Thursday, Jan. 4, 2024
Vol.5, No. 20
PCMExplorer Local People. Local Stories.
Supervisors vote to continue opioid settlement litigations
Christopher Braunschweig/PCM Explorer Jasper County Attorney Scott Nicholson speaks with the board of supervisors about continuing the opioid settlement litigations during the Dec. 19 meeting at the county courthouse.
County attorney recommended board to remain in current lawsuits By Christopher Braunschweig PCM Explorer As more organizations continue to get sued over their roles in the opioid crisis, the Jasper Coun-
ty Board of Supervisors was given the chance Dec. 19 to opt out of its current lawsuits and pursue settlements with those other entities. But in doing so the county would likely have to start all over
from scratch. Under recommendation from the county attorney, the board of supervisors voted 3-0 to have Jasper County remain in the opioid settlement litigation currently being pursued and to not opt out. As a result of pursuing these lawsuits, the county has been receiving hundreds of thousands of dollars. The county’s opioid settlement committee has been in charge of providing those funds to local organizations whose projects will have an impact in the community. Focus areas for projects include the prevention and abatement of the use of opioids and with the treatment of those with addictions to opioids. Jasper County Attorney Scott Nicholson said supervisor Brandon Talsma received an attorney-client communication from the attorneys representing the county in the opioid settlement suits. More entities are being added to the settlement all the time, which ultimately means more LAWSUITS | 3
Supervisors approve development of updated health dept resource guide Optimized web tool provides information for childcare, mental health, veteran services, etc. By Christopher Braunschweig PCM Explorer Jasper County is going to create a hybrid app/ add-on to public health’s webpage to better connect individuals to a resource guide for health and human services. Supervisors approved the joint request between IT and the county health department during their GUIDE | 3
Jasper County website Icons on the health department’s page on the Jasper County website redirect users to helpful information, including a resource guide that supervisors approved an upgrade for. The resource guide has information about childcare, mental health and veterans services providers, among many other helpful resources in Jasper County.
Local newspapers nominated for multiple awards Newton News, Jasper County Tribune and PCM Explorer place top three in 30 categories at state competition PCM Explorer
The Newton News, Jasper County Tribune and PCM Explorer have been nominated for numerous awards by the Iowa Newspaper Association as a part of the organization’s Iowa Better Newspaper Contests. The Jasper County Tribune and PCM Explorer are also in the running for General Excellence, naming them two of the top three newspapers in their class. The nominations signal a top three finish in each category for the newspapers. Categories can range in size from a few selections to dozens in competition for the top spot. Newton News The twice-a-week newspaper has 10 nominations in a variety of categories. They include: Best Sports Section, Coverage of Business, Coverage of Court and Crime, Best Sports Feature Photo (Multi-day), Best News Feature Photo (Multi-day), Best News Feature Photo (Multiday), Best Photo Story (Multi-day), Best Sports Story (Multi-day), Best Sports Feature Story (Multi-day) and Best Series (Multi-day). Jasper County Tribune The newspaper covering Colfax, Mingo, Baxter and western Jasper County brought in eight nominations ranging from design, to photos and stories. The nominations are: Best Sports Section, Coverage of Government and Politics, Coverage of Agriculture, Coverage of Business, Best Sports Photo (Weekly), Best Sports Feature Photo (Weekly), Best News Feature Story (Weekly), Best Sports Story (Weekly) and General Excellence. PCM Explorer In its fifth year, the PCM Explorer is up for 11 awards. They include: Best Sports Section, Coverage of Government and Politics, Coverage of Agriculture, Coverage of Business, Best Sports Photo (Weekly), Best Sports Story (Weekly), Best Sports Feature Story (Weekly) — two entries, Best Series (Weekly), Best Sports Columnist (Weekly) and General Excellence. All winners will be announced at the Awards Ceremony during the INA Annual Convention Feb. 8 at the Marriott Hotel in downtown Des Moines.
DUNWELL: Approved refugees, low-income families and mothers need support Assistant majority leader’s priorities for 2024 legislative session may take some convincing from fellow Republicans By Christopher Braunschweig PCM Explorer
Editor’s note: The following is the first of three articles going over Jasper County lawmakers’ priorities for the 2024 legislative session. In addition to pushing for legislation that benefits education, law enforcement, the state’s economy and the movement toward a more efficient government, Iowa House Dunwell Rep. Jon Dunwell has other priorities this next session that he considers to be off the beaten path and may not excite his fellow Republicans.
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Particularly when it comes to a proposed bill that he says will ask for $11 million to support approved refugees. In a phone interview with Newton News, Dunwell stressed the funds would not go toward illegal immigrants or people who have claimed asylum; they would be used by support groups for legal refugees. “An approved refugee is someone who has gone through the vetting of the United Nations, the (U.S.) state department and other aspects of federal government,” Dunwell said. “We only decide every year how many refugees to let into the U.S.; that number varies from about 75,000 to about 125,000.” Which could mean about 2,500 to 5,000 refugees move in to Iowa every year. The federal government provides three months of resources for approved refugees. Dunwell said although approved refugees are not illegal im-
migrants, regrettably they are often looked at or treated the same way. “When you look at the refugees that came to Iowa over the last few years, do you know what the average stay of a refugee in a refugee camp before they come here to Iowa? They’ve lived in a refugee camp 11 years,” he said. “It’s shocking. These would be dollars that would be used primarily by support groups.” These groups would then use the funding to provide legal aid, a home and job assistance, among other things. Dunwell said the refugees — which he later said are coming from all over the world, but he did not give examples as to their countries of origin — are highly motivated but are caught up in “all this mess.” Specifically, the mess of the United States immigration policies. It is an extensive process to become an approved
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refugee, Dunwell said. Last year Dunwell said he tried to introduce similar legislation. He intends to try again this session while also educating his fellow legislators. “You can still have some issues with what’s happening on the border and the lack of border security, but this is not what we’re talking about here,” Dunwell said. “…Everyone dumps (approved refugees) into the bucket of what’s happening with the border with what has been labeled illegal immigration.” When some Republicans hear “refugee,” Dunwell said they think of an individual who has gone to the border and — “whether appropriately or inappropriately” — has claimed asylum without it being tested or tried or proven. The national conversation, he DUNWELL | 5
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