(Radio Iowa) – With food costs and inflation remaining sky high, donations to one of the state’s largest food pantries are falling as restaurants and corporate clients cut back — at the same time food demand is peaking. Michelle Book, C-E-O of the Des Moines-based Food Bank of Iowa, says they set yet another record in July. “We served 136,000 individuals and 50,000 households across our 55-county region and that is a record breaker,” Book says. “Food Bank of Iowa is just now recognizing our 40th year of service and this is the biggest month that Food Bank of Iowa has experienced in 40 years.”

That follows two other record-setting months this year, including in June when the food bank reached 135,300 people. Book says there’s a dire need for meat and other protein products. “Our protein inventory includes canned meat, eggs and peanut butter and we’re working to get more meat in the door by working with local processors and producers,” Book says, “spending our budget, our tight meat budget on meat that is raised here in Iowa.” Book says there are pockets of poverty all over the state, while it may be the worst in the Iowa’s southeast corner.

“It’s amazing to me where there is a county that has good employment opportunities, good factory opportunities, the poverty rate seems to be lower, more people are working,” she says, “but there are many counties where there’s not good employment opportunity and that seems to be where we see the greatest need.”

The latest surveys show roughly 300,000 Iowans are food insecure. To make a monetary donation, visit foodbankiowa.org.

DES MOINES, IOWA – Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds today (Tuesday) awarded $26.6 million in grant funding to 23 projects intended to help businesses jumpstart new child care opportunities and make it easier for Iowans to find child care options through their employer. The Child Care Business Incentive Grant is awarding 19 projects with $25.9 million to address infrastructure projects, while four projects will receive $603,433 to support agreements between businesses and local centers that create new child care slots. In total, today’s funding from Iowa Workforce Development (IWD) and the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) will involve 67 employers and is expected to create nearly 1,786 child care slots.

In this area the Guthrie Center Area Development Corporation in Guthrie Center received an Infrastructure award amounting to $1.5-million for the “Charging into the Future” program. Officials say “With enough licensed child care spaces for just 16% of children in Guthrie Center, several organizations and employers in Guthrie Center have begun the process of helping our existing child care facility, Little Charger Early Learning Center, construct a new child care center to add 37 new slots to the community. The Guthrie Center Area Development Corporation is assisting with the project by facilitating dialogues with local business owners and residents to raise the $1.74M needed for the construction of the new center. One of Guthrie Center’s largest employers, the Guthrie Center Community School District, as well as the City of Guthrie Center, have led the efforts in providing funding and purchasing additional land to help secure child care for their employees.” 

And, New Hope Village Inc. in Carroll (25 new slots) is receiving a $17,500 Infrastructure award for the New Hope Child Care Project. New Hope, a residential and employment provider for people with Intellectual and developmental disabilities in western Iowa intends to utilize its existing assets and business experience to create a child care center for New Hope employees and, eventually, the Carroll community. The goals of the project, the “Growing Hope” childcare center, are to (1) provide accessible and affordable childcare to current New Hope employees and (2) provide an employment incentive for potential new employees to join the New Hope workforce. The project intends to serve at least 15-25 families primarily working evening shift hours 2-10 pm with emphasis on learning activities and serving children with special needs in the first year of operation.

View a list of today’s awardees here. The Child Care Business Incentive Grant was established this year to enable businesses and employer consortiums to build on-site child care centers or partner with local child care providers to increase new child care slots for employees. This grant program advances one of the top recommendations of the Child Care Task Force – to incentivize business engagement in child care.

Today’s awards continue the state’s commitment to funding meaningful child care projects across the state. To build on these successes, IWD and HHS are announcing a second round of funding for the Child Care Business Incentive slots grant. This new opportunity seeks to provide additional flexibility in the ways employers can partner with local child care providers to meet the needs of their employees. Grants will support projects that increase licensed or operational child care slots, add slots to meet new time/day requirements of employees, or fill currently licensed (but unfilled) slots for the benefit of employees. 

• Applications are now being accepted at IowaGrants.gov. Applications are due by 11:59 a.m. on October 17, 2022. 
• Click here for Notice of Funding and Application Information: Link 

Including today’s announcement, the state of Iowa has awarded 191 projects with approximately $75.6 million in grant funding to help create over 10,700 new child care slots.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – The Atlantic Area Chamber of Commerce, in partnership with Meyer & Gross Real Estate & Roland Funeral Home, is hosting a Drive-In Movie experience, on Saturday, October 1st. Kelsey Beschorner, Programs Director at the Atlantic Area Chamber of Commerce says “Drive-In Movie Night has become an annual tradition that I look forward to every year. We are excited to bring a football themed movie to the big screen this fall. “The Drive-In is a fun, nostalgic experience for community members and those in the surrounding area to enjoy. This also gives us the opportunity to show off our town and encourage people to shop and eat before coming to the movie.”

The Drive-In Movie will be at the Atlantic High School parking lot beginning around 8:30 PM with a showing of “Remember the Titans”. Cars may begin parking at 7 PM. The screen is 60 feet long with a high definition projector. Speakers will be available next to the screen for people to utilize. A transmitter will be provided for those enjoying the movie from their car. Attendees will turn their radio to a certain station and the transmitter will play the audio through their car speakers. 

Entry is $20 per vehicle and tickets can be purchased at www.atlanticiowa.com or day-of at the gate. People are welcome to bring lawn chairs and blankets to sit on. Concessions will be available for purchase by Atlas Atlantic Cinema.

For more information, visit www.atlanticiowa.com, call the Chamber at 712.243.3017 or email chamber@atlanticiowa.com. The Drive-In is sponsored by Meyer & Gross Real Estate, Roland Funeral Home, and the Atlantic Community Promotions Commission.

(Cass Co.) The Cass County Board of Supervisors, during their meeting Tuesday morning tabled action on two matters related to the County Auditor’s Office. First, they declined to accept the resignation of County Auditor Sara Harris. They then moved to tabled making an appointment to fill the vacant position. In April, the supervisor’s appointed Harris to fill the vacancy up to the November 8 general election. On August 31, Harris submitted her resignation.

There was talk of possibly bringing back long-time Auditor Dale Sundermen on an interim basis, but Board Chairman Steve Bair said given the current situation, it would be best not to fill the position in the interim, at this time. Supervisor Steve Green said he spoke with Kathy Somers about stepping-in part-time to handle paperwork if needed, but there are legal details that would need to be worked out before that can be given full consideration. Somers was nominated during the County Republican Convention, as their choice for Auditor. Her name will appear on the November 8^th ballot.

The Cass County Supervisors, Tuesday, approved the second half payment of ARPA funds in the amount of $25,000 each, for the Wiota, Massena, Marne, Lewis, Griswold, Cumberland, and Atlantic Fire Departments. Funds had earlier been approved for the Anita Fire Department.

(Anita, Iowa) – The CAM School Board, Monday evening, acted on approving a resignation and several contracts. Superintendent Paul Croghan told KJAN, the Board approved the resignation of CAM Head Baseball Coach, Dan Daugherty.

Croghan said contracts were approved for several paraeducators.

A few of the other contracts include Derrick Nicely as Boys Wrestling Coach, Matt Lundquist as Assistant Girls Wrestling Coach, and Alan Beaty as Junior High Girls Wrestling Coach, 10 volunteer wrestling coaches were also approved, and a volunteer Cheer Coach. Croghan said they wanted to get all those coaches and volunteers in-place before the start of the Wrestling season, especially girls wrestling.

He said also the CAM School Board approved a request for movement on the pay scale for two employees.

And, they approved a technology purchase, but tabled action on adding cameras, at this time.

ESSR (Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief) Funds were used to pay for the new technology. The Board also approved two out-of-state field trips, and the Homecoming Highway Relay.

In other business, the CAM School Board approved an Education Service Contract with Southwestern Community College (SWCC). Mr. Croghan reminds residents it’s harvest time, so be safe while harvesting and bringing in the crop. Watch out slow-moving vehicles, and be extra cautious when dealing with clogged combine or bin augers.

(Radio Iowa) – A whistleblower and the former senior data security official at Twitter is testifying today (Tuesday) before the U-S Senate Judiciary Committee. Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley, who sits on the panel, says the whistleblower has revealed that the social media platform isn’t doing an adequate job of protecting users’ personal information, which Grassley says raises serious privacy concerns as well as national security issues. “According to the whistleblower, Twitter employees are able to easily access user information collected by the platform,” Grassley says. “The company has hired foreign employees who allegedly also worked on behalf of foreign governments.”

For years, members of Congress have been holding hearings about security issues as they relate to social media giants, stretching back to alleged Russian tampering with the U-S elections in 2016, but no specific bills have been passed to bring about change. “Maybe the solution to this isn’t passing some legislation,” Grassley says. “The solution to this may be to wake up the leadership of Twitter to take care of this problem themselves. They’ve got the capability of doing it.”

Grassley, a Republican, says he uses Twitter frequently to keep his constituents in Iowa informed on everything from public policy to his run-ins with deer. The 88-year-old was asked if he’s concerned about the security of his Twitter account. “No, I’m not going to stop using it,” Grassley says. “I’m going to continue to use it. Whatever personal information they get about me, I’m not going to succumb to all these things that they sell the data so you’ll buy certain products and all that. I don’t think I’ve been guilty of that at all.”

Grassley says the whistleblower says Twitter officials were aware of the security vulnerabilities but did nothing, choosing to put profits ahead of user privacy.

(Creston, Iowa) – Police in Creston, late Monday morning, arrested 20-year-old Myles James Koontz, of Creston. Koontz was arrested following a traffic stop, on a charge of Driving While Barred. He was later released from the Union County Jail, after posting bond.

(8-a.m. News)

(Radio Iowa) – Iowa Workforce Development launched a new Business Engagement Division Monday. I-W-D director, Beth Townsend, says they’re hoping it will make it easier for employers to access state resources. “The idea is that we want to provide a one stop shop for Iowa’s employers to help meet all of their workforce needs,” she says. Townsend says the workforce system can be a little complex, and it is scattered over several different areas.

“We’ve never had anything like this in Iowa….workforce programs are scattered across a number of different agencies, and we’re trying to bring some of those to the workforce, and then the others will just help you navigate the system. But we’ve never had a business engagement team in the agency that was focused entirely upon helping businesses,” she says. She says they have had business marketing specialists in the past who have met with employers and worked with them. Townsend says they hope this is a more strategic and more concentrated effort as they head out across the state to meet with business owners.

“To introduce ourselves, if we don’t already know you, to remind you of the resources we have available to help with employers’ workforce needs, to help them navigate the workforce system in Iowa, because it can be a little complex,” according to Townsend. She says the new division will be led by administrator Tim Goodwin and deputy administrator Kathy Anderson. Both have previous business experience and come from outside the agency.

“If you’re not in the system and you’re looking at it from the outside, sometimes you have a better view of things that we could be doing to improve services,” Townsend says. “And they certainly brought that to the table.” Townsend says they will listen and adapt as they visit more businesses. “We plan to every, you know, two or three weeks in this period of time, where we’re going out meeting with employers getting back together and, and digesting the feedback that we’re getting,” she says. Townsend says they have a new customer service number for employers to call. That number is 1-833-469-2967.

(Red Oak, Iowa) – The Red Oak Police Department reports a woman from Red Oak was arrested this (Tuesday) morning, following a traffic stop at Highways 34/48, in Red Oak. 25-year-old Destiny Jill Anderson was taken into custody for Driving Under Suspension. Anderson was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on bond amounting to $491.25.

(updated) (Clarinda, Iowa) – A hazing incident in the Clarinda School District did not result in criminal charges. KETV says the Clarinda Police Department confirmed the incident occurred Aug. 26 after a physical-education class, when two Clarinda High School students forced another student to do push-ups in a shower before urinating on him.

No staff members witnessed the incident. The student reported it to school leaders on Aug. 29 after allegedly being bullied again at lunch. The school district sent an email to parents saying consequences have been handed out for the violation of bullying and harassment. The district said that they will hand any more statements over to police.

The names of the students were not released. Authorities said any parents who feel a crime has been committed, should their file complaint with the Clarinda Police Department.