DES MOINES – The Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs today announced it has awarded 119 grants totaling more than $1.2 million to organizations, people and projects in 40 communities that strengthen quality of life and cultural vitality in Iowa.

Local projects that are being supported include:

• Creston: $10,000 Art Project Grant: Arts will partner with Creston High School and artist Jordan Weber to design and paint a public mural in Creston.
• Elk Horn: $10,000 Art Project Grant: The Museum of Danish America will present The Whimsical World of Bjørn Wiinblad, an iconic Danish artist in the 20th century active throughout Europe and the United States.
• Greenfield: $2,500 Cultural Trust Stability Grant: Warren Cultural Center will receive funding to support the stability of the organization with a Part-Time Development Director.

“With these investments, we continue to partner with artists and organizations who are making our communities more culturally vibrant and attractive to people who want to live and work in our state,” Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs Director Mary Cownie said. “We congratulate our grant recipients and encourage all Iowans to experience and enjoy the arts in Iowa.”

In total, the Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs awarded $1,271,257 in grant funding through its Iowa Arts Council division for art projects, artist fellowships, programs, operating support, and strategic planning/fundraising. Grant categories include the following:

• Art Project Grants
• Artist Fellowships
• Cultural Leadership Partner Art Project Grants
• Cultural Leadership Partner Operating Support Grants
• Cultural Trust Stability Grants

With today’s announcement, the Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs continues to preserve and promote Iowa’s collective heritage and unique sense of place while investing in people and projects that cultivate creativity, foster economic growth and enhance the cultural identity of local communities. More information about the grant programs is available at www.iowaculture.gov.

The Glenwood Police Department report the arrest of a homeless woman on Tuesday.  Officers arrested 37-year-old Wendy Meadows for Disorderly Conduct.  She was taken to the Mills County Jail and held on $300 cash bond.

w/ Chris Parks

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The Creston Police Department reports one arrest on Tuesday evening. At 5:30pm officers arrested 31-year-old Jackie Marler of Sharpsburg at 1104 N Cherry Street in Creston on a Union County Warrant for Felon in Possession of a Firearm.  Marler was also charged with Possession of Marijuana and was also held on a Taylor County Warrant.

Marler posted $6,000 bond for the Union County charges and is being held in the Union County Jail awaiting transfer to Taylor County.

The Red Oak Police Department reports three arrests overnight Tuesday into Wednesday.

Early this morning at 1:04am officers arrested 53-year-old John Michael Hudson of Hastings for Driving While Suspended. He was arrested at the intersection of West 2nd Street and West Reed Street and was taken to the Montgomery County Law Enforcement Center where he was also charged with Possession of Contraband in a Correctional Facility, a Class D Felony.  Hudson is being held on $5,000 cash bond.

Also on Tuesday evening at 8:59pm Red Oak Police arrested two individuals on theft charges. Officers arrested 24-year-old Makayla Dawn Hudson and 24-year-old Angela Georgia Bradfield of Edmond, OK for 5th Degree Theft.  Both individuals were arrested at Hudson’s home at 1660 E Summit Street in Red Oak.  They both were taken to the Montgomery County Law Enforcement Center and held on $300 bond each.

Officials with the Council Bluffs Police Department, Tuesday night, updated a report they filed Monday night, with regard to two women wanted in connection with an incident of alleged theft that resulted in an accident. Authorities said active warrants were issued for the arrest of 52-year old Michelle Kuhl and 27-year old Amanda Wilson, both of Council Bluffs. The nature of the charges are not being publicly released prior to the womens’ arrest.

Amanda Wilson

Michelle Kuhl

Police are also seeking to check the welfare of the child who was taken from the hospital prior to receiving treatment.

The incident resulting in the arrest warrants began when one of the women allegedly took a package off the front porch of a residence, sometime before 9-p.m., Monday. When the homeowner confronted the suspect, they jumped into an SUV occupied by a female driver and a small child. The SUV was struck broadside at the intersection of 25th and Avenue E by a Chrysler Minivan. The impact flipped the SUV flipped onto its top.

The occupants of the SUV (later identified as Kuhl and Wilson) were transported by Council Bluffs Fire and Rescue to Jennie Edmundson Hospital, but they fled prior to police arriving to question them. The driver of the the van, 63-year old Dianne Tuttle, of Council Bluffs, and the occupants of her vehicle, were transported to Mercy Hospital’s E-R. None of the injuries were considered life threatening.

As with any wanted party, the public is asked not to contact either of the woman who have warrants issued for their arrest. Instead, your should notify local law enforcement if they are sighted. Anyone with information on the location of Kuhl or Wilson is asked to call Council Bluffs Crime Stoppers at 712‐328‐STOP (712‐328‐7867).

Police in Council Bluffs have made an arrest in connection with another residential burglary, the second reported in as many days. Officials say at around 7:47-p.m. Tuesday, officers were sent to 2437 2nd Avenue in Council Bluffs on a report of an assault. Officers arrived and met with the victim, Mariah Crouse of Council Bluffs, who stated that while sitting on her couch inside her home a male with a blue bandana over his nose and mouth entered her residence by way of the unlocked rear storm door.

Once inside the home the male grabbed Crouse by her face and pushed her head into the back of the couch demanding that she give him her cell phone. Crouse yelled for the suspect to leave her home and she refused to give him her phone. The suspect did not see that Crouse had a guest over and was startled when the guest told him to take her phone and leave. The man then ran out of the house in an unknown direction.

Officers were told by Crouse that she recognized the suspect as a neighbor, and that he resides at 2435 2nd Avenue. Officers went to this address and located the male in a room. He was identified as 24 year old Landon Finger, of Dubuque. Finger was eventually identified by the victim as being the same male who came into her home and assaulted her. He was arrested and taken to Pottawattamie County Corrections and booked in on a Burglary 2ne degree charge.

The Atlantic Community School District’s Board of Education will hold a work session Wednesday evening in the High School Media Center. On their agenda for the 5:30-p.m. meeting, is acceptance of resignation from Washington 3rd Grade Teacher Katie Gaughan, discussion with regard to the District’s Technology Plan, as presented by Technology Coordinator Roger Warne, and a closed session for a formal evaluation of Superintendent, Dr. Michael Amstein.

The State Democratic Party Convention was held on Saturday, June 18th, lasting until the early hours of June 19th. Five delegates from Cass County attended: Mike Young of Griswold, Cheryl Wessels of Anita, and Melissa Warren, Gerard O’Rourke, and Sherry Toelle, all of Atlantic. The Iowa Democratic Party Platform was voted on and ratified by a majority of the delegates attending the convention.

National delegates were chosen for each Presidential candidate. Other positions that were voted on included the Presidential electors, Democratic National Committee members, State Affirmative Action Chair, as well as the Chairs and Vice-Chairs of the Constituency Caucus groups. Sherry Toelle, Cass County Democratic Party Chair, was elected Vice-Chair of the newly-formed Seniors and Retirees Caucus, earning her a seat on the State Central Committee.

In a statement, Toelle said “I am very pleased to have been elected to the Seniors/Retiree Caucus. I worked with seniors throughout my career as a social worker and have grave concerns for seniors and retirees who are forced out of their homes due to finances and health issues. I hope that I can continue to make a difference in the lives of seniors. Should anyone have generic issues that they would like to discuss with me, I would appreciate their contacting me.”

The Democratic National Convention will be held in Philadelphia from July 25th through the 28th, culminating in the nomination of the Democratic Presidential candidate.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Iowa officials will allow work on a four-state oil pipeline to go forward after the company submitted a plan to avoid disrupting an American Indian burial ground.

Department of Natural Resources spokesman Kevin Baskins said that Texas-based Dakota Access LLC was given an amendment on its permit to dig at Big Sioux River Wildlife Management Area.

Instead of a trench, the pipeline will be built about 85 feet underground using special boring equipment, Baskins said.

State Archaeologist John Doershuk said the company’s plan is satisfactory, but Indigenous Environmental Network organizer Dallas Goldtooth says his group opposes the decision to allow construction to go forward.

The $3.8 billion, 1,150-mile pipeline spans four states. The Iowa section still needs permits from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.