The deadline for non-profit groups and organizations to apply for funds online from either the Cass or Audubon County Community Foundation is looming ever near. The deadline is Sept. 1st.

Funds from the Cass County Community Foundation (CCCF) and the Audubon County Community Foundation (ACCF) are available countywide, to groups and organizations in each respective county. In Cass County, $29,000 was allocated for the Fall grant cycle. In Audubon County, $40,590 is available. Both counties’ grant dollars are for a single year.

Application procedures and guidelines are available online at www.iowacommunityfoundations.org/casscef, (Cass County) www.iowacommunityfoundations.org/auduboncef. (Audubon County)

Click on the Grant Information tab and follow the links.  Detailed instructions are provided in a downloadable form, and a link to the online application is also provided.  Only online applications will be considered. The grant funds are made possible by the generosity of Cass and Audubon County Community Foundation donors for recipients in each respective county, only.

Contact Dennis Nissen at 800-794-3458 or dennis@omahafoundation.org or Denise Cardos at denise@omahafoundation.org with grant application specific questions.   All completed applications will be considered at the October board meeting with notification of results the end of October.

To inquire about donating to either the Cass or Audubon County Community Foundation, contact your county’s respective board members. In Cass County, the CCCF Board Members are: Chair, Nicholas Hunt of rural Atlantic, 243-5485; Vice Chair, Gary Maas, of Anita, 762-3434; Secretary/Treasurer, Roland K. Landsness, Esq. of Atlantic, 243-4154; Royal Bierbaum of rural Griswold, 778-2586; John Curry of Massena, 779-0216; and Mark D. Kyhnn, CPA of Atlantic, 243-1800.

In Audubon County, the ACCF Board Members are: Chair, Genelle Deist of Audubon, 712-563-4288; Vice Chair, Joel Hoegh of rural Brayton, 712-249-3692; Secretary/Treasurer, Barbara Johnson of Audubon, 712-773-5732; Shelley Burr of Audubon, 712-563-2644; Steven B. Hansen of Audubon, 712-563-2065; Daryl Olsen, DVM of Audubon, 712-563-2080; and Joseph T. Rasmussen of Exira, 712-268-5357.

In Southwest Iowa Community Foundations are particularly attractive charities, because donations to those funds may be eligible for a 25% Endow Iowa Tax Credit.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – A Des Moines mother whose baby died on a changing table has been ordered to undergo substance abuse and mental health treatments as part of her sentence. Laci Taylor had been accused of drinking alcohol before her original sentencing hearing Aug. 3, when she was given a suspended 10-year prison sentence and five years’ probation. She’d pleaded guilty to felony neglect of a dependent person.

On Monday a judge added the treatments to her sentence but didn’t order her to immediately serve any time behind bars. Taylor also must complete 200 hours of community service. Prosecutors say Taylor left the 3-month-old unattended Sept. 18 on a changing table. The girl’s airway was cut off when she rolled and her neck was compressed against the table ledge.

All of the milk collected from dairy cows being shown at the 11-day Iowa State Fair will be dumped. In years past, the milk was sold to a Des Moines area co-op for production into cheese. This year, however, the longstanding buyer backed out and no one else stepped up. Dairy farmer Doug Lyons of Castalia says it’s a commentary on the larger picture of the dairy industry. “It’s just a fine way of saying we have too much milk in the country and we don’t have to mess with it, we’re not gonna take the chance,” Lyons says. “That’s why they’re not doing it.”

Dairy farmers at the fair can milk their cows in the popular, window-lined milking parlor. Fairgoers can watch as cows are led into stalls and connected to milking machines. Lyons says it’s unfortunate the milk is all going to waste. “I did get paid for the milk and it did help, but showing cows is not a money maker,” Lyons says. “It’s more just for advertising the farm.”

Lyons says when his herd generates attention at the fair, that can lead to breeding sales down the road. The state fair runs through Sunday.

(Radio Iowa, w/Thanks to Amy Mayer, Iowa Public Radio)

Dry weather continues to impact Iowa’s corn and soybean crop. The U-S-D-A weekly crop released Monday afternoon shows corn condition declined so three percent of the crop is in very poor condition compared to two percent last week. Nine percent is rated in poor condition, compared to eight percent rated that way last week. Eighty-one percent of the corn crop is rated in fair to good condition — but just nine percent is rated excellent.

The soybean crop also saw a drop with four percent rated in very poor condition — compared to three percent last week. The report shows 11 of the soybeans are no rated in poor condition — an increase of two percent compared to last week. Seventy-eight percent of the bean crop is rated in fair or good condition, with just seven percent rated in excellent shape.

(Radio Iowa)

The Union County Sheriff’s Office says no serious injuries were reported following an accident late Monday morning on the east side of Creston, near Wellman Dynamics. Authorities say vehicles driven by 17-year old Jared Ryan Long, of Ankeny, and 42-year old Michell Dewayne Grossoehme, of Clarinda, collided at around 11:20-a.m. at the intersection of Highway 34 and Pole Road.

The accident happened when a 2001 Dodge Ram 2500 pickup driven by Long stopped at the stop sign as he was headed north on Pole Road, but then proceeded into the intersection. The pickup struck an eastbound 2006 Ford Expedition, driven by Grossoehme, in the middle of the intersection.

Neither driver was injured, but a passenger in Long’s pickup, 17-year old Sam Carstensen, of Elkhart, and a passenger in the Ford, 10-year old Bryson Grossoehme, of Clarinda, suffered suspected, minor injuries that did not require transport to the hospital. All the vehicles’ occupants were wearing their seat belts.

Damage from the collision amounted to $12,000. Authorities say Long was cited for Failure to Obey a Stop Sign and Yield the Right of Way.

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 3:40 a.m. CDT

FORT DODGE, Iowa (AP) — Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst says “it’s very frustrating” that it took President Donald Trump two days to specifically denounce white supremacy in the wake of a deadly clash in Virginia. The Republican freshman senator spoke to reporters after a town hall meeting of about 100 people in Fort Dodge in northwest Iowa. Trump finally condemned hate groups by name on Monday, after first offering a less specific criticism of groups involved in Saturday’s protests in Charlottesville.

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) — A Sioux City man has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder in the stabbing death of a Nebraska man. The Sioux City Journal reports 29-year-old Daniel Levering pleaded not guilty Monday in the July 23 stabbing death of 36-year-old Vincent Walker, of Winnebago, Nebraska. Levering’s trial was set for Oct. 17. Police say Walker was washing his car when he was confronted by three people. One stabbed him and another hit him repeatedly with a baseball bat. He died later at a hospital.

CLARE, Iowa (AP) — Two people face murder charges following the identification of a body found Saturday in central Iowa. Authorities Monday charged 25-year-old Phillip Anthony Williams, of Lafayette, Indiana, and 26-year-old Mackenzie Lee Knigge, of Clare, Iowa, with first-degree murder in the death of Jessica Gomez. Williams and Knigge were being held in Lafayette. Officials Monday confirmed a body found Saturday in a field near Clare was the 26-year-old Gomez, of Fort Dodge, Iowa.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — The University of Iowa is proposing a 7 percent increase in tuition annually for five years. The Iowa City Press Citizen reports university President Bruce Harreld told a Board of Regents Tuition Task Force on Monday that the school was recommending the annual 7 percent increases. If approved, the increases would raise tuition from $7,486 for the upcoming year to $10,537 by the fall 2022 semester. Iowa State University and the University of Northern Iowa also have proposed tuition increases.

CLARE, Iowa (AP) — Two people have been charged with murder following the identification of a body found Saturday near the small central Iowa community of Clare. Authorities on Monday said they have charged 25-year-old Phillip Anthony Williams, of Lafayette, Indiana, and 26-year-old Mackenzie Lee Knigge, of Clare, with first-degree murder in the death of 26-year old Jessica Gomez, of Ft. Dodge. Williams and Knigge were being held at the Tippecanoe County Sheriff’s Office in Lafayette.

The Iowa State Medical Examiner’s Office on Monday confirmed that a body found Saturday in a field near Clare was Gomez.

The Shelby County Sheriff’s Office reports a few recent arrests. At around 7-a.m. Saturday, 25-year old Phillip John Matzen, of Kirkman, was arrested for Domestic Abuse Assault with Injury ( Aggravated Misdemeanor), after deputies were called to the 100 block of Main Street in Earling, for a disturbance called into the 911 Center. Matzen was brought to the Shelby County Jail where he was held without bond until making an appearance before a magistrate. He was released later that morning.

At around 3-a.m. Friday, Shelby County Deputies arrested 35-year old Michael Allen Hager, of Persia, for Possession of a Controlled Substance/1st offense. The charges were the result of a traffic stop on Highway 44 near Shelby County Road M16. Hager was being held in the Shelby County Jail on a $1,000 cash/surety bond. Also arrested at the same time and place, was 47-year old Darrell Dean Sholley, of Des Moines. He was charged with felony Possession of Controlled Substance 3rd or Subsequent offense, and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia. Sholley was being held in the Shelby County Jail on a $5,000 cash/surety bond.

(In an update to our earlier reports) – The Cass County Sheriff’s Office, late Monday afternoon, identified the man injured in a tractor accident Sunday evening. Officials say at around 7:37 p.m., the Cass County Sheriff’s Office responded to a report of an individual who had been run over by a tractor. 70-year old Gary Nick Bruneau, of rural Atlantic, was transported to a city hospital via Lifenet helicopter.

Fire and Rescue Crews from Cumberland and Massena, along with Medivac Ambulance, responded to the scene Sunday night, near 67595 650th, southwest of Cumberland. According to dispatch reports, the tractor’s rear wheels ran over Bruneau’s hips.

No other details on how the accident occurred, are currently available.

University of Iowa president Bruce Harreld is following the lead of his counterpart at Iowa state University and calling for an increase of around seven percent (7.08) in tuition in each of the next five years. The U-I was the last of the three state-supported schools to make their presentation to the Board of Regents Tuition Task Force.

“It is quite clear that our ability to compete is based on our ability to chase and complete our strategic plan,” Harreld says. “In order to implement that strategic plant — resources will be required — and tuition must be part of that equation.” Harreld says salaries at the school have fallen behind their peers due to a cut in state funding and that is going to hurt the quality of the education offered.

“It has resulted in significant talent loss. Over 90 per year over the last two years, 90 faculty members over the last two years have left us. It is a trend we must fix and we will,” Harreld says. He says the tuition paid by in-state students is at the bottom of their peer group and near the bottom for students from out-of-state. The proposed increases would add three-thousand-50 dollars onto the base tuition for an undergraduate student by the end of the five-year period. Harreld says the U-I cannot continue forward with its plan to improve student success without the proper funding.

“We are not at a point in which a choice will need to be made about what quality of an institution we want to be and how we will support the success of our students,” Harreld says. “Increasing tuition is never easy. It’s not something that anyone ever wants to do — particularly because of the impact and the burden it places on the students and their families.”

Harreld says the proposed increases are based on state funding staying the same and the student population staying around its current level. “We certainly understand the challenges related to increasing tuition. That’s why we are committed to maintaining our focus on first-generation students and increasing our need and merit-based student aid,” Harreld says. “A careful balance between an increase in tuition and appropriate scholarship will help mitigate the impact on those who might be struggling with the cost.”

Iowa State University interim president Ben Allen proposed a similar seven-percent increase in tuition last week. While the University of Northern Iowa president says, tuition would have to increase six-point-seven percent, followed by increases of five-point-two percent, three-point-seven percent and three-point-one percent if state support stayed the same.

(Radio Iowa)