Iowa Loses $30 Million in Childcare Assistance, GOP Controls Statehouse, RSV Impacts South Dakota Hospitals & Children, and Others

The state of Iowa is losing $30 million in federal funding that would have helped families access basic childcare services.

Iowa Capital Dispatch Report The governor’s office says the loss of that money is the result of a deliberate decision to avoid giving out $3 million in matching state funds for child care.

But a Democratic state legislator says it is his understanding that Iowa’s application for $30 million in federal grants fell victim to the state’s inability to review the paperwork and submit it on time.

Grant money can be used by states to coordinate early childhood care and learning programs and services that already exist and help children from low-income families enter kindergarten ready and ready to succeed in school. help.

This year, the grant-application process encouraged states to consider the changing needs of children and families due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and to invest in strategies that address those needs.

Having previously received funding under the same grant program, Iowa was one of 25 states or territories to qualify as “renewal” grant recipients.

Des Moines Register reported It was earlier this week that the state of Iowa refused to ask federal officials to reallocate millions in unspent federal money provided to the state for rental assistance and affordable housing in Iowa. The decision means $89 million to help low-income Iovans with housing will likely be returned to the US Treasury and then to other states.

Kim Reynolds and the Republican leadership may have an easier road ahead with appointments and legislation in the upcoming session as Republicans take a supreme majority in the state Senate and add to their majority in the state House.

In the Iowa Senate, according to unofficial results, Republicans got at least two seats. With at least 34 seats, Republicans hold a two-thirds majority. This means that state Democrats can no longer block appointments by Gov. Kim Reynolds to state agencies and boards and commissions. More on Iowa Capital Dispatch’s story can be found at Here,

Republican Senator Amy Sinclair of Allerton has been elected as the new president of the Iowa Senate.

Sinclair previously served as majority whip and chaired the Senate Education Committee. She replaces former Senate President Jake Chapman, who lost re-election this week.

In a statement, Sinclair says she appreciates the trust placed in her by her colleagues. She says she’s looking forward, bidding, “to continuing the progress we’ve made to make Iowa the best state in the country.”

Senate Majority Leader Jack Whitaver was reelected by his Republican allies to continue as majority leader. He has been serving in that position since March 2018.

Voters in eight of Iowa’s 99 counties had the EMS required funding referendum on their ballots on November 8. Five counties had achieved the 60% threshold required to pass the ballot referendum.

KCCI Television in MoinesIn Iowa, EMS is not considered an essential service, meaning there is no guarantee or requirement that an ambulance will be visible when someone dials 911.

Voters in Osceoloa, Pocahontas, Kossuth, Jones and Winnebago counties passed funding. Voters in Calhoun, Floyd and Worth counties rejected it.

The Libertarian Party of Iowa appears to have achieved full party status. To be recognized, an organization must have received at least 2% of the total votes cast for governor or president in the last general election.

Unofficial results show Libertarian Rick Stewart received two-point-four percent of the vote in this year’s gubernatorial election. This means the party will get full status early next year. It also comes with access to primary elections, inclusion in the caucus, and an automatic place for a moderate candidate on the presidential ballot.

It is not Iowa’s first Libertarian party as a major party. In 2016, presidential candidate Gary Johnson received enough votes to overtake the 2 percent threshold. But in 2018, Jack Porter lagged behind in the race for governor, losing the position.

Nebraska residents have approved a new photo identification requirement for future elections. The measure was one of several decisions taken on Tuesday that could affect the way votes are cast in the next presidential election. Arkansas voters defeated a proposed constitutional amendment that would have raised the threshold for passing future ballot initiatives. A proposal to expand early voting passed in Connecticut and was pioneered in Michigan. The measures were among 130 state ballot issues. Others touched on controversial policies such as abortion rights, marijuana legalization, gun rights and gambling.

Nebraska US Sen. Ben Sasse has received final approval to become the 13th president of the University of Florida, capping off a speedy and sometimes controversial process. The State University System Board of Governors on Wednesday confirmed the Republican Party’s bid for the position by a voice vote. The mother-in-law will leave the Senate before taking charge of the Florida school in February – she is two years into her second term. The vote came just a month after Sasse was revealed as the sole finalist for the job. This was followed by a confidential search process that received a no-confidence motion from the Florida Faculty Senate.

A previously common and more resilient strain of RSV infections in South Dakota is causing severe illness in young children, raising concerns that pediatric intensive care units may be stressful, especially if influenza or COVID-19 occurs. Combined with the winter spike in 19 cases. More on Argus Leader’s story can be found at Here,

Officials report that the number of COVID-19 related hospitalizations and positive tests have increased in the last seven days.

Fed reports now 180 Evans Hospitalized Has tested positive for the virus. That’s 40 hospitalizations since last week.

State health officials say more than this 25 hundred positive test Reported in the last one week. Slightly faster than last week’s count.

Officials also added 22 Iovans to the state’s COVID death count. 10,229 Evans has died virus so far

According to the Centers for Disease Control, About 64 percent of all Iowans has completed its primary COVID vaccine series. A little over 11 percent have received the most recent bivalent booster.

The Board of Regents’ Facilities Committee has approved plans for multimillion-dollar work on buildings at the University of Iowa, Iowa State University and the University of Northern Iowa campuses. radio iowa report The plan includes remodeling a residence hall in Iowa City and artificial turf at U of I’s REC campus. Iowa State plans to spend more than $2.25 million to remodel Memorial Hall. The University of Northern Iowa plans to expand the Gallagher Bluedoorn Performing Arts Center with a budget of approximately $14 million dollars.

Aubrey Trail would not receive a second murder trial for the murder and dismemberment of Sidney Lough. The Nebraska Supreme Court, in a ruling Thursday, just shy of the five-year anniversary of the disappearance of a 23-year-old Lincoln woman, upheld Trail’s conviction and the death penalty for murder. The Omaha World Herald reports, Traill’s appeal was automatic, as he was sent to the death row. However, he said he didn’t want one.