The Cass County Community Foundation awarded $140,936 to Cass County nonprofit organizations and community projects during its Spring 2023 Grant Cycle.
The following organizations are Spring 2023 Grant Recipients:

All grantees met the criteria as Cass County nonprofit agencies or organizations with charitable missions supporting community needs in the areas of civic engagement, culture, health, education, and social services. Only organizations providing services in Cass County were eligible to apply.

Cass County Community Foundation Advisory Board Members pictured include (from left to right): Sunni Kamp, Foundation Director; Gaylord Schelling, Vice Chair; Kristi Burg, Chair; Sandy Bierbaum; Sue Hunt, Secretary/Treasurer; and Mike Tibken.

The Cass County Community Foundation is an affiliate of the Omaha Community Foundation, which meets National Standards for Community Foundations, and is one of nine county members of the Community Foundations of Southwest Iowa. It receives funds annually from the State of Iowa County Endowment Fund
Program for endowment building and grantmaking throughout the county. This cycle of grants was made possible through the County Endowment Fund Program and is funded by a percentage of the state’s commercial gaming tax revenue, which is distributed annually to participating community foundations associated with counties without a state-issued gaming license.
The Cass County Community Foundation works with individuals, families, businesses, and organizations to create permanent and expendable funds that address changing, vital community needs and interests. To inquire about donating to the Cass County Community Foundation, please contact the Community Foundations of Southwest Iowa staff or any board member listed below. Gifts to permanently endowed funds through the Cass County Community Foundation may be eligible to receive a 25% Endow Iowa Tax Credit.
Advisory board members of the Cass County Community Foundation are Chair, Kristi Burg of Massena; Vice Chair, Gaylord Schelling of Atlantic; Secretary/Treasurer, Sue Hunt of Atlantic; Sandy Bierbaum of Griswold; Justin D. Hockenberry of Anita; and Mike Tibken of Anita.
For information about donating or establishing an individual foundation/fund, please contact Sunni Kamp, Iowa Foundations Director, at 800-794-3458 or sunni@omahafoundation.org.

(Radio Iowa)- Former Vice President Mike Pence is back in Iowa, the day after a federal judge ruled Pence must testify before a grand jury investigating January 6th and former President Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election. “We’re currently talking to our counsel about the balance of that decision and determining the way forward, but I have nothing to hide,” Pence said. “I’ve written and spoken extensively about that day and the days leading up to it.” Pence spoke with reporters after addressing the Westside Conservative Club in Urbandale this (Wednesday) morning. Host Kim Schmett praised Pence for not bending to the pressure on January 6th.

“I couldn’t be more proud of the way our vice president represented us at a time when things were really tough. Not only were they tough, they were dangerous for him physically and he stood there with his principles and backed that up and his family was even there at the time,” Schmett said. “This is really, really tough stuff.” Pence, who drew the largest crowd of the year at the Westside Conservative Club, has not yet announced whether he’ll run for the Republican Party’s 2024 presidential nomination. He answered audience about the economy, partisan rancor and the war in Ukraine. While answering a question about border security, Pence recalled an Oval Office meeting with Trump.

“Obviously it did not end well, but all those four years the president and I had a very good working relationship, bringing different talents, oftentimes different temperament to things, but we both understood each other, we were both working the same agenda.” Pence is making a midday stop in Cedar Rapids to address a crowd of Linn County Republicans. He’s scheduled to be in Iowa City tonight (Wednesday) as the keynote speaker at the Johnson County Republicans Reagan Dinner.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – In his report Tuesday, to the Cass County Board of Supervisor’s, Cass County Engineer Trent Wolken said crews were laying contract rock in the Griswold area since last week, in anticipation of the closing this past Monday, of the Highway 92 bridge.  The rock is being used for the detour routes. He said they’ve rocked about 15-miles so far in the Griswold area.The stockpile of rock at the Lyman storage site is exhausted, and they’re working on using the G-43 stockpile.

Meanwhile work continues on Bridge 32, with the piers poured last week. The first abutment was expected to be poured soon.

The Rolling Hills Wind Farm Power project is beginning to wrap-up. Wolken said he met with their construction representatives last week.

With regard to the closing of Highway 92 and the detour route, Board of Supervisor’s Chair Steve Baier said traffic by his rural house is up considerably, because people are not following the posted detour route.

He said the DOT didn’t do a very good job of putting signage up for the detour route. Wolken said he would look into the problem. The marked detour route is supposed to use U.S. 71, Cass County Road G-43, Cass County Road M-56, and Iowa 48.

The American Cancer Society’s Iowa Relay for Life organization is holding a Rally For Hope in Iowa today. This one-day fundraising campaign shows that ONE DAY CAN IMPACT A LIFETIME.

On this day of giving, every donation has the potential to make double the impact thanks to a generous donor who will match the funds raised through all Iowa Relay For Life events up to $10,000.  While the match will not hit each individual fundraiser, team or event, the dollars you raise through your local Relay For Life on March 29th, will receive DOUBLE the rewards points to be redeemed at www.shopacsrewards.org. as well.

This makes it a great day to register for Relay for Life in your county and raise some funds to help your local fight against cancer. Find out more and see the statewide progress today HERE

(Union County, Iowa) – Officials with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources report the DNR’s Field Office 4 staff were notified Tuesday afternoon of wash water release from an Iowa Select livestock trailer wash facility in Union County.

The release, due to a broken check valve, caused approximately 5,000 gallons of wash water to overflow onto the ground. The wash water reached an unnamed tributary, which connects to Sevenmile Creek. A fish kill did not occur because the unnamed tributary is currently dry.

Iowa Select staff have taken action, including flushing and pumping the wash water out of the area, south of Highway 34 and downstream of the unnamed tributary to prevent wash water from reaching Sevenmile Creek.

The DNR will continue to monitor clean up efforts and consider appropriate enforcement action.

(Avoca) – Students and staff at the AHSTW School in Avoca have the day off due to an incident that took place Tuesday night. According to Superintendent Darin Jones, he received a call at around 9-p.m, indicating the fire alarms were going-off and school staff saw smoke in the Pre-TK-and Kindergarten pod.

Personnel from the Avoca, Walnut and Harlan Fire Departments were paged to the scene. They determined the smoke was coming from an overheated air handling unit on the roof. Heat from the unit ignited filters in the unit, causing smoke to filter in to the early childhood pod. The smoke left soot on tables, chairs and other items in several classrooms. There was no structural or other damage to the building and classrooms.

A cleaning service specializing in disaster and emergency clean-up, was called on to clean and air-out the affected areas. Classes were cancelled to allow the clean-up to take place. Afternoon activities were not affected.

Superintendent Jones was hopeful classes would resume as normal on Thursday.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – Iowa Department of Transportation District 4 Planner, Scott Suhr, reports several projects have already started, and some are finishing-up from last Fall. Others will be underway in the weeks to come.

Locally, one of the projects affects traffic on Highway 6 over the East Nishnabotna River, 2.6-miles east of Highway 48. .

Suhr said the Highway 92 project will probably take about three-to-four months to complete. It’s located over Seven Mile Creek 1.7-miles west of Highway 71. A pair of projects are set to kick-off beginning April 3^rd. One is in Guthrie County.

Scott Suhr says another project is on Highway 44, near Portsmouth.

In District 4’s southwest Iowa 17 county area, there are at least 50 projects going on, not including maintenance projects (sealing/patching), railroad crossing replacement and so on, that utilize federal funds on the state and highway interstate system. One of the projects is on I-80 in Cass County.

Another is on Highway 148 from the West Nodaway River, 0.9-miles south of Highway 92 is another bridge project. There are several projects in Adair and Pottawattamie Counties, as well. Suhr recommends before you head out on your commute or trip, go to www.511ia.org, or call 511 to learn the latest news on projects underway or planned to begin soon.

(Radio Iowa) – Farmers are traditionally the first to jump in and help when a neighbor is in trouble, but farmers may be very slow to help themselves, especially when it comes to their mental health and dealing with stress. Dr. Kimberly Lansing, a rural medicine specialist with the Gunderson Health System, says spring planting season looms in Iowa, what may be one of the most difficult times of the year for farmers and too few will seek counseling to cope. “Often, there are worries about a stigma associated with mental health, and people are afraid to seek help,” Lansing says. “Sometimes, they don’t know where to seek help, and so it’s a very interesting kind of plus-and-minus to a farming community.”

A University of Iowa study finds suicide rates were 45-percent higher for people in rural areas, and farmers stood out as having even higher rates compared to the general population. The U-I study found farmer suicide rates for the Midwest were three times the national average. Help is available through a variety of resources, including the Iowa Farm Bureau and the 9-8-8 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. Lansing says farming is an exceptionally difficult career path, with continual challenges from the weather, equipment, labor, and the commodities markets.

“It’s always been this sort of a ‘pull yourself up by your bootstraps,’ you know, we’re the tough American farmer and people depend on us,” Lansing says. “It’s less than 1% of the population that are farmers, and they’re feeding this entire country, so there’s a responsibility that comes with that.” Some farmers have been on the same land for generations and she says nobody wants to be the one who loses the farm. Social isolation can be a real problem for farmers, Lansing says, and we need to learn to lean on each other more.

“People that are close to them, neighbors, fellow farmers, it’s really important when you do see these folks, to really kind of try to pick up on how things are going for them,” Lansing says. “It doesn’t hurt to grab an extra coffee, an extra pastry, and pop by your neighbor’s farm and say, ‘Hey I haven’t seen you in a while. How’s it going?'” Lansing says farmers need to consider how quickly they’d rush to help a neighbor in need.  “And try to give yourself that same amount of compassion and realize that you’re not just a number, you’re not just another farmer, you are part of the whole puzzle,” Lansing says, “and we need you to be there and we need to help you do your best to do what you love to do.”

The Gunderson Health System includes a hospital in West Union, and clinics in Fayette, Decorah, Waukon, Lansing, Postville and Calmar.

(Creston, Iowa) – A collision between a car and an SUV in Creston, Tuesday evening, resulted in minor injuries. According to Creston Police, a 2023 Chevy Malibu driven by 28-year-old Harry Metzger, of Ottumwa, was traveling west on Highway 34 near Pine Street, at around 5:20-p.m. A 2013 Ford Explorer driven by 53-year-old Jeffrey Conklin, of Bridgewater, was traveling eastbound. Police say Metzger attempted to turn left onto Pine Street. He didn’t see the approaching SUV.

The vehicles collided, sustaining disabling damage. A woman in the SUV was transported to the Greater Regional Medical Center, in Creston, for treatment of minor, non-life threatening injuries. Her name was not released. Damage to the vehicles amounted to $7,000. Police cited Metzger for Failure to Yield Upon Left Turn.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – The Cass County Assessor’s Office will be closed Friday, March 31. Assessor Mary Anstey reports the office will be closed from 8-a.m. until 7-p.m., so her staff may attend training.