Author: Allison Jacobs

KILJ had the opportunity to talk with Henry County Sherriff Rich McNamee, Dispatch Supervisor Lora Ruby, and Dispatcher Janae Body about Accidental 911 calls in Henry County.

Sheriff McNamee updated nearly half of all 911 dispatch calls are accidental in Henry County. Dispatcher Janae Body advises that if you do accidentally call 911, stay on the line to inform the dispatcher of your location and accidental call. This allows the dispatcher to make note of the call and move on to the next call. If you hang up instead of talking to the dispatcher they then have to call back, track the call of the location, and send an officer to ensure the caller is safe.

Dispatch Supervisor Lora Ruby also highlights even if a phone is disconnected from cell phone service it is still able to connect to 911 as long as the battery is not completely dead. Because of this it is crucial we teach young children appropriate times to call 911 and that even though the phone can not call anyone else, they can still call 911.

Most cellphones come with an automatic Emergency SOS feature. This feature allows the phone to call 911 quickly in an emergency, but may cause an accidental 911 call.

iPhone – Press and hold right side button and one volume button together

Android – Press side button 5 or more times quickly

Samsung – Press side button quickly 3-4 times

These features can be turned off, to do this go to your settings and toggle the Emergency SOS button to OFF. This prevents external button presses from being used to dial, but it DOES NOT disable your phones ability to call 911.

When experiencing or witnessing a mental health or behavioral crisis your first instinct may be to call 911, but now in Southeast Iowa you have another option. Call 988. Available 24/7 365 days a week in Keokuk, Washington, Louisa, Jefferson, Henry, Des Moines, Van Buren, and Lee county; the mobile crisis response service ensures two responders will arrive on-site and in-person within an hour no matter your location. Care doesn’t stop during the crisis, a trained professional will reach out following a crisis within 24 hours to ensure you are connected to the help you need. If you don’t already have an existing treatment team they will assist you in finding the right help for your situation including the community resources you can take advantage of in your area. When the responders arrive to your crisis you have the right to refuse service, but you also have the right to confidential service as well as the right to be free of any abuse, punishment, or harassment. This resource is to no cost to the person suffering the crisis thanks to funding from the Mental Health Agency of Southeast Iowa.

Severe weather can be unpredictable, and if there’s an emergency in your community you want to know about it as soon as possible. Stay informed with the information you need when you need it the most. Alert Iowa is the State of Iowa’s official emergency notification system, and is free of charge to the public. You may be wondering, how is Alert Iowa different from automatic alerts from the weather stations? Through Alert Iowa, State and local officials can utilize a single, statewide notification system that provides local control of how and when to send emergency and public safety messages to residents. Alerts include weather alerts as well as county and community specific alerts. You are also able to pick how you want to receive your alerts; through an app, voice, text, or email rather than default text alerts. You can sign up for Alert Iowa by visiting alert.iowa.gov or downloading the Smart911 app.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) is beginning to issue cost-share assistance payments through the Emergency Grain Storage Facility Assistance Program (EGSFP) for approved and funded applications that have met the requirements for partial or final payment. FSA first announced $20 million for this program in March to help producers affected by eligible disaster events from Dec. 1, 2021, through Aug. 1, 2022, that damaged or destroyed large commercial grain elevators in eight Midwest states. Due to the high volume of program applications received, FSA has amended the original Notice of Funds Availability (NOFA) to increase the initial funding amount for EGSFP to $80 million in cost-share assistance.

The unprecedented outbreak of tornadoes and derechos impacted numerous counties in Kentucky, Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, North Dakota, South Dakota and Tennessee. Significant damage or destruction to local, commercial elevators left many grain producers with limited storage capacity for harvested commodities and with no or limited marketing options. This support is being made available under the Commodity Credit Corporation, which allows USDA to act quickly to help agricultural producers navigate significant and unpredictable challenges.

“The applications that FSA has received for this assistance under our original funding announcement far exceed the limited funding available for the program,” said FSA Administrator Zach Ducheneaux. “Given the critical need for assistance across the countryside, the now $80 million allocation will be used to fund additional eligible applications that have already been received.”

Even with the $80 million in support for EGSFP– quadruple the original funding allocation – this program will not be able to meet the needs of many producers who are still experiencing storage deficits due to these disaster events. For this reason, FSA has secured an additional $40 million in reallocated CCC funds to provide much-needed help to producers and is exploring options outside of EGSFP to do so. Details will be announced in the coming weeks.

To be eligible for EGSFP, producers must have both:

• Eligible grain production.
• Demonstrated a need for additional on-farm grain storage in an affected county impacted by an eligible disaster.

Approved EGSFP applicants who meet the requirements for payment will receive cost-share assistance for the construction of new or renovated grain storage capacity and equipment required to meet drying and handling needs to support the orderly marketing of commodities in counties affected by these disaster events. FSA will not be able to approve and fund all eligible applications that have already been received by FSA even with the increase in initial funding.  Therefore, the original application deadline has been modified to Aug. 7, 2023. For additional information on eligibility and payments, please refer to the initial NOFA for EGSFP that was published in the Federal Register on March 16, 2023.

EGSFP Payment Calculation

For applications that have been approved and funded, FSA is using the producer’s self-certified cost of additional on-farm grain storage capacity or drying and handling equipment multiplied by the producer’s share of grain to determine the program payment amount.

This amount is multiplied by the cost share rate of 75% or 90%. An eligible producer who certifies that they are socially disadvantaged, limited resource, beginning and veteran farmer or rancher by filing form CCC-860 Socially Disadvantaged, Limited Resource, Beginning and Veteran Farmer or Rancher Certification with FSA will receive the higher 90% cost share rate.

Assistance for Producers Not Funded Through EGSFP

Producers in the geographic impact area who applied for EGSFP and do not receive funding through EGSFP will be contacted by FSA.

In the meantime, for producers who may be interested, FSA’s Farm Storage Facility Loan Program (FSFL) can provide low-interest financing for eligible producers who may not qualify for EGSFP but need on-farm storage capacity. FSA is also currently reviewing FSFL policies to determine whether certain flexibilities can be made, or waivers granted, to further reduce FSFL financial obligations for producers in need of immediate grain storage.

FSA will announce planned additional assistance in the coming weeks.

More Information 

To learn more about FSA programs, producers can contact their local USDA Service Center.

USDA touches the lives of all Americans each day in so many positive ways. In the Biden-Harris administration, USDA is transforming America’s food system with a greater focus on more resilient local and regional food production, fairer markets for all producers, ensuring access to healthy and nutritious food in all communities, building new markets and streams of income for farmers and producers using climate smart food and forestry practices, making historic investments in infrastructure and clean energy capabilities in rural America, and committing to equity across the Department by removing systemic barriers and building a workforce more representative of America. To learn more, visit usda.gov.

Steven Andrew Mauck was pronounced dead due to natural causes at 12:35 a.m. on Friday, August 4, 2023 while in hospice at the Iowa Medical and Classification Center where he had been housed due to chronic illness. Mauck was 41 years old at the time of his death.

Mauck had been serving a 25-year maximum term for the crime of Sex Abuse – 2nd Degree from Des Moines County. His sentence began on January 22, 2020.

It is the season to enjoy our beautiful outdoors through bicycling. When driving you must share the road because people on bicycles have the same rights and responsibilities as you do.

Yield to bicyclists as you would motorists and do not underestimate their speed. This will help avoid turning in front of a bicyclist traveling on the road or sidewalk, often at an intersection or driveway.

Always search your surroundings for bicycles. Being smaller than a vehicle, they are covered by blind spots more easily.

Drivers turning right on red should look to the right and behind to avoid hitting a bicyclist approaching from the right rear.

Obey the speed limit, reduce speed for road conditions and drive defensively to avoid a crash with a cyclist.

Give cyclists room. Do not pass too closely. Pass bicyclists as you would any other vehicle—when it’s safe to move over into an adjacent lane.

Yesterday, August 6th, Gov. Kim Reynolds issued a disaster proclamation for Lee and Sioux counties in response to severe weather that occurred beginning Aug. 4. The governor’s proclamation activates the Iowa Individual Assistance Grant Program and the Disaster Case Advocacy Program.   

 The Iowa Individual Assistance Grant Program provides grants of up to $5,000 for households with incomes up to 200 percent of the federal poverty level. Grants are available for home or car repairs, replacement of clothing or food, and temporary housing expenses. Original receipts are required for those seeking reimbursement for actual expenses related to storm recovery. The grant application and instructions are available on the Iowa Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management website at  https://homelandsecurity.iowa.gov/assistance. Potential applicants have 45 days from the date of the proclamation to submit a claim meaning applications need to be submitted by Wednesday, September 20^th for storm damage received over the weekend.    

 The Disaster Case Advocacy Program addresses serious disaster-related needs. Disaster case advocates work with clients to coordinate services and resources to address disaster-related unmet needs, build a recovery plan, and access available resources. There are no income eligibility requirements for this program; it closes 180 days from the date of the governor’s proclamation giving you a deadline of February 3rd of 2024.  To sign up for the Disaster Case Advocacy Program, contact your local Community Action Agency: https://iowacommunityaction.org/find-an-agency/.