(Creston, Iowa) – Police in Creston arrested a man Thursday night, for Failure to Appear on a Probation Violation charge. 43-year-old David Junior Richman, of Creston, was arrested at around 8:15-p.m. at a residence in the 500 block of W. Montgomery Street. Richman was taken to Union County Jail and held without bond until he makes an initial appearance before the magistrate.

(Radio Iowa) – Artists from communities across southwest Iowa will be featured in a multi-city showcase this weekend, starting this (Friday) afternoon. The Southwest Iowa Art Tour is in its 11th year with displays in Page, Fremont, Montgomery, Mills, Pottawattamie, and Shelby counties. Tour coordinator Rebecca Castle Laughlin says there’s a wide range of art, including: painting, sculpture, photography, pottery, wood carving, jewelry and more. “It seems like every year there’s at least one art form that I didn’t know about,” Laughlin says. “For example, we’ve got up in Council Bluffs, there’s an artist who combines fiber art with her painting. So, she does quilting but she paints on the fabric also.”

Laughlin says the event allows artists to spotlight their work while also providing an economic development opportunity for the participating communities. “It was very grassroots-oriented and we tried to get some excitement around the local arts venues and artists that are in our area,” she says. “We want to get them some more sales, obviously, but also bring awareness to the fact that you can make a viable living off the arts in southwest Iowa.” Laughlin says they’ve been handing out brochures with maps at various locations, and they’re also available online for the self-guided tour.

“You can really just plan out your route,” Laughlin explained. “You might say, ‘I’ve got a youth football game tomorrow in Oakland, so I can hit Avoca, Neola, and Macedonia real quick.’ So, really just building it around your schedule. And hit as many spots as you can, because there are some really great artists.” A sneak peak of the tour runs from 4 to 7 p.m. today (Friday), while the main tour is from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, and noon to 4 p.m. on Sunday.

The art will be on display at 20 locations in 13 communities on this year’s tour, including: Harlan, Avoca, Neola, Council Bluffs, Macedonia, Glenwood, Malvern, Red Oak, Essex, Clarinda, Shenandoah, Sidney, and Thurman.

(More on the web at swiarttour.com)

CRESTON, Iowa — A former Greater Regional Health employee in Creston is charged with stealing medications. KCCI-TV reports 47-year-old Brian Gutmann, of Creston, worked at the Greater Regional Health center as a nurse anesthetist. Court records show Gutmann is accused of stealing Fentanyl, Dilaudid and Morphine.

According to investigators, he pulled the medications in a patient’s name, administered some of them, and kept the rest for himself. Kayla Hoffman, director of marketing communications for Greater Regional Health, said in a statement to KCCI:

“Greater Regional Health is aware of the charges. These are the unfortunate actions of a former employee. As an organization, we cooperated with investigating agencies to ensure patient care and safety were never at risk. The agencies validated no patients were harmed or at risk from the findings of this investigation. Actions moving forward are under the direction of charging agencies.”

(Radio Iowa) – U-S Senator Joni Ernst says it’s been difficult for Iowans trying to recover from this year’s floods and tornadoes to navigate federal disaster programs. “FEMA and SBA did quickly set up recovery centers and I want to thank them for that,” Ernst says, “but business owners were left frustrated by the two agencies’ lack of coordination and incompetence.” Ernst, a Republican from Red Oak, says some Iowans initially got bad information about whether they were eligible for Small Business Administration loans.

“In Shelby County, which was hit by tornadoes in the spring, SBA provided outdated and completely wrong information including sending disaster victims to a dead website,” Ernst says. “They didn’t even realize this until my staff members brought this to their attention.” Ernst says she’s heard from small business owners in rural Iowa hit by this year’s severe weather that they got better loans from their local community bank than were offered by the S-B-A.

“Small business owners who lose their livelihoods in a natural disaster have no time to spare,” Ernst said. “It’s incredibly frustrating to repeatedly hear from those seeking SBA assistance that they thought it was a waste of time, so much so that many walked away and didn’t complete applications.” S-B-A Economic Injury Disaster Loans were made available to Iowans hit by historic flooding and devastating tornadoes in counties that have been declared presidential disaster areas. The loans have an interest rate of four percent for businesses.

U.S. Senator Joni Ernst (R-Red Oak) speaks at Senate Committee on Small Business hearing on Sept. 18, 2024.

Ernst has accused the S-B-A of misusing its loan authority, picking winners and losers with investments in firms working with artificial intelligence or “green” companies focused on environmental projects. She’s also critical of the agency’s TOTAL loan portfolio. “SBA’s lending in rural areas is abysmal, at just around 15% in the agency’s two main programs,” Ernst says.

Nearly 18 percent of U-S residents live in rural areas. Ernst suggests if S-B-A lending were in line with the population, another one-point-three BILLION dollars worth of loans would be made to rural entrepreneurs.