Creston Police arrested two people on drug charges, Wednesday morning. 27-year old Kurtis Fooken and 37-year old Justin Beckwith, both of Creston, were arrested at their residences at around 7-a.m., Wednesday. Both faces charges that include: Possession a Controlled Substance with Intent to Deliver, Possession of Drug Paraphernalia, Failure to Affix Drug Stamp, and Gathering Where Controlled Substances are used. Fooken was also charged with Possession of Marijuana 1st Offense, while Beckwith faces an additional charge of Dominion/Control of a Firearm by a Felon. Both men were being held in the Union County Jail on a $100,000 bond, each.

And, Wednesday afternoon, Creston Police served a warrant on Justin Beckwith while he was incarcerated in the Union County Jail. The warrant was for Parole Violation on an original charge of Possession of a Controlled Substance. Beckwith continued to be held in the Union County Jail on an additional $5000 bond, for a total bond amount of $105,000.

The Iowa-based offices of the U-S Small Business Administration report a big boost in loans to Iowa entrepreneurs with the fiscal year that ended September 30th. S-B-A spokesman Dave Lentell, at the agency’s Iowa district office, says it’s their mission to get capital into the hands of small business owners across the state who need it. “The SBA approved 484 guaranteed loans in Iowa, totalling $197.3 million,” Lentell says. “That’s a 9% increase in numbers from Fiscal Year 2015 and a 46% increase in dollars.”

The number of small business loans made by SBA rises annually at the national level, but with a relatively small population like Iowa’s, the state numbers don’t always hit new peaks every year. “Here in Iowa, it tends to fluctuate a little bit but for the last two years, our numbers have been slightly up,” Lentell says. “We attribute that to our increased efforts here in the state to better educate and inform small businesses on SBA programs and services.”

The report says the 484 loans approved during the fiscal year created nearly 25-hundred jobs in Iowa and retained another 34-hundred.  “The small business community here in Iowa is a very strong one. Over 98% of all businesses in the state are considered small. They are the engine that drives the economy,” Lentell says. “The important message is that SBA programs and services, including our financial programs, are here to help people start, grow and expand their own small businesses.”

The S-B-A has offices in Des Moines and Cedar Rapids and is available round-the-clock at www.sba.gov/ia

(Radio Iowa)

Police in Council Bluffs arrested a man this (Thursday) morning, for allegedly trying to steal copper wire from behind a former supermarket building. Officials say 33-year old Dustin Adkins faces charges that include 1st Degree Theft and 2nd Degree Criminal Mischief.

Officers on patrol at around 3:40-a.m.  in the area of 18th and W. Broadway saw a man behind 1817 West Broadway (the former-No Frills Supermarket). Upon further investigation, they discovered the man was in the process of stealing large gauge copper wire from the back of the building. Adkins was placed under arrest.

During the investigation, Adkins was also found to be in possession of methamphetamines, and had a valid warrant for his arrest (for Probation Violation- original charge Burglary and Possession of Controlled Substance). Adkins was being held in the Pottawattamie County Jail.

Dustin Adkins

ANKENY, Iowa (AP) – Officials say Iowa’s Transportation Department director has resigned. Department spokeswoman Andrea Henry told Des Moines television station KCCI on Wednesday that department employees have been notified about Paul Trombino III’s resignation. His reason for stepping down has not been announced publicly.

It’s unclear who will run the department after Trombino leaves his post, reportedly on Nov. 28. He was appointed director in May 2011. Before taking the post, Trombino worked 17 years for the Wisconsin Department of Transportation.

A manufacturing facility in northwest Iowa that currently employs 140 people will shut down by next October. Jim Michels, spokesperson for Eaton Corporation, says employees at the Spencer Eaton Hydraulics Plant were told the news on Wednesday.
“We met with employees to share that the company will be ceasing operations and closing the facility in Spencer by the end of the third quarter 2017,” Michels said.

The plant in Spencer manufactures heavy duty hydraulic pumps and motors. Michels said demand for the company’s products made in Spencer have been dropping. “By the end of September this year, North American Original Equipment, agriculture equipment sales were down almost 16-percent,” Michels said.

He also noted the Spencer facility supplies a lot of products for combines. “And as of the end of September 2016, North American combine sales were down 26.5 percent compared to September 2015 and year-to-date down 20.4 percent,” Michels said.

Everyone working at the plant will be given a 60-day notice prior to the elimination of their job, according to Michels. Those job cuts will begin in the first quarter of next year and continue through September. The Eaton plant in Spencer opened in 1974.

(Radio Iowa)