DES MOINES – Today (Thursday), Rep. Cindy Axne (IA-03) announced that she secured $21,901,000 in direct funding for Iowa infrastructure improvements within the House’s surface transportation authorization legislation that advanced to the House floor earlier today. The funding secured by Axne will support projects that range from a bridge replacement in Red Oak, a Traffic Incident Management Center at Camp Dodge, and bus facility improvements for transit agencies which cover all sixteen counties of Iowa’s Third District.

“Repairing our bridges and roads, improving commuter routes, and upgrading our mass transit systems are all critical to ensuring Iowa has the infrastructure it needs to grow and thrive for decades to come,” said Rep. Axne. “This year, I had the chance to bring Iowa’s tax dollars directly back to our communities to fund the projects we need – and I’m proud to have successfully secured over 21 million dollars in improvements that will impact all 16 counties of Iowa’s Third District.”

Her office says Rep. Axne successfully pushed to include six projects for Iowa’s Third Congressional District in the legislation that authorizes spending on highway and transit projects, including:

•         $7,000,000 for upgrades to the Southeast Connector connecting SE 30th Street to US Route 65 near Des Moines and Pleasant Hill

•         $5,000,000 for bus and bus facility upgrades at the Southwest Transit Agency, Western Iowa Transit, Heart of Iowa Regional Transit Agency, Southwest Iowa Trolley, and the Des Moines Regional Transit Authority

•         $4,880,000 for Phase 1 of construction on a Traffic Incident Management Center at Camp Dodge in Johnston

•         $2,321,000 for construction of a new Regional Transit Facility for the Heart of Iowa Regional Transit Agency in Waukee

•         $2,000,000 for improvements to the Mills Civic Parkway at S. 91st Street and S. Grand Parkway in West Des Moines

•         $700,000 for the replacement of the Red Oak Creek Bridge in Red Oak

Earlier this year, Rep. Axne requested funding for transportation projects from throughout the Third District and formally submitted requests for these six and other projects to the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure (T&I). The requested projects are posted publicly on her website. The funding secured by Axne is included in the Investing in a New Vision for the Environment and Surface Transportation (INVEST) in America Act, which will cover the surface transportation portion of the infrastructure negotiations occurring between both chambers of Congress and the White House.

The INVEST in America Act was advanced by the T&I committee earlier today, and is expected to receive a vote before the full U.S. House later this month. The U.S. Senate advanced their version of surface transportation legislation last month, and the two bills will form the foundation for the infrastructure agreement reached by both parties in Washington. “While there is a long way to go before this funding is officially signed into law, I believe this week represents a big step forward by seeing these projects written directly into the legislation that will form the basis of Congress’ infrastructure agreement this year,” said Axne. “There are still plenty of details to work out – and other portions of an infrastructure deal like broadband and child care to settle – but this funding shows that our agenda for infrastructure will directly and undeniably help Iowa and improve the lives of Iowans across our state.”

All of Rep. Axne’s requested projects were listed on the Iowa Department of Transportation’s state, tribal, or territorial transportation improvement program (STIP) list – a designation highly recommended by the T&I Committee to ensure the projects were supported at the local level – and were submitted to the committee with letters of support by local and state sponsors.

More information on those requests and the criteria for submissions of these projects can be found here.

(DES MOINES) – The Iowa Finance Authority (IFA), Tuesday, marked national homeownership month by recognizing Iowa’s strong housing market, record numbers of homebuyers using IFA’s mortgage programs and the launch of a new first-time Iowa homebuyer toolkit that will educate homebuyers on the homebuying process amid a highly-competitive market. IFA Executive Director Debi Durham says “The competitive housing market means that homebuyers need to be informed of the process and ready to act quickly. To fulfill this need, IFA has launched a new webpage and first-time homebuyer toolkit that will provide routine tips delivered via email about purchasing a home in Iowa and the resources available to buyers.”

The new first-time Iowa homebuyer resource will provide homebuyers who sign-up to receive information with routine tips such as a new Iowa homebuyer guide, home purchase checklist, information about credit scores in relation to purchasing a home and much more. The new resource is available at iowafinance.com/welcomehome. According to Iowa Association of REALTORS® CEO Gavin Blair, “Iowa’s housing market is seeing near record levels in both terms of high numbers of sales and prices as well as low average number of days on the market and available inventory. “This combination of trends makes for an extremely fast-paced market. The new tool offered by IFA to prepare homebuyers is very well-timed and will be useful for a wide-range of buyers.”

IFA offers mortgage and down payment and closing costs assistance programs through a network of more than 400 lenders throughout the state. These partnerships allow eligible Iowans both the convenience of working with their local lender and access to down payment and closing costs assistance of up to $5,000, available exclusively through IFA Participating Lenders. Nearly 3,000 Iowans realized their dream of homeownership through IFA’s homeownership programs last fiscal year, the most in any single year in the program’s 43-year history. Nearly 90% of these homebuyers also used an IFA down payment and closing costs assistance program to help with their home purchase.

Iowa households earning $139,580 or below and purchasing a home at $381,000 or below may be eligible for homeownership assistance through an IFA program.

The Iowa Department of Public Health in their latest COVID-19 update, reports 75 additional, positive cases of COVID-19 from over the previous 24-hours. The Coronavirus dashboard shows there are a pandemic total of 402,822 positive cases, and six additional deaths, for a pandemic total of 6,084. Deaths at Iowa’s Long-Term Care facilities are 2,369.

There remain four LTC outbreaks in Iowa, with 30 positive cases among patients and staff, and one person recovered. Iowa’s 14-day positivity rate is steady at 1.9%, while the 7-day positivity rate is down slightly, at 1.9%.

Iowa’s hospitalization data show: 74 people are hospitalized with COVID-19; 19 patients are in an ICU; 13 COVID patients were admitted to a hospital, and seven patients are on a ventilator. In RMCC Region 4 (hospitals in western & southwest Iowa), there are two people hospitalized with COVID-19. No one was in an ICU, no one was admitted over the previous 24-hours, and no one was on a ventilator.

In the immediate KJAN listening area, here are the current number positive cases by County (since the beginning of the pandemic) and the total number of deaths (Since the beginning of the pandemic) in each county to date:
Cass, 1,477 cases; 54 deaths
Adair, 993; 32
Adams, 354; 4
Audubon, 546; 10
Guthrie, 1,313; 32
Harrison County, 1,935; 73
Madison County, 1,788; 19
Mills County, 1,797; 24
Montgomery, 1,115; 38
Pottawattamie County, 12,337;173
Shelby County, 1,375; 37
Union County, 1,380; 35

(Radio Iowa) Two boys described by Cedar Rapids Police as under the age of 12 suffered life-threatening injuries late Wednesday afternoon as their electric scooter collided with a car.Cedar Rapids Police say the boys were riding the scooter in an alley, pulled onto a busy street at about four o’clock and were hit.

The children were taken to the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics for treatment. K-C-R-G T-V reports the boys were riding a rental scooter from a Cedar Rapids ride-sharing program run by a Chicago company.

Nearly 71 years after being reported killed in action during the Korean War, Army Cpl. Eldert J. Beek is returning home to his family in Iowa. As we mentioned in May, Beek, was 20-years-old
and originally of Sibley, Iowa, will be honored during a graveside service next Monday, June 14th, beginning at 11:00 a.m.  The ceremony takes place at the Evergreen Cemetery, in George, Iowa. Full military honors will provided by the Iowa National Guard. The Iowa National Guard says the public is welcome and encouraged to attend the service.

In late 1950, Beek was a member of Headquarters Company, 1st Battalion, 32nd Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry Division. He was reported killed in action on Dec. 1, 1950, when his unit was attacked by enemy forces near the Chosin Reservoir, North Korea. Following the battle, his remains could not be recovered.

On July 27, 2018, following the summit between President Donald Trump and North Korean Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un in June 2018, North Korea turned over 55 boxes, purported to contain the remains of American service members killed during the Korean War. The remains arrived at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii on Aug. 1, 2018, and were subsequently accessioned into the DPAA laboratory for identification.

CPL. Eldert J. Beek. KIA 12 Dec. 1950, North Korea.

To identify Beek’s remains, scientists from the U.S. Department of Defense’s Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency used anthropological analysis, as well as circumstantial evidence. Additionally, scientists from the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) analysis. Beek’s name is recorded on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu, along with the others who are still missing from the Korean War. A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for.

Beek’s military awards and honors include the Purple Heart, Army Good Conduct Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Korean Service Medal (with three Bronze Service Stars), Presidential Unit Citation-Navy, Combat Infantryman Badge, United Nations Service Medal, Republic of Korean-Korean War Service Medal, and Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation.

(Des Moines)- Nine Iowa unclaimed veterans and two spouses will be laid to rest on June 18 at Iowa Veterans Cemetery in Van Meter, and the public is strongly encouraged to attend. KCCI TV reports Hamilton’s Funeral Home, along with the Missing in America Project, will secure their final resting place. The group consists of Army, Navy and Marine Corps veterans. One World War II veteran and his wife will also be laid to rest in the ceremony. Many of those veterans died alone, and had no one to claim their cremated remains, and end up on the shelf of a funeral home. In other instances, the urn of an Army Veteran was stolen from a home and ended up at an intersection in Des Moines. It had been stolen from his sister’s house after she died.

The service will take place at Hamilton’s Funeral Home on Westown Parkway on Friday, June 18 at 12:30 p.m., followed by burial with military honors at 2 p.m. at Iowa Veterans Cemetery. A Patriot Guard procession to the cemetery will go down Westown Parkway, until Jordan Creek Parkway, and then onto Interstate 80 going westbound.

The funeral home’s director says she hopes the public will attend and people will bring their children. She also hopes it will raise the public’s awareness, and the others in her business will check their shelves and make sure that they don’t have people the abanonded cremains of those that have served our country.

(Radio Iowa) – Iowa counties can now recognize emergency medical services as “essential” and pay for those services through property taxes, under a bill signed into law by Governor Kim Reynolds on Wednesday. Sheila Frink, director of the Anamosa Ambulance Service, says many departments are desperate for funding.“There’s still so many rural services out there that are surviving because they’re having pancake breakfasts and raffles,” Frink says. “I mean, they spend as much time fundraising as they do taking care of patients and that’s sad.”

Unlike fire and police services, local governments in Iowa are not required to provide E-M-S. Under the new law, county supervisors can declare the work essential and seek approval from voters for a new property tax to support those services. Brian Rowe, of the Anamosa Ambulance Service, says many rural services are struggling to retain staff at the same time call numbers are rising.  “We’re seeing sicker and sicker patients,” Rowe says. “Patients sometimes can’t get to a doctor, don’t have a family care provider, whatever the case may be. So they try to stick it out at home and then when they just can’t do it anymore, they call us.”

Rowe says the change is the most significant he’s seen in his 43-year career. Advocates say the shift is sorely needed, especially in rural Iowa communities, where residents often rely on a dwindling number of volunteer E-M-Ts.

(reporting By Kate Payne, Iowa Public Radio)

Atlantic Parks and Recreation Department Director Bryant Rasmussen reports Atlantic Parks and Rec is partnering with Atlantic Jazzercise for “Jazzercise in the Park.”  Rasmussen says Tara Zelmer Beatty is offering the program at a discounted rate (Free for current Jazzercise members, or $10 for non-members), if people are wanting to try it out and see what they think.  He says also, “We are excited about the potential here of incorporating some movement activities in the beautiful space we have to offer at Sunnyside Park.”

The program will start at 8:30 am Saturday June 19th in the recreation area, the flat space next to the Park Office at 1200 Sunnyside Lane (essentially, in the Bocce Ball Court).  Bryant says “If you bring a friend, you could win some cool apparel.” If you have questions or if you are interested, you can contact Tara at (402) 680-6906 or email atlanticjazzercise@gmail.com

With Ric Hanson.

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Members of the Atlantic School Board, Wednesday evening, received a special presentation from High School Principal Heather McKay and Councilors Alyssa Dovenspike and Sarah Rose, with regard to [student] College and Career Readiness. Superintendent Steve Barber explains….

In other business, the Board approved a phone system upgrade.

The cost of the system is $46,350. And the Board approved the District’s “Return-to-Learn” plan, modifications.

He mentioned also, they are still looking to fill certain positions within the District.

The Board approved the resignations of Elizabeth Reid, TLC Instructional Coach, and, Pamela Klar, Bus Monitor/Car Driver. They also approved Contract Recommendations for: Bryce Smith, Assistant 9th Grade Football Coach, and Derek Hall, Head Boys Basketball Coach.. They also act to approve 2021-22 TLC Contracts for 19 teachers and the TLC roles they will serve in 2021-22, at a cost of $94,985, to be budgeted for through the General Fund for Teacher Leader Compensation Funds.