEMA money to purchase damaged homes. Rock Valley has sent its application Monday, asking for funding to buy 110 homes. City Administrator Tom Van Maanen says, if approved, an eligible homeowner will get paid the value of their property before the natural disaster. To qualify, a home must be in an area that has flooded before this year.
More than 500 homes in Rock Valley were damaged by June’s flooding. Van Maanen says the process to get federal funding for buyouts is very competitive.
If approved, FEMA pays for 75 percent of buyouts, the State of Iowa covers 10 percent and the city involved pays the rest. The estimate for Rock Valley’s share is between four-and-a-half and six million dollars. Rock Valley also sent in a separate request for funding to purchase 30 homes that had flood insurance. The City of Spencer is also looking at doing buyouts. The mayor of Correctionville isn’t sure if his town will submit a request for buyouts due to finances and the fact that once a home is bought out, no development can take place on the land.;’
GROUPS URGE STATE OFFICIALS TO PROVIDE FUNDING FOR ANIMAL DISEASE PREVENTION
Farm groups are urging state officials to continue funding development of livestock vaccines for bird flu and other foreign animal diseases like African Swine Fever and Food and Mouth Disease. Kelli Wicks of the Iowa Cattlemen’s Association says euthanizing infected poultry and livestock takes an economic toll on rural Iowa and vaccination remains the best way to stop the spread of these diseases. The Iowa Farm Bureau is calling for state support of research into how bird flu is transmitted to cattle. State and federal officials have confirmed cases of bird flu in 13 Iowa dairy herds.
IOWA’S DOCTOR SHORTAGE CONTINUES
Leaders in the Iowa Medical Society say there’s an acute shortage of doctors in Iowa and now is the time to take steps to start attracting younger doctors to complete their training in the state. Iowa Medical Society board of directors president Christina Taylor says there are about 58-hundred practicing physicians in Iowa today. Dr. Taylor says that is down nearly 200 from last year, and more than 70 counties are considered health care deserts where there aren’t enough providers for patients to be seen. Iowa ranks 44th among the states in the number of physicians per capita. Dr. Taylor says making gains in that ranking won’t be easy because it takes a decade or longer to complete medical training. Iowa is projected to be short about 16-hundred physicians by 2030 and the Iowa Medical Society hosted a summit earlier this month to discuss the looming workforce shortage.
LEGEND THAT POINTSETTIAS ARE POISONOUS IS NOT TRUE
A nurse at the Iowa Poison Control Center says the urban legend about the poinsettia Christmas flower is not true. Janna (JAN-ah) Day says poinsettias have gotten a bad reputation over the years, as a lot of folks think that they are poisonous and that they could hurt you or even kill you. Day says studies have that really they’re not as toxic as once thought. Day says one study found that a child would have to eat as many as 500 poinsettia leaves to cause an issue.
