News from around the nation.

Funeral plans released by White House for former President Jimmy Carter; US sends investigators to help find a cause for fatal Airplane Crash in South Korea; Report: Most ambulance rides in Colorado billed out-of-network; Cancer rates in Iowa mirror rising rate of manure pollution.

Transcript

The Public News Service Monday afternoon update.

I'm Mike Clifford.

The official state funeral in Washington, D.C. for former President Jimmy Carter will be held on January 9th.

That from CNN.

They report President Joe Biden declared January 9th as a national day of mourning and a proclamation on Sunday, hours after Carter's passing at the age of 100.

Biden said of Carter, "With his compassion and moral clarity, "he worked to eradicate disease, forge peace, "advance civil rights and human rights."

Next, the death toll for what amounted to be South Korea's most fatal plane crash in decades stands at 179.

That from Fox News.

They report the U.S. is now sending investigators to help determine what caused the airplane to crash land at Moran Airport and slam into a concrete barrier on Sunday.

Next, a majority of ambulance rides in Colorado come at out-of-network costs.

Colorado's surprise billing law does not currently limit out-of-network billing for ambulance services, and new analysis shows the true costs to consumers and insurers.

Kyle Brown represents Colorado House District 12.

He says lawmakers will likely need to step in because people who need emergency care don't have time to shop around or figure out if they're calling an in-network ambulance.

It's important for us as a state to make sure that ambulance services are well compensated for what they do and that patients don't end up with a gigantic bill.

Nearly six in 10 of the most common ambulance services billed at much higher out-of-network rates, according to the Center for Improving Value in Health Care report.

The price tag for basic services range from $300 to $1,000, and some patients have been hit with surprise bills as high as $2,500.

I'm Eric Galatas.

Meantime, a new report from the environmental group Food and Water Watch says more than two million fish were killed by manure in Iowa's waterways between 2013 and 2023.

The group is calling on state officials to establish legislation that would mandate clean water standards.

Iowa's factory farms produce more livestock manure than in any other state, 109 billion pounds a year, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Food and Water Watch has released a map that designates 700 segments of Iowa's waterways as impaired.

Food and Water Watch organizer, Mikaelyn Mankell, says that means they don't meet the standards necessary to support aquatic life, public water supplies, or recreation.

Taxpayers, residents of Iowa, are paying $66 million annually to clean up our water.

And when you think about the nature of what they're spilling and the quantities of what they're spilling, you know, it's the difference between life and death.

Des Moines Water Works, which oversees the safety of the capital city's water, has been forced to increase how often it runs its nitrate removal system, which can cost between $10,000 and $16,000 a day, all of which is passed on to ratepayers.

I'm Mark Moran.

This story is based on original reporting by Nina Elkady at Sentinent.

This is Public News Service.

Next to Alabama, a state that faces a critical workforce gap with only 38 available workers for every 100 open jobs.

That's according to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

These schools are coming together at the second annual Empowered Conference to explore ways to expand opportunities for students.

Alabama Possible Executive Director, Chandra Scott, says the event will also include historically black colleges and universities and focus on creating seamless transitions from two-year community colleges to four-year universities.

We wanna make sure that there are streamlined pathways from the community college to an HBCU.

We don't wanna want any credits lost.

We don't want any time wasted and any money frayed away.

She says they hope to achieve this by connecting educators, students, and industry leaders to find solutions to Alabama's workforce challenges and elevate the work within these institutions.

Shantia Hudson reporting.

And a Detroit nonprofit says it's helping people in the city reclaim control over the food they eat from where it is grown to where they buy it.

The Detroit Black Community Food Sovereignty Network is leading the mission for what they call food sovereignty, focusing on helping Detroiters access healthy, culturally meaningful food and taking control of its sustainable production while addressing food insecurity.

Shakira Tyler, a member of the network, says they operate a seven-acre farm in Detroit's River Rouge Park.

Grow food so that obviously it's more accessible for community members so they don't have to rely on liquor stores and gas stations to access basic necessities to feed themselves and their families.

But we also grow food to make a little bit of money.

About one-third of households in Detroit report experiencing food insecurity with 80 percent of its residents relying on French food sources like fast food chains, liquor stores, and corner stores where items like fresh produce aren't available.

Crystal Blair reporting.

This story is based on original reporting from the "Everyday Climate Champions" podcast.

Finally, consumers are unhappy with increasing food prices and blame inflation.

In reality, natural disasters have a direct link to grocery cost.

Spokesperson Mike Stromberg says the effects of floods, hurricanes, drought, and extreme heat have a nationwide and global impact.

The price of oranges and the price of orange juice have both steadily increased in recent years due to declining production in Florida caused by large hurricanes.

Grain prices are through the roof in critical agricultural regions like the Midwest.

It starts with drought.

It affects a huge portion of agriculture in that region.

That has an after effect at the grocery store in terms of your grocery prices.

I'm Terry Dee reporting.

This is Mike Clifford.

Thank you for starting your week with Public News Service.

Member and listener supported.

Here's on interesting radio stations, your favorite podcast platform.

Find or trust indicators at publicnewsservice.org.