Residents living in or near Shenandoah and Audubon will soon have access to improved healthcare options thanks to $21.9 million in loans from USDA Rural Development’s Community Facility program. Bill Menner, USDA Rural Development State Director in Iowa, said the Shenandoah Medical Center will be using a $20,350,000 USDA loan to assist with the construction of a two-story medical clinic addition, as well as making various renovations to the existing hospital and clinic building. The Friendship Home Association in Audubon will be using a $1,567,000 USDA loan to help construct a 12-bed memory care addition to the existing facility.

The addition to the Friendship Home is expected to have five semi-private and two private rooms and will also include a serving kitchen, nurses’ station, activities area, dining room and exterior garden area. When the Shenandoah Hospital project is completed the hospital facility will also have a new surgery area, an expanded emergency department, a new entrance with a single registration point and waiting area, renovated laboratory areas plus updated mechanical systems for the existing facility.

The projects are receiving funding through USDA Rural Development’s Community Facility program which provides loan and grant funding to assist in the development of essential community facilities in rural areas. Loans, grants and loan guarantees can help public bodies or community-based nonprofits build facilities and purchase equipment for such things as healthcare facilities, public safety facilities and services, childcare centers, community buildings and libraries

During the last six years, USDA Rural Development has supported nearly 50 rural hospitals, medical clinics, nursing homes and/or assisting living facilities to make needed facility and equipment improvements. USDA grants, loans and guaranteed loan funds to these projects topped $305 million.

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa’s largest state employee union is set to offer an initial contract proposal to Governor Terry Branstad. Iowa Council 61 of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees will make the proposal Monday. The union, which represents about 20,000 state workers, is covered by the current contract through the end of June. Union president Danny Homan declined to say what was in the proposal. The state will release its proposal November 24th and negotiations start early next year.

FORT DODGE, Iowa (AP) — The Fort Dodge airport will again be able to offer commercial flights in February. The Fort Dodge Messenger reported Air Choice One will begin offering trips to Lambert-St. Louis International Airport on February 23rd.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A 17-year-old Des Moines man has been arrested in connection with the death of a man whose body was found in a driveway. Des Moines police say the teen will be charged with first-degree murder in the death of 24-year-old Aaron McHenry. Police say McHenry was found lying in a driveway after several shots were reported Friday afternoon.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — An Iowa worker who oversees substance abuse programs has been arrested on suspicion of drunken driving. KCCI reports 50-year-old Jeff Gronstal was arrested early Friday morning. Polk County Sheriff’s spokeswoman Jana Abens says a deputy stopped Gronstal’s truck because its registration was expired. Abens says the deputy smelled alcohol so he began sobriety tests.

With KJAN News Director Ric Hanson.

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With KJAN News Director Ric Hanson.

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SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) – An Iowa judge has upheld actions of the state’s gaming commission over its decision to issue a casino license last year to a new developer in Sioux City. Polk County District Court Judge Eliza Ovrom’s ruling Friday upholds actions by the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission that led to a Hard Rock-themed casino and hotel. Belle of Sioux City, operators of the former Argosy Sioux City riverboat casino, had sued to force the commission to reinstate its license and rescind the new one to the Hard Rock developer.

The Sioux City Journal reports Ovrom dismissed claims the commission’s actions were unreasonable and violated state law, among other arguments. Belle of Sioux City is a subsidiary of Penn National Gaming.

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) – A former township clerk in western Iowa accused of mishandling $60,000 over several years has been placed on probation. The Sioux City Journal reports Woodbury County District Judge Edward Jacobson suspended a 10-year prison sentence for 65-year-old Peggy Powell after she pleaded guilty Thursday to two counts of first-degree theft. Her probation is for three years.

Powell, of Hornick, must repay more than $44,000 to Grange Township and a chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution, where she was treasurer. A state audit this year said Powell mishandled the money between 2006 and 2013. Records showed more than $35,000 in ATM withdrawals and fees, some of which came from casinos. In a resignation letter to officials last year, she acknowledged owing money.

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources has dedicated a special section on its website to provide more information on some large animals that have turned up in the state in recent years. D-N-R biologist, Vince Evelsizer, often fields calls about the animals. “In the education tab, I think it is on the Iowa D-N-R’s website, if you do a search for large mammals you’ll come up with some information on there for black bears, gray wolf, mountain lion and a little bit on there for moose as well. Where it explains a little bit more than what was on there is the past about their basic biology, why we seem them occasionally in Iowa. Just a lot more information about them that a lot of folks will probably find pretty helpful,” Evelsizer says.

Evelsizer says the attention to big animals has increased in part because of technology that allows people to take pictures and videos when the animals roam into Iowa. And he says their visits have also increased in recent years. “I think it’s fairly safe to see that we’ve seen a little bit of a spike in black bears and then to a couple of gray wolves too,” Evelsizer says. “Mountain lions sort of remain the same here where we get one every now and then, it seems like there’s spurts, it will be quiet for awhile and then we may get a few.” The animals many years ago had been regular residents of the state, but they are now just tourists dropping in for a visit.

“To our knowledge right now we don’t have a breeding population of any one of those three, the bear, the wolf and the mountain lion. Time will tell if we ever have that occur, and then we will work with the people of Iowa to deal with that,” he says. The internet has spawned various conspiracy theories about the D-N-R bringing the animals into the state. The one that’s been around for awhile is that the mountain lions were introduced to help deal with an overabundant deer herd. Evelsizer says that’s as untrue as many of the other internet rumors.

“It’s not a good move on our part to do that if people fear those animals and feel like they would be a threat to them, why would be bring them in,” Evelsizer asks “The second more important part is though, we like to rely on our deer hunters to help control the deer population, and that’s gone pretty darn well. It’s expensive and time-consuming to bring in something like a mountain lion.” Find out more about the wolves, bears, mountain lions and moose, go to the D-N-R webpage.

(Radio Iowa)

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Governor Terry Branstad says providing more funding to fix Iowa’s crumbling roads is a top priority and that he is keeping an open mind to all options, including raising the state’s fuel tax. Branstad said in an interview Thursday that he wants to get input from lawmakers in advance of the next legislative session, with hopes of reaching bipartisan consensus.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — The American Civil Liberties Union is challenging Iowa’s tough policies that bar felons from voting. A lawsuit filed yesterday seeks to restore voting rights to thousands of former offenders before the 2016 presidential election. It also seeks to end confusion over the rules for ex-felons that followed a 2011 policy change by Governor Terry Branstad.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Des Moines police are investigating the death of a man whose body was found in a driveway. Police say they received a call about 4:30 p.m. yesterday about four to five shots being fired. The identity of the dead man will be released after relatives are notified.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — An ex-nurse at a Des Moines veteran’s hospital has agreed to surrender his license after admitting to turning off equipment that would have alerted staff to a patient’s low blood-oxygen level. The Register reports that 65-year-old Michael Deal died last March at the Department of Veterans Affairs hospital after oxygen levels in his blood dropped.

U-S Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack has announced that USDA is providing more than $352 million in loans and grants to upgrade rural water and wastewater systems nationwide. The projects funded will not only help ensure rural places have access to clean water, but will also create jobs and help communities retain and attract new businesses and families. In Iowa, the Southern Iowa Rural Water Association (SIRWA) is receiving $5,699,000 in loan and $4,371,000 in grant funds to make improvements to existing distribution piping across the organization’s service area, as well as installation of a new elevated storage tank, booster pump station and appurtenances, and three emergency generators. The funding will benefit approximately 6,925 existing rural customers in Adair, Adams, Cass, Clarke, Decatur, Madison, Ringgold, Taylor and Union Counties.

Vilsack said “These investments are critical for our health and safety, and in the long term for sustainable economic development. Investments like these in the nation’s water infrastructure also are critical to address the impact of climate change on our water supplies. The projects supported with these resources will ensure rural families have access to clean water and create jobs in communities across the country.”

The USDA is providing $175 million in loans and $165 million in grants through the Water and Environmental Program. It’s part of more than $1.5 billion USDA invested in rural water and wastewater projects during the 2014 Fiscal Year, which ended September 30. This past year USDA Rural Development’s investment in Iowa helped create or retain more than 1,000 jobs, aided 2,600 families in buying their own homes and assisted more than 60 communities as they made improvements to their facilities, services and infrastructure.

Officials with the Cass County Community Foundation (CCCF) today (Friday), distributed $26,775 to non-profit agencies within the County. The grants were presented at the Cass County Courthouse. With the grants, the CCCF has distributed more than $1.6-million in grants and scholarships over the last 14-years.

Representatives of the 14 non-profit organizations show-off their CCCF checks Friday on the steps of the Cass County Courthouse. (Ric Hanson/photo)

Among the 14 organizations which submitted applications for grants by the Sept. 1st, 2014 deadline and which received funding, was:

• The Anita Foundation: $1,500 to upgrade a toddler playground.
• The Anita Health & Wellness Center: $350 for weight benches and rubber weightlifting mats.
• The Ann W. Wickman Child Development Center: $3,000 for an expansion project.
• The Atlantic Fire Dept.: $2,000 for a MARSARS Ice Rescue Response Kit & rescue sled.
• The Atlantic Parks & Recreation Dept.: $3,000 for the final phase of camping pads at the Schildberg Recreation Area.
• The Cass County Historical Museum: $2,150 for renovations to the Receiving Area.
• The Center for the Advancement of Self Seficiency, Inc.: $2,000 for an Automatic door opener.
• The Cumberland Public Library: $2,000 for Expansion of technology facility/
• Friends of the Griswold Public Library: $3,125 for Library software & technology.
• Friends of the Cass County Outdoor Classroom: $3,000 for an addition to the education bldg.
• The Griswold FFA: $2,000 for replacement of the Cass County FFA Food Stand.
• The Hitchcock House Advisory Board: $1,000 for gift shop/registration bldg. expansion.
• The Lewis Town & Country Booster, Inc.: $1,000 for tables for the Lewis Community Center..
• The Massena Lions Club: $650 for the Lions Hall renovations.

All grantees met the criteria as Cass County nonprofit agencies or organizations with charitable missions in the areas of civic, cultural, health, education and social services. Only organizations providing services in Cass County were eligible.

Nicholas Hunt, Chair of the Cass County Community Foundations reminds area groups and non-profit organizations, that by Feb. 1st, 2015, the CCCF will have close to $100,000 in grants to giveaway, so interested groups and organizations should be preparing their grant ideas now for the Feb. 1st application deadline. He says the Spring grant cycle in February is usually larger than the fall cycle.