(DES MOINES) – The Iowa Finance Authority Board of Directors today (Wednesday) awarded a total of nearly $10 million in federal housing tax credits to support the construction of a total of 385 affordable rental homes for Iowans. The awards were made to 11 rental housing projects located in Adel, Audubon, Bondurant, Boone, Carroll, Cedar Rapids, Davenport, Grinnell, Hiawatha, Ottumwa and Winterset.

Iowa Finance Authority Executive Director Debi Durham said Wednesday, “Housing is foundational to the economic mobility of Iowans and the strength of our communities. The tax credit awards announced today will provide hundreds of Iowa families and seniors with homes in which they can thrive in urban and rural communities all throughout the state.”

City of Audubon Mayor Barb Jacobsen said “The addition of the 35 rental homes to be constructed at the Villas at Fox Pointe Audubon will provide dozens of families with an affordable place to call home right here within our community. This investment in Audubon will spur many economic ripple effects as more of our workforce will be able to live near where they work.”

The Internal Revenue Service makes an annual per capita allocation of federal tax credits to each state for the Federal Housing Tax Credit program. The Iowa Finance Authority is charged with allocating those credits to affordable housing developers. The developers who receive tax credits sell them to investors to generate equity for the housing developments.

The Iowa Finance Authority received 24 applications requesting more than $20 million in housing tax credits in the 2022 tax credit round. IFA had a total of approximately $10 million available to allocate. The actual awards total nearly $100 million because the credits are committed annually for a 10-year period.

View Award Listing Here

The Adair County Board of Supervisors met for a brief meeting on Wednesday morning at in the boardroom at the Adair County Courthouse.

One topic of discussion was changes for collecting plastic at the landfill. They are recently done away with a locally placed bin that residents could put plastic in for recycling and those services have moved out to the landfill directly. They said they have heard complaints from a few residents concerned about more littering and not finding the location at the landfill. The board discussed it just wasn’t effective to have the bin anymore because only very specific plastic items could be recycled and too much other waste thrown in the bin was contaminating the loads. They said the changes at the landfill site have mostly been going smooth.

The board also held some discussion about street repair responsibilities in Bridgewater. There are some questions about responsibility for a current repair job and the county needs to update a 28-E agreement with the city for future repairs. They plan to speak with the city at their next council meeting to sort the issue out.

The Red Oak Police Department reports an arrest early Wednesday. Officers were called at 6:12 a.m. to 1104 North 3rd Street for a female out of control. After investigation 45-year-old Pegge Jo Williams of Red Oak was arrested for Domestic Abuse Assault 1st Offense. Williams was taken to the Montgomery County Jail and held on no bond until seen by a Magistrate.

August 31, 2022 (Des Moines) – The Iowa Economic Development Authority (IEDA) today announced $19 million in awards to help restore 13 historic buildings into new spaces while maintaining their character. The awards were made through the Historic Preservation Tax Credit program.

“These projects breathe new life into historic treasures and help make Iowa’s communities attractive places for people to visit, live and work,” said Debi Durham, executive director of IEDA and the Iowa Finance Authority.

IEDA received 23 applications requesting almost $35 million in tax credits, far above the $19 million available. Projects are scored based on readiness, financing and local support and participation.

The Historic Preservation Tax Credit program provides a state income tax credit to projects that rehabilitate historic buildings while maintaining the character-defining features that enhance neighborhoods and communities. Work completed on buildings must meet the federal Secretary of Interior standards.

This round of awards will enhance historic buildings across the state, including:

• McGregor (Clayton County): The Masonic Block building on Main Street, which was built in 1866 and has been vacant for decades, will transform into retail space with upper-story apartments.
• Des Moines (Polk County): The 1930s-era Globe Hoist manufacturing building in the historic East Village has been restored into new office space.
• Cedar Rapids (Linn County): The 1886 Brucemore mansion is in the process of a multi-year effort to restore the estate’s historic buildings and landscape, which were damaged in a 2020 derecho. The Brucemore is a hub of cultural, philanthropic, and education activities.
• Council Bluffs (Pottawattamie County): The 500 Block of West Broadway, built in 1885 and the longtime home of a men’s clothing store, is transforming into retail space with upper-story apartments.

The Historic Preservation Tax Credit program is administered by IEDA in partnership with the Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs’ State Historic Preservation Office.

Large project applications for the next round will be due January 9, 2023, with more than $20 million available for awards.

(Radio Iowa) After setting multiple records during the pandemic, the Food Bank of Iowa is setting yet more records this summer for the number of people using its pantries. Annette Hacker is spokeswoman for the Des Moines-based agency that serves Iowans who are facing food insecurity.

It was hoped food demand would slack off once the panic over coronavirus began to wane.

While most businesses that were closed by the pandemic have long since reopened, other factors are now making life challenging for many thousands of Iowans.

Some may have a perception that the people who use food pantries are homeless, unemployed or both, but Hacker says that’s just not the case.

As demand rises, she says food donations have dropped from restaurants and grocery stores and food is costing the agency more to buy now than ever before. The Food Bank served nearly 122-thousand individuals in May, while the number exceeded 135-thousand in June, an all-time high, while July’s numbers are projected to be equally as high.

The Glenwood Police Department reports the arrest on Tuesday of 26-year-old Alesha Young of Carter Lake for Driving While Barred, Possession of a Controlled Substance, and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia. Bond was set at $3,300.

The Red Oak Police Department reports the arrest on Tuesday at 6:35 p.m. of 30-year-old Raejean Mae Steele of Red Oak in the 1800 block of East Summit Street on a valid warrant for Violation of Probation. Steele was taken to the Montgomery County Jail and held on $5,000 bond.

(Glenwood, Iowa) – Mills County Emergency Management officials report a Burn Ban that had been in effect since August 6th, was lifted today (Tuesday). Here is the statement regarding the ban (click on the image to enlarge):

WASHINGTON – The Drug Enforcement Administration is advising the public of an alarming emerging trend of colorful fentanyl available across the United States.  In August 2022, DEA and our law enforcement partners began seizing brightly-colored fentanyl and fentanyl pills in 18 states.  Dubbed “rainbow fentanyl” in the media, this trend appears to be a new method used by drug cartels to sell highly addictive and potentially deadly fentanyl made to look like candy to children and young people.

“Rainbow fentanyl—fentanyl pills and powder that come in a variety of bright colors, shapes, and sizes—is a deliberate effort by drug traffickers to drive addiction amongst kids and young adults,” said DEA Administrator Anne Milgram.  “The men and women of the DEA are relentlessly working to stop the trafficking of rainbow fentanyl and defeat the Mexican drug cartels that are responsible for the vast majority of the fentanyl that is being trafficked in the United States.”

Brightly-colored fentanyl is being seized in multiple forms, including pills, powder, and blocks that resembles sidewalk chalk.  Despite claims that certain colors may be more potent than others, there is no indication through DEA’s laboratory testing that this is the case.  Every color, shape, and size of fentanyl should be considered extremely dangerous.

Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that is 50 times more potent than heroin and 100 times more potent than morphine.  Just two milligrams of fentanyl, which is equal to 10-15 grains of table salt, is considered a lethal dose.  Without laboratory testing, there is no way to know how much fentanyl is concentrated in a pill or powder.

Fentanyl remains the deadliest drug threat facing this country.  According to the CDC, 107,622 Americans died of drug overdoses in 2021, with 66 percent of those deaths related to synthetic opioids like fentanyl.  Drug poisonings are the leading killer of Americans between the ages of 18 and 45.  Fentanyl available in the United States is primarily supplied by two criminal drug networks, the Sinaloa Cartel and the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG).

In September 2021, DEA launched the One Pill Can Kill Public Awareness Campaign to educate Americans about the dangers of fake pills.  Additional resources for parents and the community can be found on DEA’s Fentanyl Awareness page.

If you encounter fentanyl in any form, do not handle it and call 911 immediately.