At a time when Republicans and Democrats in the Iowa Legislature have sparred on whether there should be more state agency oversight of nursing homes, a new proposal would allow Iowans to monitor their family members in nursing homes through a video livestream.
A bill moved forward this week in the Republican-controlled Iowa House to allow such video livestreams, if the family pays for it and any nursing home roommates also give permission.
Republican State Representative Brooke Boden, of Indianola, said such livestreams would be to the benefit of both the nursing home residents and staff members. Republican House member Joel Fry, of Osceola, said this bill has been discussed for years and he hopes it achieves passage this year.
Back in December, Democrats in the Iowa Senate requested a Government Oversight Committee meeting to look into nursing homes, amid reports of severe abuse and neglect at some facilities.
Republican State Senator Amy Sinclair, who is chairwoman of that Senate oversight committee, said she would not schedule the requested meeting, since it would “distract department staff” from monitoring facilities. Sinclair said regulators are doing a good job, as shown by more than 2,800 violations cited in nursing homes over the last year.
There are more than 400 nursing homes in Iowa, and about 30 have closed in recent years, primarily in rural Iowa, where staffing the facilities has been difficult.
In legislative activity in another Siouxland state, a measure to expand access to free lunches in South Dakota public schools has been defeated in the state legislature.
Dakota News Now reported that a bipartisan bill to expand free lunches to students who are already eligible for reduced-price lunches failed by one vote to advance out of the House Education Committee.
South Dakota State Representative Kadyn Wittman, a Democrat from Sioux Falls, proposed the measure. She said expanded lunch access would be a good investment to improve student health and test scores and reduce absentees.
The current designation is that South Dakota families with a household income below $36,482 are eligible to receive reduced-price lunches.
Gay Anderson, the Sioux Falls School District’s child nutrition coordinator, said students who worry about their parents being able to pay for lunches at times make the decision to skip school meals.
A year ago, the same proposal by Wittman was defeated in that South Dakota Legislature committee on a 14-1 vote. This year it was defeated 8-7, so Wittman hopes it could be adopted in the future.
In other news related to food access for young people, last month the governors of South Dakota, Iowa, and Nebraska declined federal funding that would provide additional food assistance to low-income children during summer 2024. Thirty-five states accepted participating in that summer food program.
Additionally, two Republicans will run for elective office in Woodbury County in 2024. Michelle Skaff, who is deputy auditor, announced she will run for the top position in the office, which is county auditor.
Current Woodbury County Auditor Pat Gill, a Democrat who has served for 28 years in that position, has already announced he will seek an eighth term. Skaff has worked in county positions for 28 years, with the past eight years being the deputy auditor with Gill as her boss. The auditor office runs elections and oversees the budgets for county departments.
Additionally, Mark Nelson on January 29 plans to announce he will seek a full four-year term as a Woodbury County Board of Supervisors member. Nelson was appointed to fill out a vacant supervisors position about one year ago, and now wants to be elected to a full term to continue his work on the board.
While some candidates are making announcements now, the official filing period in Iowa for county office runs from March 4 to 22.
