Two grants announced last week address the majority of a $700,000 funding shortfall for the proposed Pottawattamie County veterans building in Council Bluffs. The Omaha World-Herald reports the Iowa West Foundation and Charles E. Lakin Foundation each awarded $275,000 to the project, to help close the gap between the $1.5 million approved by voters more than a year ago and the low project bid of $2.24-million.

The amount not covered by the foundation grants — about $150,000 — will come from county funds that were set aside for a property purchase or through changes in the building’s lighting or other design features to cut costs.