More area and State news from KJAN News Director Ric Hanson.

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Iowa State University Theatre has announced that for the first time, it is accepting applications for freshman scholarships. The dollar amount of scholarships awarded will total $14,000, including two $2,000 scholarships. The scholarship are available through the generosity of Frank Ferguson, an Iowa State University alum.

Any student with a 3.0 high school G.P.A. who has been admitted and accepted to Iowa State University, majoring in Performing Arts with an emphasis in either
Acting/Directing or Theatrical Design and Technology is eligible. Applicants will need to complete a scholarship application form which can be found at http://tinyurl.com/h69zfum and e-mail a resume and two letters of reference to ISUTheatre@iastate.edu. Upon completing the application process, candidates will be
contacted to schedule an audition/interview time.

Scholarship auditions and interviews will be held on Saturday, March 19, 2016 at
Fisher Theater on the Iowa State University Campus in Ames. Actors will present a
three-minute audition consisting of two contrasting monologues. Design/technical
students will present a portfolio of their work, including a ten-minute presentation.

The audition/interview day will also include an interview with the Theatre
faculty scholarship committee, an informal discussion with ISU Theatre students, and
include a tour of the Fisher Theater facilities. Questions can be addressed to Associate Professor of Theatre Brad Dell at dellbrad@iastate.edu or by calling 515-294-0184.

Bill Menner, USDA Rural Development State Director in Iowa announced Monday, the availability of $232 million in guarantee home loan funding and more than $9 million in direct home loan funding to qualified rural Iowa households for the remainder of 2016.

With guaranteed lending a loan is made to a borrower by the lender following the same basic steps as a conventional loan. USDA Rural Development provides up to a 90 percent guarantee to the lender on qualifying loans, reducing the lender’s risk in the event of a default by the borrower. Direct home loans through USDA Rural Development feature 33-year loan terms and payment assistance is available.

USDA Rural Development’s guaranteed home loan and direct home loan programs offer competitive interest rates, fixed terms and require no down payment to help eligible families living in rural communities and areas purchase new or existing homes. Loans, and some grants, are also available to help families make needed repairs to their homes.

Typical income limits for a household of four are $75,650 for the guaranteed loan program and $49,450 for the direct loan program. Income limits vary by county and household size, so applicants are encouraged to contact USDA Rural Development staff for limits in their specific area. Eligible homes must be located in a rural area and/or a community of generally less than 20,000 residents.

Further information about housing programs available through USDA Rural Development is available by calling (515) 284-4444, or by visiting www.rd.usda.gov/ia, or emailing DirectIA@ia.usda.gov or rd-grhia@ia.usda.gov.

The area’s top news at 7:06-a.m., w/KJAN News Director Ric Hanson

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Officials with the Trevor Frederickson Foundation have announced applications are currently being accepted for the 7th Annual Trevor Frederickson Memorial Scholarship. Applications may be obtained from the Atlantic High School Guidance Office at 1201 E 14th Street or the Atlantic High School website: www.atlanticschools.org

Two $750 scholarships are available to those graduating from Atlantic High School in the spring of 2016. Applicants must plan to attend a college or vocational school, show involvement in school and/or community activities, supply a copy of their college acceptance letter, provide two letters of reference along with their 7 semester transcripts, and maintain academic achievement of 2.5 or better. The scholarships will be awarded at the Atlantic High School Class Night held in May.

Trevor Frederickson

Trevor Frederickson graduated from Atlantic High School in 2006. He went on to further his education at Southwestern Community College in Creston where he studied automotive mechanics and played baseball for the Southwestern Spartans. Two additional $750 scholarships will be available for Southwestern Community College Students this fall.

Trevor, who passed away in 2009 had plans of pursuing a career in law enforcement and returning to his hometown of Atlantic. Fund for the scholarships are raised at our annual golf tournament. Plans are already in the works for the 8th Annual TFred Memorial Golf Tournament to be held on Saturday, August 13, 2016. Organizers look forward to another successful tournament so they can continue to grant scholarships for many years to come.

WAUKEE, Iowa (AP) – The school board in Waukee wants high school students to recite the Pledge of Allegiance. The Des Moines Register reports that the board told staffers Monday to have the students say the pledge at least once a week. A parent had asked the board earlier this month why students stopped saying the pledge when they reached 10th grade.

The Waukee district elementary students say the pledge daily, and students in eighth and ninth grades recite it on Mondays.  Superintendent Dave Wilkerson says he’ll meet with administrators to discuss best practices and options, so it could be a few weeks before the 10th-, 11th- and 12th-graders are asked to say the pledge.

Sheriff’s officials in Adams County report a traffic stop Monday afternoon near the intersection of Highway 34 and Quince Avenue, resulted in the arrest of 29-year old Nicholas Richard Young, from Corning. Young was taken into custody for Driving While Suspended. His bond was set at $300.

Police in Red Oak report two arrests on Monday. Just before 9-p.m., officers arrested 57-year old Darwin Eugene Schurr, of Red Oak, on an active Montgomery County warrant for Violation of a No Contact Order. Schurr was being held without bond in the Montgomery County Jail, pending an appearance before the magistrate.

And, at around 2:15-p.m., 61-year old David Harry James, of Ankeny, was arrested in Red Oak for OWI. James was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on $1,000 bond.

Blood centers are taking some precautions to head off an issues with the Zika virus outbreak. LifeServe Blood Center spokesperson, Nicole Hanger, says they are following the F-D-A guidelines when it comes to dealing with blood donors who may’ve been exposed to the virus. “If you have traveled to any country where the Zika virus has been identified, then we want you to wait 28 days from the date that you return,” Hanger says.

A spokesperson for the Red Cross says they are also following the guidelines of having donors wait four week if they have been in a country where the virus is prevalent. The virus has spread primarily in the Caribbean, Central America, South America, Samoa and Cape Verde. Hanger says with spring break may take more people into the infected areas.

She says with spring break only weeks away, they are anticipating more travel to one of those countries, and more people becoming ineligible to give blood for awhile. Hanger says those who aren’t traveling to the Zika areas are asked to help out by donating blood. Hanger says they will try to make it easy by asking people if they have traveled to the Zika areas when they come in to donate blood.

“So that we can defer them prior to their registration and going through the whole process,” She says. “Ultimately our goal is to protect the blood supply, we want to make sure we have a safe and stable blood supply.” She says they don’t want to see another lag in the blood supply like they saw in recent months.

“During the winter months we often see the donations decrease simply because of the winter weather, which we experienced several weeks ago,” Hanger says. She says donors responded and help build up the supply again, but they have a need blood throughout the year, especially “O Positive” and “A Positive” right now. Hanger encourages everyone to think about donating.

“If you haven’t donated for awhile, and you don’t have any travel plans, we really need you to come in and give that life-saving blood donation to help sustain the donor base for those who maybe are traveling,” Hanger says. For further information, or to schedule a blood donation appointment, visit www.lifeservebloodcenter.org or call 800-287-4903. LifeServe Blood Center provides blood and blood products to more than 100 hospitals located across Iowa, Nebraska, and South Dakota.

(Radio Iowa)

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa utilities regulators plan to make a decision on whether to allow a Texas company to bury 346 miles of crude oil pipe under Iowa farmland next month. Iowa Utilities Board chairwoman Geri Huser says the three-member board intends to meet March 9 and consider an order pertaining to the permit application from Texas-based Dakota Access to build the so-called Bakken pipeline. Environmental and property rights groups oppose the project. Supporters say it’s a safer way to transport oil and it will create jobs.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A Louisiana construction company says in a lawsuit it is owed $53 million dollars for work done at the Iowa Fertilizer Co. plant in southeast Iowa. White Castle, Louisiana-based Maintenance Enterprises says in documents that it’s filed a mechanics lien with the Iowa Secretary of State. The company hopes to collect from Orascom, a subsidiary of an Egyptian construction company. It began in 2013 building the $1.9 billion Iowa Fertilizer Co., which Orascom has since been spun off as a separate limited liability company based in the Netherlands.

DECORAH, Iowa (AP) — The high-profile trial of a former Boone man charged with killing his wife is underway as court officials and attorneys begin selecting from a large pool of potential jurors. Forty-one-year-old Alexander Fazzino is charged with first-degree murder in the death of Emily Fazzino, who was found dead on a bathroom floor at the couple’s Boone home in January 2012.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Police say a man killed by Urbandale officers has been tied to a Des Moines killing. Des Moines police say the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation notified detectives last week that blood found at the scene of the January killing of 71-year-old Norma McNeeley matched that of 29-year-old Ali Eisa Abdalla Yahia, who was shot to death by Urbandale police on Feb. 13.