COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (AP) — The city of Council Bluffs and school district are pursuing citywide free wireless Internet services. The school board of the Council Bluffs Community School District approved a partnership agreement with the city Monday. The agreement establishes the Council Bluffs Area Wi-Fi Consortium, which will study the feasibility of expanding Wi-Fi around the southwestern Iowa city.

The plan calls for the city and school district to create public Wi-Fi hotspots that can be used by computers, tablets, smartphones and any other Internet-ready device. The Council Bluffs Daily Nonpareil  reports the partnership will last for at least five years.

The City Council also unanimously approved the partnership with the district Monday.

The Iowa Department of Public Safety’s Iowa Governor’s Traffic Safety Bureau (GTSB) and the law enforcement officers across our state wish everyone a safe Thanksgiving holiday. To ensure safety, please take the time to buckle up, slow down and drive defensively in your travels around the state.

Those who choose to not buckle up or drive aggressively have a higher chance of being stopped by law enforcement. The Governor’s Traffic Safety Bureau, along with local, county, and state law enforcement officers , are once again teaming up through the Special Traffic Enforcement Program (sTEP) during the Thanksgiving holiday to save lives and reduce crashes. Beginning November 24 , 2014 , and running through November 30, 2014, there will be an increased presence of law enforcement officers on Iowa roadways.

Seventy-seven percent of all occupants ejected from a vehicle during a crash are killed. In 2013, Iowa had 317 traffic fatalities with more than 43% of them or 107 not restrained by a seat belt. Randy Hunefeld, sTEP Coordinator with the Governor’s Traffic Safety Bureau, wants you to know that, “Buckling up takes less than three seconds and reduces your chance of becoming a fatality statistic by nearly 50%.” Is it worth it? Hunefeld says, “You can bet your life on it.”

For additional information , go to www.iowagtsb.org or www .nhtsa .dot.gov.

Police in Creston say two residents have reported incidents of theft. Tuesday evening, a resident on Ivy Avenue in Creston, reported that sometime between Sunday and Monday, someone took a 2009 54-inch Toro zero turn mower from her residence. The mower was valued at $2,000.

And, on Nov. 3rd, another Creston resident reported that sometime over the previous day,  someone entered her farm building on Quail Avenue and took several items, including: A 2011 Yamaha Grizzly 450; An EarthQuake post hole digger; A small bottle torch in yellow carrying case; A box winch for truck bed bale stabber; A 110 wire feed welder; A blue 2012 Chicago 5500 13 hp generator; A Central Pneumatic 21 gallon, 2.5 hp, 125 psi air compressor; An Echo SRM 210 weed eater; A Stihl chainsaw;  2 bolt cutters (1 grey, 1 red); A new, black, 2 wheel trailer dolly; A torch head and hoses; A grill propane bottle; A single tree stand; A log chain; Deer antlers, and miscellaneous tools. The loss was estimated at a little more than $11,320.

(RALSTON, Iowa) Nov. 12, 2014 —High school seniors pursuing a career in agriculture or an ag-related field are invited to apply for the West Central® Cooperative’s 2014 Excellence in Agriculture scholarship. The Excellence In Agriculture scholarship program awards four $1,500 scholarships for any accredited post-secondary program. Applications are available at any West Central location, from area high school guidance counselors, or online at west-central.com

Scholarship Requirements:

1. Applicant and/or parent must be a voting member, in good standing, of West Central.

2. Applicant must be a high school senior and graduate in the spring of the 2013-2014 school year.

3. Applicant must have a cumulative high school GPA of 2.5 or better on a 4.0 scale through his/her junior year.

4. Applicant must pursue a career in agriculture or enter an ag-related field of study at any accredited post-secondary school of his or her choice.

5. Dependents of directors and officers of West Central are not eligible to apply for these scholarships.

Applications must be returned by Jan. 30, 2015. If you have questions regarding West Central’s Excellence In Agriculture scholarship program, please contact Alicia Clancy, Director of Communications, at (712) 667-3334.

About West Central

West Central is a farmer-owned cooperative connecting producers of agricultural products to a global network of processors and end-users. Headquartered in Ralston, Iowa, West Central’s agronomy, animal nutrition and grain businesses span 12 Iowa counties with 27 locations. In 2013, the company was ranked #41 on the USDA’s list for largest farmer-owned cooperatives nationwide based on revenues and assets.

With Ric Hanson.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (4.1MB)

Subscribe: RSS

DES MOINES, Iowa – As Iowa’s population continues to age, also growing is the number of elders being exploited financially, although new protections are in place aim to reverse that trend. The Iowa Uniform Power of Attorney Act officially took effect this summer and today marks the start of a statewide awareness campaign.

Attorney and law professor Josephine Gittler, College of Law, University of Iowa, says the Act adds new protections against those who abuse Power of Attorney authority, and makes it easier for Iowans to set up a POA. “The Act allows a person to name someone to act on his or her behalf with respect to financial matters in the event that as they age they become incapacitated, or as a result of Alzheimer’s or some other dementia,” says Gittler.

Financial exploitation of seniors is the most common type of elder abuse, with about one of six adults over age 65 having been preyed on; research indicates women are twice as likely as men to fall victim. Gittler notes, not having decisions on record about who will be in charge if a person becomes incapacitated likely means the courts would have to make the appointment.

“If one doesn’t have a Power of Attorney, then the only alternative may be establishing a court-ordered conservatorship,” says Gittler. “That takes time, and involves expense and the court rather than the incapacitated person decides who gets to make decisions.”

More information on the new Uniform Power of Attorney Act is available through the AARP of Iowa and the University of Iowa College of Law National Health Law and Policy Resource Center.

(Iowa News Service)

DES MOINES, Iowa – After some improvements in the 1990s, the poverty rate for kids in Iowa has been on the rise over the last decade or so, and a new report from the Annie E. Casey Foundation says a two-generation approach is the best strategy for strengthening those families.

Michael Crawford, director of Iowa Kids Count, said the method includes a focus on high-quality early education for children, while also providing parents with access to job training, career paths and other tools. “The two-generation approach really aims to create opportunities for families by equipping the parents and the kids with the tools they need to thrive,” he said. “That’s the whole idea is, you really can’t look at just the children, you’ve got to look at the parents and the kids both.”

The report on the two-generation approach outlines how the public, nonprofit and private sectors could better coordinate their efforts to reduce poverty among the 10 million low-income families in the United States with young children.

Some specific actions that would help increase the economic opportunity for these families, said Crawford, include an expansion of the Earned Income Tax Credit, along with “increasing and making refundable the Child Tax Credit for low-income families. That’s a way to put some money in the pockets of low-income families, so they can afford day care and helps them with their monthly budgetary needs.”

In Iowa, he said, more than 250,000 children are living in low-income families. The report, “Creating Opportunity for Families: A Two-Generation Approach,” is online at AECF.org.

(Iowa News Service)

With KJAN News Director Ric Hanson.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (5.3MB)

Subscribe: RSS

A former lawmaker from Iowa and retired member of the military has announced on his social media page he’s forming an exploratory committee in preparation for a decision on running as a Democrat for the U-S Senate in 2016. Retired Iowa National Guard Colonel Bob Krause would run against Republican incumbent Senator Charles Grassley, if Krause decides to run. Grassley has already announced his intention to seek another six-year term in 2016.

Krause said he’ll use the next several months to seek out Iowans’ opinions on what is important to them before making any formal announcement. He said that while it is was early in the season to announce, Grassley has already announced his intentions, and, as the underdog, he would need time to spread his message.

Krause said his primary issue would be to address Iowans’ stagnant incomes associated in-part with the minimum wage, and, the falling prices of harvested commodities, such as corn.