The tornado Tuesday afternoon left a wide swath of obliterated homes, splintered trees and crumpled cars in Greenfield, a town of 2,000 about 55 miles (88.5 kilometers) southwest of Des Moines. The twister also ripped apart and crumpled massive power-producing wind turbines several miles outside the town.

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Source: https://apnews.com/article/severe-weather-midwest-iowa-tornadoes-26c73e14ab481ef77a1b0606a2b10adc

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It’s the second case of highly pathogenic avian influenza this fall, likely sparked by millions of migrating birds that can carry the deadly virus. Earlier this month, officials reported a positive test in a Dallas County backyard flock with 48 birds. It was the first reported outbreak in Iowa since May 2.

Avian influenza continues “to be a significant threat across the country,” said Iowa Agriculture Secretary Mike Naig in a statement. “We have been preparing for the possibility of additional outbreaks,” working closely with producers and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

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Source: https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2022/11/01/bird-flu-found-in-iowa-egg-facility/8238654001/

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The post Gov. Reynolds declines request to house migrant children in Iowa first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection reported more than 172,000 immigrants seeking entry to the country in March alone, up 71% from the prior month, according to USA TODAY. That includes 18,890 unaccompanied children from Central America — double what the agency reported in February.

Many of the children have been housed in temporary housing facilities. Photos from the federal agency show a temporary processing facility in Donna, Texas, where the children rested on mats on the floor with foil blankets.

Reynolds was asked Thursday morning by WHO Radio host Jeff Angelo if any of the migrants or migrant children are being moved to Iowa. She said the state was asked to do so, but said no.

“We don’t have the facilities. We are not set up to do that,” Reynolds said. “This is not our problem. This is the president’s problem. He is the one that opened the borders. He needs to be responsible for this, and he needs to stop it.”

Iowa already has issues with trying to place current foster children into homes, Reynolds said.

More: Migrant encounters up 71% in March as Biden administration grapples with border

Republicans nationally have blamed President Joe Biden, a Democrat, for causing the surge in Central American immigrants seeking to cross the border. The Biden administration has denied responsibility but has said it would treat unaccompanied immigrant children more humanely than they were treated under the Trump administration.

On March 31, an official with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Darlene Taylor, asked an Iowa administrator how many residential child care beds and how many home-based child care beds were available to help with the placement and care of unaccompanied children. Taylor wrote that she was asking all of the states in her region: Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, and Nebraska.

Iowa Department of Human Services Director Kelly Garcia responded that “Iowa is not in a position to take unaccompanied minors at this time,” according to emails provided by the department to the Des Moines Register.

Iowa Department of Human Services spokesman Matt Highland wrote in an email to the Register that the decision was due to the state’s limited resources and administrative concerns while acknowledging it “is an incredibly saddening and difficult situation.”

“We have an obligation to take care of our children first and absent the resources or a clear and comprehensive plan for federal support, we were unable to accommodate the request,” Highland wrote.

House Minority Leader Todd Prichard, D-Charles City, said Thursday he was disappointed in the governor’s stance.

“I think it’s unfortunate that we’re not willing to help and to show that Iowa is a generous and welcoming state,” he told reporters. He said former Gov. Robert Ray, a Republican who welcomed refugees from Southeast Asia, “took the opposite approach. And the crisis at the border is a humanitarian crisis. Like so many things it wants to be played as a political football and … play the blame game, but I’m disappointed that we as Iowans aren’t standing up to help.”

Nick Coltrain is a politics and data reporter for the Register. Reach him at ncoltrain@registermedia.com or at 515-284-8361.

Source: https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/politics/2021/04/08/biden-border-wall-child-migrants-migrant-children-iowa-kim-reynolds-not-state-problem/7144792002/

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Flood waters coming from rain and melting snow are causing havoc in some US states and have resulted in an estimated $3 billion in damages so far.

According to online publication Vox, the floods are being caused by rain and melting snow as a result of a “bomb cyclone”. Mid-western states that are affected include: Iowa; Illinois; Missouri; Kansas; South Dakota; Minnesota; and Nebraska.

The video below, which was posted to Facebook by Iowa resident Gracie Newman, shows just a fraction of the losses that have been incurred as a result of the flooding.

As can be seen from the video, at this location alone, at least five bins have burst, destroying thousands of tonnes of grain.

Rising water levels have breached levees along the Missouri River and forced several towns to evacuate.

It was also reported that in the state of Nebraska (west of Iowa) the flooding has already caused more than $1 billion in damages, with more than 2,000 homes and 340 businesses lost.

Missouri Bin Collapse

In a separate incident, a grain bin which was reportedly holding 21,591t – or 850,000 bushels – of corn collapsed in the state of Missouri, in the early hours of Monday, March 11.

The grain was washed onto a nearby road and also blocked a railway line once its container’s walls split. No one was injured in the incident, which happened at a Bunge plant in LaGrange, Missouri.

21,000t Grain Bin Collapses In US

Source: https://www.agriland.ie/farming-news/video-us-grain-bins-collapse-under-catastrophic-iowa-floods/

The post Video: US grain bins collapse under catastrophic Iowa floods first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

The post Nothing spared in parts of Iowa as flooding submerges homes, businesses first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

The US state of Iowa on Wednesday passed the country’s most restrictive abortion ban, outlawing the procedure after a fetal heartbeat is detected — sometimes even before a woman realizes she is pregnant.

The legislation has been widely criticized by civil liberties groups as taking women’s rights in the state back 50 years.

What does the new law say?

• It prohibits abortions once a fetal heartbeat is picked up on an ultrasound — usually at around six weeks.
• A few exceptions are permitted, if the woman was raped or a victim of incest.
• It grants immunity to women receiving abortions but doctors who perform them could have their licenses revoked.
• A provision requiring a three-day waiting period for an abortion is on hold, amid a legal challenge.

Read more: Isle of Man votes to decriminalize abortion, aligning with British mainland

Republicans seek nationwide abortion reform 

Republican Congressman Steve King of Iowa said the ‘heartbeat’ law could “set the stage” to “question abortion nationally.”

“A baby has become something we can throw away. This bill says it’s time to change the way we think about unborn life,” said Representative Sandy Salmon, a Republican from Janesville.

The American Civil Liberties Union condemned the bill’s passage in comments to Agence France-Presse: “It is clearly unconstitutional and it effectively blocks the right (to) an abortion for most women,” said the group’s Iowa spokeswoman Veronica Fowler.

Erin Davison-Rippey, from Planned Parenthood of the Heartland, said that Iowa Republicans “do not care how much taxpayer money will be spent on a lawsuit … or how many families may choose to go elsewhere because Iowa is no longer a state where they are safe to live and work.”

Read more: Thousands in Poland protest stricter abortion laws

US split over whether a woman has a right to choose: Abortion remains a deeply divisive issue in the US, despite the 1973 Supreme Court ruling (Roe vs Wade) that women have a constitutional right to a termination. Several states have tried to toughen their abortion laws, only to be met with legal challenges. However, conservative politicians in Iowa believe even if the new law is contested in the Supreme Court, an influx of right-leaning judicial appointments under US President Donald Trump could block any objection.

Read more: US judge orders government to allow abortion for undocumented teen

When is pregnancy known about? Women typically sense that they may be pregnant at around five or six weeks, around the same time a fetal heartbeat would show up on an ultrasound.

Other state laws have failed The 8th US Circuit Court of Appeals rejected as unconstitutional the ‘heartbeat’ bills from North Dakota and Arkansas. Mississippi passed a law earlier this year banning abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy, but it is also subject to a legal challenge.

Read more: Would you have an abortion if you knew your baby had Down syndrome?

mm/aw (AFP, AP, Reuters)

Source: http://www.dw.com/en/iowa-approves-americas-toughest-abortion-law/a-43631392

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