DES MOINES – The Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs today (Tuesday) announced $600,000 in grants for historic preservation projects in or near Creston, Decorah, Elkader, Keokuk and Muscatine. Iowa’s Rural Heritage Revitalization Grants will help rural communities preserve their history and foster economic development through the preservation of historic properties. The grants are funded by the U.S. Department of Interior’s National Park Service and administered by the State Historic Preservation Office, which is part of the Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs.

The City of Creston is receiving a grant amounting to $114,800, for the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad Station Project.  The city will use funds to rehabilitate the exterior of the 1899 Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad Station, one of the oldest and largest active train depots remaining in Iowa. The project will address significant masonry deterioration resulting from age and exposure to the weather. Today, the building serves as city hall, a senior meal site, an art gallery and an Amtrak station. The preservation of this building will draw positive attention to the important history of railroads in Creston and Iowa.

The Department of Cultural Affairs created the grant program last fall, after Iowa became one of just eight states to receive funding through the National Park Service’s Paul Bruhn Historic Revitalization Grants program. The federal program was named in honor of an influential preservationist in Vermont and designed to support states, tribes, local governments and nonprofit organizations that own properties on the National Register of Historic Places.

With Tuesday’s announcement, the Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs expands its support for historic preservation, community development and creative placemaking efforts alongside other programs such as Iowa Great Places, Iowa Cultural & Entertainment Districts, Certified Local Governments, Local History Network and Cultural Leadership Partners. All of these programs help communities leverage local history, art and culture to promote tourism and economic growth.

Here are the other recipients of Iowa’s Rural Heritage Revitalization Grants:

Recipient: Clayton County; Project: Inn at Motor Mill near Elkader; Grant Amount: $125,000…Clayton County will rehabilitate the circa 1870 stone inn at the Motor Mill Historic Site. Plans include flood-proofing the main floor and installing new mechanical systems. The interior will be rehabilitated to include meeting rooms, office space, and guest rooms for overnight accommodations, a throwback to the building’s original purpose.

Recipient: City of Keokuk; Project: Keokuk Union Depot; Grant Amount: $112,798….The city of Keokuk will restore the windows, doors and exterior masonry of the central tower section of the 1891 Keokuk Union Depot, designed by the renowned Chicago architectural firm Burnham & Root. The brick walls will be cleaned and repointed or reconstructed. Terra cotta decorations will be cleaned or restored, and sandstone window sills will be restored or replaced. The deteriorated below-grade sandstone mudsill will be replaced by longer-lasting reddish-brown granite to reduce future brickwork deterioration. Replacement sashes and doors will be milled to reproduce the originals, finished in their historic colors, and glazed with restoration glass.

Recipients: City of Muscatine and the Muscatine Art Center; Project: 1929 Japanese Garden at the Laura Musser McColm Historic District; Grant Amount: $122,402…The Muscatine Art Center will restore the historic 1929 Japanese Garden at the Laura Musser McColm Historic District. Although Japanese-style gardens were popular in the United States from the 1890s through the early 1940s, most were destroyed during World War II. Spared this fate, the Japanese garden in Muscatine is one of the few remaining from this era in the Midwest. This project will preserve the garden’s historic features and character while improving its function as a public space. The project will repair the garden’s water system, replace vegetation, and provide better access and interpretation. The treatment plan is based on research using historic photographs and other primary sources.

Recipient: Winneshiek County; Project: Winneshiek County Courthouse in Decorah; Grant Amount: $125,000….This project will help preserve the Winneshiek County Courthouse, one of few remaining American Renaissance Beaux Arts-style rural courthouses in Iowa with its central tower intact. Exterior work to the dome will prevent further water intrusion and damage to character-defining interior finishes including ornamental plaster, hand-painted murals, an art-glass dome, and intricately detailed woodwork. Ultimately, the work will allow the courthouse to remain the active center of county government, a showpiece in the Broadway-Phelps Park National Historic District and a significant attraction for tourism.

(Radio Iowa) – The defense has begun calling its witnesses in the trial of the man accused of murdering a 20-year-old college student as she went running in her hometown of Brooklyn, Iowa. Defense attorney Jennifer Frese delivered opening arguments to the jury today (Tuesday). “Mollie Tibbetts deserves justice. Her family deserves justice,” Frese said, “but so does Cristhian Bahena Rivera.” Frese says Rivera is a “yes” man and after what she describes as a systematic confrontation rather than an interview with her client, he confessed to the crime.

“They got what they needed,” Frese said. “There was an intense amount of pressure — that’s what the evidence has shown you — to close this case, to arrest someone for this vicious crime.” It’s possible the case could be presented to the jury yet this week.

Officials with the Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Office, Tuesday (Today), reported three arrests. At around 5:40-a.m. today (Tuesday), 33-year-old Darnell T. Lee, of Omaha, was arrested for Possession of a Controlled Substance/Marijuana – 1st offense, after a deputy responded to a report of a man walking southbound in the road, at Old Lincoln Highway and Powell’s Addition.  Lee’s bond was set at $1,000.

Monday afternoon, 34-year-old Sharonda Lanen Jones, of Omaha, an inmate at the Pott. County Jail, was served with a warrant out of Douglas County, NE., for being a Fugitive from Justice. After being presented with the warrant, Jones was returned to the custody of Corrections Staff, and held in the jail on $5,300 bond associated with other charges. And, Monday morning, 45-year-old Anthony Cortez Francis, of Council Bluffs, another inmate at the Pott. County Jail, was served with a warrant for Violation of a No Contact/Protective Order – Contempt of Court.

The first person to announce a bid for the title of Mayor, in Atlantic, has thrown his hat into the ring. Pat McCurdy said he will be a candidate for the position during the Nov. 2nd City/School Elections.

Atlantic City Councilman Pat McCurdy

The Cass County Auditor’s Office says candidates for City/School Elections may begin filing nomination papers from August 23rd through Sept. 16th. Last week, current Atlantic Mayor Dave Jones announced he will not be running for reelection. Jones has been the Mayor of Atlantic since 2010. Previously he was an Atlantic Councilman at-large from 1996 – 2010.

McCurdy took out his nomination papers for circulation, on Monday.

He says “Atlantic has so much going for it,” in terms of the hospital, schools, the Ann W. Wickman Center, and the “Crown Jewel,” our parks and rec system. But there are always areas that need improvement in any community, and Atlantic is no exception.

McCurdy says he feels the main job of a mayor, is to an Ambassador for the city. He says he’ll run on a platform calling for people, jobs, and a clean safe environment.

In 2018, he made a bid to run for the Cass County Board of Supervisors but lost the race to Mark O’Brien. Pat McCurdy is currently an Atlantic City Councilman serving the citizens of Ward 3. He was appointed to the seat in June 2019, following the resignation in May of that year, of Councilperson Ashley Hayes, who had moved out of the Ward. In November, 2019, McCurdy won the General Election for the seat, after having no opposition.

He’s served as past President of the Cass-Atlantic Development Corporation (CADCO), and is the owner of McCurdy Investments. Pat McCurdy has served on numerous Boards, Committees and organizations.

(Radio Iowa) – Authorities in metro Des Moines say they’ve made an arrest in a hit-and-run case that claimed the life of a southeast Iowa woman. A passerby spotted a body along Interstate 35 in West Des Moines, just off the shoulder, at midday on May 9th. Emergency crews recovered the body, later identified as 38-year-old Stephanie Waddell of Oskaloosa. Police say it appeared Waddell was walking along the interstate the night before and was hit by a passing vehicle.

Monday night, 19-year-old Frank Davidson of Earlham was arrested on multiple charges, including homicide by motor vehicle while under the influence, reckless driving, and leaving the scene of an accident that resulted in death. Court documents say Davidson was seen on an Iowa D-O-T camera veering off the road and hitting Waddell.

Davidson is being held in the Polk County Jail on a $40,000 bond.

Officials with the Harlan Police Department today (Tuesday) announced on social media, their K9 “Jax” has died from natural causes. Jax, a Belgian Malinois served the Harlan Police Department for nine-years, and was active until his passing. He was certified in Tracking/Trailing and Narcotics and assigned to Officer Tim Pederson. The Harlan Police Department says “He will be greatly missed.”

Officer Tim Pederson and K9 “Jax.” (HPD Facebook photo)

The Atlantic Police Department reports two arrests and two citations. Last Saturday, 59-year-old Donald Rose was cited into court for OWI/1st offense, and 45-year-old Ezra Sedina, of Atlantic, was cited for Simple Assault. Both individuals were released with their citations.  On May 20th, 41-year-old Richard Keasey, of Atlantic, was arrested for OWI/1st offense, and on the 21st, 45-year-old Lindsay Pellett, of Atlantic, was arrested for OWI/1st offense. Both subjects were booked into the Cass County Jail and later released.

(Radio Iowa) – On this one-year anniversary of George Floyd’s death while in Minneapolis police custody, Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley says a bipartisan police reform bill is nearly ready to go to a vote. Senators Corey Booker, a Democrat from New Jersey, and Tim Scott, a Republican from South Carolina, are working on a compromise version of the bill. Grassley says he’s up to speed on the legislation. “Haven’t had a personal meeting with Scott on it,” Grassley says, “but I’ve been in several larger groups where he’s presented his ideas.”

Scott, the only black U-S senator, says the bill is designed to hold law enforcement accountable for violent incidents, while also developing a system to track problem officers. Grassley says Scott first crafted the measure last summer, but it’s been languishing for months. “Democrats at that time would not take it up because they didn’t want a Republican senator or Republicans to have a victory during an election year,” Grassley says. “Now, they’re in the majority. They feel the heat of producing something. I think there’s a good chance we can reach an agreement.”

Grassley says there are a “couple dozen parts” to the bill, but perhaps just three key elements have been the source of difficulty. “One would be the immunity issue for individual policemen and there’s talks of compromise there,” Grassley says. “And then there’s some things on the extent to which the Department of Defense ought to give surplus equipment to local police departments.”

Grassley says the bill also aims to implement a restriction on the police use of chokeholds, like the one used on Floyd. His death was captured on video, which gained global attention and led to widespread protests calling for racial justice.

The Adair County Board of Supervisors will hold their regular weekly meeting 9-a.m. Wednesday (May 26), in the Greenfield Courthouse Courtroom**. On their agenda is the reading of a letter with regard to the Solar (Panel) Ordinance, an update from the Floodplain Administrator, and updates/discussion with regard to COVID-19. At 9:15-a.m., there will be a Public Hearing on the FY21 Adair County Budget Amendment, followed by action on a Resolution approving the budget as amended.

And then at around 9:20-a.m., County Treasurer Brenda Wallace will talk about an employee resignation, along with the new hire process.

**Please note: The Courtroom will be available for the Board meeting and the public will be allowed to attend in person, but attendance by members of the public is limited to 21 people, to allow for social distancing. The Conference Room phone will continue to be in-use for persons who cannot attend in person. It can be accessed by calling 1-605-313-6157, and when prompted, using access code 526272#