Officials with the Cass and Audubon County Community Foundations remind residents in those respective counties, that September 1st is the deadline for groups and organizations within either county, to apply for grant monies through the online fall grant application process. In Cass County, $21, 380 is available from the combined Lawrence and Mary Turner-, Griswold Community Development- and Triumph Endowed Funds. Only organizations in Cass County are eligible to share in those funds.

In Audubon County, a total of $32,180 is available from the combined Audubon Masonic Association-, Audubon State Bank/Stephen Garst- Leon and Iva Milliman-,the Charles and Kathleen Manatt-, Fred and Evelyn Nissen-, and the Merle and Norma Petersen- Endowed Funds. Only organizations providing services in Audubon County are eligible to share those grant funds.In both counties, all completed applications will be considered at the Iowa Community Foundations’  Board meeting, with notification of results by the end of October.

More information and the grant applications can be found online. Cass County non-profit groups and organizations can surf to www.iowacommunityfoundations.org/casscef.  Groups in Audubon County simply need to change the words following the slash (/) mark to auduboncef. Additional information can be obtained by calling your respective Community Foundation Chairman. In Cass County the chair is Nicholas Hunt (243-5485), and in Audubon County Brett Irlmeier is the Chair (563-2644). Grant application specific questions may be directed to Dennis Nissen at 1-800-794-3458.

Two southwest Iowa men were transported to Creighton University Medical Center in Omaha Monday night, following a rollover accident northwest of Malvern. The Iowa State Patrol says 46-year old Robert Gene Ryan, of Shenandoah, was flown by helicopter to the hospital after he was ejected from a 1994 Mazda pickup truck. The vehicle was traveling west on Highway 34, when it entered the south ditch and crossed 288th Street, before rolling over. Another man in the vehicle 29-year old Lyle Francis Stogdill, also from Shenandoah, was transported by Malvern Rescue to Creighton. Neither man was wearing a seat belt. The accident happened at around 10:50-p.m. Officials say it’s not clear which man was driving the vehicle. The accident remains under investigation.

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) — A terrorism charge filed against a Sioux City man over comments he made on his Facebook page has been dismissed. Woodbury County prosecutors say Gabriel Rodriguez wrote suicidal and homicidal-themed messages between Aug. 2 and Aug.9. According to court documents, Rodriguez asked if he needed to “shoot up a mall before people understood.”  Assistant County Attorney Terry Ganzel says there was insufficient evidence to meet the legal requirement of the crime in order to prosecute Rodriguez.

Ganzel says words that don’t constitute a true threat are protected under the First Amendment. He says there isn’t enough evidence to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Rodriguez made “true” threats and, even if they were, that the act was “imminent.” Rodriguez’s attorney didn’t immediately comment.