(Radio Iowa) – It appears cyberhackers may have hit a hospital in southeast Iowa. The Jefferson County Health Center in Fairfield is alerting patients that private information may have been compromised. The health center discovered that on May 30th, suspicious activity was detected on its network between April 24th and 25th.

JCHC has no evidence of any identity theft or fraud in connection with this incident, and has set up a dedicated assistance line to help answer any questions clients may have. JCHC also notified state and federal regulators, as required. Under U.S. law consumers are entitled to one free credit report annually from each of the three major credit reporting bureau

(Radio Iowa) – Court records show two southeast Iowa women have been accused of breaking into a home and assaulting a man two weeks ago. The Ottumwa Police Department says 43-year-old Emily Schlotter forced open a locked door at a residence in Ottumwa while accompanied by 19-year-old Haylee Beck. Once inside, the two women confronted a man inside the home over a family member’s ashes.

Authorities allege Schlotter hit the man with a baseball bat. Beck allegedly struck the man with her hands. The pair were arrested a week later and they each face a charge of first-degree burglary, a Class B felony. Schlotter and Beck are currently free after posting bond.

(Creston, Iowa) – Police in Creston report two recent arrests. Wednesday afternoon, 37-year-old Holly Renee Donehoo, of Creston, was arrested at the Creston/Union County Law Enforcement Center, for Violation of Probation. Donehoo was transported to the Adams County Jail, where he bond was set at $500.

And, at around 3:30 this (Thursday) morning, 20-year-old Garrett Neal Thomson, of Golden, Colorado, was arrested at the Casey’s Store on W. Taylor Street. Thomson was charged with Operating While Under the Influence/1st Offense. He was taken to Union County Jail and held on a $1,000 bond.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – The City Council in Atlantic, passed a handful of items on their agenda during their meeting, Wednesday. The Council approved an order to close selected streets for AtlanticFest on August 12th. The same request is made every year, and was always granted.

The Council passed a Resolution approving State Auditor Rob Sand’s outline “Best practices” for local governments, on how to financially, legally support, non-profit groups and organizations. The City of Atlantic has many non-profit beneficiaries, each of which will need resolutions and agreements to be approved by the Council.

During Wednesday’s meeting, the Council approved Economic Development Agreements with CADCO (Cass-Atlantic Development Corporation) and the Atlantic Area Chamber of Commerce. The formal agreements specify the City agrees to make a payment of $47,700 to CADCO for the purpose of economic development, and $92,000 for the Chamber, of which $47,700 was budgeted for operations, and $45,000 for community promotion.

In other business, the Atlantic City Council passed a Resolution “Adjusting [the] season 2023 benefits for Sunnyside Pool Employees.” And, they passed a Resolution “Consenting to the Issuance of Solid Waste Facilities Revenue Capital Loan Notes, with regard to a 28-E Agreement for the Cass County Environmental Agency (Landfill).

They passed the second reading of an Ordinance repealing permitted truck parking. The Ordinance states trucks may not park on lots leased to Murphy Construction, north of the railroad trucks. When asked by Councilman Pat McCurdy where semi’s are going to park, City Administrator John Lund says they can always park at Wal-Mart as many truckers currently do.

And, the Council approved an MOU (Memorandum Of Understanding) between the City and Iowa Department of Revenue, with regard to the State Offset Program. City Clerk Barb Barrick explained the City has participated in the program for a few years.

The MOU, she said, “Doesn’t preclude us from assessing against property taxes or anything. It’s just another avenue to collect delinquent debt.”

(Rural Pott. County, Iowa) – A heavy load has damaged a bridge over Little Silver Creek in rural Pottawattamie County, resulting in the closure until further notice, of 320th Street  between Lombardy and Idelwood Roads. Pott. County Secondary Roads officials said Wednesday afternoon, that the bridge, located northeast of McClelland, or about 20-miles northeast of Council Bluffs, is closed for inspection and evaluation.

Google map of the affected road closure area.

There is no estimated date for the bridge to re-open, at this time.

(Washington, D-C)   U-S Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigeig, last week, announced the Biden-Harris Administration has awarded more than $2.2 billion from the RAISE discretionary grant program to 162 different infrastructure projects across the country. The funding includes a nearly $23 million grant to build a pedestrian bridge and a multi-modal transit hub to better connect neighborhoods and college campuses to downtown Orangeburg, South Carolina.

Iowa was awarded a $24.7 million grant to replace up to nine bridges in poor condition in rural counties. Some bridges are weight-restricted and currently force detours for both residents and commercial truck drivers.

Pottawattamie County Engineer John Rasmussen issued a statement, saying “The RAISE Grant will add a Center Left Turn Lane to G30 from Railroad Highway to I80 in Underwood, as well as replacing the Mosquito Creek Bridge.  The existing Mosquito Creek Bridge is Structurally Deficient with weight restrictions looming. The existing pavement on this section is beyond repair.  There is a lot of truck traffic and congestion due to the truck stop, repair shops, hotels, restaurants, commuters, and the Jack Link’s warehouse. The goal of this project,” he said, “ is to resolve these issues and maintain through traffic during the construction.”

Rasmussen said also, “While the County isn’t receiving less funding than in the past, inflation has caused us to reduce the number of projects that we are planning by about 30% to make up for the higher costs.  The RAISE Grant will help get a project done that we’d otherwise be saving money for a decade to complete.  This funding will be instrumental in helping Pottawattamie County overcome the challenges of inflation that we expect to experience over the next few years.”

The RAISE grant program, expanded under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, supports communities of all sizes, with half of the FY2023 funding going to rural areas and the other half to urban areas. The grants are part of the Biden Administration’s “Investing in America” agenda.