Officials with the Cass and Audubon County Community Foundations are reminding non-profit organizations in their separate, respective counties, that the deadline to apply for grant funds is Saturday, February 1st. Applications are currently being accepted online for the spring grant cycle with approximately $115,000 available in both counties to support  non-profit organizations and community projects. The objective of the grant program is to fund projects that will have a permanent impact on, and in, Cass or Audubon County.

Full application details, a fact sheet, and a link to the application form can be found online by selecting your County on the listing at www.swiowafoundations.org. Applications will only be accepted through the online system.

Made possible through the State of Iowa County Endowment Fund Program, this cycle of grants is funded by a percentage of the state’s commercial gaming tax revenue, which is distributed annually to participating community foundations associated with counties without a state-issued gaming license. Only organizations providing services in Audubon and County are eligible to apply FOR THEIR RESPECTIVE COUNTY ONLY.

They must be able to demonstrate broad community/county support and be an IRS-approved 501(c)(3) Public Charity, a local municipality, or a fiscally sponsored project.Requests for general operating support will not be considered.

Please contact Stacey Goodman(stacey@omahafoundation.org) or Tess Houser (tess@omahafoundation.org) at 800-794-3458with application-related questions. All completed grant applications will be considered at the March board meeting, with applicants being notified of funding decisions by the end of March.

(Radio Iowa) — The Food Bank of Iowa – which serves 175,000 Iowans in 55 counties — reports that it acquired and delivered more than 17 million pounds of food in 2019. Spokesman Dylan Lampe says the total gives them a mixed feeling. “It was a 30 percent increase from the highest total we had had previously. We were pretty excited to report those numbers — but then again — we are still not meeting the need that’s out there,” Lampe says.  He says a lot of hard work went into collecting, preparing and distributing the food to the 55 counties. He says that is well over one million pounds of food each month — “which is quite impressive.”

Iowa continues to have one of the lowest unemployment rates in the country, but Lampe says that isn’t an indicator of how people are doing overall. “The vast majority of the clients that use food pantries are working, some of them are working more than one job,” according to Lampe. “What we’ve seen is that wages have remained stagnant — and while unemployment is low — we haven’t really seen that affect the our need for services. For the last decade, food insecurity numbers have remained very steady around that ten percent range.”

He says it remains a challenge to pay for the trucks and fuel and all the things needed to supply the food. “Resources are always needed at organizations like ours in a variety of ways — whether it is food or funds. We always encourage folks to come and take a tour of the Food Bank of Iowa. Because once you see the vast operation that happens here and the really amazing work that our distribution center does on a day-to-day basis — it kind of changes the mindset of folks to give them a better understanding of how the whole process works.”

He says they have they have continued to look for sources of donated food, and one success has been the Food Rescue Program. “Where retailers donate food that would traditionally go to the landfill that’s still nutritious, that’s still good. It’s just something that they want to pull from their shelves for a variety of reasons,” Lampe explains. “We’ve worked to create new partnerships that’s help us to recover more of that food — get it into the hands of those that need it. And also keeping it out of the landfill and doing our part from an environmental standpoint as well.”

Lampe says they can always use donations of food, money and volunteer time. You can find out more on their website: www.foodbankiowa.org

CRESCO, Iowa (AP) — A former teacher in northeast Iowa accused of having sex with a student has made a deal with prosecutors. Howard County court records say Tiffany Ranweiler-Oblander filed a written plea of guilty Tuesday to a misdemeanor count of sexual exploitation by a school employee. Prosecutors lowered the charge from a felony in return for her plea. The plea agreement calls for probation and a suspended prison sentence of two years. The Howard County Sheriff’s Office has said investigators have determined that Ranweiler-Oblander had sexual with the 18-year-old at his home during March and April 2018. She worked for the Howard-Winneshiek district.

(Radio Iowa) — Iowa ranks very favorably on a new report analyzing how much states are spending on science and engineering. The National Science Board’s 2020 State of U-S Science and Engineering Report shows Iowa is making a critical investment. Arthur Lupia, an assistant director of the National Science Foundation, says over the past two decades, Iowa has demonstrated its serious commitment. “Since 2000, the U.S. as a whole is spending 38% more, after inflation, on research and development,” Lupia says. “By comparison, Iowa is spending 167% more. What you see in Iowa is a real dedication to spending research and development. That’s the key to creating jobs in the future.”

As Iowa’s top industry is agriculture, he notes a good portion of that R-and-D funding is being funneled into tech centered on things like precision agriculture and finding ways to boost crop yields on smaller tracts of land. “There are so many cases where, whether it’s higher education or R&D, Iowa is really taking a forward-looking view both in government spending and from businesses,” Lupia says. “People are investing a lot, not just in what’s happening now, but what can happen next.”

While the U-S was once an uncontested global leader in science and technology, the report says our nation is now playing a less dominant role in many areas. Still, Lupia says Iowa is outshining many other states with its dedicated investments which are now almost four-billion dollars a year. “There’s a range of amounts that states spend on R&D, from a low of $289-million in South Dakota to a high of $135-billion in California,” Lupia says. “Iowa is one of 14 states that’s between one and five-billion dollars. In that group, Iowa’s recent change in R&D spending is the highest compared with anyone else in that group.”

The report says Iowa’s annual spending on science and engineering is three-point-eight billion dollars.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) – A federal report says Nebraska suffered more than $3.4 billion in losses from disastrous weather last year while the toll was $1.9 billion in neighboring Iowa. The bomb cyclone in March caused most of the damage. The report says the rain and snowmelt runoff led to record flooding in eastern Nebraska and in Iowa. The Omaha World-Herald reports that the Nebraska drought of 2012 was the state’s costliest weather disaster on record, causing an estimated $4 billion in losses.

Iowa’s costliest year was 1993, when the state sustained more than $11 billion in losses, mostly from flooding.

A man and woman from Nebraska were arrested early this (Wednesday) morning in Red Oak, following an investigation into fake $20 bills passed at the Cubby’s Convenience Store on the north side of Red Oak. Officers were called to the store at around 3:45-a.m. The suspects who allegedly passed the currency had left the premises by the time officers arrived, but a clerk was able to obtain an accurate description of their vehicle and a license plate.

While on patrol, Red Oak Police observed the suspect vehicle …a 2008 Nissan Maxima …parked in the 300 block of East Prospect Street. Two people were standing outside the car. Authorities learned the car had been reported stolen out of Council Bluffs January 13th. The suspects were found to be in possession of additional counterfeit currency, as well as narcotics (Meth & marijuana), along with drug paraphernalia.

Police arrested 37-year old Sondra Mae Cobb and 19-year old Dyllan Cole Cattano, both of Omaha. Both were charged with Possession of a Controlled Substance and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia. Cobb was additionally charged with Forgery (a Class-D felony). Cattano was additionally charged with Possession of Meth. The pair were transported to the Montgomery County Law Enforcement Center, where their bonds were set at $5,000 each. The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office assisted in the investigation and eventual arrest of the suspects.

Pottawattamie County Sheriff Jeff Danker said today (Wednesday), that he will not seek an 8th term in office. In his statement, Sheriff Danker said “On May 16th of this year, I will have been employed by the Sheriff’s Office for 43 years. I was elected Sheriff in 1992 and took office in January 1993. At the end of this term, I will have been Sheriff for 28 years.”

Pottawattamie County Sheriff Jeff Danker

Danker added, “It has been an honor to serve the citizens of Pottawattamie County for the last 43 plus years, when this term is done. I have been very blessed as Sheriff to have outstanding and professional staff in all areas of the Sheriff’s Office who have worked as a team to provide public safety to the citizens of Pottawattamie County.” Jeff Danker said he has no immediate plans following his retirement at the end of the year.

DAVENPORT, Iowa (AP) – Some business and government leaders in the Quad Cities area of eastern Iowa and western Illinois want to form a regional authority that would gain funding and manage big projects. The Quad Cities Regional Metropolitan Authority would operate as a bi-state government authority and focus on riverfront development, including flood mitigation; regional planning and economic development; transportation and infrastructure; cultural and recreational amenities; education; and natural resources.

Some legislative work needs to occur before the authority could be formed. Identical bills would need to pass both states’ legislatures before congressional approval and the president’s signature were sought.

The Audubon School District’s Board of Education held a special, brief session early this (Wednesday) morning, to act on a “Resolution Ordering an Election on the Issuance of $7.5-million [in] General Obligation Bonds.” School District Superintendent Eric Trager said the Board held the meeting because the district has to get the Resolution to the County Auditor by this Friday. Trager explained the next steps in the process to upgrade the HVAC (Heating, Ventilation and Cooling) system at the Audubon High School, and the related bond-issuance: He says officials will be spending a lot of time out and about in the community to explain what the district plans to do with the funds [if approved], why it’s important, and what the tax impact will be.

Construction on the original building began in 1962, with the first classes held during the 1964-’65 School year. Trager says the boiler system is original to the Audubon High School building. He says the system has obviously been maintained and repaired over the past 55+ years. One of the two boilers is original to the building, the other was replaced about 20-years ago. Six different HVAC systems are in operation in the building. Trager says “They don’t always play well together, so that’s one of the things we want to do…is to increase our efficiency make sure that everything works as it should.” The useful life of a boiler, he says, is about 30-years.

Trager say the timeline calls for a Special Election on the bond-issuance to be held March 3rd. District patrons will vote at the Agri-Hall in Audubon from Noon until 8-p.m., on March 3rd. If the bond passes, design and engineering work will take place this Summer and Fall, with the hope that they can go out for bids later this Fall or early Winter, so they can be in a competitive bid market. Construction would begin in the Summer of 2021.

Superintendent Trager says if you have questions about the bond vote, call, or look on the District’s website for the dates and times of upcoming community meetings on the matter.

More State and area news from KJAN News Director Ric Hanson.

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