(Des Moines, Iowa) – A new art and civic center, a historic railroad depot, and a rural sculpture park were among six projects awarded a total of $950,000 in grants, the Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs announced Oct. 22nd, during a statewide conference on building creative communities. The awards were made through the department’s Iowa Great Places program, which recognizes communities that have developed clear visions for the future that make the most of authentic local art, culture and history. Funding for the program comes from the Iowa Legislature through the Rebuild Iowa Infrastructure Fund.

Among the projects receiving an award, were those in Carroll and Sac Counties:

City of Lake View (Sac County)
Lake View Community Center
$250,000
The City of Lake View (pop. 1,113) will build a new community center to replace a beloved historic ballroom that closed almost 20 years ago. Community leaders envision a venue for social and business functions, as well as a flourishing cultural hub through a partnership with the Lake View Arts Council.

City of Manning (Carroll County)
Art is Refreshing
$50,000
The City of Manning will honor the community’s history and agricultural heritage by creating a new sculpture and interactive art installation at Trestle Park. Plans for new murals are also in the works.

The grants were announced during the department’s annual Iowa Creative Places Exchange, held virtually on Oct. 22. Representatives from nearly 40 communities who are designated Iowa Great Places and Iowa Cultural & Entertainment Districts participated in the virtual event, which was organized by the Iowa Arts Council.

Other recipients include the Cities of Charles City, Clive, Marshalltown, and West Union.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – Officials with Cass Health in Atlantic said Thursday (10/28), AMC Rapid Care will close early tomorrow, October 29^th.  The hours of operation will be from 8-a.m. to 1-p.m., and again from 2-until 4-p.m.

AMC Rapid Care will also close on Monday, November 1st, with hours of operation being from 8-a.m. to 1-p.m. and from 2-until 7-p.m.

(Clarinda, Iowa) – A man being held in the Page County Jail for a Probation Violation and two counts of Interference with Official Acts, now faces a Class-D Felony charge of Assault on persons engaged in certain occupations, and another Interference with Official Acts, charge.

Page County Sheriff Lyle Palmer said Thursday, the charges were filed against 25-year old Christopher Rankin, of Clarinda, following an incident that took place on Oct. 15th.  On that date, Deputies with the Page County Sheriff’s Office were requested by Jailers to assist in the Page County Jail, with an inmate that was out of control within the Page County Jail.

Christopher Rankin

Christopher Rankin was being removed from the cell he was in and being placed in the restraint chair by Deputies and Jailers of Page County. Rankin began to struggle with the Deputies and Jailers. Rankin assaulted a Page County Deputy, causing injury to the Deputy during this struggle.

Rankin’s CASH ONLY bond was set at $5,600, pending future court hearings.

(Council Bluffs, Iowa) – In an update to our report from last week, Council Bluffs Police Capt. Todd Weddum, Thursday (Oct. 28th) said officials with the US Marshals Service located and arrested a “Person of interest” wanted in connection with a fatal shooting that took place on Oct. 22nd.

28-year-old Vaughn White was taken into custody in Omaha, this (Thursday) afternoon. White was booked into the Pottawattamie County Jail on an outstanding warrant for being a Felon in Possession of a Firearm.

Vaughn White

In their original report, authorities said 24-year old McKayla Glover, of Council Bluffs, was shot to death inside her home at Hunter Avenue and East Washington Street in Council Bluffs on Friday, October 22nd. She died from a single gunshot wound to the chest. The incident happened at around 3:42-a.m.

No other arrests in the case have been announced. Council Bluffs police detectives continue to investigate the circumstances of McKayla Glover’s death.

(Clarinda, Iowa) – The Page County Sheriff’s Office reports Deputies, Wednesday, arrested 47-year-old Holly Ann Oliphant, of Lenox. She was taken into custody on a Page County Warrant for Violation of probation. Oliphant was arrested at the Page County Sheriff’s Office and is currently being held in the Page County Jail on a $10,000 cash bond from the warrant, pending future court appearances.

Holly Oliphant

(Ames, Iowa) – The latest Iowa Drought Monitor map was released this (Thursday) morning. It shows continued improvement in the drought conditions, statewide. Locally, much of Montgomery, Cass and Adair Counties remain “Abnormally Dry,” while nearly two-thirds of Madison County is Abnormally Dry. Across Interstate 80, most of Audubon County is experiencing the same conditions, while small parts of Guthrie and Dallas Counties range from Abnormally Dry to mostly Moderately Dry.

Severe Drought conditions continue to affect parts or all of 10 counties in central/north central Iowa. Across the Midwest, much of the southern and central portions of the Midwest received heavy precipitation, with a band of 2 to locally 4 inches measured from Iowa and northeast Missouri to southern Michigan and northwest Ohio. Areas to the south and north had 0.5 to 2.0 inches, except for a dry spot in southeast Minnesota to central Wisconsin and a dry swath in central Missouri. The northern half of Minnesota received no precipitation.

(Radio Iowa) – A John Deere employee was hit and killed by a car early Wednesday morning, as he walked to join fellow strikers at the picket line near a John Deere facility in the Quad Cities. The incident happened before dawn in the middle of the intersection of a four-lane highway and Deere Drive — about half a mile from John Deere’s parts and distribution center in Milan. A union member said picketing was halted for the day at the Milan site, following the accident.

The victim was identified as 56-year old Richard Rich, of Moline, a 15-year employee of Deere’s facility in Milan. A preliminary autopsy showed Rich died from multiple traumatic chest injuries.

The U-A-W and Deere issued statements of condolence to the man’s family, friends and co-workers. Milan’s police chief told The Des Moines Register there is no cross walk at the intersection and the evidence suggests the driver did not commit a traffic violation.

(Creston, Iowa) – The driver of an unknown make/model vehicle left the scene of a property damage accident in Creston, Wednesday afternoon. The Union County Sheriff’s Office says a 2018 Cadillac ATS driven by 27-year-old Tania Hernandez, of Osceola, was stopped, facing south on Lincoln Street at the intersection with Adams Street, when an unknown vehicle turned from eastbound Adams Street onto northbound Lincoln.

The other vehicle turned short, and struck the Cadillac, causing $3,000 damage. The other vehicle failed to stop after the collision. No injuries were reported.

(Radio Iowa) – Congresswoman Cindy Axne of West Des Moines is urging her fellow Democrats to abandon a plan that would require new reporting from banks and credit unions about customer transactions. Supporters say it would help track tax cheats hiding their income and should be included in the Democrats’ so-called “Build Back Better” plan. Axne and 20 other Democrats in the House say the data banks would turn over to the I-R-S raises privacy concerns. Axne says other elements of the package are higher priorities. “We need to secure quality, affordable child care for working families across Iowa who on average spend 28% of their annual income on infant care,” Axne says. “Investing in child care would not only help our working families, it would add an estimated $1.7 billion in new state economic activity.”

Axne made her comments this week during Progress Iowa’s annual fundraiser and she offered a general defense of the overall package Democrats have struggled to assemble. “The Build Back Better agenda isn’t about creating radical change,” Axne says. “It’s about making sure everyone has what they need to survive in today’s competitive economy and to make sure everyone has a fair shot at making a living.”

President Biden was set to speak privately with House Democrats to convince Democrats in the House, Thursday (Today), to vote for whatever plan Senate Democrats can develop and pass. House leaders have indicated they want a vote this week.

More area & state news, from Ric Hanson.

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