With the imminent signing of the President Trump budget plan lying ahead, officials of the Food Bank of Siouxland are wary about coming cuts that could impact families having enough food.
After Trump Administration cuts to USDA’s Emergency Food Assistance Program in February, the Food Bank in Sioux City lost about $75,000 worth of food. That meant that food in the bank’s warehouse was at its lowest level since 2020, and demand outpaced supply.
On Thursday, Food Bank Associate Executive Director Valerie Petersen was reviewing the federal budget bill, which has potential cuts to social safety net programs to offset the tax cut extensions that Republicans prioritized.
“We have concerns about what this bill will do to many of the people we serve. We see many working families who use SNAP to get by,” Petersen said.
In 2024 about 8,050 families visited the Food Bank of Siouxland network, which covers 11 counties in Northwest Iowa and Northeast Nebraska. Petersen said in that territory, one in nine people and one in five children are food insecure.
She has concerns that an estimated $40 million in cost-sharing SNAP cuts could be coming to Iowa, and on the uncertain ways that money could be replaced.
Petersen also worries about likely cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Education program, which has been successful in aiding SNAP recipients in ways to eat more healthfully.
“It has been a very positive program, people have made better choices on healthy food choices,” she said.
*In other news, the Iowa Hospital Association says cuts to Medicaid under the federal budget bill could have detrimental effects on the state’s hospitals.
The bill proposes severe cuts to Medicaid, the joint federal and state health coverage program for low-income and disabled Americans, to offset revenue lost from proposed tax cuts.
The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimated this week nearly 12 million Americans could lose health coverage by 2034, under the version of the bill passed by the Senate this week and by the House overnight into Thursday morning.
Chris Mitchell is the president and CEO of the Iowa Hospital Association. He says many of the state’s rural hospitals will need to make difficult choices if they lose Medicaid revenue. Rural hospitals are typically more dependent on Medicaid patients than their urban counterparts.
“You're really looking at a reduction of services. What services do we have to discontinue and laying off staff when we already know that the majority of hospitals are still facing significant workforce shortages.” Mitchell said.
Meanwhile, in Nebraska, uncertainty over federal Medicaid funding appears to have claimed its first victim.
Officials of Community Hospital announced Wednesday they will close Curtis Medical Center in Curtis, and will be winding down its services over the next several months.
"Unfortunately, the current financial environment, driven by anticipated federal budget cuts to Medicaid, has made it impossible for us to continue operating all of our services, many of which have faced significant financial challenges for years," Troy Bruntz, President and CEO of Community Hospital, said in a release.
Earlier this week, officials with United Today Stronger Tomorrow group estimated that up to six Nebraska hospitals could be forced to close if the bill is signed into law.
*Federal education money earmarked for assistance for English language learners and migrant students among other programs has been put on hold according to the U.S. Department of Education.
The announcement has thrown some Iowa school districts, who rely on these funds, in limbo. The Iowa Department of Education is encouraging districts to use their leftover funds from previous years while programs are up in the air.
Stacey Cole is the superintendent of the Storm Lake School District where more than 40 percent of students are English language learners.
Cole says if the money doesn’t come through, she predicts the district would have to end some of the federally funded programs and resort to pay cuts or layoffs.
“Many, many districts were already saying, we don't know how we're going to keep providing the services that we're trying to provide now -- we were already there. This is going to cut us to the core," Cole said.
In an email sent Monday, the US Department of Education said they will first review the programs before deciding whether to issue the money.
*A man was killed Tuesday in Kossuth County in northern Iowa in a fireworks accident.
The Kossuth County Sheriff’s Office said the man was holding a launcher tube while lighting fireworks.
This comes amid a busy period when many communities will have fireworks shows over the long 4th of July weekend, and Iowans will also buy their own fireworks.
In Sioux City, fireworks are only permitted between the hours of 9 a.m. and 10 p.m. on July 3 and from 9 a.m. and 11 p.m. on July 4.
This is the first year that holds that local towns must at least allow fireworks over that length of time, so many city councils removed local restrictions on those times that had been in place the last few years.
Additionally, state, federal and local law enforcement agencies are encouraging all boaters to avoid alcohol and drugs this busy holiday weekend to ensure everyone’s safety on Iowa waters.
Alcohol use is the leading contributing factor in recreational boating fatalities.
In 2024, the Iowa Department of Natural Resources and its partners contacted more than 1,296 vessels resulting in 477 citations or warnings as part of Operation Dry Water.
From 2021 to 2023, the Okoboji area has been the place with the most Boating While Intoxicated arrests for two years, and also in the top three waterways in state in the other year.
