Police in Council Bluffs are looking for a suspect in connection with the robbery of a woman in her home, Wednesday afternoon. At around 1-p.m. officers responded to a residence in the 1700 block of 3rd Avenue for a report of a robbery that just occurred. The victim, a 52 year old Council Bluffs woman, reported that she allowed a female into her residence, thinking that it was a nurse coming to check on her.

After entering the residence, the unknown female reportedly produced a handgun and pointed it at the victim. The suspect then fled the area with items stolen from the resident. The suspect, who was not located, is described as a white female approximately 5’5, 120 lbs with blond hair pulled in a ponytail. She is estimated to be approximately 30 years old wearing blue shorts and a blue hoodie. The victim was not injured as a result of the incident.

The robbery is currently being investigated by the Criminal Investigation Division. Anyone with information or who possibly saw the suspect is encouraged to contact the Criminal Investigation Division at (712) 328-4728 or Crime Stoppers (712) 328-7867.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A Republican lawmaker in Iowa has called on one of his party’s statehouse leaders to resign following the conclusion of a sexual harassment lawsuit filed by a former legislative aide.

Sen. Rick Bertrand of Sioux City said Wednesday that Senate Majority Leader Bill Dix of Shell Rock should resign after a jury awarded $2.2 million to Kirsten Anderson, a former caucus communications director for Iowa Senate Republicans. The jury determined she was fired in 2013 after she reported rampant sexual harassment in the caucus office.

Republican officials argued Anderson was fired for poor job performance. Bertrand says Dix has a “pattern of retaliation” and Anderson’s dismissal was ultimately his decision. Dix was minority leader at the time. A spokesman for Dix says the senator has no comment.

The Red Oak Police Department report the arrest of a Red Oak man on an arrest warrant Wednesday. At 1:24pm Officers arrested 32-year-old Andrew Thomas Copeland Falk of Red Oak in the 2400 block of North Broadway Street on a valid Montgomery County warrant for Violation of Probation.

Falk was taken to the Montgomery County Jail and held on $5,000 cash bond.

The Mills County Sheriff’s Office reports three people were arrested Tuesday and one person was arrested this (Wednesday) morning. Taken into custody Tuesday, was: 38-year old Jason Alexander Houstin, of Silver City, for Public Intoxication; 21-year old Dakota Lane Liddell, of Pacific Junction, on a warrant for Probation Violation, and 26-year old Edward Kyle Gunderson, of Winnebago, NE, for Assault and Public Intoxication.

And, 39-year old Aaron Joe Rablin, of Council Bluffs, was arrested a little after 1-a.m. today (Wed.), for Driving Under Suspension.

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) – County officials in western Iowa will now allow employees to carry concealed guns to work in the courthouse and two other county buildings. The Sioux City Journal reports the move comes as the Woodbury County Board of Supervisors try to abide by a new state law that expands gun rights while also complying with a state Supreme Court order limiting guns in court-controlled areas.

Guns must be concealed and won’t be allowed in courtrooms and a few other areas. The state Supreme Court issued an order in June that only law enforcement can have weapons in courthouses and court-controlled areas. The board rescinded a ban on weapons on county property that same month, saying it was necessary to comply with the state’s expanded gun rights law.

DES MOINES – Preserving the Historic Squirrel Cage Jail records in Council Bluffs…Saving the 1885 “Guardian Angel” painting in Des Moines…Racing against time to restore the Jasper County Courthouse clock. Those are just three of the projects that will receive Historical Resource Development Grants and Country School Grants in fiscal year 2018 from the State Historical Society of Iowa. Overall, the State Historical Society of Iowa awarded $535,726 to museums, historical organizations and others for 27 projects in 25 communities across 21 Iowa counties today (Wednesday).

In Council Bluffs, the Historical Society of Pottawattamie County received a $1,226 Historical Resource Development Grant to preserve and protect materials from the past century at the Historic Squirrel Cage Jail, which was built in 1885 and was in use until 1969. It was added in 1972 to the National Register of Historic Places and today serves as a museum and repository for historic documents and photographs.

Historic Squirrel Cage Jail

Historical Resource Development Program grants help individuals and organizations preserve, conserve, interpret and educate the public about documentary collections, historic preservation and museums. Since 1990, the program has awarded more than $16 million to 1,200 historical projects across the state to conserve museum collections, microfilm newspapers, preserve photographs, install exhibits, survey historic neighborhoods, nominate buildings and districts to the National Register of Historic Places, and more.

View a list of all grant recipients, alphabetized by category and then by city, here: https://iowaculture.gov/sites/default/files/history-grants-awardedgrants-fy18.pdf

The Historical Resource Development Program and Country School Grant Program are funded by the Resource Enhancement and Protection Act, established by the Iowa General Assembly in 1989. Local governments, nonprofit corporations, individuals, businesses and American Indian tribes are eligible to submit applications. Projects funded in this grant cycle must be completed by Nov. 30, 2019.

The State Historical Society of Iowa is a division of the Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs. More information is available at www.iowaculture.gov or 515-281-5111.

The Iowa West Foundation Board of Directors recently approved more than $4 million in grants and initiatives funding to 22 nonprofit organizations and government entities in southwest Iowa and eastern Nebraska.

The Council Bluffs Community School District received $404,000 in initiative funding to continue implementing the International Baccalaureate (IB) Middle School Program at both Kirn and Wilson Middle Schools. CBCSD also received $100,000 to continue the implementation of BLink – Council Bluff’s free Wi-Fi – across the city.

Additionally, Tri-Center Schools received $50,000 to launch their preschool program for 3-year-olds and start a before- and after-care program for students in the district. AHSTW Community Schools received an $85,492 grant to purchase equipment in support of their career and technical education programming.

The Iowa West Board also approved Phase 1 funding totaling $1,700,000 for the West Broadway Reconstruction project. Pottawattamie County received $222,500 for the implementation of a rural recycling center to be located just north of Oakland. The centralized location will offer recycling to rural Pottawattamie County residents for the first time, and allow for the sale of items that can be repurposed, such as construction material and paint, items that previously were deemed waste.

In addition, the Foundation awarded nearly $50,000 to five Pottawattamie County fire departments as part of its ongoing commitment to rural southwest Iowa communities. The Avoca, Neola and Treynor Volunteer Fire Departments and the Macedonia Fire and Rescue each received $10,000 and the Minden Fire and Rescue Department received $9,752, all for equipment upgrades.

The Iowa West Foundation is one of the largest private foundations in the Midwest. It has distributed more than $400 million to nonprofits and governmental agencies through southwest Iowa and eastern Nebraska since the inception of its grant program. Funding for the grants comes from investment earnings and the Iowa West Racing Association, which receives contractual fees from casino operators, Ameristar and Harrah’s. IWRA is the license sponsor for Ameristar and Harrah’s and the license holder for Horseshoe-Bluffs Run. The Foundation targets resources into programs and projects that focus on economic development, education, placemaking and healthy families. For more information on the Foundation, visit www.iowawestfoundation.org.

Grants and Initiatives:

• Avoca Hancock Shelby Tennant Walnut (AHSTW) Community Schools – Career & Technical Education Equipment, $85,492
• City of Council Bluffs – Sternhill Park – Art in the Park, $54,500; West Broadway Beautification/Phase 1 $1,700,000
• City of Shelby – Sewer System Improvement $150,000
• Council Bluffs Community School District – Blink IV City Wi-Fi network $100,000;Middle Schools’ International Baccalaureate Program, Year 2 $404,000.
• Habitat for Humanity of Council Bluffs – Neighborhood Network $70,000
• Pottawattamie Arts Culture & Entertainment (PACE) – Arts and Culture Center, $408,195.
• Pottawattamie County Board of Supervisors – Rural Recycling Center, $222,500
• Red Oak Grand Theatre, Inc. – Phase II – Theatre Addition, $90,000
• Tri-Center Community School District – Preschool/Before & After School Programming, $50,000
• Fire Departments:
• Avoca Volunteer Fire Department – $10,000
• Macedonia Fire & Rescue – $10,000
• Minden Volunteer Fire & Rescue – $9,752
• Neola Volunteer Fire Department – $10,000
• Treynor Volunteer Fire Department – $10,000

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (AP) – A $1 million donation will create a permanent home for a theater, ballet company and community orchestra in Council Bluffs. The Daily Nonpareil reports Polina and Bob Schlott’s donation will be used to transform the empty Harvester II building into the Hoff Family Arts and Culture Center, in Council Bluffs.

The culture center will include the Polina and Bob Schlott Performing Arts Center, which will house the Chanticleer Community Theater, the Kanesville Symphony and Ballet Nebraska. Ballet Nebraska will rename itself the American Midwest Ballet beginning in the 2018-19 season. The company will continue to perform in Omaha and Council Bluffs.

Renovations are estimated to cost $18.5 million. Construction is expected to begin next spring and the building should be ready for occupancy in 2019.

MUSCATINE COUNTY, Iowa – The Iowa Department of Natural Resources law enforcement conservation officers have charged two men after an investigation of illegal netting in an Iowa river.

The DNR received a tip in June about a hoop net in the Cedar River in rural Muscatine County believed to be being used for illegal netting. After DNR law enforcement conservation officers conducted their investigation, on June 2nd, 31-year old Cody Frye, of Nichols, Iowa, and 30-year old Derek Brase, of Wilton, Iowa, were charged with running illegal commercial fishing gear on the Cedar River, among other charges.

DNR officer Joe Fourdyce said the men were intending to catch catfish, “But because of their lack of experience and knowledge of commercial fishing, they did not catch any catfish. However, because they were not attending the net frequently enough, they ended up killing some rough fish and soft shell turtles.”

Both Frye and Brase were each charged with one (1) count of the following:

·         Unlawful use of commercial gear in prohibited water

·         Failure to attend commercial gear

·         No valid commercial fishing license

·         Unlawful take of softshell turtles

·         Unlawful take of buffalo

·         No commercial fishing gear tag.

Each of the men was fined a total of $792. The DNR encourages the reporting of poaching or other illegal activity related to our natural resources by anonymously calling the DNR Turn In Poachers (TIP) hotline at 1-800-532-2020.

Sheriff’s officials in Mills County report two men were taken into custody, Tuesday, on warrants. 20-year old Joshua Poe and 19-year old Alex Lauenroth, both of Glenwood were arrested on Mills County warrants for Assault with a weapon. Both men later posted a $2,000 bond or surety.

And, 44-year old John Molnar, of Glenwood, was arrested this (Wednesday) morning, for Domestic Abuse Assault and Criminal Mischief. Molnar was being held without bond in the Mills County Jail, pending a court appearance.