Oakland, Iowa –  Officials with “United Today, Stronger Tomorrow” and Concerned Citizens of Pottawattamie County, say that on Monday (Nov. 13th), dozens of rural Pottawattamie County residents met at the Oakland Community Center to discuss how they might work together to tap new federal funding focused on rural infrastructure. Throughout the town hall, residents steered away from divisive national politics and instead focused on the issues hyperlocally; issues that they might have a greater impact on and influence in addressing.

There were the most common themes that arose as they always do; roads and bridges, rural healthcare, clean water.  Shawna Anderson, a small business owner and resident of Oakland, said, “I was very happy to see such a good turnout in Oakland. The issues brought up were, as expected, totally different than those issues folks in the city face. Water is a big issue. Both access and keeping it clean. Internet access and cost was also brought up. Things that people in the city just don’t even realize are a problem for those of us in the county.”

And when county residents got down to the very specifics of issues, they were often met with a lot of consensus:

One attendee brought up Treynor’s large wastewater management project currently underway, but noted that it might be hard to meet the total cost needed – almost $5 million – from the current tax base of Treynor’s approximately 1,000 residents.  A boon for these communities may come from better understanding the opportunities in the federal Bipartisan Infrastructure funding and the Inflation Reduction Act, and how rural communities can take it upon themselves to tap these new resources and funding.

Another specific issue that multiple attendees spoke about was regarding access to clean water. Water restrictions are very common for those in rural parts of the county. The wellfield in Avoca is in danger of running dry, and some folks noted that personal wells have had the same problem. Although there is a plan to run water from Council Bluffs out to rural water systems near Minden, it isn’t planned to be ready to use until early 2025. Getting access to an alternate water source for these folks is of utmost importance, and could be addressed through the new federal funding opportunities discussed here.

An idea that is important to many who attended is that of local empowerment. During discussion on the topic, Ellen Garaffa, who lives in Treynor said “The library in Council Bluffs used to have a person who would train people on writing grants… sounds like that would be worth pursuing… We should ask them to go back to providing that service.” Immediately the whole room sounded in agreement. If folks can learn how to write grants, they become empowered to bring money into their rural communities themselves.

United Today Stronger Tomorrow and Concerned Citizens of Pottawattamie County, moving forward, say they will work together with rural communities to identify opportunities in these new federal policies to address their local priorities and needs.  A plurality of attendees agree that they are untrusting of state and federal elected decisionmakers to deliver what they need, and also believe that community members would do better working together to get these things addressed by applying pressure on local elected leaders to seek solutions in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act.

The four U-S senators from Iowa and Nebraska are working together on a bill that would return a tract of land that was seized from the Winnebago Tribe in the 1970s. The land along the Missouri River and was taken through the power of eminent domain to become a recreational area, but those plans never materialized. Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley says the 16-hundred acres, which are maintained by the Iowa D-N-R as a wildlife area, need to be returned — something he says should’ve been done long ago.

Grassley was scheduled to meet in his Washington D-C office today (Tuesday) with the chief of the Winnebago Tribe, which he’s done before on several occasions.

Some five decades ago, the U-S Army Corps of Engineers planned to use the land both for a recreational area and to stabilize the banks of the Missouri River, but those plans stalled and were eventually tabled. Part of the land on the Nebraska side of the Missouri was given back to the tribe, but the land on the Iowa side was not. Grassley says this should be a relatively simple transaction to return the land to the tribe, but it takes an act of Congress to make it happen.

Grassley is co-sponsoring the bill along with Iowa Senator Joni Ernst and Nebraska Senators Deb Fischer and Pete Ricketts — all Republicans.

(Radio Iowa) – A 24-year-old Des Moines man has been charged with murdering a woman who was found with stab wounds at a hotel across the street from the State Fairgrounds early this (Tuesday) morning. According to a news release from Des Moines Police, officers found a woman with traumatic injuries at the hotel shortly after 2:30 a.m. and she was rushed to a Des Moines hospital. Police announced at about nine-a.m. that she had died.

Police say Brantlee Rainey was found “within the room where the stabbing occurred,” he had a knife with what appeared to be blood on it and Rainey fit the description provided by a witness, who police did not identify.

In a written statement released shortly after 3:30 a.m., police said there is “no indication of any ongoing danger or threat to the neighborhood.”

(Radio Iowa) – It’s been 11 days since Alliant Energy shut off the power to the mall in Marshalltown due to unpaid utility bills. John Hall, President and C-E-O of the Marshalltown Chamber of Commerce, says the New York company that owns the mall says electrical issues might be resolved by this Saturday, November 18th. “This has been going on for about 10 months of unpaid electric bills, so I’ll believe it when I see it,” Hall says, “but I know that a lot of businesses out there are holding onto hope that is going to be the case.”

Hall briefed Marshalltown’s city council last (Monday) night about the situation at the mall, which opened in 1972. “Of the 16 total businesses out there, I want to be clear that at this point

The Marshalltown Mall opened in 1972 and at one point had JCPenney and Younkers as anchor stores. (Historic photo from KFJB.)

none of them have deemed themselves permanently closed and so all are working on trying to find other answers,” Hall said, “but there are four closed inside the mall.”

The fire marshal ordered businesses that are only accessible through the mall itself to close. Businesses with an external exit have been paying Alliant directly and are being allowed to operate, however some had to rewire teir electrical hook-ups and water lines to meet the fire code. The New York company that owns Marshalltown’s mall also owns the Westland Mall in West Burlington and Lindale Mall in Cedar Rapids.

COUNCIL BLUFFS — The Iowa Department of Natural Resources reports the City of Council Bluffs began discharging wastewater from the I-80 Sanitary Pump Station at 5 a.m. Tuesday, Nov. 14th. The discharge, officials say, is necessary to repair a damaged force main. Repairs will be conducted as quickly as possible but may take several days.

Council Bluffs estimates they will discharge approximately 4 million gallons of untreated wastewater per day during the repairs. The public should avoid contact with the Missouri River downstream from Interstate 80.