(Atlantic, Iowa) – Southwest Iowa Planning Council (SWIPCO) has over $500,000 available to lend in its Business Revolving Loan Fund (RLF) program and is looking for qualified applicants. These RLF dollars may be used in conjunction with local lenders, to provide gap financing, or to serve businesses that have otherwise been turned down from a financial institution.

RLF funds may be used by a new or an existing business with loans available up to $125,000. These loans can be used for a variety of business related expenses including equipment purchases, working capital, and purchasing inventory but not for buildings or building renovations. As loans are repaid into the pool, the fund revolves back out to other businesses for the program.

SWIPCO established the business revolving loan fund in 2009 with grants from the US Economic Development Administration and the US Department of Agriculture to help businesses in Cass, Fremont, Harrison, Montgomery, Page, and Shelby counties create and retain jobs. In the past 14 years the fund has made 28 loans to businesses and loaned $1,637,950 to businesses regionally. Over 150 jobs have been created or retained by the fund.

The minimum loan is $10,000 and the goal is to create or retain one job per $10,000 loaned. Currently the interest rate is a very competitive 4%. With interest rates on the rise, this is a major benefit for businesses needing gap financing.

“This program is a great resource for new or existing businesses to get additional financing at a competitive interest rate that they aren’t able to get without the program. With a low interest rate and a loan closing fee of 1% of the loan award, businesses can get the gap financing they need and be able to pay back the loan in a reasonable timeframe,” stated John McCurdy, SWIPCO Executive Director.

To apply, businesses must complete and return an application to SWIPCO. Applications are reviewed by SWIPCO staff, and the final decision is made by a loan committee, which meets monthly. Application materials and guidelines can be found at www.swipco.org under the Business RLF tab. For additional questions contact Erin Hudson at 712-243-4196 or erin.hudson@swipco.org. SWIPCO is an equal opportunity provider, employer, and lender.

(Radio Iowa) – Two men from northwest Iowa have been charged with stealing an A-T-M in western Minnesota. The Sherburne County Sheriff’s Office indicates three men broke through the front door of a general store in Clear Lake, Minnesota and stole the A-T-M inside at about 4 a.m. Friday.

An image of the get away vehicle was captured by security cameras. Minnesota deputies soon located the vehicle in the area and arrested the three men inside after a chase. A 51-year-old from Minneapolis, along with 40-year-old Daniel Johnson of Spencer and 36-year-old Robert McKevitt of Spirit Lake have been charged with third degree burglary. Johnson, the man from Spencer, has also been charged with fleeing a peace officer since he was driving the vehicle.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – Southwest Iowa Planning Council (SWIPCO) recently completed 3 owner-occupied housing rehabilitation Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) projects in Dexter, Fontanelle, and Leon. These grants addressed updates to HVAC, electrical, plumbing, windows, doors, siding, roofing, handicap accessibility, and lead based paint, bringing the homes up to Iowa’s minimum housing standards. The grants assisted 14 low to moderate income households, with a total of $530,837 spent in grant funded repairs.

Unusually, these projects are outside the normal SWIPCO service area of the counties of Harrison, Shelby, Pottawattamie, Cass, Mills, Montgomery, Fremont, and Page. But, in this case SWIPCO had previously contracted with Southern Iowa Council of Governments (SICOG), based in Creston, to provide the inspections portion of their housing CDBG repair projects while SICOG continued to provide overall project administration. In February 2022 due to SICOG being unable to administer CDBG projects due to staffing issues, SWIPCO contracted with the cities to provide administration services for the CDBG rehab projects in nine communities that were currently underway. The three communities of Dexter, Fontanelle, and Leon were the first of these projects to be completed and the remaining are well on their way to completion.

“It is important for us to stand beside our fellow COGs and assist where we can,” said John McCurdy, Executive Director at SWIPCO. “The value of what these grants bring to communities is that they not only help the individual homeowners by improving the safety and energy efficiency of their homes, but they also help improve the value of all the homes in the community over time.”

CDBG is a program funded by the US Department of Housing and Urban Development managed in Iowa by the Iowa Economic Development Authority. SWIPCO is a council of governments serving the eight counties of southwest Iowa with public transportation, community development, and housing. SWIPCO is an equal opportunity employer, provider, and lender. To learn more about what current programs are available, visit www.swipco.org or call 712-243-4196.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – A woman from Cass County was arrested Sunday on a Cass County warrant charging her with Felony Theft in the 1^st Degree. Rebecca Jean Dreager, age 44, was being held in the Cass County Jail on a $20,000 cash or surety bond. A criminal complaint was filed on April 11^th. Dreager served as the Secretary/Treasurer for the Cass County Chapter of Pheasants Forever. She allegedly used Pheasants Forever funds amounting to more than $18,284 for her personal use.

According to court documents, between the approximate dates of February 26, 2021 and June 3, 2022, Pheasants Forever representatives reported that during that time, a large number of transactions were made that were not made at normal times of spending and were not consistent with the amounts normally spent. Dreager had not turned in receipts for the transactions to support the purchases. Organization representatives said they had made many attempts to gather information from Dreager, and provided law enforcement with a copy of a letter that was sent to her, requesting receipts and additional information. She failed to respond to the request.

It is alleged that the transactions she made with four different entities were paid for by checks written on the Pheasants Forever account. Most of the transactions were for what appeared to be groceries, clothing, household goods, and a large number of gift cards. Pheasants Forever representatives examined the receipts and determined that most of the purchases were not for the local Chapter. They also identified receipts that were consistent with items that would be used for their events and that were in the time frame in which those events took place.

In an interview with Rebecca Dreager, she reporedly identified transactions she claimed were for items related to the organization, and furthermore acknowledged that a large number of transactions were for personal items and not for the Chapter. She said in the interview, that she thought she would be able to pay the money back, and that the spending got out of hand. She said she didn’t realize how much of the organization’s money she had spent.

Dreager remained held in the Cass County Jail pending a court appearance, as of the latest on-line court information.

(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa Pork Producers are once again taking nominations for the best breaded pork tenderloin in Iowa. Spokesperson Kelsey Sutter says the criteria are simple. “We are looking for a delicious hand breaded tenderloin in the state of Iowa. So any restaurant that you visit that makes a really delicious tenderloin in their in house and has it on their regular menu,” she says. You can nominate your favorite tenderloin online. “Go to our website, Iowapork.org, and on our homepage you’ll see the Iowa’s best breaded pork tenderloin. Go ahead and click on that — the nomination process is really easy on our website,” Sutter says. “And we will be taking nominations from the public until June 5th.”

She says they then narrow down the field to five from each of the eight Iowa Pork Producers districts in the state. “We will spend the entire summer judging those 40 with our pork producer members across the state we have a point system and criteria that they need to follow to do the judging process<” she says. “And then at the end of the summer we’ll collect all those forms in the photos that they take, and our restaurant food service committee members will sit down and go through them and pick a top five.”

The winner will be announced in October, which is pork month. Last year’s winner was Lid’s Bar and Grill in Waukon.