(Atlantic, Iowa) – Local volunteers are needed for the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program, which offers free assistance to eligible taxpayers who need help preparing returns. No experience with taxes required. For many years, ISU Extension in Cass County has served as a host site for the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) Program. After a gap of several years, the program returned last year and helped over 50 local families prepare and file tax returns. Now, organizers are looking for local volunteers to keep the program going strong. VITA is an IRS-sponsored program that certifies community volunteers to prepare and e-file basic tax returns at no cost for eligible taxpayers, including low to moderate income individuals and working families, older adults, limited English speakers, and persons with a disability.

Volunteers are needed in Cass County in February and March of 2025 to prepare 2024 taxes. Training is provided, but interested volunteers should have an interest in helping others and basic computer skills. A basic understanding of income tax laws or personal finances would also be helpful.

WHY VOLUNTEER FOR VITA?

• Help your neighbors keep more of their earnings.

• Bring money back into your community.

• Develop a skill to add to your resume.

• Earn community service hours.

• Have fun while working with others.

• Flexible hours and free training.

• No prior accounting or tax experience needed.

VITA volunteers are provided free training, self study materials, and software necessary to prepare basic income tax returns including Forms 1040EZ, 1040A, and 1040.  Taxpayers schedule appointments and taxes are prepared by the volunteers at a central location with equipment provided.  Volunteers must complete a certification exam and the IRS waives liability for volunteers if they prepare returns within the scope of their certification.

Volunteers help Iowa families better understand their taxes and access the Earned Income Tax Credit, reducing their stress and increasing financial security. To learn more about volunteering with the VITA program contact Kate Olson at the Cass County Extension Office at 712-243-1132 or keolson@iastate.edu. Training will take place in the first half of January. Interested persons will need to complete a one-page application and background screening.

The VITA program provides free tax preparation to low and moderate income families so they can claim the Earned Income Tax Credit and Child Care Tax Credits.  In Cass County, the program is coordinated by Iowa State University Extension and Outreach with funding and support from the Internal Revenue Service and the Iowa Center. Taxpayer appointments will be available to schedule beginning late January at the Cass County Extension Office in Atlantic.

(DES MOINES) The Iowa Finance Authority (IFA) Board of Directors recently announced the award of a total of more than $12.5 million in grants to 27 Local Housing Trust Funds to support local housing initiatives. The grant awards are made available through the Local Housing Trust Fund (LHTF) program and are expected to assist 2,636 families across all 99 Iowa counties. In southwest Iowa:

• The Council of Governments (COG) )serving Audubon, Carroll, Crawford, Green, Guthrie and Sac Counties) received a grant for $409,334.
• The Pottawattamie County Housing Trust Fund (Serving Pott. County), received a grant for nearly $372,334. (Amount corrected 1/7/25)
• The Southern Iowa COG Housing Trust Fund (serving Adair, Adams, Madison, Ringgold, Taylor, Union and two other counties) received an LHTF grant for $400, 676.
• The Southwest Iowa Housing Trust Fund (Serving Cass, Fremont, Harrison, Mills, Montgomery, Page and Shelby Counties) received a grant amounting to $437, 170.

IFA Director Debi Durham says “The 2025 Local Housing Trust Fund grant awards represent the largest investment ever made through the program in a single year. These grants will support housing initiatives that provide thousands of Iowans with safe, affordable homes, creating lasting benefits for communities across the state for years to come.”

The grant funds will support a range of initiatives aimed at developing or preserving housing for low-income households across the spectrum of housing needs. This includes the development and preservation of housing, assistance for persons experiencing homelessness, rental assistance, home ownership support, bolstering the capacity of local housing organizations and other efforts that directly address local housing needs.

The State Housing Trust Fund was created by the Iowa Legislature in 2003. The awards announced today (Friday) will leverage an additional $4 million in other financing or $.32 for every dollar of Local Housing Trust Fund program funding. Since its inception, the State Housing Trust Fund has provided $136.3 million in affordable housing assistance to benefit more than 40,700 Iowa families, leveraging nearly $187 million in other funding resources. The State Housing Trust Fund helps ensure decent, safe and affordable housing for Iowans through two programs. The Local Housing Trust Fund Program receives at least 60 percent of the SHTF allocation to provide grants for organizations certified by IFA as a Local Housing Trust Fund.

The remaining funding goes to the Project-Based Housing Program, which aids in the development of affordable single-family and multifamily housing. IFA administers both programs and provides technical assistance to housing-related organizations. The award list is available here.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – The Executive Director of the Atlantic Area Chamber of Commerce was brought to tears this (Friday) morning, when she was named the 2024 “Angel of Christmas,” sponsored by Cass Health. The Angel of Christmas is presented to those who “embody the Christmas Spirit all year long,”and go above and beyond their job description, according to Smith, who was humbled by the experience.

Smith thought she was at the event to see the award presented to a hospital employee. She was further surprised by the sight of her family at the presentation.

Bailey Smith learns she’s the “Angel of Christmas”

Cass Health CEO Brett Altman presents the award to Bailey Smith, who was surrounded by her family and co-workers

The award was presented to her at Cass Health in Atlantic. Cass Health CEO Brett Altman said Baily Smith is well deserving of the title, “Angel of Christmas.” (Photos by Asa Lucas)

Christmas Angels exemplify the true holiday spirit all year long–putting others first, spreading generosity and sharing the holiday spirit with everyone they meet.

(Radio Iowa) – It could be a lucky Friday the 13th — for Iowa tow truck drivers and dent repair shops. The entire state is under a Winter Weather Advisory starting at 2 PM in western counties, while an Ice Storm Warning kicks in at 8 PM for a dozen east-central Iowa counties. National Weather Service meteorologist Donna Dubberke says this afternoon’s commute is liable to be trouble due to the mix of rain, freezing rain, sleet and snow. Oh, and the ice. “Most of the day itself isn’t going to be too bad, cold still, but the rain is going to be coming in later today,” Dubberke says, “and with all this cold air in place, that is going to fall as freezing rain and drizzle and we could see some accumulations. It’s really going to be a mess.”

Motorists statewide will likely have to contend with slick, ice-covered roads, though this evening’s Ice Storm Warning is for 12 counties in an area where getting traction could get especially dicey. “That runs kind of the I-380 corridor, Waterloo, Cedar Rapids, and then back west to Grinnell,” she says. “That’s the area where we expect a little bit higher amount of ice accumulation, but everywhere is going to be slippery and messy.” On the plus side, she says any ice that accumulates shouldn’t be around too long. “We do have warm air coming up from the south, and as that warm air comes up, we’ll see the freezing part of it stop,” Dubberke says, “maybe in a little bit of mix, but as it exits, the temperature should climb above freezing by the end of the day on Saturday.”

The forecast calls for Sunday to be dry and warmer, with highs in the upper 30s and lower 40s statewide.

(Glenwood, Iowa) – Two Glenwood residents were arrested on separate Mills County warrants, Thursday. The Glenwood Police Department says 39-year-old Micheal Hutfless, and 34-year-old Carly McCord were taken into custody and held without bond in the Mills County Jail, until seen by a Magistrate Judge.

And, the Glenwood PD says a woman from Glenwood reported Thursday an incident of Criminal Mischief in the 4th Degree. Additional details about the incident were not provided.

(Corning, Iowa) – The Corning Iowa Fire Department was called to the scene of a structure fire at Red Star Feeds (404 Davis Street) early this (Friday) morning. Once the extent of the blaze became clear, Corning Fire promptly request mutual aid from the Lenox Fire Department, Prescott Fire and Rescue, Creston and Red Oak Fire Departments. Creston’s ladder truck was requested at around 3:10-a.m.  Crews fought the fully engulfed blaze in near single digit temperatures. (Photos are courtesy of the Creston and Red Oak Fire Departments)

Fire officials say the structure appeared to be a total loss. Assisting crews were on the scene until around 6:15-a.m. The cause of the blaze was not immediately known.

ROFD photo

(Radio Iowa) – U-S Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack says it appears Farm Bill negotiations have gotten more complex. House Speaker Mike Johnson says a majority of House Republicans oppose a Senate plan to take nearly 10 BILLION in unspent funds from the so-called Inflation Reduction Act and use it on conservation programs. “It would have actually provided additional resources for congress to increase the level of disaster assistance and emergency assistance that could have been provided to producers in Iowa and across the country,” Vilsack says. Vilsack says current budget rules would allow that 10 BILLION dollar transfer. “The sad reality is, by not protecting those resources, potentially congress could redirect them from farmers and ranches towards some other priority,” Vilsack says.

Funding for federal conservation assistance was increased dramatically by the Inflation Reduction Act. “This is a historic opportunity for us to significantly reduce the backlog of farmers who have been waiting for a while for resources to be able to do on their land what they know needs to be done,” Vilsack says, “to protect it and to enhance it.” Neither the House nor the Senate brought a new Farm Bill up for a vote this year. If congress fails to reauthorize the 2018 Farm Bill this month, federal farm policies revert to laws passed eight decades ago. Vilsack says that would create chaos in the markets.  “I’m sure that something is going to get done, the question is whether it will get done in a way that provides the best benefit and the most opportunity for farmers and ranchers and producers who work so hard for the rest of us,” Vilsack says.

Lawmakers from states hit by Hurricane Helene in late September are seeking federal disaster aid for farmers who lost crops, livestock and farm buildings.

(Radio Iowa) – A southeast Iowa child is charged with making a threat on social media. Lieutenant Jason Bell of the Ottumwa Police Department says they were informed by the FBI on Monday of a post on TikTok that contained the phrase “shoot up the school” along with other concerning language. After an investigation, the minor responsible for the social media post was arrested on Thursday. The child was charged with terroristic threats, a Class D felony, and released to their parent.

Bell says that while the child did not have the means to carry out the threats posted on TikTok and the threat was not directed to a specific school, this type of communication will not be tolerated.

(Radio Iowa) – Iowans in six cities will be able to celebrate the music of the Christmas season in an unusual way this weekend. Tuba, sousaphone, euphonium and baritone horn players of all ages and abilities will be playing in “TubaChristmas” concerts. Nationwide, it’s the 51st year that such displays of Christmas music have been happening. The first was in 1974 at the Ice Rink Stage of New York City’s Rockefeller Center as players gathered to honor the memory of world-renowned tuba player and Iowa native William Bell, who was born in Creston on Christmas Day 1902. The concerts in Iowa will be among the more than 200 similar concerts given throughout the United States and in several foreign countries this year.

This weekend’s performances include:
Dubuque — December 13 — 6:30 PM — University of Dubuque Heritage Center
Mason City — December 14 — 1:00 PM — Principal Pavilion, Southbridge Mall
Des Moines — December 14 — 2:00 PM — Drake University Performing Arts Hall
Cedar Rapids — December 14 — 3:00 PM — Downtown Cedar Rapids Public Library
Orange City — December 14 — 7:00 PM — Christ Chapel, Northwestern College
Ottumwa — December 15 — 4:00 PM — Indian Hills Community College St. John Auditorium

Photo by Bob Fisher

There’s one final performance in Perry on December 21st at 1 PM at First United Methodist Church. Performances were held earlier this month in cities including: Ames, Creston, Estherville, Oskaloosa, Sioux City and Spencer.

(Radio Iowa) – State Treasurer Roby Smith says more than 68 million dollars of unclaimed property has been turned over so far this year to the Great Iowa Treasure Hunt. “This is the largest amount that’s been turned over to us. It brings our total amount to 586 million dollars that we’re safe keeping, that we’re looking back, looking to get back to Iowans,” Smith says. The record amount easily surpasses the previous record of nearly 43 million. Smith believes the large amount of unclaimed money and property is linked to the chaos of the pandemic. “Don’t know exactly, but we have spoken to other states, and what we’ve kind of come up with is businesses keep the money for three years, and it’s turned over,” he explains. “Three years ago we were coming out of the pandemic, so we believe it was dealing with the pandemic where you had businesses that were closing, transferring ownership, being sold.” Smith says.

He says all those transactions likely led to the money not being claimed and its now been turned over. Smith says the average amount claimed is 150 dollars, but it can be a lot more and a lot less. “I gave a check away to someone for 317-thousand dollars in November, we had a record amount of over four million dollars given away a year ago, or given back, I should say, not giving away four million dollars, so you just don’t know, sometimes it’s 25 dollars and sometimes it’s ten-thousand dollars,” Smith says. Smith encourages everyone to go to GreatIowaTreasureHunt.gov and search for your name. “They can check for themselves, a family member, a friend, a business, a nonprofit. And we, like I said, we have 586 million dollars that we’re looking to reunite with Iowa and all across the state,” Smith says.

He says you may have found unclaimed property on the site already, but you check again as new items come in every year.