The State of Iowa is partnering with Google on an effort to help small businesses in the state grow their online presence and reach more consumers. Secretary of State Paul Pate talked about the initiative Thursday, during a news conference at the Iowa State Fair in Des Moines. “What we’re doing through our office is we’re making this information available by linking up with the Google folks on our website, as well as encouraging businesses to look at becoming a part of this as a way to get their word out,” Pate said.

Whitney Cox, with Small Business Outreach at Google, says the program is called Let’s Put Our Cities on the Map. “We know that four out of five consumers use search engines to find location information, yet only 37 percent of businesses have claimed a listing on a search engine,” Cox said. “Through Google’s Let’s Put Our Cities on the Map program, we are working to change that by getting businesses the information and resources they need to verify their information on Google Search and Maps…and make sure that online information is accurate.”

Lisa Shimkat, with Iowa’s Small Business Development Center, is encouraging all Iowa business owners to take advantage of the online resource. “We don’t want a business to get left behind,” Shimkat said. “If you don’t have the right information out there, you will be left behind and it could impact your cash flow.” Pate noted that new business filings in Iowa are at an all-time high.

“We have over 200,000 businesses in Iowa and we’re really excited because this year we’ve seen a record number of new business filings which, to me, says we’ve got a growing economy,” Pate said.

Business owners can visit the Secretary of State’s booth in the Varied Industries Building throughout the Iowa State Fair to get signed up for the program — or they can do so online at sos.iowa.gov.

(Radio Iowa)

Federal office holders from Iowa and their General Election challengers are raising questions about the Farm Credit System, a nationwide network of banks established by the federal government in 1916 to help farmers. Republican Senator Chuck Grassley says he supports the system, but it has operated outside its charter. “They came to my office to talk to me and I brought up some of the loans that were very questionable loans,” Grassley says. “I got the feeling that they were very embarassed by the issues that I brought up with them.”

Former Iowa Ag Secretary Patty Judge is the Democrat who’s challenging Grassley this year.”There are probably reforms that need to be made and I would suggest to you that we are going to have a real opportunity to do that next year as we write the new Farm Bill,” Judge said. Republican Congressman Steve King of Kiron says the Farm Credit System needs to refocus on helping farmers and agribusinesses “stay afloat.”  “They write their own mission statement,” King says. “I asked the chair of the board that before an Ag Committee hearing some time back and, you know, my message to that was: ‘We may have to help you write that mission statement.'”

Kim Weaver, a social worker from Sheldon, is the Democrat who’s challenging King. Weaver says she’s troubled by the Farm Credit System’s loan to Cracker Barrel.
“Even though it has a rather rustic appeal, it isn’t exactly a farm-related business,” Weaver says. “I would look at actually having a little bit more monitoring of that because I really don’t think it’s fair.”

Republican Congressman David Young of Van Meter says the Farm Credit System must be held to its original mission. “Choice is good out there, but one of the choices out there is backed by the taxpayer, in a sense,” Young says. “…Have they been operating outside of their purview?” Jim Mowrer, a former National Guard soldier and Pentagon administrator, is Young’s Democratic challenger. “When you look at some of the recent activities, like the Verizon loan that they made, this is way outside of its intended scope of purpose,” Mowrer says.

Republican Congressman Rod Blum of Dubuque, says there’s probably still a role for the Farm Credit system. “We need to make sure that they’re not competing in the areas that they’re not supposed to be in,” Blum says. “…They’ve made some very big loans to some very large and profitable customers that whether they’re ag related is very, very questionable.” Christopher Peters, an Iowa City doctor, is the Republican who’s challenging Democratic Congressman David Loebsack of Iowa City. Peters says he has just started doing research on the Farm Credit System. “I will say just blanket, though, I’m suspicious of all government sponsored enterprises. I’m not sure why we need those at all,” Peters says. “If things can be delivered in a marketplace, they should be. If they are not able to be delivered in a marketplace, then government I think should provide those services if they can’t or won’t be provided otherwise.”

The candidates made their comments Thursday afternoon during a meeting of the Community Bankers of Iowa. Congressman Loebsack and Monica Vernon, the Democratic candidate in the first congressional district who’s running against Blum, did not attend. The 80 Farm Credit banks do not have to pay taxes on mortgage loan interest and other banks are lobbying congress to end that tax break. Supporters of the system say it’s a crucial source of financing for all of rural America, not just farmers.

(Radio Iowa)

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 3:40 a.m. CDT

WATERLOO, Iowa (AP) — The city with Iowa’s highest black population has settled lawsuits against white police officers who roughed up three African-American residents, including a 13-year-old girl who was handcuffed after yelling at a passing officer to “slow down.” The cases reveal how Waterloo’s overwhelmingly white police force has an often-rocky relationship with black residents. The city’s insurer is expected to pay $170,000 to settle three lawsuits, and an unspecified additional amount to the girl’s family.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — A National Park Service report says the agency is “astonished” that superintendents at a Native American burial site in Iowa were able to break the law and damage its resources over two decades. The agency released a 50-page review Thursday examining what went wrong in two high-profile debacles at Effigy Mounds National Monument in northeast Iowa.

BURLINGTON, Iowa (AP) — A Des Moines County jury has found a former Burlington city councilman guilty of four felony counts of sexual abuse involving teenage girls. The Hawk Eye reports that after two days of deliberations, the jury found Chris King guilty on Thursday. King had maintained that sex with the girls was consensual, but prosecutors said the girls were incapacitated by alcohol King provided and unable to consent to sex.

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — Authorities in North Dakota have arrested a dozen people protesting the $3.8 billion Dakota Access Pipeline. Morton County Sheriff Kyle Kirchmeier said the 12 arrests as of Thursday evening were for disorderly conduct or criminal trespass. The pipeline would start in North Dakota and pass through South Dakota and Iowa before ending in Illinois.

Fremont County Sheriff Kevin Aistrope reports two men were arrested late Thursday night on drug and alcohol-related charges. At around 11:45-p.m., Police in Tabor conducted a traffic stop and with the assistance of Fremont County deputies, subsequently arrested 53-year old Donald Wayne Younts, of Tabor, for Possession of a Controlled Substance/Marijuana, Possession of Drug Paraphernalia, and for OWI. Younts was being held at the Fremont County Law Enforcement Center on $2,300 bond.

Donald Younts

And, at around 10-p.m. Thursday, Fremont County Sheriff’s Deputies were called to the Farragut Tavern for a disturbance. After they arrived, deputies met with 27-year old Cody Gould, of Farragut, and as a result took him into custody for Public Intoxication. Gould was being held in the Fremont County Jail on $300 bond.

Cody Gould

The Cass County Communications Center said power has been restored to at least a section of the downtown area, and the street light signals are functioning. Still, you are advised to drive with caution, as there is tree limb and other debris on the roads that may be difficult to see at night.

Atlantic Municipal Utilities had reported earlier, power was out to an estimated 300-400 households and/or businesses in town, and for a time, the Cass County Communications Center and courthouse radio building were running on an emergency generator.

AMU crews are still working to restore power to those areas affected by an outage due to the storm that struck at around 8-p.m. Winds gusted up to 60-miles per hour in Atlantic as the front pushed through, taking down large tree limbs and power lines, including two AMU feeder lines.

9:15-p.m. 61-mph wind gust 3 miles south of Creston (AWOS – Automated Weather Observation System)

8:46-p.m. Emergency management in Adel reports numerous trees and power lines down throughout Dallas County, affecting Adel, Dallas Center, Redfield and Dexter. A tree limb fell on the Emergency Manager’s roof.

8:08-p.m. 59-mph wind gust at the Atlantic Airport.; Numerous tree limbs down in Atlantic, an estimated 300-400 people without power according to AMU; Cass County Comm. Center on Emergency Generator; Street and stop lights out from Olive to Locust Street and 10th Street on North through the downtown area.

8:05-p.m. 4-to 6-inch tree limbs and power lines down in Bayard.

(Additional reports will be posted Friday morning, once all the information is relayed to the National Weather Service)

Atlantic Municipal Utilities reports power is out to an estimated 300-400 households and/or businesses in town. The Cass County Communications Center and courthouse radio building were running on an emergency generator.

The Cass County Comm. Center/Emergency Management reports traffic lights are out around downtown Atlantic. Please avoid driving in this area. If you must travel, drive with caution. AMU crews are working as quickly as possible to restore power, but there is still lightning and rain in Atlantic, which is making the situation more hazardous. Please be patient.

The Red Oak Police Department reports the arrest Wednesday of a Red Oak man on a charge of Domestic Abuse Assault, a simple misdemeanor.  At 5:45pm officers arrested 21-year-old Shae Daniel Lewis of Red Oak in the 1200 block of East Summit Street.  He was taken to the Montgomery County Jail and held on no bond until seen by a magistrate.

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DES MOINES IA
830 PM CDT THU AUG 11 2016
..TIME… …EVENT… …CITY LOCATION… …LAT.LON…
..DATE… ….MAG…. ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. …SOURCE….
..REMARKS..
0808 PM TSTM WND GST 2 WNW ATLANTIC 08/11/2016 M59 MPH CASS IA AWOS REPORTED AT the Atlantic Airport.

Huge tree down south of the intersection of 7th & Olive just before 8-p.m. Thursday, blocked the southbound lane. (Ric Hanson photo)

I-80 westbound east of exit 60 (62 mile marker) one lane is blocked due to a electronic message sign on the interstate! (Update 9-p.m.: the sign has been pushed out of the traveled portion of the road)

0805 PM TSTM WND DMG BAYARD 08/11/2016 GUTHRIE IA EMERGENCY MNGR POWER LINES DOWN IN TOWN. 4 TO 6 IN LIMBS DOWN IN TOWN. TIME ESTIMATED FROM RADAR.

0846 PM TSTM WND DMG ADEL
08/11/2016 DALLAS IA EMERGENCY MNGR
NUMEROUS TREES AND POWER LINES DOWN
THROUGHOUT DALLAS COUNTY. CITIES AFFECTED
INCLUDE ADEL, DALLAS CENTER, REDFIELD, AND
DEXTER. TREE LIMB ON EM’S ROOF. TIME
ESTIMATED FROM WHEN STORM HIT ADEL.

Cass County Deputy Auditor Sheri Karns said Thursday, one person had filed papers to run in the November 8th Cass County General Election. Jody Lorence filed her papers for a single seat on the Cass County Memorial Hospital Board of Trustees, in the NorthWest District. The seat is currently held by John Molgaard.