DES MOINES, Iowa – After some improvements in the 1990s, the poverty rate for kids in Iowa has been on the rise over the last decade or so, and a new report from the Annie E. Casey Foundation says a two-generation approach is the best strategy for strengthening those families.

Michael Crawford, director of Iowa Kids Count, said the method includes a focus on high-quality early education for children, while also providing parents with access to job training, career paths and other tools. “The two-generation approach really aims to create opportunities for families by equipping the parents and the kids with the tools they need to thrive,” he said. “That’s the whole idea is, you really can’t look at just the children, you’ve got to look at the parents and the kids both.”

The report on the two-generation approach outlines how the public, nonprofit and private sectors could better coordinate their efforts to reduce poverty among the 10 million low-income families in the United States with young children.

Some specific actions that would help increase the economic opportunity for these families, said Crawford, include an expansion of the Earned Income Tax Credit, along with “increasing and making refundable the Child Tax Credit for low-income families. That’s a way to put some money in the pockets of low-income families, so they can afford day care and helps them with their monthly budgetary needs.”

In Iowa, he said, more than 250,000 children are living in low-income families. The report, “Creating Opportunity for Families: A Two-Generation Approach,” is online at AECF.org.

(Iowa News Service)

With KJAN News Director Ric Hanson.

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A former lawmaker from Iowa and retired member of the military has announced on his social media page he’s forming an exploratory committee in preparation for a decision on running as a Democrat for the U-S Senate in 2016. Retired Iowa National Guard Colonel Bob Krause would run against Republican incumbent Senator Charles Grassley, if Krause decides to run. Grassley has already announced his intention to seek another six-year term in 2016.

Krause said he’ll use the next several months to seek out Iowans’ opinions on what is important to them before making any formal announcement. He said that while it is was early in the season to announce, Grassley has already announced his intentions, and, as the underdog, he would need time to spread his message.

Krause said his primary issue would be to address Iowans’ stagnant incomes associated in-part with the minimum wage, and, the falling prices of harvested commodities, such as corn.

The Pottawattamie County Board of Supervisors say two county roads near Oakland are in such bad shape, they agreed on Monday that repairs on County Roads G42 and M16 should be moved up by three years. The Omaha World-Herald reports the request came from County Engineer John Rasmussen, who wants the 8.5-mile project done next year.

Police in Red Oak report a traffic stop early this (Wednesday) morning at the intersection of Highways 34 and 48 resulted in the driver of a vehicle being arrested on drug charges. 30-year old David Ray Sturgis, of Red Oak, was taken into custody shortly after midnight. Sturgis faces charges that include Possession of Drug Paraphernalia, a felony Possession of Contraband charge, and Driving While Suspended.

He was being held in the Montgomery County Law Enforcement Center in $5,000 bond.

A Council Bluffs elementary school student swapped a loaded round of ammunition for playing cards Friday on a school bus, prompting concern among parents and school officials. Titan Hill Intermediate School Principal Kent Stopak told the Daily NonPareil, the trade happened on a school bus. The child receiving the round of ammunition told his parents when he got home, and the parents reached out to the school Monday morning.

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press

FORT DODGE, Iowa (AP) — Authorities say three people have been arrested in connection to a lockdown at a community college campus in Fort Dodge. The Fort Dodge Police Department says the three people each face one count of aiding and abetting second-degree robbery. Court records do not indicate formal charges have been filed. Authorities are looking for a fourth suspect. No shots and no injuries were reported.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — An employee union is asking a court to overturn a ruling that bans state workers from wearing pins critical of Gov. Terry Branstad. The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees recently filed a motion asking the Polk County District Court to intervene in a ruling issued by the Public Employment Relations Board. The board ruled in October that the pins worn by employees at the Iowa Medical and Classification Center represent “special circumstances” that interfere with prison decorum.

DUNKERTON, Iowa (AP) — Residents and officials in Dunkerton are discussing whether they should retain their tiny police department following the chief’s resignation in August. Police Chief Tim Schultz resigned amid an investigation into the alleged misuse of a city credit card. His departure left Dunkerton with only one full-time officer. The job opening has raised the question whether Dunkerton should contract with the Black Hawk County Sheriff’s office for protection.

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (AP) — Officials say the number of human cases of West Nile virus in Iowa is down compared to last year. Iowa Department of Public Health officials say the state had 15 human cases of the mosquito-borne disease as of Oct. 31. There were a total of 44 human cases in the state in 2013.

Agencies that distribute food to the hungry are gearing up for what they anticipate will be a very busy winter ahead. Brian Barks, spokesman for the Omaha-based Food Bank for the Heartland, says this is the time of year when food drives pick up, but it’s also the season when food is needed the most, as more people in the region are requesting help. “This time last year, we were on pace to distribute almost 15-million pounds of food,” Barks says. “This year, we are on pace to distribute in excess of 16-million pounds of food.”

While donations have thankfully been more plentiful, Barks says the demand for food is even greater. “In Nebraska and western Iowa, approximately 217,000 people are at risk for hunger,” Barks says, “88,000 are children under the age of 18.” The food bank supplies food items to 285 pantries, homeless shelters and soup kitchens in 93 counties across western Iowa and Nebraska. A donation of just five-dollars, Barks says, can provide 15 meals.

(Radio Iowa)

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (AP) – State officials say the number of human cases of West Nile virus is down compared to last year. Dr. Patricia Quinlisk, state epidemiologist and medical director for the Iowa Department of Public Health, says the state had 15 human cases of the mosquito-borne disease as of Oct. 31. There were a total of 44 human cases in the state in 2013.

Quinlisk says the drop is connected to the weather. Total rainfall numbers were below average in May and July and just above average in June, August and September.The Council Bluffs Daily Nonpareil reports of the cases this year, eight people were hospitalized. There were no reported deaths.

No injuries were reported following a collision Monday afternoon, in Creston. The Union County Sheriff’s Office says vehicles driven by 22-year old Garrett Schneider and 56-year old Patricia Kralik, both of Creston, collided at around 4:45-p.m., when Kralik failed to yield at the intersection of Maple and Summit Streets.

Damage from the collision amounted to $6,000. Kralik was cited for Failure to Obey a Traffic Control Device.