DEXTER, Iowa (AP) — Fire has destroyed the home of an Iowa Army National Guard soldier returning from Afghanistan.

KCCI-TV in Des Moines says Pfc. A-Jay Irelan is to arrive in Iowa on Sunday. His house in Dexter, about 30 miles west of Des Moines, was damaged early Wednesday.

His girlfriend, Erin Richey, says she got the call at work. The home they shared with her son, Layne, was engulfed in flames.

Richey says the hardest thing was telling Irelan about the fire. He’s on his the way home after a yearlong deployment. Richey says he was just relieved that no one was hurt.

Richey says they don’t have insurance, and have found a home in Stuart to rent for now.

A Wells Fargo fund to help the family has been set up. You can donate at any Wells Fargo location, under the Irelan-Richey fund.

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (AP) — Residents of a Council Bluffs apartment are moving because of concerns about a sewer line.

City leaders have told residents of the Riverbend Apartments to leave because of a growing sand boil compromising the line.

A malfunctioning private pumping station and sewage line due groundwater bubbling is causing the concern. Fixing the problem isn’t an option, because the work could threaten a nearby levee along the flooding Missouri River.

About 70 families are affected. Some are moving to a nearby apartment complex or

Homecoming celebrations were held today (Thursday) in Cedar Rapids, Boone and Johnston for three Iowa National Guard soldiers returning from duty in Afghanistan. Some 50 soldiers from Company B of the Second Brigade of the 24th Infantry marched into the Johnston High School gym to bring their deployment to an end. Captain Nic Jones spoke to several hundred people who held signs and balloons welcoming home their family members.

Jones says it is heartwarming to see so many family, friends and employers there to welcome home the soldiers. “This is a great testimony to your carrying and support for these soldiers, and the sacrifices they have made for each of us,” Jones said. Lieutenant Colonel Doug Rossell spoke directly to the soldiers.

Rossell called the day a milestone and the culmination of a deployment into a “hostile theater against a determined, resistant and tough enemy.” He says today marks the beginning of a second mission to return the soldiers to the ones who care for them the most. Rossell thank the soldiers for their effort.

“Today as we repay your contributions, we do this by returning you to your family and friends, and we do so with the acknowledgment that nothing will replace the time taken from your lives to support the national interest,” Rossell said,”You put your lives on hold and at risk upholding the honor and integrity of the profession of arms and citizens soldiers. Your service, your sacrifice as you have heard many times and in many forums, reflect great credit upon yourselves, your unit, the Iowa National Guard and the United States Army.” The ceremony ended with soldiers being dismissed from their formation.

The soldiers were part of an intelligence unit that compiled intelligence reports and also flew unmanned aircraft. Today’s are the first of some 30 homecoming ceremonies for the 28-hundred Iowa troops sent to Afghanistan last October.

(Radio Iowa)

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Another homecoming ceremony is set for more Iowa National Guard soldiers returning from a yearlong deployment in Afghanistan.

The guard says about 105 soldiers will be welcomed home on Saturday (July 16th),  in the UNI Dome in Cedar Falls. The soldiers are with the Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1st Battalion of the 133rd Infantry.

Homecoming ceremonies were held on Thursday in Cedar Rapids, Boone and Johnson for 185 soldiers.

Nearly 3,000 Iowa soldiers were sent to Afghanistan last year. It was the largest single deployment of Iowa National Guard troops since World War II.

Iowa Governor Terry Branstad and Lt. Governor Kim Reynolds have scheduled additional town hall meetings across the state, focusing on education. The pair want to hear what ideas Iowans have about improving the quality of education in the state. The town hall meetings will be held prior to the administration’s Iowa Education Summit, which will take place July 25-26, 2011 in Des Moines, Iowa.

The Iowa Education Summit will focus on increasing teacher and principal effectiveness, raising academic standards and putting in place strong matching assessments and innovation that increases learning.

In the KJAN listening area, Branstad and Reynolds will attend a town hall meeting on education in Corning on Friday, July 22nd. The meeting will be held at Noon, in the Corning Elementary School gymnasium. That’s same afternoon, the two republicans will be in Carroll, for a 2-p.m. town hall meeting, at the Carroll High School Auditorium.

For more information, visit www.governor.iowa.gov.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Republicans have recruited a retired Air Force officer to challenge Senate Majority Leader Michael Gronstal in next year’s election. Pottawattamie County Republicans say they’ve picked Al Ringgenberg to run against Gronstal, saying Ringgenberg has impeccable credentials.

Gronstal, a Council Bluffs Democrat, was elected to the Iowa House in 1982, and won a Senate seat two years later. He used his power this year to block debate on a measure allowing voters to have their say on amending the constitution to ban same-sex marriage. He also was deeply involved in efforts to block a Nebraska doctor from opening a late-term abortion clinic in Council Bluffs.

The House and Senate could not agree on an abortion measure and nothing was passed.

Governor Branstad today (Thursday) approved a proclamation to enact the State Individual Assistance Grant Program. The program will be made available to Iowa residents living in the flood affected counties of Woodbury, Monona, Harrison, Pottawattamie, Mills and Fremont.

The State Individual Assistance Grant Program provides grants to families with household incomes at or below twice the federal poverty index. The maximum grant a family can receive is $5,000. The program is launched with a governor’s declaration and at the request of local officials. Applicants must be legal residents of the United States and need to provide all receipts for replacement items claimed.

For an application and instructions, see www.dhs.state.ia.us/Consumers/Assistance_Programs/CashAssistance/DisasterAssistance/StormHelp.html or visit the “Storm Help” link on the front page of the Department of Human Services Website, dhs.iowa.gov.