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Pulling back the curtains on wage-theft enforcement in MN; Trump's latest attack is on RFK, Jr; NM LGBTQ+ equality group endorses 2024 'Rock Star' candidates; Michigan's youth justice reforms: Expanded diversion, no fees.

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Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg says rebuilding Baltimore's Key Bridge will be challenging and expensive. An Alabama Democrat flips a state legislature seat and former Connecticut senator Joe Lieberman dies at 82.

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Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

Wicked Winter Life Threatening for People with Disabilities

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Monday, January 19, 2009   

Des Moines, IA – The unrelenting snow and cold this month can be hazardous for anyone, but especially for those with disabilities. Friday, a man in a wheelchair was found stuck in the snow outside his rural Des Moines home in subzero temperatures. Authorities speculate he had been trapped the entire night in 18-degree-below temperatures.

Scott Rahm of Grimes uses a wheelchair. He says people with disabilities are just like everybody else, they have to get around no matter what the weather.

"For me, there's been times where I was trying to get up the street or something and you hit a thicker part of snow and you got to fight your way through that. Your hands are freezing and you're wondering why the sidewalks aren’t cleaner."

Many cities and towns across the state have ordinances governing the clearing of sidewalks within 48 hours of a snow event to ensure safe passage. Rahm says people with disabilities also have to take responsibility.

"If there is a situation that I’m not comfortable with, like getting through a snow bank or going outside when it’s extremely cold, I have somebody with me."

Rahm says some may think leaving a small ridge of snow is not a problem for people walking, but it can be a major barrier for someone to navigate with a wheelchair.





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