(Greenfield, Iowa) – The Adair County Board of Supervisors, Wednesday morning, approved a donation of $5,000 toward the cost of a new Community Center, in Adair. Their unanimous decision followed a brief presentation by Adair Public Works Director Ryan Billheimer, who said the funds will help the City in its efforts to obtain a CAT (Community Attraction and Tourism) Grant, which weighs heavily on community support.

Back in April of this year, the Adair County Board of Supervisors approved the commitment of $5,000 as part of a local match to construct a new Community Center. The funds were contingent upon the City being approved for the CAT grant, for which the maximum grant amount is $250,000. Billheimer said at the time they originally applied for the CAT grant, they were $66,000 short of the threshold required for the application to be considered by the Iowa Economic Development Authority (IEDA).

Since then, other funds have come in that has brought them closer to their contribution and project support goal, but they need a bit more to be considered for the grant.

In other business, the Adair County Supervisors approved a courtyard use permit for a Main Street Greenfield, sponsored event, contingent upon the allowance of insurance. It would take place after the parade on November 26^th.

The Board also approved the resignation of Karen Varley from the Adair County Tourism Council, and the appointment of Greg Dudley, with approval from the City of Stuart. Dudley manages the Saints Center for Culture and Arts, in Stuart, and is a local business owner. The Supervisors also approved a liquor license renewal for the Five by 80 Golf Course, and various reports/resolutions for the Adair County Auditor’s Office.

(Radio Iowa) – A familiar pit stop for motorists traveling along Highway 20 near Rockwell City was reduced to rubble in a massive fire Tuesday. Multiple media outlets report a semi parked at the pumps right beside Sparky’s One Stop caught fire and the flames quickly spread and engulfed the building. The convenience store burned to the ground and is a complete loss with damage estimated around five-million dollars.

The truck driver was hospitalized and treated for smoke inhalation but no one else was hurt. Investigators are working to determine what caused the truck to catch fire.

(Council Bluffs, Iowa) – Motorists may not exactly be driving “Over the river and through the woods” to get to grandma’s house in time for Thanksgiving, but one thing is certain…they seem to be in a real hurry. Iowa State Patrol Trooper Ryan DeVault, in Council Bluffs, told KJAN News, he and his colleagues are frustrated by the ever increasing number of excessive speeders.

He says there can be consequences (besides a speeding ticket) for persons traveling in excess of 20-to 50 miles per hour over the posted limit. “The chances for serious injury and death at that point goes through the roof at those kinds of speeds,” he says.

ISP District 3 Trooper Ryan DeVault (Ric Hanson, photo)

Trooper DeVault says “Driving needs to be the most important thing. If you’re behind the wheel of a car, that’s your only responsibility.” He says they try and drill that concept into the cadets at the Iowa Law Enforcement Academy when they are in training.

He said “time management” is something most drivers need to do a better job of, when getting from Point A to Point B and back.

DeVault said also, drivers should be on the lookout for deer, and even though it’s a natural reaction to want to “Veer for the Deer,” don’t.

He says hitting the deer (or other animal), is better than you ending up with serious injuries or death in by trying to avoid the collision.

(Radio Iowa) – NASA is releasing a video of Iowa native astronaut Raja Chari and four of his crewmates aboard the International Space Station as they prepare for Thanksgiving in orbit. Chari, who grew up in Cedar Falls, says he’ll be keeping alive a tradition with his wife and kids tomorrow (Thursday) even though he’s some 250 miles up and moving at nearly five miles a second.

The 44-year-old Air Force colonel and three other astronauts lifted off atop a Falcon 9 rocket from Kennedy Space Center in Florida on November 10th, two weeks ago today.

Raja Chari (Photo via nasa.gov)

Daily exercise is vital in the weightless environment of the space station and previous residents have used this holiday to re-create a 5-K run after their meal, since they can’t easily go outside for a walk.

In the video aired on NASA-TV, Chari appears upside down as he sorts through the clear plastic packets of freeze-dried food which they’ll fill with hot water for their Thanksgiving dinner. Chari and German crewmember Matthias Maurer, an astronaut with the European Space Agency, discovered a treasure trove of edible goodies.

This is Chari’s first space mission and the plan is for him and his crew to be aloft six months.

See the full video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9K66Nb8Jw9Q&t=137s

(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa Supreme Court rules against a group of inmates at the Newton prison who said their constitutional rights were violated by a delay in getting sex offender treatment need to be considered for parole. The ruling says the Iowa Department of Corrections has not postponed treatment in order to delay parole. It says it is a numbers problem where there are more male sex offenders in Iowa’s prison system than spots available for treatment.

Newton Correctional Facility (Iowa DOC photo)

The ruling notes the Corrections Department has been actively addressing the need for sex offender treatment by increasing the number of classes and counselors. And says prioritizing the admission to treatment based on the tentative discharge date is a reasonable way to decide when a prisoner gets admitted to treatment.