IOWA LONG-TERM CARE FACILITIES RECOGNIZED NATIONALLY FOR QUALITY CARE
Thirty-eight Iowa long-term care facilities were honored this month at a national awards ceremony for their commitment to quality care. The facilities received 2024 National Quality Awards from the American Health Care Association and National Center for Assisted Living and were recognized during AHCA/NCAL’s Quality Summit on April 7, 2025, in Atlanta.
Four Iowa facilities received the 2024 Silver – Achievement in Quality Award, placing Iowa among the top 10 states nationally for Silver-level recipients:
* Good Samaritan Society – Le Mars (Le Mars)
* Sibley Specialty Care (Sibley)
Thirty-four Iowa facilities received the 2024 Bronze – Commitment to Quality Award, ranking Iowa fourth in the nation for Bronze-level recipients:
* Accura HealthCare of Aurelia (Aurelia)
* Accura HealthCare of Cherokee (Cherokee)
* Floyd Senior Living (Sergeant Bluff)
* Good Samaritan Society – Holstein (Holstein)
* Prairie View Home Inn (Sanborn)
* The Heritage at Northern Hills (Sioux City)
Since the program’s inception, Iowa’s long-term care providers have earned more than 300 national quality awards through the AHCA/NCAL program – consistently placing the state among the top performers nationwide.
STATE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AWARDS
The Iowa Economic Development Authority Board handed out economic development awards. s I-E-D-A spokesperson Kanan (Cannon) Kappleman says the Board awarded Dickinson County a 500-thousand dollar tourism and attractions grant for the Clay County Connection Project.
The I-E-D-A also awarded a sports tourism grant for a disc golf event in Des Moines. Kappleman says the disc golf events have been growing in popularity. Other projects receiving awards were located in Norway, Perry, Belle Plaine, and Grinnell. The I-E-D-A Board made the awards at their meeting Friday.
GOVERNOR ISSUES DISASTER PROCLAMATION FOR STORM DAMAGE
Governor Kim Reynolds issued a disaster proclamation Friday afternoon for Buena Vista, Fremont, Page, and Plymouth Counties following the overnight storms. The proclamation allows state resources to be utilized to help with recovery efforts and activates the Iowa Individual Assistance Grant Program and the Disaster Case Advocacy Program for those counties. Severe thunderstorms did damage across the counties and included large hail, heavy winds and tornadoes.
BUDGET AMENDMENT HEARING
The Le Mars Community School Board will hold a public hearing on an amendment to their current budget on May 12, the next regularly scheduled board meeting. The amendment reflects additional spending for a summer food program at the preschool held at the Crittendon Center, and for architectural fees for the upcoming elementary school project. The total increase in the current budget is 700-thousand dollars. The amendment will not increase taxes.
HYDRANTS TO BE FLUSHED
The Le Mars Water Dept. will be flushing hydrants on the north side of town starting this morning, and extending through the rest of the week. Next week, beginning Monday, April 28th, the water department will flush hydrants on the south part of town; it could take up to two weeks to flush the South side. Residents should refrain from washing any clothes or running any more water than needed between the hours of 8am and 3:30pm on the days hydrants are being flushed.
INJURY ACCIDENT
A Spencer woman was injured in a single vehicle accident Saturday afternoon near Alton. The Sioux County Sheriffs Office says 27 year old Deborah Cordeiro was driving her vehicle north on Kingbird Ave. near Iowa Highway 60, when she lost control of the vehicle and rolled. Corderio was transported by the Alton Ambulance to Orange City Area Health System for treatment of minor injuries. The Mercury sustained an estimated $5,000 in damage. She was cited for failure to maintain control of a motor vehicle.
The sheriff’s office was assisted by the Orange City Fire Department, Alton Fire Department, Alton Ambulance and Orange City Police Department.
PAINT IOWA BEAUTIFUL GRANTS
Diamond Vogel and Keep Iowa Beautiful announce the recipients of the 2025 Paint Iowa Beautiful grants. This long-standing partnership supports community betterment projects across the state by providing free paint for initiatives that improve public spaces such as historic buildings, libraries, schools, parks, and community facilities.
This year, 87 Paint Iowa Beautiful grants are being awarded to support community beautification projects across Iowa. Among the grant recipients are Siouxland Youth for Christ in Hawarden and Plymouth County Fair in Le Mars.
In its 21-year partnership with Keep Iowa Beautiful, Diamond Vogel has awarded enough paint to cover over five million square feet of surface area, supporting 1,564 community projects throughout Iowa.
TOWNSEND SEES STABILITY IN IOWA EMPLOYMENT
Iowa Workforce Development director Beth Townsend says the March unemployment rate increased by one-tenth of a percent to three-point-four percent. Townsend says Iowa firms lost 15-hundred jobs in March, mostly in private service industries. Townsend says the turnover in the job market has slowed.
Townsend says things have continued to even out when it comes to job losses and additions.
Townsend says the new administration didn’t take over until mid January, so new policies have not yet started to impact the labor market. There have been several announcements of layoffs in manufacturing, but Townsend says the number of weeks of unemployment paid out is still around nine. Iowa allows a maximum of 16 weeks of unemployment. The U-S unemployment rate increased to four-point-two percent in March.
GOVERNOR APPROVES LOWERING AGE FOR POSSESSING A HANDGUN TO 18
Governor Kim Reynolds has signed a bill into law that will lower the legal age for possessing a handgun in Iowa from 21 to 18. The law goes into effect July 1st. After a 2022 U-S Supreme Court ruling on gun rights, some federal judges have overturned state laws that bar 18, 19 and 20 year olds from owning or possessing a pistol or revolver. Iowans under the age of 21 will still be prohibited from buying a handgun from a licensed federal dealer. Under the new law, a parent or guardian who lets a child under the age of 15 possess a handgun could be liable for any damages the child might cause.
