Iowa Capital Dispatch The solution to Iowa's worker shortage isn't cutting off pandemic-related unemployment assistance. (Photo by Tim Mossholder via Unsplash) James Kennedy, a Mount Vernon musician, said the end of Iowa’s federal unemployment benefits feels almost like “blackmail.” “This decision … to withdraw literally forces people to go back to work in a very unsafe environment,” Kennedy said. “I find that very life-threatening.” Kennedy and his wife, Catherine Lawson-Kennedy, lead the Heart Consort Music group. Before the pandemic, they taught music lessons to nearly 30 students, performed concerts several times a month and rented out a recording studio to local artists.