Small towns in Iowa don’t have to think small when it comes to art, according to one organizer of this weekend’s event in Coon Rapids called Public Art for Rural Communities. It will gather artists, art appreciators, patrons and rural leaders from across Iowa to discuss prospects for public art, even in small rural towns. Doug Carpenter is the rural arts coordinator for Creating Great Places.  “There’s been a question for years over the role of public art in small communities,” Carpenter says. “Big towns have a lot of money and a lot of volunteers and can make things happen but smaller towns have a smaller budget and that makes it more difficult but it doesn’t keep small towns from pursuing it.”

He says the event will showcase place-based art that reflects Coon Rapids’ rich agricultural history as the cradle of hybrid seed corn on the Garst farm and host to Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev in 1959. One feature will be the large, lighted sculpture, “Hybrid Icon,” at the Coon Rapids entryway.  “We’re bringing together people who have successfully started programs,” Carpenter says. “Plus, we’re bringing together some of the state people who know about public art and funding from the Iowa Arts Council.” He says from sculpture to singing and from dancing to poetry, people in small towns deserve art just as much as city folks, which is why this event is being held.

“We call it a gathering,” Carpenter says. “It’s not a symposium or a formal meeting. It’s just inviting people who know about art or who are interested in art in small communities to come together and network, compare notes and get ideas.” The gathering begins at 1:30 Friday afternoon and ends late Saturday morning with a visit to the sixth annual Raccoon River Art Fair in downtown Coon Rapids.

(Radio Iowa)

The top Democrat in the Iowa Senate says a Democratic victory in an eastern Iowa legislative race highlights the faulty campaign strategy “outsiders” employed. Democrat Liz Mathis finished 12-percentage points ahead of her Republican competitor in the Linn County state senate race, preserving Democrats’ two-seat majority in the senate. Senate Democratic Leader Mike Gronstal, from Council Bluffs, says voters refused to be distracted by outside groups like the National Organization for Marriage, which argued a Republican victory would oust Gronstal from power. 

 “There were a whole bunch of outsiders that came into this district and tried to make it a referendum on this, or that or the other thing,” Gronstal says. “And in the end, what I kept saying to folks is, ‘This is a referendum on who the people of Senate District 18 think ought to represent them in the Iowa Senate.'” The special election came about because Republican Governor Branstad appointed the Democrat who had held the senate seat to the Iowa Utilities Board. Gronstal says Branstad and his Republican allies miscalculated. “They thought this district was theirs for the taking,” Gronstal says. “That’s why they made the appointment. That’s why they went out there and recruited a candidate. They engaged in this race and now they’re going to try and pretend, ‘Oh, no. We didn’t.’ That’s really nonsense.” 

A day before the election, Governor Branstad said people shouldn’t read too much into special election results, as they’re a reflection of that particular district at that particular time. The candidate Branstad recruited to run in the district didn’t wind up winning the nomination from Linn County Republicans.

(Radio Iowa)

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) – Authorities suspect a medical condition in the death of a western Iowa man involved in a car crash. An Omaha Police Department news release says officers were sent to the accident scene in northeast Omaha just after 6:30 p.m. Wednesday. They found that a car had veered off a road and struck a power pole. There was no sign that the driver had tried to stop before hitting the pole. Police say the driver was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead. He was identified as 73-year old James Fisher, of Carter Lake. An autopsy has been scheduled.

A ground breaking ceremony was held Wednesday in Council Bluffs, for a plant which may generate up to 100 jobs. Plumrose USA broke ground on a 100-thousand square foot, $70-million cold-cut slicing facility, which will be built north of the intersection of South 32^nd Street and 21^st Avenue. The company already has a plant at 2650 23^rd Avenue, in Council Bluffs, but that facility produces products which must be sliced at a different location.

In May, 2011, Plumrose USA was one of three western Iowa companies that were awarded financial incentives packages from the Iowa Economic Development Board. The IEDB approved $520,000 in direct financial assistance from the Grow Iowa Values Financial Assistance Program (GIVFAP) and tax incentives, to Plumrose. The new plant is LEED certified, which means its design is environmentally and employee health friendly. Company officials say the facility should be open in about 11-months. Plumrose USA is owned by Denmark-based Danish Crown, a packaged meats company.

The Iowa Economic Development Board last May had also approved Enterprise Zone tax incentives to Menard’s Incorporated, to expand a warehouse at its distribution center in Shelby County, which will allow for a further expansion of its product lines, and $800,000 in direct financial assistance to Tyson Prepared Foods, Inc., for a proposed renovation of its Council Bluffs facility.

Police in Council Bluffs say a man possibly armed with a gun, robbed a pharmacy in Council Bluffs Wednesday evening. The incident at the Medicap Pharmacy located at 2201 West Broadway, happened at around 5:35-p..m.   Officials say a white male walked into the store and told employees he had a gun and demanded an undisclosed amount of prescription medications. No weapon was ever displayed during the incident.

The suspect was described as being white, about 5-feet 10-inches tall, and anywhere from 17- to 25-years of age. He wore a red jersey with “Cyclones” written in white on the front, along with cut-off black pants and black shoes. The suspects face was covered up with a black nylon panty hose.

Anyone with information about the crime is asked to contact the Council Bluffs Police Department at 712-328-7867.

Sheriff’s officials in Audubon County say two Nebraska, men were arrested early Tuesday morning on drug charges, following a traffic stop on Highway 71 near Exira. 40-year old Scott Lee Kounovsky & 42-year old William Ray Blackerby, both of Omaha, NE., were taken into custody at around 1:45-a.m., Tuesday.

Kounovsky was charged with Possesson of Methamphetamine, Possession of Drug Paraphernalia, and Possessing Contraband in a Correction Facility. Blackerby was charged with Possession of Meth/2nd offense, and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia.  Both men were being held in the Audubon County Jail on $5,000 bond each.

And, a Webster County man was arrested Wednesday afternoon on drug charges, following a traffic stop which occurred November 1st, in Hamlin. 32-year old Christopher Lee Gordon, of Ft. Dodge, had been wanted on outstanding warrants.  Following an investigation after the traffic stop, Gordon was also charged with Conspiracy to Deliver Methamphetamine and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia. He was being held in the Audubon County Jail on $5,000 bond.