Four fully-restored original warplanes from the World War Two era will be flying over Iowa next week, making one stop in the state for tours and flights. Michael Dober, volunteer coordinator for the Collings Foundation’s Wings of Freedom Tour, says it’ll be a rare opportunity to see the historic aircraft. “We’re bringing the B-24 in again, the last fully-restored J-model flying,” Boder says. “The B-17, the P-51 Mustang and this year, we get the B-25 also. It was the plane made famous in the raid on Japan.” Dober says these aircraft are the “real deal” and appear like they just came off the flight line in the mid-1940s.

“They have some bombs in the bomb racks, obviously not live,” he says. “The waist guns, you can pull up a pin and target whatever you want to as you’re flying over.” Visitors can walk through the aircraft or take a flight, for a fee. Dober says you’ll see how the planes were all business and had few comforts built in for the crews. “When these flew in World War II, you were in the heat, you were in the cold, you were in the rain, you were in the snow,” Dober says. “Then, throw in the anti-aircraft fire. These were warbirds. Their job was to end the war and you need to reflect back on it and just think, my God, these guys were true heroes.”

The tour will be setting up at the Ankeny airport, just north of Des Moines, on Monday through Wednesday. For more information, go to: http://www.collingsfoundation.org/event/ankeny-ia/

(Radio Iowa)

State, county and local government leaders announced plans for another massive data center Friday, that’ll be built in West Des Moines. Microsoft will build a four-phase center that will end up being nearly two million square feet by the time it is done in 2022. It’ll cost between one-and-a-half and two billions dollars and sit in Warren and Madison County. It will be the third data center in the city along with one in Altoona and one in Council Bluffs. Governor Terry Branstad says the new data center will create construction jobs as it is built and then eventually some 130 permanent jobs.

The governor says the history of the other three data centers helped sell Microsoft on the new center. “Once they saw the benefits of Iowa and the fact that we have low-cost reliable energy, we’re a good low-cost place to locate. And then it’s renewable — we lead the country in terms of renewable energy — over 31 percent of our energy generated by wind,” Branstad says.

West Des Moines Mayor Steven Gaer says a lot of planning went into getting the center in his city and it was not a given Micrsoft would build here. Known as “Project Osmium”, it will be the largest data center Microsoft has ever built in the United States. Gaer says the city did not offer any property tax rebates to the company to keep with its longstanding policy. That means the company will pay more than 12 million dollars in property taxes once the data center is completed.

Waukee has been one of the fastest growing cities in the state, and Gaer says that means they have to be prepared. He says they have to plan ahead and meet frequently to map our what the city is going to do from a planning and investment standpoint. The state Economic Development Board approved four-point-seven million dollars in tax benefits for the project. The announcement of the new data center comes on the same day that state unemployment numbers showed another increase to four percent. Manufacturers lost more jobs last month and Governor Branstad says that is a concern.

Branstad says it all has to do with the loss of farm income as farmers are not buying equipment and manufacturers like John Deere, Kinzee and Vermeer have to lay people off. He blames the Obama Administration and the cutting of the amount of renewable fuels required to be sold as a major reason for the drop in the farm income.
Branstad returned from the Republican National Convention in Cleveland for Friday’s announcement and says he talked with Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump about the R-F-S and its importance to the farm economy.

(Radio Iowa)

Former Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack was rumored to be one of the finalists to be Hillary Clinton’s running mate, but she announced Friday evening her final choice is Virginia Senator Tim Kaine. Vilsack and Clinton have known one another for four decades.

Vilsack’s first connection to Hillary Clinton runs through his wife and late brother-in-law. Tom Bell worked with Clinton on the investigation into the Watergate scandal. Clinton responded to the call when Tom Vilsack was running for governor in 1998, trailing badly in the polls and short of campaign cash. Clinton, who was the nation’s first lady at the time, hosted a fundraiser for Vilsack in Washington, D.C.

Clinton has described the speech Vilsack gave at the event as one of the best she’s ever heard. Vilsack and his wife have backed both of Clinton’s bid for the White House. Vilsack served two terms as Iowa’s governor. Hehas been President Obama’s first and only agriculture secretary. Vilsack and his wife own a home in central Iowa, near where his son, daughter-in-law and grandkids live.

Vilsack, who is 65 years old, talked last year about life after the Obama Administration. He said he wants to move back to Iowa full-time — at some point. That leaves the door open to staying in Washington and working in the next administration, if Clinton wins in November.

(Radio Iowa)

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 3:00 a.m. CDT

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) — A Woodbury County jury has found a Sioux City man guilty of first-degree murder for the shooting death of another man in the northwest Iowa community of Sloan. The jury found 30-year-old Timothy Schroeder guilty Friday for the Jan. 9, 2015, death of 29-year-old Dustin Wilder at Wilder’s home. The verdict came only hours after closing arguments in the case were made.

GRIMES, Iowa (AP) — Police in a suburban Des Moines city say a young boy has been found dead and his mother unresponsive inside a home. Des Moines television station KCCI reports that police and medics responded to the Grimes home following a 911 call just after 10 a.m. Friday. Polk County Sheriff’s Major Brent Long says a child about 7 or 8 years old was found alone outside in the yard when officers arrive. The mother and dead boy were found inside.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — An idled steel castings foundry in Keokuk may come to life again and create 200 jobs with approval of state incentives. The Iowa Economic Development Board on Friday approved $1 million in loans and additional tax breaks to reopen the former Keokuk Steel Manufacturing Co.

DUBUQUE, Iowa (AP) — Officials say heavy rainfall caused a section of roof on the former Dubuque Brewing & Malting building to collapse. The Telegraph Herald reports that the collapse happened after storms dropped about 1.5 inches of rain on the area Thursday night. The building, erected in 1920, currently houses Auto & Truck Parts Inc.

Officials with the Cass County Health System (CCHS) say as of July 1st, CCHS is now the official public health agency for Cass County. Public Health’s goal is to improve and protect the health of area residents, and the department will continue to partner with the Local Board of Health, healthcare providers, organizations, and the Iowa Department of Public Health to provide quality services for Cass County residents.

Public Health Staff

Beth Olsen, RD, who is the new director of Cass County Public Health, says “Our goal as your local public health agency is to prevent injuries, promote healthy behaviors, protect against environmental hazards, strengthen the public health infrastructure, prevent the spread of disease, and manage public health emergencies.”

Current Public Health programs include: Parents as Teachers, Care for Yourself, Wise Women, maternal child health, family planning, lead poisoning surveillance, immunization programs, disease surveillance and volunteer transportation.

Questions about Cass County Public Health services should be directed to 712-243-7546 or their office at 1408 East 10^th Street.

The Fremont County Sheriff’s Office reports three roads will be closed to thru traffic from 9-a.m. to 7-p.m. Sunday, July 24th, due to RAGBRAI. The roads are:

• 120th Street (J-18) from US Highway 275 to US Highway 59.
• 330th Avenue (L-68) from Waubonsie Avenue to State Highway 2, and
• 190th Street (J-32) from 330th Avenue to US Highway 59.