Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels has declared a disaster emergency for 34 counties hard-hit by recent severe weather and flooding. The state Department of Homeland Security’s Arvin Copeland says the declaration is a step toward a possible request for federal aid for the counties, many of which were affected by Ohio River flooding. "We will go out next week and we will quantify and qualify all the damage we believe is out there to find out whether or not we officially meet that threshold to be eligible for federal assistance. That’s the process at this point."Copeland says homes, businesses and public property in the 34 counties appear to have sustained the most damage from severe weather that began April 18. He says more counties could be added to the declaration as additional damage is identified. Copeland says property owners should document any weather related damage and infrastructure damage should be reported to local officials. The counties in the declaration are: Benton, Clark, Clay, Crawford, Daviess, Dearborn, DuBois, Floyd, Franklin, Gibson, Harrison, Jackson, Jefferson, Jennings, Knox, Lawrence, Martin, Monroe, Ohio, Orange, Parke, Perry, Pike, Posey, Putnam, Ripley, Scott, Spencer, Starke, Sullivan, Switzerland, Vanderburgh, Warrick and Washington.
Rick Howlett was midday host and the host of LPM's weekly talk show, "In Conversation." He was with LPM from 2001-2023 and held many different titles, including Morning Edition host, Assignment Editor and Interim News Director. He died in August 2023. Read a remembrance of Rick here.