Volunteers are needed to help residents in far southwest Iowa restore their homes and lives after this summer’s Missouri River flood. Shari Bowen, spokeswoman for the Mills County emergency management office, says they’re holding clean-up events beginning on Friday. “We are going to be starting with a brief orientation at 8:30 in the morning and then we will be sending crews out to multiple locations in the western part of Mills County,” Bowen says. “We will be working with some folks who need some things moved and need some things cleaned out.” Bowen says those who cannot physically help can still be of service this weekend, especially if they have computer skills. 

“We’re also looking for a few volunteers to help us at the Glenwood Library on Saturday morning,” Bowen says. “They would need to be prepared to assist people to log on into FEMA on the computer and get them through the process of signing up in the FEMA Individual Disaster Assistance area.” Bowen says they’re working with the United Methodist Disaster Response Group which put the call out to its members. 

“We are hoping that will bring us a significant number of volunteers but we need those local folks as well,” she says. “Right now, we don’t know what to expect. We have lots of families who have needs. We honestly don’t know how many we will be able to serve. That depends on how many people come out to help those days.” If you can lend a hand, call (712) 527-4231 to register. Those with pickup trucks and trailers are also asked to bring those to help in the clean-up.

(Radio Iowa)

A study by a University of Iowa researcher found that age, education and race were factors that didn’t follow the norm in determining who would be impacted by the mortgage crisis. Jerry Anthony examined bankruptcies from 2007 where people had become “house broke” or faced a mortgage payment that became too big. Anthony says he was surprised to find that people over the age of 40 were not more financially stable than younger homeowners.

He says the study found people over the age of 60 paid a higher percentage of their income on housing than people under the age of 40. Anthony says you would expect people over the age of 60 to have paid off most of their mortgage, and have lower mortgage costs, but he says that wasn’t the case. Anthony, an associate professor in the school of urban and regional planning, says older people tend to carry more debt, and lenders seemed to target them.

Anthony says “predatory lenders” took off between 2006 and 2007, and “targeted people of that older generation in a pretty systematic manner.” He says the lenders would offer loans against the equity in homes and that gave people a bigger debt load. Anthony says education didn’t help people stay away from problems, as the study found those with less education had lower housing costs.

Anthony says people were perhaps too smart for their own good, as they consolidated all of their unsecured loans into a mortgage secured by their home. He says that can lower the interest rate and give you a tax deduction for the loan interest, but he says on the down side, if you miss mortgage payments, lenders are going to come after your house. Anthony says if you miss a few credit card payments, the credit card companies are not going to come after your house. The study also found the mortgage problems didn’t follow the tradition trends when it came to race.

Anthony says all research from the past has been consistent in finding that Hispanics and African-Americans paid more for their housing when compared to whites. But he says this study found no race differences when it came to the bankruptcies, which he says was surprising. Anthony says there’s plenty of blame to go around for the mortgage crisis, from predatory lenders to naive consumers. Anthony says people should re-think the idea that owning a home is always the best way to go. He says it depends on how long you plan to stay in the home and how much you would have to pay in rent.

(Dar Danielson/Radio Iowa)

Police in Shenandoah report a Kentucky man was arrested Tuesday night on drug charges, following a traffic stop. Officials say 52-year old Charles Davis faces a Felony charge for Possession of a Controlled Substance, and a misdemeanor Possesion of Drug Paraphernalia charge. The charges were the result of a traffic stop by two Shenandoah Police  officers, who found Davis was allegedly in possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia. Davis was being held in the Page County Jail on $5,000 bond.

Shenandoah Police report also, two people were arrested recently following a large fight which occured Saturday at the Elks Club on Highway 59, in Shenandoah. Officials say Shenandoah residents, 22-year old Karisma Garcia, and 18-year old David Delafuente were charged with Disorderly Conduct. The pair were cited into court. Shenandoah Police were assisted in handling the event by deputies with the Page and Fremont County Sheriff’s Offices,  Essex Police, and the Iowa State Patrol.

Authorities in Shenandoah are also investigating a car that was reported stolen Sunday from a Shenandoah, and recovered the next day in the City limits.