DES MOINES, IOWA (April 1,2020) — Applications are now open for Iowans and small businesses financially impacted by COVID-19 to apply for charitable grants from the Iowa Credit Union Foundation (ICUF) Emergency Relief Fund. The fund has already approved $25,000 grants to United Ways of Iowa for the 211 system and the Iowa Community Action Association (ICAA) to support their work to help Iowans in need.

“Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms — to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.”—Viktor Frankl

"[A]s the top US watermelon-producing state prepares for harvest," Reuters reports, "many of the workers needed to collect the crop are stuck in Mexico .... Without the workers, crops could rot in fields throughout the country,” starting in Florida and California where major harvests begin in April and May.

WASHINGTON DC (April 1, 2020) — The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) seeks nominations of qualified individuals for five open seats on the National Organic Standards Board (NOSB). The 15-member advisory board considers and makes recommendations on the National List of Allowed and Prohibited Substances and other issues involved in the production, handling and processing of USDA certified organic products.