October 18, 2024 (DES MOINES, IA) – Today (Friday), the Iowa Economic Development Authority (IEDA) Board approved tax benefits for a company in Story City, awarded $428,000 in Community Attraction and Tourism (CAT) grants to two projects and provided final approval for a reinvestment district plan. In addition, last month, the board approved innovation funding for a startup in Des Moines and IEDA approved assistance from Iowa’s State Small Business Credit Initiative (SSBCI) Innovation Fund for a startup in Coralville.

Wind turbine facility to expand in Story City
Generation Repair and Service, LLC, a subsidiary of wholesale power generator NextEra Energy, Inc., provides repair and maintenance services for wind turbine and solar electric generation equipment. They also store and supply parts and inventory for renewable and other energy operations. The company plans to expand by 67,500 square feet to increase capacity, enhance safety and support additional repair product lines due to the increased demand nationally for renewable energy production. The project represents a $17 million capital investment and is expected to create two jobs at a qualifying wage of $32.47 per hour. The board awarded the company tax benefits through the High Quality Jobs (HQJ) program.

CAT grants awarded to two communities
The City of Grand Mound was awarded $41,000 to install a splash pad at the Grand Mound Ball Park. The project will be ADA compliant and include features for kids of all ages.

The Sioux City Symphony was awarded $250,000 to construct a 2,800-square-foot music education center in the historic Orpheum Theater. The project will establish a historic musical collection and also create spaces for on-site practice, ensemble rehearsals, instrument storage and a recording studio.

The CAT program provides financial assistance to communities for the construction of recreational, cultural, educational or entertainment facilities that enhance the quality of life in Iowa. Award recommendations for these funds are made by the CAT Review Committee to the IEDA Board for approval.

Des Moines reinvestment district plan receives final approval 
The Iowa Reinvestment District Program is designed to assist communities in developing transformative projects that improve the quality of life, create and enhance unique opportunities, and substantially benefit the community, region and state. The program provides for up to $100 million in new state hotel/motel and sales tax revenues to be “reinvested” within approved districts that cannot exceed 75 acres in size and must be in an Urban Renewal Area.

The IEDA board approved provisional funding for the Capital City Reinvestment District submitted by the City of Des Moines in June 2021 and at today’s board meeting approved the maximum benefit amount of $23.5 million for the project. The project will replace blighted, vacant and brownfield sites with mixed-use neighbors. The three connected community hubs include the Stadium Neighborhood, emphasized with the $95 million Pro-Iowa soccer stadium and Global Plaza, the Western Gateway, showcasing a vibrant streetscape and pedestrian mall, and Gray’s Landing, which will construct a hotel and supermarket. All areas will also offer retail, office and multifamily residential units. The projects within the reinvestment district area represent a $293 million investment.

Innovation funding awarded to two startups last month
Tylmen, Inc., based in Des Moines, is working to improve access to life insurance. The technology uses non-invasive health data collected from an individual’s smartphone video recordings to provide insights into their overall health profile, which improves the speed and precision of underwriting processes. The company was awarded a $50,000 Proof of Commercial Relevance (POCR) loan for IP development and evaluation, product refinement, key personnel and market planning and entry activities.

Award recommendations for the POCR funds are made by the Technology Commercialization Committee to the IEDA Board for approval.

Coralville’s FBB Biomed, Inc., is a biotech company with the mission to build one blood test for all health states and diseases. The development of the FBB Web App product will enable customers to fully self-service-use the software. The company was awarded a $250,000 Innovation Acceleration Launch Fund loan from the SSBCI Innovation Fund for IP development and evaluation, product refinement and key personnel.

Award recommendations for the SSBCI Innovation Fund assistance are made by the SSBCI Review Committee to the IEDA director for approval. The committee met on September 24, 2024, to review eligible applications.

DES MOINES, Iowa [KCCI]— A Des Moines woman has been indicted in a deadly traffic stop in September during which the suspect was killed and two officers were shot. 47-year-old Shawnna Cunningham is facing charges for having a firearm as a drug user and for aiding and abetting the possession and disposal of a gun to someone she knew was a felon.

Court documents show Cunningham was a passenger in the car Sept. 16 when Joshua Green refused to pull over for police and a chase ensued. After Green crashed, officers say he didn’t comply with instructions to surrender and “violently struggled” with four officers on the scene. He eventually pulled a handgun and fired at officers, and they returned fire, fatally wounding him.

Cunningham admitted to owning the handgun and having it with her in the car before Green used it to shoot the officers, according to court documents. She denied giving the gun to Green. Both officers injured in the shooting are recovering.

(Bellevue, Iowa) – Lawyers for the City of Bellevue are arguing in court that the police department shouldn’t be held liable for failing to enforce a no-contact order and arrest warrant for a man who subsequently murdered his estranged wife. The city argues police officers have no constitutional duty to protect individuals from harm and instead have a more generalized duty to serve the public. The arguments are being made in a federal civil lawsuit filed against the city by the family of the late Angela Marie Prichard, who was shot and killed by her estranged husband, Christopher Prichard, in 2022.

The Iowa Capital Dispatch reports the lawsuit claims the killing was the result of a “state-created danger” caused by the malfeasance, reckless or intentional behavior of the Bellevue Police Department. It accuses city police officers of “showing favoritism toward Christopher Prichard,” and alleges that his relationship with the police “enabled and fostered” his ability to murder his estranged wife. According to the lawsuit, Christopher Prichard was arrested in November 2019 on a charge of first-degree theft. The police allegedly “acquiesced” to his release on bail and to 31 continuances in the case over the next four years. Those continuances, the lawsuit claims, “enabled Christopher Prichard to remain free of custody and emboldened him to repeatedly harass and assault Angela Marie Prichard.”

A photo of the victim and a note she wrote shortly before her death. (Exhibits from Iowa District Court files)

The police department’s actions were allegedly influenced by the fact that Christopher Prichard had “a personal relationship with one or more” of the city police officers and the fact that he had provided officers with electrical services at no cost or for a reduced fee. Court records indicate that on April 18, 2022, Christopher Prichard was arrested for domestic violence against his estranged wife, and a no-contact order was issued in the case. A few months later, Angela Prichard allegedly located a tracking device in her Jeep as well as two hidden cameras that had been placed in her home — potential violations of Iowa’s anti-stalking and invasion of privacy laws. Angela Prichard notified the Bellevue police of the situation and, according to the lawsuit, the police “refused to enforce the law.”

The city has yet to file an answer to the lawsuit, but has filed what it calls a “pre-answer motion to dismiss.”  As part of that motion, lawyers for the city argue that while the Iowa Legislature could have passed legislation allowing civil lawsuits for failure by the police to enforce a no-contact order, it opted not to do so.

In court filings, the city also expresses “vehement disagreement” with the family’s portrayal of the facts, but adds that “even if all these facts are assumed to be entirely true, the United States Supreme Court has already determined that plaintiffs’ due process claim must be dismissed.”

(Radio Iowa) – A report from the Iowa Tourism Office finds visitors spent seven-point-three BILLION dollars in Iowa during 2023, a new all-time record. The report says tourists shelled out an average of 20-million dollars — per day — experiencing all that Iowa has to offer. Chelsea Lerud, executive director of Iowa Travel Industry Partners, says the figures represent an increase from the year before of better than five-percent. “Usually, it’s in that 2-to-3% increase range,” Lerud says. “That 5% increase this year was a pleasant surprise, and it’s great to see the numbers well surpassing 2019. We’re out of that COVID downfall that the state felt in 2020.” She says tourism is all about importing dollars from outside the state so local residents don’t have to pay for all of the services we enjoy and need.

“Visitors are contributing over $800 per home to the state, to the tax base,” Lerud says. “That means that those dollars are then filtered to the municipalities to pay for our police force and our fire and things that we love as residents that we’re not having to rely on higher property taxes to support.” The study found travel-generated state and local tax receipts exceeded one-billion dollars last year, enough to pay the salaries of more than 19-thousand public school teachers. Iowa has many hidden gems for tourists, in addition to a host of attractions that are well advertised.

“The Iowa State Fair had record numbers this last year,” Lerud says, “so we’ll see that reflected in the 2024 economic impact when those numbers come out. Outdoor recreation is huge for us in the state, and so we’re seeing more people come to experience our bike trails and our waterways for canoeing and kayaking and white water and enjoying the great outdoors.” Tourism isn’t just a weekend draw, either. Larud says Iowa’s visitor economy is taking place seven days a week. “Our partners around the state are doing a fantastic job at recruiting those regional and national-level sporting events and conferences,” she says, “which are bringing in the travelers during the week as well, not just the families jumping in the car or the retired couple coming for a weekend getaway.”

The report says tourism plays a crucial role in Iowa’s job market, supporting nearly 71-thousand jobs, which accounts for more than five-percent of all employment in the state.

(Glenwood, Iowa) – Police in Glenwood report a man was arrested this (Friday) morning on an OWI charge. 24-year-old Tyler Bascue, of Glenwood, was charged with OWI/2nd offense, and driving under suspension. He posted a $2,300 bond, and was released from the Mills County Jail.

SIOUX CITY, Iowa – Oct. 18, 2024 – If you travel on Interstate 29 near Iowa 141 (exit 127) at Sloan you need to be aware of an upcoming ramp paving project that may slow down your trip, according to the Iowa Department of Transportation’s Sioux City construction office. The southbound I-29 on-ramp and the northbound I-29 off-ramp at Iowa 141 (exit 127) at Sloan will be closed beginning at noon on Monday, Oct. 21. The ramps will reopen at 3 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 12, weather permitting. During the ramp closures, oversize loads will not be permitted through the cities of Whiting or Sloan and the following marked detours will be in place:

Southbound Detour: From I-29 at the Iowa 141 interchange (exit 127), you will travel east on Iowa 141, travel south on Woodbury/Monona County Road K-45/Old Highway 75, travel west on Monona County E-24 near Whiting, and then south on I-29 (exit 120).
Northbound Detour: You will exit at the interchange with Monona County Road E-24 (exit 120), travel east on Monona County Road E-24, travel north on Woodbury/Monona County Road K-45/Old Highway 75 to Sloan and Iowa 141.

The Iowa DOT reminds motorists to drive with caution, obey the posted speed limit and other signs in the work area, and be aware that traffic fines for moving violations are at least double in work zones. As in all work zones, drivers should stay alert, allow ample space between vehicles, and wear seat belts.

RED OAK, Iowa – U.S. Senator Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), Ranking Member of the Senate Small Business Committee, Thursday, announced her Small Business of the Week: Greenfield Dental of Adair County. Throughout this Congress, Ranking Member Ernst plans to recognize a small business in every one of Iowa’s 99 counties. “While you may think you know the drill with dentists, Greenfield Dental is putting a smile on every face,” said Ranking Member Ernst. “You would think Dr. Frost is as popular as the tooth fairy given all of the rave reviews. The Greenfield Dental team really knows how to fill a need in our community!”

In 2018, Dr. Ryan Frost graduated from the University of Iowa’s College of Dentistry. Following graduation, Dr. Frost moved to work at Greenfield Family Dentistry. In 2020, he became the owner and merged with Nodaway Valley Dental to establish Greenfield Dental. Dr. Frost expanded from four workspaces to eleven and further invested in 3D X-ray imaging technology, which enabled Greenfield Dental to provide same-day emergency care, in-office root canals, and dental implant procedures.

In addition to his role at the practice, Dr. Frost is the treasurer for the Greenfield Main Street Chamber Board and aided in the community’s tornado clean-up and recovery this past spring. This fall, Greenfield Dental will celebrate its fourth business anniversary.

(Radio Iowa) – Court records show a 58-year-old northern Iowa man has agreed to plead guilty to second degree murder for killing a nurse who worked in Mason City. Sixty-two-year-old Leallen Bergman of Ventura was stabbed to death at a home in Britt last year. Police responding to a disturbance at the address encountered Monte Eckels before they entered the home and found Bergman’s body. Eckels was charged with first degree murder, but earlier this year he was found mentally incompetent to stand trial.

After receiving treatment, a judge ruled he was mentally fit for a trial, which had been scheduled in December. By pleading guilty to second degree murder, Eckels will be eligible for parole after serving 35 years in prison.

The Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation news release identified Eckels as being from Britt, where the murder happened, but Iowa D-O-T records show Eckels has a Titonka address.