(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa Economic Development Authority is awarding Habitat for Humanity more than 700-thousand dollars in tax credits to build an affordable housing project in the central Iowa town of Waukee.

Walnut Crossing will be the organization’s first townhome development in the Des Moines metro area. Lance Henning, C-E-O of Greater Des Moines Habitat for Humanity, says the new units will help fill a big gap in the suburban housing market. Henning says, “There just aren’t very many opportunities that are in a price point for a large portion of the population that works there and a large portion actually of folks that are trying to stay there and live there but are paying way too much for their housing right now.” The 48 units are still in the design phase, but will contain three to four bedrooms each.

And, like Habitat’s other homeownership plans, buyers must earn 80-percent or less of the area median income in order to qualify. Henning says there’s a high demand for affordable units in the Waukee area.  “We’re excited about the way this partnership is between the community and Habitat for Humanity,” Henning says. “It doesn’t answer all the housing challenges on there but it’s a great step in the right direction.”

Habitat For Humanity Townhome at Baldwin Court in Council Bluffs (Conceptual drawing)

Part of the incentives will come as tax benefits through a state program that supports housing projects on empty or dilapidated land. Construction is expected to start near the end of next year with the first set of units completed in early 2026.

(Dickinson County, Iowa/[KTIV]) – One person was injured during a weekend motorcycle accident in northern Iowa. Police in Milford were called to the scene of the crash at 28^th Street and Highway 71, at around 6:20-p.m., Saturday.

Authorities report an on-scene investigation determined 49-year-old Chad Banks of Milford, was driving south on a 2013 Harley Davidson when the bike left the road and rolled. Arriving officers performed CPR on Banks after he was found unresponsive. Banks was transported to the local hospital for initial treatment before being taken to a hospital in Sioux Falls for additional treatment of what were described as debilitating injuries.

The accident remained under investigation.

DES MOINES, Iowa — Congressman Zach Nunn, last week, introduced a bill that looks to beef up law enforcement resources around financial fraud scams. “Pig butchering” is a term that refers to a scam where bad actors target individuals, specifically older generations, to convince them to partake in an investment opportunity which does not exist. Just last year, the Iowa Attorney General’s Office received 13,000 financial fraud reports resulting in around $42.6 million in financial loss for Iowans. In 2023, authorities around the country seized $300 million in stolen funds stemming from these online scams.

The bill looks to help local and state law enforcement agencies utilize federal grant funding to alleviate some unsolved cases at the state level, as a lot of these crimes do not call for federal intervention. Nunn, a Republican who represents Iowa’s 3rd Congressional District, said “I feel very confident, not only with bipartisan support, we are going to be bringing this up this month in committee. That gives us a clear shot to get this moved forward and start protecting seniors immediately, something we need and our law enforcement is desperately asking for.”

The bill is cosponsored by U.S. Representatives Josh Gottheimer (D) NJ-05 and Scott Fitzgerald (R) WI-05.

(Iowa News Service) – Iowa is getting federal help to eliminate lead water pipes in the state. The Iowa Department of Natural Resources is working with local water agencies, planning where to prioritize funds. As part of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, cities and towns in Iowa are reducing the number of dangerous lead water lines. The Iowa Environmental Council’s Director of Climate Initiatives Cody Smith said even homes built as recently as 1988 are connected to the local water utility with lead lines – which leaves people at risk, even in Iowa’s big cities like Des Moines and Council Bluffs.

“Particularly with the most vulnerable groups, such as unborn babies or young children, they have extreme and outsize risk related to exposure to lead through lead service lines,” said Smith. “That can cause higher levels of lead in the blood and lead to developmental issues for children.” The State’s Revolving Fund, which is the primary source for water infrastructure updates, has received more than $620 million as part of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. The IEC says more than 700 communities have benefited so far.

Beyond replacing lead pipes and updating water system infrastructure, Smith said Iowa could also benefit from help with what are known as non-point source projects. “Which is runoff from agricultural fields and from livestock operations that lead to nutrient pollution in source water,” said Smith. “And source water is water that’s used for drinking water somewhere in the state.” Smith said those strategies can help farmers and local utilities reduce nitrates and other pollutants in the soil.

Inside a pipe, rusty with water (AI created Image)

The Biden administration has a goal of replacing all lead water service lines in the U.S. by 2031.

(Radio Iowa) – A Powerball ticket worth half a million dollars will expire Thursday. Lottery spokesperson Mary Neubauer says the ticket was purchased at a Kwik Star in Mason City in March.”We’re down to the wire on this one, and certainly we’ve been giving reminders through the six-month period, or the 180-day period, that people have to claim this prize, but so far, we just haven’t heard anything,” Neubauer says. The ticket will be worth nothing once the Lottery shuts down Thursday. “The precise expiration time period for it is 4 p-m on Thursday some September 12th. This prize has to be claimed at lottery headquarters in Clive,” Neubauer says.

Neubauer says they have tried to do everything they can to make people aware of the prize. “You know, we did do an event up at the store to call attention to it. Certainly, we’ve put out reminders through the months,” She says.” When we were at the store, it seemed like folks who came up knew about the prize and had heard about it, and we’re talking about it themselves. So I think people’s guess would be as good as mine as to what happened with the ticket, did somebody just never check it and they threw it away?” This jackpot is a little unusual as it is from what’s called the “Double Play” option of Powerball.

(Iowa Lottery photo)

“That option was just added to the Powerball game here in Iowa back in November. And double play means that the numbers on your ticket are eligible for two drawings the night of the night that your ticket is good for,” Neubauer says. “So certainly it’s eligible for the Powerball drawing, but then the Powerball double play drawing occurs about 20 minutes after the regular drawing.” Neubauer says someone may’ve forgotten about the second drawing. “If you’re somebody who thinks maybe you had the ticket and you threw it away or you lost it, certainly call us at the lottery before that prize claim deadline, because we can put you in contact with our Lottery security folks,” she says.

500-thousand dollar prize will go back into the Iowa Lottery prize pool if it is not claimed by the deadline Thursday.

HULL, Iowa — One person sustained serious injuries after falling out of a window of a party bus on Saturday. According to a press release by the Sioux County Sheriff’s Office, Deputies responded at around 1:14-a.m., Saturday, to a 9-1-1 report of a person who fell out of a window of a moving bus on Highway 18, two and one-half miles west of Hull, IA.