From the Associated Press (11:20 a.m.):
TAMA, Iowa (AP) – Tribal police for the Meskwaki settlement in east-central Iowa say a woman there was fatally mauled by a pack of dogs. The Meskwaki Nation Police Department says in a Facebook post that the incident happened Monday afternoon, when a large pack of dogs attacked a young woman in the area of Springs Road. Police said all of the dogs were later identified and killed. Police said they would not release the woman’s name or other details until a later date, citing “the sensitivity of the situation.”
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Iowa is nearing passage of a dramatic reduction in unemployment benefits to try to force people to fill thousands of open jobs and reverse a trend in which the governor argues the state’s “safety net has become a hammock.” A measure supported by the Republicans who lead the Legislature would reduce allowable unemployment payments from 26 weeks to 16 weeks, placing Iowa among only six states with such severe limits. Currently, 40 states plus Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico pay up to 26 weeks of unemployment benefits. The proposed reduction comes as Iowa’s unemployment rate dropped to 3.5% in February and the state’s businesses have struggled to hire enough workers. GOP Gov. Kim Reynolds has made the cutbacks a priority.
WILLIAMSBURG, Iowa (AP) – Authorities have identified a man who was found dead last week in an eastern Iowa grain bin. The Iowa County Sheriff’s Office says 63-year-old Robert Wade Chittick, of Williamsburg, was found buried under 10 feet of corn after emergency responders were called around 7:30 a.m. Friday to the grain bin near Williamsburg. Arriving crews worked for an hour before finding Chittick inside the bin. He was declared dead at the scene. The sheriff’s office says the 20,000-bushel capacity grain bin is owned by Kinze Manufacturing and is leased to Circle J Grain of Williamsburg.
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Iowa agriculture officials said Saturday they have confirmed another case of bird flu in a flock of commercial pullet chickens. Iowa Department of Agriculture says in a news release the outbreak The in Franklin County is the seventh found in Iowa this month. The department says this latest outbreak affects about 250,000 birds. Farms found with the virus must kill and dispose of their flocks because the virus is highly contagious and fatal to domestic birds.
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Iowa agriculture officials have confirmed another case of bird flu in a commercial turkey farm in northwest Iowa. Official on Thursday said the outbreak in Buena Vista County will require the killing of nearly 54,0 turkeys. It’s the third case of avian influenza in the county, following a March 6 case that led to the killing of nearly 50,000 turkeys and an infection found March 17 that resulted in the killing of 5.3 million egg-laying hens. Iowa has had one other commercial egg-laying chicken farm affected in Taylor County, which involved 915,000 birds. Two other Iowa cases involved backyard birds. U.S. Department of Agriculture data shows 17 states have confirmed cases in commercial or backyard flocks.
