(Council Bluffs, IA) The Iowa West Foundation Board of Directors recently awarded $6.6 million in grants and initiatives for the second cycle of 2015. The funding will assist 22 nonprofit organizations and governmental entities with projects and programs that directly impact southwest Iowa and eastern Nebraska. The City of Clarinda received $55,975 for a downtown façade revitalization while the Audubon Recreation Foundation received $50,000 toward their proposed recreation center. The towns of Corning, Neola, Red Oak and Shelby also received grants toward placemaking projects.

Healthy families was another recurring theme for this cycle of grant funding. Heartland Family Service received $300,000 to administer years two and three of the Children’s Mental Health Initiative in Lewis Central Community Schools — a 3-year pilot program based on the high need for school-based mental health services as identified by local superintendents. MICAH House received $45,000 for general operating funds and Council Bluffs” Vocational Development Center (VODEC) was awarded $25,000 for residential home renovation.

The second funding cycle also included initiative dollars for the construction of a new veterans building in Council Bluffs. The Iowa West Foundation and the Charles E. Lakin Foundation each awarded $275,000 to the project, which broke ground in August. The Iowa West Foundation Board of Directors also awarded $113,000 to the Fourth Judicial District Department of Correctional Services for the continuation of their successful drug court program. The Fourth Judicial District would have been forced to cancel the program on Oct. 1 due to insufficient funding had the Foundation not stepped in.

This is the second grants and initiatives funding announcement of 2015 after the Foundation restructured its grant cycles in late 2014 to be three times per year rather than four. The Letter of Inquiry period for the third cycle opened October 1. Those grant recipients will be announced in February of 2016.

Funding for the Foundation’s grants comes from investment earnings and the Iowa West Racing Association (IWRA), which receives contracted license fees from casino operators, Ameristar and Harrah’s. IWRA distributes funds to the Iowa West Foundation, an independent 501(c)3 organization under the IRS Code. The Foundation makes grants throughout southwest Iowa and eastern Nebraska.

The complete list of grant/initiative recipients and their projects/awards are as follows:

• Angels Among Us, Inc./Financial Aid for Families of Children w/Cancer – $20,000.
• Audubon Recreation Foundation/Recreation Center in Audubon – $50,000.
• Blue Barn Theatre/Expanded programming for the 2015-16 season, $9,200.
• Carstens 1880 Farmstead/Restoration – $15,750.
• City of Clarinda/Downtown facade restoration, $55,975.
• City of Council Bluffs/Communications Officer, $152,000; Rental Housing Inspection, $64, 202.
• Community Education Foundation/Classroom grants for 2015-16, $25,000; STARS Scholarship Program Initiative, $369,526,
• Council Bluffs Housing Trust Fund/Affordable Housing, 2015-16: $45,058.
• Downtown Omaha, Inc. Foundation/2015 Holiday Lights Festival: $15,000.
• 4th Judicial District/Dept. of Correctional Svc./Drug Court: $113,000.
• Heartland Family Service -Lewis Central Children’s Mental Health Program initiative: $300,000; Housing Emergency Assistance Task Force: $170,000; Iowa Family Works; $77,500; Substance Abuse Services: $37,500.
• Habitat For Humanity/General Operating Funds: $100,000.
• Hearts and Hugs Day Care, Inc./Facility renovation: $10,000.
• Heritage Services/Riverfront Study initiative: $95,500.
• Iowa West Foundation initiatives: Mid-America Center revitalization, $2-million; Park Landing at River’s Edge Park, $1.15-million; Public Art/Interactive Children’s art for Riverfront Park, $1-million.
• Justice For Our Neighbors – Legal assistance for low-income immigrants in southwest Iowa, $32,500.
• Lutheran Family Services of Nebraska, Inc./RSafe program: $15,000.
• MICHA House Corp./General Operating Funds: $45,000.
• Montgomery County Family YMCA – indoor tennis lighting/court enhancement, $20,000.
• Neola Area Community Center/Stronger community, $10,000.
• New Community Development Corp./Mynster Townhomes Development, $250,000.
• Omaha Theater Company/Rose Theater Field Trips for Council Bluffs Students: $9,452.
• Opera Omaha/2 productions: $30,000.
• Pott. County Board of Supervisors/Veterans Admin. Bldg. initiative: $275,000.
• Vocational Development Center (VODEC)/Residential Home Renovation: $25,000.

Shelby County Emergency Service Officials, including Fire Chiefs, Law Enforcement, and Emergency Management will begin twice weekly updates on local fire danger conditions. Signs placed strategically in each community, primarily at the fire Stations will indicate what the fire danger is for any particular day.

This program, implemented in 2010, resulted in a reduction of fire responses countywide. The continuous bi weekly fire danger assessments are provided by email to the media, Fire Chiefs, and others who support the program on their web pages, through radio, and cable TV information pages. Emergency Management Coordinator Bob Seivert says that has reduced the need for the county to implement a complete burn ban.

If you live in Shelby County and need to burn a pile of brush, debris, or buildings, contact the Emergency Management Agency at 755-2124. The dispatchers will obtain the location and nature of the planned burn and will provide the caller with the Fire Chiefs contact information. Through this expanded communication process, Seivert says they have found some burns can be rescheduled to a different time of day, where wind and moisture level is more acceptable. The Fire Chiefs can have input as to how the burn can be conducted safely and be aware of the activity should it become unmanageable.

Shelby County has four, distinct, color coded levels:
LOW – You are asked to call in and report your burning projects to dispatch at 712-755-2124, and notify your local Fire Chief.
Moderate – You are asked to call in and report your burning projects to dispatch at 712-755-2124, and notify your local Fire Chief. Timing for burns should be morning, or evening hours and extinguished by dark unless authorized by Fire Chief due to possible impacts to roads and health from smoke. Burns must be monitored at all times.
High – Burning of any kind is restricted unless approval is received from local Fire Chief. Controlled burns that are not reported will result in Fire Department being dispatched, and Fires extinguished if determined to be un-safe. Please call 712-755-2124 with questions.
Extreme – Burning is prohibited, unless you have a signed permit from the local Fire Chief. Fires on Extreme days can grow rapidly and pose a risk to the Health and Safety of the Community. If you have any questions please call 712-755-2124.

The Emergency Management Agency uses a combination of the National Weather Service, actual local field measurements, and assessment of local conditions in determining the potential for dangerous fires. With continuing dry weather expected, the availability of fuel through the drying out of the crops will continue to increase the potential for devastating fires, here, in Iowa. The goal is to prevent fires, through good communication, public cooperation, and planning.

A mentally challenged Carter Lake man who disappeared Monday afternoon has been found safe. Police in Council Bluffs late this (Tuesday) morning said they received a tip around 9:20-a.m., that 23-year old Brandon Bequette was in the area of Big Lake Park. Officers responded and made contact with Brandon at that location.

23-year old Brandon Bequette

After checking his welfare and ensuring he was alright, Brandon was released to a family member. He had last been seen at the Lake Manawa Wal-Mart store in Council Bluffs at around 1:15-p.m., Monday, as he left the store and area westbound on foot.

The Council Bluffs Police Department would like to thank the public and our local media outlets for their help in safely locating Brandon.

An Atlantic man escaped injury after the SUV he was driving ran into the rear of another vehicle Monday afternoon, in Union County. The Union County Sheriff’s Office says 27-year old Timothy Weaver, of Atlantic, was traveling east on the Highway 34 Skyline Bridge at around 1-p.m., Monday, and was unable to stop in-time, before hitting the rear of a 2013 Ford that was stopping for a construction zone red light. The driver of the other vehicle, 50-year old Mark Tylavsky, of Des Moines, was also uninjured.

Damage from the collision amounted to $3,000. No citations were issued.

A traffic stop early this (Tuesday) morning in Clarinda, resulting in one person being arrested on drug and other charges. Police Chief Keith Brothers reports 22-year old Dalton Christopher Wise, of Clarinda, was taken into custody at around 1:45-a.m., for allegedly possessing a drug believed to be methamphetamine, possession of drug paraphernalia and driving on a suspended license.

Wise posted $1,000 bond, and was released pending an initial appearance before a magistrate. All reports have been referred to the Page County Attorney’s Office for review and decisions regarding the filing of formal charges.

The Cass and Adair County Boards of Supervisors will hold their regular, weekly meetings Wednesday morning.

In Atlantic, the Cass County Board will present the County’s initial Collective Bargaining proposal to a representative with AFSCME Union local #1414. The Union last week presented its proposal for the FY 2017-through ’19 contract pertaining to Deputies and Jailors it represents.  The Cass County Supervisors will also act on approving final plans for Bridge #20 (Whistler’s Bridge), located about 2-miles south of Cumberland on 690th Street. The meeting begins at 8:30-a.m.

In Greenfield, the Adair County Board of Supervisors will hear from: County Treasurer Brenda Wallace, with regard to Scanner bids; County Conservation Director Kevin Blazek, with regard to the Lake Orient Safe Room project, and Midwest Partnership’s (MWP) Sarah Gomez, with regard to MWP activities and business. Their meeting begins at 9-a.m., Wednesday.

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) – The public has gotten a look at the new Air Force Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps program in the Sioux City School District. The JROTC program was formally introduced Monday in a ceremony featuring some of the 150 students enrolled in it. The program is a partnership between the school district, the city and other organizations.

The school district announced in December that it was one of two districts picked nationwide by the Air Force to add the JROTC program for the 2015-16 school year. The Sioux City Journal reports the idea was pitched about four years ago to Superintendent Paul Gausman.

Lt. Col. Larry Brockshus says the curriculum consists of aerospace science, leadership, and wellness and physical fitness, and classes will rotate each year. Brockshus says the program is not a binding military commitment.

The Iowa Finance Authority is providing low-interest loans to help development of rental housing for communities with a growing workforce. I-F-A executive director, David Jamison, says the housing must be targeted towards low-to-moderate income renters. The Workforce Housing Loan Program is available to all cities in Iowa on a competitive basis, and part of the process depends on whether the housing provides a long term asset to a community.

“We look at the construction material, the type of constructions, trying to distinguish between essential amenities or luxury amenities obviously, quality construction, and that there’s quality in the energy efficiency,” Jamison says. The program gives special consideration to projects in cities with populations less than 50-thousand people as these communities often have fewer opportunities to apply for grants.

“It goes to their tax base, their access to different federal and state programs. The skills sets, for example a larger community might have someone who is very good at writing grant applications, whereas a smaller community the city clerk might have a full-time job somewhere else,” according to Jamison. The program has a total of five million dollars available and the maximum loan amount per project is the lesser of one million dollars or 50-thousand dollars for each assisted workforce housing rental unit. The loans have a one-percent interest rate and with a maximum term of twenty years.

(Radio Iowa)

The Atlantic School District’s Board of Education will hold its regular monthly meeting Wednesday evening at a different location. Normally, the Board meets in the Media Center at the High School, but on Wednesday, their 5:30-p.m. session will be held in the Media Center at Schuler Elementary.

During their meeting, the Board will hear from Derek Bair with regard to Construction Technology. They’ll also act on approving various contracts and/or Letters of Assignment for nine district personnel, including: Emma Walker – Assistant Varsity Girls Basketball Coach and Co-Freshman Volleyball Coach; Michelle McLaren, Co-Freshman Volleyball Coach, and six Food Service personnel, as well as an Amended Contract for Kelly Juhl.

The Board will also act on approving various District Policies, including one pertaining to credit cards, and, on approving the District’s Annual Report. The report from Superintendent Dr. Michael Amstein, says “During the 2014-15 school year, the district saw increased student performance in reading, math and science on the Iowa Assessments, continued to increase the graduation rate while decreasing the district’s dropout rate, and high school students continued to score above the state average on the ACT.”

Amstein says also, “Over the past year and into next year, the district will continue to reduce costs associated with operating expense.” He went on to say “…funding from the state over the past six-years continues to be quite inadequate and as like other districts across the state, our school district has experienced some financial pains.” Amstein says “Over the past six-years, the district’s unspent budget [The maximum amount the state allows districts to spend on educating students] has been decreasing. At the end of the 2014-15 school year, the unspent budget authority still remains in the upper range that is recommended by the Iowa Association of School Boards.”

The district, according to Amstein, “Will continue to look for ways to protect the unspent budget and still provide the educational opportunities for our students to assist them in becoming the best and brightest in Iowa.”