DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Gov. Terry Branstad says the state will partner with Google to assist Iowa businesses in establishing an online presence. Speaking Monday at his weekly news conference, Branstad noted about 59 percent of the state’s businesses don’t have websites. He says the new partnership will help cut into that number. He says Google will host events in Des Moines, Council Bluffs, Waterloo and Pella during September to help businesses develop a Web presence.

Besides Google, the governor says a series of business groups such as the Iowa Association of Business and Industry will take part in the partnership. Google will offer the tools for businesses to get online and will provide websites free for one year.

w/ Ric Hanson

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BELLEVUE, Neb. (AP) – A veterans job fair will be held next month in Bellevue, Nebraska, to help former military service members find work. The fair comes from the efforts of the Nebraska Department of Labor, Iowa Workforce Development and The Airman & Family Readiness Center. The job fair will be held Sept. 15 in the Lied Activity Center in Bellevue.

Participating employers include the Nebraska Med Center, Overlook Systems Technologies, ConAgra Foods, NEI Global Reolcation, Mutual of Omaha and more than a dozen others. Employers interested in participating may contact Harvey Hudson at 402-595-3154.

Police in Lenox say a local man was arrested Sunday night on a trio of charges, after he squealed his cars’ tires in front of a residence on West Temple Street. 20-year old Christopher Romo, of Lenox, was taken into custody after being pulled over at around 11:15-p.m..

Romo failed field sobriety and other tests for intoxication. He’s been charge with OWI 1^st offense, Careless Driving, and Possession of Alcohol under the legal age. Romo was released on bond this (Monday) morning, from the Taylor County Jail.

Officials with The Cass County Conservation Service say the Conservation Board is holding a “Mysterious Monarchs” Program this Thursday afternoon (Sept. 1^st). The public program will be held at the Main Campground at Lake Anita State Park in Anita.

During the free, 4-p.m. event, you can discover the Monarch Butterflies before their journey south! Conservation staffers will tag monarchs and show you how to same. If you’d would like a home tagging kit, you must attend and pre-register for the Kit.

Call 712-769-2372 to pre-register for your kit. You DO NOT have to be a registered camper to attend the program.

w/ Ric Hanson

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A public hearing will be held this evening in Greenfield, with regard to an Adair County redistricting plan. Members of the Adair County Temporary Redistricting Committee are set to meet at 7-p.m. in the Adair County Boardroom at the courthouse in Greenfield, to discuss the redistricting plan, which became a requirement following the results of the 2010 census, which showed a population shift in Iowa.

An economic development group in southwest Iowa has received a grant from the U-S Department of Commerce Economic Development Administration. Senator Tom Harkin late last week announced that four Iowa regional planning commissions and councils of government received a total of $243,000 in grants to update their comprehensive economic development strategies. The grants cover Cass, Fremont, Harrison, Montgomery, Page, and Shelby counties.

SWIPCO – the Southwest Iowa Planning Council — based in Atlantic, will receive $60,000 from the U-S DOC. The grants will establish an economic development planning framework, process and strategy that supports private capital investment and job creation in local communities in Iowa.

Harkin says the grants “Will help to initiate private and public investment to help develop new jobs and give a needed boost to local communities.“ He says also “Strong development strategies are imperative to increasing job and career opportunities across the state.”

Authorities in Carroll County have arrested a man in a neighboring county, in connection with a couple of burglaries in Coon Rapids. According to reports, Coon Rapids Police arrested 34-year old Jack Daniel Pearce, last Monday (August 22^nd), on two-counts of felony burglary in the second degree. The Cooper man was taken into custody for allegedly breaking into the Coon Rapids Pharmacy on two separate occasions over the past 13-months. If convicted, Pearce faces five years imprisonment for each count and $5,000 fine for each charge. Pearce posted a $1,000 bond and was released from custody, with orders to appear in court for his preliminary hearing, on September 1^st.

Pearce is suspected of breaking into the pharmacy through the back door, in July 2010, and again in February of this year. Once inside, he allegedly stole large amounts of prescription drugs and narcotics. Court records show Pearce has an extensive criminal record involving illegal drug possession. A search warrant executed at Pearce’ residence led to his arrest following a traffic stop just east of Cooper, Monday evening.

Officials say the burglaries in Coon Rapids were identical to several other area pharmacy break-ins that have taken place over the past year. Similar burglaries have occurred in Manning, Guthrie Center, Jefferson, Ogden, and Dayton. No arrests have been made in connection with those incidents.

The Iowa State Patrol says a 52-year-old man from Allen, Nebraska died Sunday, after the motorcycle he was driving ran into a guard rail along a road in northwest Iowa’s Plymouth County. Patrick Hirschman, who was found in a ditch following the collision, died from his injuries at the Floyd Valley Hospital in Le Mars. The accident happened at around 5:40-p.m., Sunday.

The Patrol says Hirschman was traveling south on Iowa Highway 12, when his 2000 Harley Davidson cycle went out of control. The report did not indicate if Hirschman was wearing a helmet.