The Iowa Department of Natural Resources says the “DNR Derelict Building Grant Program” will award grants to 20 small, rural Iowa communities to help deconstruct or renovate abandoned structures and limit construction and demolition materials going to the landfill.
Among the Cities receiving a total of $630,900 as reimbursement grants for their projects, is:

• The City of Bridgewater — $16,200 to deconstruct the old school building and develop a new green/park space.

• The City of Imogene— $21,000 to inspect for and abate asbestos, complete a phase I and phase II site assessment, structural analysis and renovate the abandoned commercial bank building. Renovated building will be sold for commercial development.

• The City of Mapleton — $21,000 to renovate an abandoned commercial building. The site will then be marketed for commercial purposes.

• The City of Shelby — $49,075 to renovate an abandoned commercial building. The city plans on using the renovated structure to house the city council chambers and as a public meeting space.

The DNR Derelict Building Grant Program was instituted by statute to help rural communities with populations of 5,000 or less. DBGP funding is awarded annually on a competitive basis with cash matches required. Applications for the next funding round will be due in spring 2015.

The Atlantic City Council, Wednesday, approved the hiring of a new Wastewater Treatment Plant Superintendent. City Administrator Doug Harris says Tim Snyder, of Malvern, will succeed Mark Farrier, effective June 30th. Harris said Snyder is originally from Atlantic. He attended high school here, and was the Treatment Plant Superintendent in the early ‘90’s before left to work for PeopleServe, Inc.,  where he is currently a Regional Manager.

Farrier, who has been in charge of the new plant since it opened, is leaving to become a Missionary in Guatemala. Mark had a Class 3 Operators License, whereas Snyder has a Class 4 license. Farrier’s last day is June 3rd.

(12-pm News)

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – The family of a man who died at a southwest Iowa mental health institution has filed a claim against the state. Cleojean Olson, sister of Richard Meredith, says she recently filed the claim for $1.8 million through the State Appeal Board. If it is rejected, the family can file a lawsuit.

The Des Moines Register reports Meredith was 81 when he was a patient at Clarinda Mental Health Institute, last August. State records show staff gave him a peanut butter sandwich despite orders that specified he be given pureed food. Meredith was later found slumped over and unresponsive. He was pronounced dead a short time later.

Meredith’s family says state officials failed to disclose the circumstances of his death until the case gained media attention.

Historically low interest rates caused a local scholarship committee to cease awarding any new scholarships over the years, but officials with the Kruse Scholarship Trust Fund announced today (Thursday), that after working with the Audubon County/Omaha Community Foundation, the Kruse Scholarship Committee was once again able to award four $2,000 scholarships.

This year’s recipients of the Kruse Scholarships are:
Allison Blomme
Bailey Nelson
Emma Konkler
Madelyn Christensen

The Kruse Scholarship Trust Fund was first established in April 1995 by Albert & Wynona Kruse for the purpose of making scholarships available to Audubon High School students. The scholarships were to be funded through the interest earned on the starting principal of $200,000.

Iowans may have heard recently that new technology is making it possible for many Americans to text 911 in an emergency. In Iowa however, only a small percentage of cell phone users are currently able to use text to contact 911. Barbara Vos, E-911 Program Manager for Iowa Homeland Security and Emergency Management, says right now, the only Iowans who can use text to contact 911 are those living in Black Hawk County who have i-Wireless as their cell phone provider. Any other cell phone users who try to text 911 will receive a “bounce-back” message instructing them to contact 911 via a phone call.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Mitt Romney is returning to Iowa for the first time since the 2012 presidential election, this time to campaign for U.S. Senate candidate Joni Ernst. In a press release Thursday, Ernst’s campaign says the former Massachusetts governor will campaign May 30 with the southwestern Iowa state senator. They will visit Cedar Rapids and Davenport, eastern Iowa’s largest media markets.

Polls indicate Ernst leads a five-way race for the Republican nomination as the June 3 primary election nears. Ernst has been endorsed by a range of groups and individuals, from the tea party-backed Senate Conservatives Fund to the pro-establishment U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

Ernst supported Romney in the 2012 caucuses. Romney finished second in the leadoff presidential voting in Iowa but lost the state in November to Democratic President Barack Obama.

The Page County Sheriff’s Department reports a traffic stop Tuesday evening resulted in an arrest. 23-year old Matthew Thomas Riddle, of Braddyville, was arrested for Driving While Barred, after the 2007 Chevy Cobalt he was driving was pulled over at around 5:45-p.m., Tuesday, near the intersection of Highway 2 and 12th Street. Riddle was brought to the Page County Jail and held until posting a $1,000 bond.

No injuries were reported after a pickup and utility vehicle collided Wednesday night, in Page County. Sheriff’s officials say a 1998 Toyota pickup owned and driven by 24-year old Jeffrey Davison, of New Market, was traveling south on Willow Avenue at around 8-p.m., when Davison failed to stop at the intersection with County Road J-20.

His pickup hit a tilt bed trailer attached to a 2009 GMC utility truck, driven by 41-year old Scott Brown, of Clarinda, as Brown was traveling westbound on J-20. During the collision, the trailer became detached from the truck and came to rest in the south ditch.

The damage was estimated at $5,300. Davison was cited for Failure to Obey a Stop Sign.

The Mills County Sheriff’s Office today (Thursday), said two people were injured during separate accidents that happened Tuesday. The first occurred at around 9:40-a.m. Officials say Renae Gaver, of Glenwood, was driving a 2002 GMC eastbound on Highway 34, when she came upon an eastbound tractor. Gaver swerved onto the gravel shoulder of the road and turned to the left, causing gravel to be sprayed on the driver of the tractor. Her vehicle then crossed the median and nearly collided with a westbound cement truck before rolling over and coming to rest on its wheels in the north ditch. Gaver was transported by Glenwood Rescue to Jenny Edmundson Hospital in Council Bluffs.

The other accident happened at around 5:35-p.m. Tuesday near the Tabor City limits. Sheriff’s officials say Teresa Orme, of Shenandoah, was driving a 2008 Hyundai eastbound on Waubonsie Avenue, when for reasons unknown, her car crossed the road and went into the north ditch. The vehicle continued through a fence and finally came to rest in a field. Orme was transported by Tabor Rescue to the hospital in Shenandoah.