CRESTON, Iowa – July 13, 2021 – Road construction work on U.S. 6 between Iowa 71 near Atlantic, and Iowa 48 near Lewis, will require intermittent lane closures weekdays from 7 a.m. until 6 p.m. beginning on Monday, July 19 until Aug. 5, weather permitting. That’s according to the Iowa Department of Transportation’s Creston construction office. Officials say during the project, traffic will be controlled with flaggers and a pilot car while work is taking place. A 16-foot lane width limit will be in effect.

(Radio Iowa) – A survey of dozens of nonprofit organizations across western Iowa and Nebraska finds many are still feeling the financial impacts of the pandemic after already losing millions of dollars in the past year. Hannah Young, spokeswoman for the Nonprofit Association of the Midlands, says their Nonprofit Pulse Poll shows the nonprofit sector is stabilizing in the two states, though the future remains uncertain. “We’ve had a lot of federal funding that has helped a lot of nonprofits through the last year and now that that’s starting to back off, what will nonprofits do now? We just don’t know the answer to that yet,” Young says. “I think we’ll see next year how many, unfortunately, do have to close down or maybe merge.”

Mergers of nonprofits that offer similar services isn’t necessarily a bad thing, Young says, as two could emerge as a stronger one. Still, the survey found nonprofits surveyed anticipate losing more than 15-million dollars combined this year due to COVID-19, an average of nearly 100-thousand dollars per agency. “That’s only out of 159 responses that we got, so that number is much, much larger,” Young says. “That number was just compiled of the average amounts that people projected they would lose in 2020. Again, that’s a very conservative number due to the fact that there are many, many more nonprofits in our area.”

Compared to a poll a year ago, the newest survey found 16-percent of nonprofits feel less financially stable than last year, and about six-percent report they are in financial crisis. Even with all of the challenges the pandemic presented, Young says some positives have come out of COVID as well, like expanding services, increased collaboration, and the rise of virtual programming and training. “I think the biggest one is that virtual programming returned,” Young says. “That’s something, for instance, we’re doing. We’re able to reach so many more people now by having some of our meetings and webinars on Zoom. That’s a really cool opportunity that we had before but we didn’t really utilize.”

Many of the non-profits surveyed project it will be one to two years before they’re again operating at pre-COVID levels.

More at www.nonprofitam.org

CRESTON, Iowa – July 13, 2021 – The Iowa Department of Transportation’s Creston Construction Office reports, a bridge deck overlay project on east- and westbound Interstate 80 between Iowa 173 (exit 54) three miles east of Marne, and Cass County Road N-16 (exit 57) five miles west of Brayton, will require reducing traffic to one lane controlled with temporary barrier rail beginning at 8 a.m. Wednesday, July 21, until Oct. 7, weather permitting.

Work on the project will be completed in stages with the left lane closed first and then the right lane closed after work is completed in the left lane. A 13-foot-8-inch lane width limit will be in effect during this project.

The Iowa DOT reminds motorists to drive with caution, obey the posted speed limit and other signs in the work area, and be aware that traffic fines for moving violations are at least double in work zones. As in all work zones, drivers should stay alert, allow ample space between vehicles, and wear seat belts. The latest traveler information is available anytime through the 511 system. Visit 511ia.org; call 511 (within Iowa) or 800-288-1047 (nationwide); stay connected with 511 on Facebook or Twitter (find links at https://iowadot.gov/511/511-social-media-sites); or download the free app to your mobile device.

(Anita) – The CAM School Board met Monday evening in a regular session. Shared CAM-Nodaway Valley Superintendent Paul Croghan says with regard to the District’s facilities, there is a Financial Focus Group meeting scheduled for 6:30-p.m. Wednesday, in Massena.

He says the community had been engaged with and highly interested in, the process of coming up with a facilities plan.

They started out with about 150 people attending the first, in-person meeting. Since then, there’s been at least 70 or 80 people attending, and countless more seeing and listening to the discussion on-line. He says they anticipated things to continue to progress and refining the process as they move along.

In other discussion/action, the CAM School Board made some adjustments in association with the FY2020 Audit Review, by clearing inactive Activity Accounts. There were also minor changes in the Student Handbook.

They approved an Out-of-State Football Trip for a Football Camp for later this month, but if CAM Baseball continues to win as they did Monday night, then the trip will not happen, according to Croghan. It could be made-up this Fall. The CAM School Board renewed an agreement with the Cass County Sheriff’s Office for a School Resource Officer, and Sharing Agreements with Nodaway Valley.

(Radio Iowa) – Republican State Senator Zach Nunn of Bondurant plans to run for congress and challenge the only Democrat in Iowa’s D-C delegation. Nunn served two terms in the Iowa House and was elected to the state senate in 2018. He’s also a member of the Iowa National Guard who was deployed this past year. Nunn is the third Republican to announce they’re running in the current third congressional district, which is represented by Congresswoman Cindy Axne, a Democrat from West Des Moines, so a G-O-P primary is likely. Republicans Mary Ann Hanusa, a former state legislator from Council Bluffs, and Nicole Hasso of Johnston, who works in the financial services industry, also plan to seek to the G-O-P spot to challenge Axne. Axne has said she’s considering her options for 2022 and seeking a third term in the U.S. House is one of them.

The state legislature plans to approve new maps for all four of Iowa’s congressional districts next month and the Des Moines metro — where Axne, Nunn and Hasso live — will be in the same district. Hanusa aims to run against Axne, even if Hanusa’s Council Bluffs home is no longer in the same congressional district. According to the US Constitution, candidates are only required to live in the state they plan to represent in the U.S. House, but there’s no requirement they must live within the district.

The Iowa DOT’s 511 system reports (as of 6:18-a.m.) the right shoulder of Interstate 80 eastbound, one-mile east of the Highway 71/Atlantic-Brayton exit, is blocked due to a crash. Additional information was not immediately available.