MANY IOWA FARMERS ARE GLAD TO SEE WETTER CONDITIONS IN THE EARLY DAYS OF SEPTEMBER. THERE ARE EXCEPTIONS, LIKE THOSE WITH CORN FIELDS DAMAGED BY LAST MONTH’S DERECHO. OUR COVERAGE PARTNERS FROM TV9 TALKED WITH JOHN AIRY, WHO FARMS NEAR CENTRAL CITY. AIRY SAYS HE EXPECTS TO HARVEST HIS CORN EARLY, BUT WET FIELDS WOULD MAKE THAT MORE PROBLEMATIC.
MONEY TO MAKE SURE POST OFFICE OPERATIONS CONTINUE SMOOTHLY HAS BECOME A POLITICAL ISSUE THAT IS RECEIVING SIGNIFICANT ATTENTION THIS SUMMER. IOWA SENATOR JONI ERNST TALKS ABOUT FUNDING THE POSTAL SERVICE, AND SIMULTANIOUSLY PROVIDING CORONAVIRUS RELIEF MONEY. FUNDING ISSUES AT THE POST OFFICE ARE HIGHTENED BY THE LIKELIHOOD OF A RECORD NUMBER OF MAIL-IN BALLOTS EXPECTED BETWEEN NOW AND THE NOVEMBER ELECTION.
MILLIONS OF DOLLARS WILL BE AVAILABLE TO HELP PREVENT MEDICARE FRAUD IN IOWA BETWEEN NOW AND 2025. THE SENIOR MEDICARE PATROL IS OPERATED BY THE NORTHEAST IOWA AREA AGENCY ON AGING. THE GROUP HAS RECEIVED A 4.4 MILLION DOLLAR FEDERAL GRANT FOR THE PROGRAM. ONE COMMON AREA THE SENIOR MEDICARE PATROL WORKS ON IS THE PREVENTION OF PHONE SCAMS.
IN THREE WEEKS OF TESTING, THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTHERN IOWA’S STUDENT HEALTH CENTER IS SEEING COVID-19 TESTS COME BACK POSITIVE AT A RATE OF OVER 25 PERCENT. THE LATEST STATS PROVIDED ON MONDAY FOR LAST WEEK SHOWED 45 POSITIVE CASES FROM 196 TESTS. UNI SAYS OVER 90 STUDENTS ARE EITHER CURRENTLY QUARANTINED OR ISOLATED. SEPARATELY, ANOTHER 35 STUDENTS OR STAFF REPORTED THAT THEY HAD AN OFF-CAMPUS CORONAVIRUS TEST WHICH CAME BACK POSITIVE.
YOU HEARD FROM IOWA SENATOR JONI ERNST THIS MORNING DURING KXEL LIVE AND LOCAL. SHE ANSWERED A LISTENER QUESTION ABOUT WHETHER THERE WAS A RISK OF THE DOLLAR BEING DEVALUED BY FEDERAL COVID-19 RELIEF. A COVID-19 STIMULUS BILL WHICH STALLED LAST MONTH WAS ANTICIPATED TO DELIVER ANOTHER ROUND OF $1,200 DIRECT PAYMENTS TO MOST AMERICANS, AS WELL AS HELPING SCHOOLS AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS AND PROVIDING MORE GENEROUS UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFITS. NEGOTIATIONS ARE EXPECTED TO RESUME IN A NARROW LEGISLATIVE WINDOW AHEAD OF THE NOVEMBER ELECTION.
THERE ARE MORE PHEASANTS IN IOWA FIELDS AHEAD OF THE COMING HUNTING SEASON. THE DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES SAYS THEIR RECENT SURVEY SHOWED THE HIGHEST NUMBER OF BIRDS SINCE 2007 IN SIX OF NINE STATE REGIONS. THE POPULATION IN EASTERN IOWA RECEIVED A PARTICULAR BOOST. A MILD WINTER AND DRY SPRING ARE CREDITED FOR INCREASING PHEASANT NUMBERS.
IOWA OFFICIALS ARE WORKING ON PLANS TO MOVE TEST IOWA DRIVE-THRU SITES INDOORS ONCE THE WEATHER TURNS COLDER. 100 MILLION DOLLARS IN FEDERAL FUNDS IS EXPECTED TO HELP MAKE THAT POSSIBLE. STATE HEALTH OFFICIALS SAY THEY ARE ALSO CONSIDERING A COMBINED COVID-19/FLU TEST THAT CAN BE ADMINISTERED IN ONE STOP. IOWA IS STILL RECEIVING THE 540 THOUSAND KITS FROM ITS INITIAL TEST IOWA CONTRACT, WITH THE LAST 30 THOUSAND TO BE DELIVERED EARLY THIS MONTH. MORE THAN 650 THOUSAND TOTAL TESTS FOR CORONAVIRUS HAVE BEEN ADMINISTERED IN THE STATE BY TEST IOWA OR OTHER ENTITIES SINCE MARCH.
HUNDREDS OF STUDENTS FROM PUBLIC SCHOOLS IN DES MOINES AND AMES MARCHED TO THE GOVERNOR’S MANSION MONDAY TO PROTEST THE DECISION TO SUSPEND SPORTS AND START THE SCHOOL YEAR ONLINE. THE “STUDENT MARCH FOR FAIRNESS” WAS HELD AFTER IOWA HIGH SCHOOL ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION OFFICIALS TOLD THE SCHOOLS LAST WEEK THAT ALL IN-PERSON ACTIVITIES AND SPORTS WILL BE SUSPENDED STARTING TODAY. THE STUDENTS SAY THEY WANT TO COMPETE IN FALL AND WINTER ACTIVITIES.
IOWA SENATOR JONI ERNST IS SEEKING HER SECOND TERM IN WASHINGTON. THIS MORNING DURING KXEL LIVE AND LOCAL, ERNST TALKED ABOUT THE ISSUES SHE BELIEVES DIFFERENTIATE HER FROM CHALLENGER TERESA GREENFIELD. JEFF STEIN’S FULL INTERVIEW WITH ERNST IS ONLINE AT KXEL.COM.
