The Union County Sheriff’s Office says a Creston man was arrested Tuesday evening at the Union County Law Enforcement Center. 32-year old Jeremy Joseph Lund was taken into custody on a Union County warrant for Failure to Appear (FTA) on an original charge of Theft in the 4th Degree. His bond was set at $1,000.

Public Hearings are set for 5-p.m. Thursday in Walnut during the City Council meeting, with regard to a proposed Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) application. The application is with regard to the FY 2019 CDBG Housing Fund Program. A hearing will also be held with regard to the City Of Walnut’s Housing Rehabilitation Program, and includes comments from SWIPCO’s Alexis Fleener to discuss a CDBG application for the program. Afterward, the Council will consider adoption of a Resolution authorizing and directing the Mayor to make an application to the CDBG Housing Fund Program for assistance to a Housing Rehab Program.

In other business, the Walnut City Council will discuss: The Community Center; A Small Business Start-up Grant Application for “Banana Split,” by Lynn Driver; Discussion about the City Park, including Concession stands and Field rental; a Budget Amendment for the FY 2018-19 Budget by $1-million in the Program of Business-type activities, $30,000 in the General Gov’t. Fund, and $40,000 in the Program of Public Safety. A budget hearing on the latter will be set for 5-p.m. May 2nd.

Other agenda items include discussion of property maintenance, Discussion about a RAGBRAI possible budget, and an announcement with regard to the hiring of a Library Assistant.

Wendy Ensley, Executive Secretary for the Glenwood Municipal Utilities (GMU) reports this (Wednesday) morning, that GMU staff along with the help of Ben Lundstrom, Andy Young and Jensen Well were able to get Well #3 and the Water Treatment Plant running last night. Ensley says “We have been pumping water all night to fill the towers. We are still required to boil water and need everyone to continue to conserve water by reducing use. The DNR is on site today to do testing and monitor the steps we are required to follow to turn over/flush the system. This will require us to drain the water from the towers. The DNR is putting together a press release for us explaining everything and we should have that later today.”

“The hope” she says, “is that we will be running normally and be able to release the boil water and conserve water within the next week. Trucking is continuing today and then we will be stopping that operation.”

A man wanted for Child Endangerment/Substantial Risk and Domestic Abuse Assault/1st offense – causing bodily injury, was arrested Tuesday morning, in Carson. 29-year old Jerid James Black, of Carson, was transported to the Pottawattamie County Jail and booked-in at around 11:30-a.m., Tuesday.

(Radio Iowa) — The U-S Small Business Administration is opening a Business Recovery Center in southwest Iowa to help merchants in that area rebuild and recover from this spring’s widespread flooding. S-B-A spokesman Bill Koontz says the temporary office is now open in Glenwood. “This is a center where a business owner can come in and get advice on how to apply for a disaster loan from the SBA for the flooding event,” Koontz says. “This business owner might not have been flooded but might have lost their revenue because their customers are underwater or they’re cut off or whatever the reason might be.”

The center is designed to be a one-stop location for businesses to access a variety of specialized help in order to rebuild using low-interest government loans. “For most folks, they’re below market rate loans,” Koontz says. “A business can borrow money at 4-and-1/8-percent. We can make loans based on actual physical flood damages plus we can also loan for lost revenue. Normally, these loans would be a repayment of 15 or 30 years, based on what the business owner can afford to pay.”

The S-B-A says businesses of any size and private, nonprofit organizations can borrow up to two-million dollars to repair or replace damaged or destroyed real estate, machinery and equipment, inventory, and other business assets. Koontz adds, it’s not just business owners who can apply. “The SBA does help homeowners and renters and that will be who we probably help the most because they’re the ones with the most impact,” Koontz says. “Homeowners and renters can get money as low as 2% and we can loan a homeowner up to $200,000 for damage to their residence plus another $40,000 for personal property.”

No appointment is necessary. All services are free. The S-B-A office is in Room 208 of the Meyer Complex at 111 Lacey Street in Glenwood. Contact the S-B-A at (800) 659-2955, via email at disastercustomerservice@sba.gov, or through the website at https://disasterloan.sba.gov/ela.

(Radio Iowa) — The governor’s proposed constitutional amendment to automatically restore voting rights to paroled felons has cleared an initial hurdle in the Iowa Senate, but it’s future is in doubt.  Senator Jake Chapman, a Republican from Adel, says “Is that the right public policy, to have universal restoration of rights? I don’t think so.”

Key Republican senators like Chapman say the plan isn’t likely to clear a committee as currently written. Senator Dan Dawson, a Republican from Council Bluffs, says that likely means adding language to the proposed amendment so rapists, child molesters and anyone convicted of causing the death of someone else never get their voting rights restored. “Pragmatically, the pathway forward — for this to be successful, there are going to have to be parameters,” Dawson says.

Ninety-five of the 100 members of the Iowa House endorsed the governor’s proposed constitutional amendment last week. Drew Klein of Americans for Prosperity is urging senators to vote for it, too, and THEN consider separate legislation to define which paroled felons would be eligible to vote.  “I think we can kind of help craft the framework for what that looks like,” Klein said, “but obviously there’s a timeline in the legislature…and I think it’s important to move this forward so that we can continue to have those conversations.”

If the Senate Judiciary Committee does not endorse the proposed constitutional amendment by this Friday, the matter is ineligible for debate for the rest of the 2019 legislative session.

(Radio Iowa) — The Iowa Senate has approved a bill that seeks to shut down Iowa businesses caught repeatedly hiring people who are not U.S. citizens or legal residents. Republican Senator Julian Garrett of Indianola is the chief sponsor of the legislation that mandates businesses use the federal “E-Verify” system to confirm prospective employees are in the country legally. “The present system is very unfair to both legal workers — legal employees — and law-abiding businesses,” Garrett said.

If the bill becomes law, businesses caught employing undocumented workers would be on probation for three years and have to confirm to STATE officials that newly-hired workers are in the U.S. legally. A business would lose its operating license after getting caught a SECOND time with undocumented workers on the payroll. Rob Hogg (HOHG, rhymes with “vogue”) of Cedar Rapids was among the 13 Democrats in the state senate who opposed the bill. “We all agree that what really needs to happen is we urgently need comprehensive federal immigration reform at the nation level,” Hogg said.

One Republican senator voted against the measure, but the other Republicans present last (Tuesday) night in the senate voted for it, as did four Democrats. The bill now goes to the House and must clear a House committee by Friday to be eligible for a vote on the House floor later this spring.