Several thousand Iowans are entering the New Year without a home. A longtime advocate for the homeless in Iowa says she’s seeing more people who are living out of their cars or tents. Joni Hansen is calling on community leaders across the state to find ways to help those who struggling rebuild their live

“There needs to be more transitional programs…where it’s not just offered on an emergency basis — programs that help them find employment, get some financial management skills, and build their life from that,” Hansen says. She’s also encouraging everyday Iowans to get involved — and not just by donating money or clothes.

“Volunteer and get to know the people. Perhaps you have a lead on a job someone could get, but I think the whole thing starts with volunteering and getting to know the needs in your own community,” Hansen says.

The state’s annual Homeless Memorial Day was held on December 21st and 32 Iowans who died in the past year after struggling with homelessness were remembered at the gathering on the grounds of the Iowa Capitol. Hansen is director of Hospitality House, a daytime homeless shelter in Waterloo.

(Radio Iowa)

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 3:39 a.m. CST

VIENNA, Ill. (AP) — Authorities in southern Illinois have identified the four people who died after a single-engine plane crashed in a wooded area on New Year’s Eve. Johnson County Coroner David Rockwell says 34-year-old Curt Terpstra, 35-year-old Jordan Linder, 26-year-old Jasmine Linder and 37-year-old Krista Green died in Saturday night’s crash. All four were from eastern Iowa.

NEWTON, Iowa (AP) — A former Iowa police officer has been fined and ordered to complete a treatment program for drunk driving and weapons charges. Former Newton officer Dustin Hamell received the sentence last week in connection with an Aug. 30 traffic stop on Interstate 80 outside of Des Moines. Authorities said that his blood tested at nearly three times the legal alcohol limit, and that he had a loaded handgun and unopened cans of beer in his truck.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — A University of Iowa benefactor has donated $5 million toward the renovation of Kinnick Stadium’s north end. The university announced Sunday, during Outback Bowl festivities in Tampa, Florida, that Ted and Deb Pacha had made a contribution to the $90 million project. The project plans include a second deck for seating and expanded concourses. The project is expected to be finished before the 2019 season.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — A charity controlled by Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad has missed a deadline for disclosing the names of donors who paid for his 2015 inaugural celebration, keeping them secret even as he prepares to become the U.S. ambassador to China. Tax experts say the lack of disclosure potentially subjects the group to IRS penalties of $100 per day. It means the public doesn’t know the identities of those who wrote checks totaling $1 million to fund Branstad’s inauguration and namesake college scholarships.

A central Iowa program that primarily helps men released from prison be good parents is entering its 11th year. Dave Schwartz, the C-E-O of the Y-M-C-A of Greater Des Moines, says the men who ENTERED his organization’s fatherhood program in 2011 and 2012 were paying, on average, about 36 percent of their monthly child support obligations. “The year after our program, that number was 68 percent,” he says, “and even four years later they’re still paying 65 percent, which is still above the national average.”

That is FAR above the national average. The latest data from the U.S. Census Bureau indicates men who owed child support in 2013 were paying about 40 percent of what they owed. About 10-thousand children in Iowa today are getting NONE of the child support their parent is supposed to pay. Schwartz says the Greater Des Moines Y’s program runs 12 weeks and he’s hoping to expand the program’s reach. “We do that in two ways: expand to another community and also provide statewide facilitator training,” he says.

For the past three years, the state of Iowa has provided money to finance this fatherhood program. Schwartz is asking lawmakers to boost the state funding by 20-thousand dollars for next year. According to the Y’s website, many of the Des Moines-area fathers who go through the program have been able to regain partial or full custody of their children. Organizers say the Fatherhood Outreach program aims to teach what is means to be a father and the important role a father plays within a family.

(Radio Iowa)

The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office said today (Monday), 18-year old Wyatt Dean Baldwin, of Villisca, was arrested at around 3:15-p.m. (Monday) for Operating a motor vehicle without the owner’s consent, and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia. Baldwin was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on $2,000 bond.