Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley says President Trump missed multiple opportunities during the just-concluded talks with Russia to hold that nation responsible for attacks on our democracy. Grassley says Russian President Vladimir Putin “is a liar” and is “no friend to the United States.” Referring to Trump, Grassley says “the president has made a lot of mistakes…in trusting Russia.”

Following talks between the two nations’ leaders in Finland on Monday, Trump made it clear he accepted Putin’s denial that Russia interfered in the 2016 U-S presidential election. Grassley remains unconvinced.

Last Friday, the U-S Justice Department indicted a dozen Russian agents for taking part in an alleged hacking scheme during the election. Grassley says Trump should have used the talks to ask for the transfer of those “criminals” so they can be brought to the U-S to stand trial. Grassley says Trump should have challenged Putin and simply didn’t, a move that’s bringing harsh criticism of Trump from members of both parties.

An Iowa state legislator quit the Republican Party on Monday based on President Trump’s comments in Finland. Representative Ken Rizer (RISE-ur) of Marion says he’s now a registered “no party” voter and he calls Trump’s performance in Helsinki the last straw.

(Radio Iowa) — The Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs has awarded two million dollars in grants for projects across that state. Department spokesman Michael Morain says the grants are awarded on a competitive basis.

Locally, the grant applicants and the funding they received includes:

• Nodaway Valley Elementary School, Greenfield – $750 for an in-school residency with Poet Linda Wolfe.
• Project Restore Foundation (Stuart, IA) – $3,000 for an art project: “Musical Instruments of the World.”
• Guthrie County Arts Council – $5,000 for operational support/expenses.
• Logan-Magnolia High School – $1,000 for the purchase of art drafting tables.
• Winterset Art Center – $5,000 for operational support/expenses.
• Golden Hills R-C & D, in Oakland – $10,000 for the Southwest Iowa Art Tour.
• Council Bluffs Guild of the Omaha Symphony – $10,000 for “Mission imagination: Mozart’s Missing Memory.”
• Avoca Public Library – $7,392 for the “Libraries Rock!” music program.
• Mount Ayr Elementary School – $1,000 for the purchase of a Smart Board for the music classroom.
• Shelby County Historical Museum – $732 grant for exterior painting of the Jackson Schoolhouse (preservation project).
• Museum of Danish America – $20,000 for operational support/expenses.
• Creston High School – $887 for the purchase of a Raku kiln for the Art Dept.

The grants are awarded in a variety of categories. That includes through the Historic Preservation Office.

(Radio Iowa) — Thirty-two Iowa towns were awarded federal grants Monday totaling $9.6 million. Brooke Miller, spokesperson for the Iowa Economic Development Authority, which selected the recipients of the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds, says “The federally-funded grants are awarded for community facilities, downtown revitalization, and single-family owner-occupied rehabilitation projects.”

Locally, the Southern Iowa Council of Governments (SICOG), received a $252,000 Housing Sustainability grant for six units in Bedford, from the IEDA. The Region 12 Council of Governments received a $209, 500 HS grant and $2,500 in local or other support for five housing units in Coon Rapids, and the same amount plus $5,000 in local/other funds, for five housing units in Manning, and $251,000 for six housing units in Templeton, with an additional $3,000 in local/other funding. SWIPCO (The Southwest Iowa Planning Council), received $240,222 plus $8,778 in local/other funds, for six housing units in Essex.

Two other area cities – Carson and Creston – received $500,000 CBDG funds for the rehabilitation of 12 and 13 building facades, respectively. An additional $581,178 in local/other funds was provided for the project in Carson, while in Creston, an additional $448,605 was provided through local/other funds.

Ottumwa is getting the largest grant among the 32 mostly rural Iowa cities. “The City of Ottumwa has received an $800,000 grant for stormwater, green streets, and streetscape improvements to their downtown,” according to Brooke Miller.

Miller said the I-E-D-A received 48 applications, totaling $14.1 million in funding requests. The CDBG program is federally funded through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

WHITING, Iowa — Officials with the Iowa DNR said Monday, that on Friday July 13th, the DNR was notified of a clay tile line discharging into a ditch near the Monona County City of Whiting’s, wastewater treatment plant.

Upon further investigation, DNR staff found a tile line discharging sewer into the Candless-Cleghorn ditch, which runs into Guard Lake. It is estimated that approximately 50 gallons is being discharged into the ditch per minute. It is unknown how long it has been discharging or whether it is connected to the city’s wastewater treatment plant. Samples have been collected and will be analyzed.

Whiting city officials plan to cap the tile line with concrete within the next 48 hours, which should stop the bypass into the ditch. Furthermore, they plan to hire consultants to identify the origin of the tile line and what it may be connected to.

The DNR will continue to work with the city of Whiting and its consultants and determine if any enforcement action is necessary.

The Council Bluffs Police Department, Monday evening, put out a request for help from the public in locating two juvenile runaways from Children’s Square USA, in Council Bluffs. The juveniles, 12-year old Tristan Holley and 11-year old Isaiah King  ran from from the facility at around 2:47 pm. Two hours after the initial press release, authorities reported the teens had been found safe and healthy, but no further information was provided. They were returned to Children’s Square.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The University of Iowa lost nearly $1.2 million from its operation of a business campus in Des Moines, according to university budget information. University officials said the decision to close the former AIB College of Business is due to reductions in state support, The Des Moines Register reported. Since the 2016 fiscal year, the Iowa Legislature has cut UI’s budget by $16 million.

The university announced last week the decision to sell the campus’ seven buildings and permanently furlough 33 full-time staffers whose positions aren’t directly tied to student instruction. Some employees may be reassigned to other positions at the university, officials said.

The university’s cuts will save the school nearly $3.6 million, officials estimated. Students who attend classes at the campus will either move to a downtown center or take their courses online, officials said.

The university took possession of the nonprofit institution in 2016. The merger was described as a gift to the university. The terms of AIB’s gift agreement say the property could be sold if the school’s officials determined that operating the campus was “no longer feasible for economic or other reasons.”

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (AP) — A judge is allowing an appeal to move forward in the case of an inmate seeking to prove his innocence in the 1986 slaying of a western Iowa girl. District Judge Jeffrey Larson signed an order Monday denying the state’s request to dismiss the postconviction relief action filed by inmate Daniel Harris.

The ruling means Harris’ lawyers can seek discovery and the case will proceed toward a hearing in which they’ll ask for a new trial. Harris was convicted in the 1986 stabbing and beating death of 16-year-old Kristina Nelson in Council Bluffs. His attorneys are seeking new proceedings and forensic testing that they believe will prove he was framed. A new witness has come forward with an affidavit that implicates two other suspects in the slaying.

A state lawyer had urged Larson to summarily dismiss the matter without further proceedings.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The health care system for Nebraska and western Iowa veterans has ordered machines to help deaf or blind veterans contact the federal Veterans Affairs Department. The VA’s Nebraska-Western Iowa Health Care System said last week that it’s ordered teletype machines, one of which will be placed in Omaha’s VA hospital, the Omaha World-Herald reported. The new devices will be tested beginning Friday, according to VA spokeswoman Jennifer Scales.

The VA for years has distributed teletype machines for free to help deaf, hearing-impaired or blind veterans make text-based calls from their home telephone lines. But some haven’t been able to schedule appointments or order medicine with the VA because the agency has lacked machines to answer if a veteran calls for help.

Nebraska Sen. Carol Blood contacted the director of the VA Nebraska-Western Iowa Health Care System, B. Don Burman, and other VA officials in Washington after learning about the communication difficulties for local veterans who are blind and deaf. She even wrote to President Donald Trump.

“Often (veterans) have a simple question they need to ask and must trek to the hospital,” Blood said in a letter. “Nebraska-Iowa veterans deserve better.” Burman recognized that the VA “is lacking in some areas where the hearing-impaired might be needing care from our system.” The VA is looking into creating a call center to communicate with deaf and hearing-impaired veterans across the region, he said.
Blood said she’s pleased that the agency has responded to her concerns.
“Within six weeks, we got action,” she said. “They realized it was a pressing issue.”

The Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Office reports several arrests. Sunday night, 24-year old Joshua Bartholomew Mills, of Oakland, was arrested following a traffic stop. Mills was taken into custody in Oakland on a warrant for OWI/1st offense. 29-year old Katrina Deloris Pape, of Avoca, was arrested Sunday night in Avoca, on a warrant for Theft in the 4th Degree. 47-year old Denise Ann Suedkamp, of Avoca, was arrested just before 1-a.m. Sunday on I-80, for OWI/1st offense.

Sunday evening, 21-year old Hunter Bass, Wayne Cubrich, of Omaha, and 23-year old Ashley Jean Nixson, of Carson, were arrested following a traffic stop on the south side of Underwood. Cubrich was charged with Possession of a Controlled Substance and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia, after 2.9-grams of a green leafy substance was found in a clear plastic bag, and two glass pipes were located. Nixson was charged with Unlawful Possession of Prescription Medication (a pill bottle with Clozapine and Lorazepam pills).

As mentioned last week, 18-year old Colton James Fineran, of Norwalk, was arrested in Neola, Friday, following a high speed pursuit the began with an attempted traffic stop of a 2008 Docati motorcycle. Fineran was arrested for Eluding, Reckless Driving and Driving While Barred. 25-year old Oadi Alsaede, of Staten Island, NY, and 21-year old Justin Kim Joonkyum, of Bayside, NY, were arrested on drug charges, following a traffic stop on I-80, during which seven-pounds of marijuana oil was  found in two glass jars hidden inside backpacks in their vehicle.

Last Thursday, 25-year old Jacob Ryan Craft, of Council Bluffs, was arrested on a felony charge of Burglary in the 2nd degree, for breaking and entering