Congressional hearing focuses on meth

A Congressional panel holds a field hearing in Sioux City today on the methamphetamine epidemic in the Midwest. Iowa Congressman Tom Latham requested the location for the hearing of the Subcommittee on Criminal Justice, Drug Policy and Human Resources. Latham says three panels will present views on meth — representing law enforcement, business and “family and community.”Latham is a republican from Alexander. He says Sioux City is a good site for the hearing because of the Meth Training Center located there. That facility has helped educate more than eight-thousand law officers from four states on how to identify and sniff out the drug, and how to handle the deadly chemicals.There were 800 meth labs busted statewide last year. That compares to only a matter of dozens in 1997. Latham says there is progress being made in beating meth, but it’s a constant battle for law enforcement.Today’s hearing begins at 9 a-m at the Sioux City Convention Center.