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Tens of Thousands of People Without Power as Blizzard Hits South Dakota and Iowa, SPM News, 12:04

A blizzard has knocked out electricity to tens of thousands of people in the Northern Plains as a powerful storm system sweeps across the central U.S.

14,000 people and businesses are without power in Minnesota and the same number in South Dakota. Another 8,500 are in the dark in Iowa.

the main culprit of Thursday's outages is snow and ice accumulating on power lines, combined with strong winds.

Blizzard conditions in the region are expected to linger into early Friday. Lindstrom says crews are out working to restore power, and they're used to dealing with bad weather conditions.

The blizzard is part of a storm system known as a "bomb cyclone" that's slowly churning through the central U.S. for the second time in a month.

A Nebraska man has been given three years of probation for tampering with odometers sold at his vehicle dealership in northwest Iowa.

The Sioux City Journal reports that 38-year-old Francisco Hurtado also was sentenced Wednesday to a suspended prison sentence of five years, fined $1,500 and ordered to pay more than $19,000 to seven victims. He'd pleaded guilty to two counts of fraudulent practice.

The state House plans to consider a spending bill that would give Iowa Medicaid an additional $150 million to ensure all obligations are met for this year.

The measure is scheduled for debate on Thursday, but critics of privatized Medicaid say it makes no sense that insurance companies claim they're losing money in Iowa while the state continues to pump more money the program.

UnitedHealthcare has said it's leaving the program because it was losing millions. AmeriHealth Caritas pulled out of the program in 2017.  

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