(Creston, Iowa) – Officials with the Creston Police Department reports the arrest on Monday, at the Union County Law Enforcement Center, of 24-year-old Maxim. R. Kozlov, from Shannon City. Kozlov was charged with a Department of Corrections Warrant for Violation of Parole. He was being held in the Union County Jail on No Bond.

And, there were two incidents reported to Creston Police, Monday. A woman from Afton said someone stole her black leather Montana purse while working at the hospital. Contents taken were a debit card, drivers license, check book, cash and car keys. Loss estimate $260. The theft took place sometime between 2:30- and 3-p.m., Monday.

A Creston woman reported Monday night, that someone stole her Black and Orange BMX Bike from the side yard next to the front door. Loss estimate $200

(Radio Iowa) – State Auditor Rob Sand is encouraging Iowa school districts to apply for federal infrastructure grants to replace aging diesel powered buses. The grants can be used to buy buses that are battery-powered or run on propane or compressed natural gas. Sand says the federal program puts no limit on how much money goes to each state. “If we do a good job of getting applications in, we could really make great investments in our school bus fleet and great investments in reducing costs for our school districts in this state,” Sand says.

The application deadline is August 19th. Sand says more efficient school buses could make a big impact on a district’s budget. “Now that inflation is a problem and we are dealing with high fuel prices constantly, this could be an incredibly promising program for a lot of school districts to be able to save a good amount of money,” Sand says.

The grants come from the bipartisan infrastructure bill congress approved last year. The program is for replacing buses that are at least 12 years old. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has a list of 204 public school districts in Iowa that would be prioritized for grants because they are rural or serve a student body with a high poverty rate. The Meskwaki Settlement School is also on the E-P-A’s priority list for bus replacement.

(Reporting by Iowa Public Radio’s Grant Gerlock)

(Atlantic, Iowa) – A Senior Citizen in Atlantic has asked the local media to warn the public about a scam involving fake Facebook “friends”.  The person says you may receive a message from a friend on Facebook Messenger, your phone or computer, telling you about a non-taxable grant that is available to low-income senior citizens. This so-called “friend” will tell you that he or she applied and paid a small fee and got the money delivered to their door shortly after. Your “friend” may also tell you that you need to pay some additional fees, all using Cash App, Zelle or gift cards. Please be aware you are never chatting with your real “friend”, you’re chatting with a scammer.

The senior citizen who approached the media, said they thought this was a scam to start with, but with three “friends” messaging them and encouraging the person to apply, they began to think it was real. The key to avoid this scam is to contact your real friend(s) in-person and ask if they know about these grants or programs that are being promoted.

The citizen concluded by saying, “Let my loss save you from being tempted.”

(Atlantic, Iowa) – The City of Atlantic’s Parks and Recreation Board of Directors met Monday evening, at City Hall. During the meeting, Parks and Rec Director Bryant Rasmussen updated the Board on the Bull Creek improvement project, which is nearly finished.

Rasmussen spoke also, about the proposed Sunnyside Splash Pad project. Three companies: Rain Deck, out of Texas, Aquatix, from Minnesota, and Crouch Recreation, which is out of Elkhorn, NE., have all provided a rough idea with regard to cost analysis, layout and functionality of a potential splash pad.

Rain Deck, he said, might be able to make a presentation via video conference. Rasmussen said he instructed all three companies to consider what types of things they can include in the making of a splashpad, so that it is inclusive for persons with disabilities.

The Parks Board asked Bryant to contact those companies to see if they would like to be a part of a Parks & Rec Work Session to explain more, about their proposals and associated costs. Officials with Crouch Recreation, he said stopped in Atlantic recently, and mentioned the current lead-time for projects is 12-to 16-weeks, and that’s not counting on the construction of a base and other factors.

Parks & Rec Chairperson Jolene Smith, it’s time to get the ball rolling on moving forward, so the public can see progress is being made.

In other business, Bryant Rasmussen said rip-rap for erosion control on Lake #3 at the Schildberg Recreation Area. They used broken-up concrete from an older trail section to shore-up the bank.

The Parks Board tabled any action on expanding the Soccer Complex until more information on costs and specifics can be addressed.