The Iowa West Foundation Board of Directors has awarded nearly $8 million in grants and initiatives for the first cycle of 2015. Grants will assist 24 nonprofit organizations and governmental entities with funding for projects and programs that directly impact southwest Iowa and eastern Nebraska.

This is the first grants and initiatives funding announcement of the year 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 is open Oct. 1. Interested organizations should visit the Foundation’s website to learn more about the application process.

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.

2015 Cycle 1 Grants and Initiatives include, but are not limited to:

• Audubon County Early Childhood Organization: Programmatic support for the Children’s Nest Daycare Center, $40,000
• City of Griswold: Improvements to the Griswold Community Building, $10,000
• Eckels Memorial Library 2015 collection development in library located in Oakland (IA) $2,000
• Harlan Friends of Downtown LED lighting and updated sound system in historic downtown Harlan, $7,500.
• Riverside Community School District, Support for Pottawattamie Promise program delivery, $76,344
• Stanton Historical Society, Repair and repainting of the Swedish coffeepot water tower, $5,000
• West Pottawattamie County Agricultural Extension District, Support for the West Pottawattamie County 4-H youth programming administration, $57,700.

An accident in Creston this (Thursday) morning occurred when the driver of a vehicle dropped his cell phone and reached down to pick it up. The Union County Sheriff’s Office says 25-year old Joshua Winebrenner, of Afton,  was driving east on Howard Street in Creston, when his 1998 Chevy Cavalier hit the rear of a parked 2001 Ford Escape. The accident happened at around 7:10-a.m.

Winebrenner was cited for Failure to Maintain Control. Damage from the collision amounted to $3,500.

The Iowa Department of Transportation reports the right lane of westbound I-80 at the 112 mile marker (Racoon River near Van Meter/Desoto) has been closed by the Iowa State Patrol. Troopers continue to monitor the rising waters in that area and will make further closures if need be. Drivers need to use caution in that area or plan an alternative route.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) – One of three veteran Iowa State Patrol officials who were on leave during an internal investigation has been transferred to a new job. The Iowa Department of Public Safety says Maj. Todd Misel is no longer in charge of field operations for the patrol. Instead, he has been moved into a position in the commissioner’s office overseeing the department’s compliance with national law enforcement accreditation standards.

Misel and two other patrol officials were placed on paid leave in April while the department investigated whether they mishandled a state contract to purchase handguns. The department announced earlier this month they had returned to work without discipline. The department has refused to release the findings of multiple investigations but says the three didn’t commit any crimes or violate any policies.