MAPLETON, Iowa (AP) – More than $374,000 in donations has helped people recover from a tornado that pummeled the western Iowa town of Mapleton.  The Sioux City Journal reports that the money for the Mapleton Tornado Relief Fund came in from all over the nation after the April 9 tornado last year.  The fund awarded more than $239,000 for various projects. More than 100 applications were received.
 
Homeowner Allen Mead, who received one of the grants, says the money “was used to help you get started, or do something with your windows … something like that.”  The remaining money is being turned over to a nonprofit group called Mapleton Build and Recovery and will be available as a source for the local match that many grant programs require.

w/ Ric Hanson

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The Wiota Volunteer Fire Department is receiving an Assistance to Firefighters grant amounting to just over $61,340. Senator Tom Harkin made the announcement late last week. Harkin says the grant comes from the US Department of Homeland Security’s Assistance to Firefighters Grants program. Harkin is a senior member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, which funds the Department of Homeland Security. The grant money awarded to the Wiota Fire Department will be used for operations and safety.

Two Villisca residents were arrested overnight on assault charges. The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office says 41-year old Harland Keith Belcher was taken into custody at around 11:25-p.m. Sunday, and 42-year old Karen Renee Coleman was arrested just before Two o’clock this morning, for Serious Domestic Assault. The charges were the result of an incident which occurred in the 2400 block of Montgomery-Page Street, south of Stanton.

Belcher and Coleman were being held in the Montgomery County Jail this (Monday) morning, on $1,000 bond. Officers with the Red Oak Police Department and deputies with the Page County Sheriff’s Office along with Stanton Fire and Rescue assisted at the scene.

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press

The Massena City Council will meet in a regularly scheduled session Monday evening, beginning at Seven o’clock. On their agenda in addition to regular issues and topics, is a review and accepting of mosquito control bids, discussion with regard to Tax Increment Financing (TIF), and a matter pertaining to concrete in front of the Fire Department building.

Members of the Elk Horn-Kimballton School District’s Board of Education will meet Monday afternoon at the High School in Elk Horn. On their agenda is discussion pertaining to the 2011-2012 Budget Amendment and 2012-2013 Budget hearings. The Board will also act on: approving Driver’s Education fees for this Summer; Approving the sharing of a business manager with the Exira School District; and on approving the amended budget for 2011-2012, and budget for 2012-2013.

The EHK Board will enter into a closed session to discuss negotiations, prior to adjourning for the evening. Their meeting begins at 4-p.m, in the Family & Consumer Science Room at the High School.

Two rural Stanton teens suffered non-life threatening injuries during a rollover accident early Sunday morning, northeast of Stanton. The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office says the accident happened at around 12:20-a.m., on 200th Street, near P Avenue. Officials say a 1995 Mercury Sable driven by 17-year old Austin Becthold, was traveling east on 200th when Becthold swerved to avoid hitting a deer. The car crossed the center line of the road, hit an abutment in the road ditch, and became airborne.

The vehicle hit the ground and rolled over before coming to rest on its wheels. Becthold, and a passenger in the car, 13-year old Alex Becthold, were transported to the Montgomery County Memorial Hospital. No citations were issued. The car sustained an estimated $3000 damage.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Gov. Terry Branstad and Iowa lawmakers have invested plenty of time on proposed reforms to Iowa’s public schools, but it looks like big changes to the education system are unlikely this session. Branstad initially offered a number of proposals, including linking teacher pay to performance in the classroom, requiring potential teachers to meet grade point standards before they could seek education training and holding students back if they didn’t meet reading benchmarks. After complaints from teacher groups and others, Branstad delayed the proposed salary changes, and now it appears that many of his other proposals will fall by the wayside due to disagreements with Senate Democrats. Senate Majority Leader Michael Gronstal notes the Legislature likely will approve plans to increase spending on early elementary programs.