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Iowans who receive support through the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, will see a reduction in their benefits starting today. April 1 marks the first day Iowans will no longer receive extra benefits that were tied to COVID-19 pandemic funding. The reduction is part of the end of Gov. Kim Reynolds' public health disaster emergency proclamation and could result in individuals losing as much as $230 a month in benefits, according to the Iowa Hunger Coalition. Des Moines resident Tara Kramer said her benefits will be reduced from $250 a month to $20. The reduction has left Kramer recalculating her budget and questioning how she will afford monthly groceries and medical care. (Krebs, 4/1)

Maine could issue more “do not eat” advisories for freshwater fish due to contamination from so-called forever chemicals, as the state continues to come to grips with the extent of contamination from the class of chemicals that manufacturers have used in everyday products for decades. State health and environmental officials are preparing to lower the state’s safety threshold for PFAS contamination in fish as they act on new information from a federal agency about just how toxic the chemicals are to humans. (Loftus, 4/1)

Clearing land, cutting down trees and mulching at her newly purchased, overgrown property in Fort Myers is how Myra Mendible believes she became infected with a lung-attacking environmental pathogen known as NTM, or nontuberculosis mycobacteria. “And I'd be out there in my little tractor, you know, dust flying everywhere, and never in a million years would I have thought that I needed to be wearing an N95 mask to do this kind of thing," said Mendible, a professor of literature at Florida Gulf Coast University. She was in her mid-60s and felt strong and healthy until sudden, sharp pains in her side sent to the urgent care. There was an X-ray, then a CT scan, then a referral to a pulmonologist. At first, she feared it was lung cancer. (Sheridan, 3/31)

The Ohio House passed a long-delayed bipartisan bill without opposition Wednesday  that is designed to enable Ohioans to better afford potentially life-saving medications. The bill bans a practice known as a copay accumulator, in which health insurers refuse to count any copay assistance patients may receive from drugmakers, churches, nonprofits or family members toward the patient's annual maximum out-of-pocket payment. House Bill 135, backed by more than five dozen groups ranging from the Ohio State Medical Association to The AIDS Institute, passed the House Health Committee unanimously on March 16, 2021. But it was mysteriously delayed from being brought to the House floor for more than a year amid opposition from health insurers and pharmacy benefit managers. (Rowland, 3/31)

A jury in West Virginia has awarded $17.2 million in a medical malpractice lawsuit to a man who was left paralyzed after undergoing spinal surgery and later suffered a stroke. The Kanawha County jury made the finding last week in a lawsuit filed by Michael Rodgers of Pocahontas County against Dr. John R. Orphanos. (Raby, 3/31)

The California State Fair is known for hosting some of the best agricultural producers in the state who’ve mastered California staples like wine, olive oil, and cheese. However this year, after a two year hiatus due to COVID-19, the fair is making agricultural history as they announce the first-ever state agency-sanctioned cannabis competition. As with their other agricultural competitions, fair organizers said one of their main goals was to educate the public on agricultural products and its industry standards — including those related to cannabis cultivation. (Stoughtenborough, 3/31)

New Mexico is bringing sales of recreational marijuana to the doorstep of Texas, the largest prohibition state, as the movement toward broad legalization sweeps up even more of the American West. As of midnight Friday in New Mexico, anyone 21 and older can purchase up to 2 ounces (57 grams) of marijuana — enough to roll about 60 joints or cigarettes — or comparable amounts of marijuana liquid concentrates and edible treats. (Lee, 4/1)