(Radio Iowa) – Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird will deliver a speech at the Republican National Convention later today (Tuesday). “I’m speaking about making America safe again,” Bird says, “a speech supporting President Trump and his priorities of to keep our communities safe and how much he appreciates our law enforcement.” Bird was the only statewide elected official to endorse Trump before the Iowa Caucuses. She declines to speculate on whether she’d accept a role in Trump’s Administration next year if he wins in November.

“Biden’s been a disaster and we all remember how much better we were when Trump was president,” Bird says. “Just glad to be supporting his campaign and be helping him all the way up through the Caucuses until today.” On the convention’s first day, Bird was tapped to oversee the process of nominating J.D. Vance as Trump’s running mate. Bird was standing in a holding area just behind the convention stage when she spoke with Radio Iowa Monday afternoon.

“The mood here in Milwaukee is so positive and everybody’s so excited,” Bird said. Bird, a Guthrie County native, is an attorney who served as Congressman Steve King’s chief of staff and legal counsel for Governor Terry Branstad. She ran unsuccessfully for Iowa attorney general in 2010, finishing 11 points behind long-time Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller. She defeated Miller in 2022 by about 20-thousand votes.

KNOXVILLE, Iowa — The Iowa State Patrol reports one person died and another was injured, Monday afternoon, when a minivan crashed through an exterior wall of a Knoxville health care facility, striking a resident. The accident happened around 3:20 p.m. Monday at the Accura HealthCare facility when a 2014 Chrysler Town & Country van traveled through a parking lot, went out of control and accelerated through the parking lot before crashing into a wall and a resident’s room. The resident was pinned in her room and required extraction.

The resident, 70-year-old Rebecca Richardson, of Knoxville, was pronounced dead at the Knoxville hospital. The driver of the van, 86-year-old Doris McCombs, of Knoxville, was transported by air ambulance to a Des Moines hospital. The incident remains under investigation.

Due to damage to the building and “in an abundance of caution,” first responders ordered the facility to be evacuated until the building can be evaluated, Accura HealthCare said in a press release. By 9 p.m., repairs were made to the building and it was deemed safe for residents to return.

Accura HealthCare of Knoxville has 51 residents. It primarily houses seniors needing long-term care.

(Radio Iowa) – A retired U.S. Air Force Special Operations member who used to live in Le Mars was sitting just a few feet away from former President Donald Trump during the assassination attempt in Pennsylvania Saturday.

Jim Truemper had seats in the bleachers slightly to the left of Trump. “It happened quick pretty quick i’ll tell you that. I was standing up everybody was cheering, because when Trump first came up on stage he looked up to us in the bleachers and we’re all going crazy,” Truemper says. “And he was just only you know, four or five maybe six minutes into his spiel whenever the first shots rang out.”

He describes how things unfolded from his vantage point. “I heard three shots. The third shot is when he grabbed his ear and he dove to the floor. He took that third hit in his ear, and he dove to the floor and then Secret Service was immediately on him. They were moving into first down to the first shot. And then there were three more rapid shots. And it was over,” he says. Truemper was not far away from the retired Pennsylvania firefighter who was killed in the attack.

“The poor fireman was about 20 feet to my right guy that was that was killed right in front of his family, there were heroic efforts to try to save him, but he was already gone,” Truemper says. Truemper says there were some anxious moments after Trump went down on the stage. “For that 30 seconds we’re all terrified that oh my god, this is really, really bad. Because they’re not standing him up, you know maybe he was critically shot. Then they stood him up and he raised that fist, oh my god the crowd just lost it,” Truemper says.

Truemper says being a witness to the attempted assassination won’t deter him from attending future rallies. Truemper left Le Mars and returned to his hometown near Pittsburgh after retiring from the Air Force.

Connections Area Agency on Aging official have announced they are hosting two virtual Family Caregiver support groups in August. Connection’s Family Caregiver Specialist Danika Jarrett invites family caregivers to join the virtual support groups a safe place for family caregivers to discuss the challenges and rewards of caring for a loved one.

To register and receive the meeting link contact Danika Jarrett at:  djarrett@connectionsaaa.org or call 800-432-9209 ext 8113. The support groups will take place August 15^th at 10 am and August 20^th at 2:30 pm and will last about an hour. For more information please contact, Danika Jarrett, Family Caregiver Specialist at Connections Area Agency on Aging at 800-432-9209, Ext. 8133 or djarrett@connectionsaaa.org

Connections Area Agency on Aging Family Caregiver Program supports people who care for their parents, spouses, or others aged 60+ by providing information, resources, and support and Grandparents Raising Grandchildren aged 55+ who support their grandchildren.

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Connections Area Agency is one of six Area Agencies on Aging in Iowa, and part of a nationwide network. With a mission of enhancing the quality of life for elders in 20 counties through education, planning and coordination of services, Connections Area Agency on Aging is the premier agency for assisting elders, caregivers, and their families to access the information and services needed for independence and life transitions. Offices are located in Council Bluffs, Creston and Sioux City. For more information, contact Connections AAA at 800-432-9209 or at www.connectionsaaa.org

• Visit DisasterAssistance.gov
• Call FEMA directly at 800-621-FEMA (3362)
• Download and use the FEMA app
• Visit any Disaster Recovery Center to apply or get application assistance

• The State Disaster Recovery New Housing Grant Program application is open now for developers. The program ID is 571222.
• The Disaster Recovery Housing Assistance Program application is open now for disaster-impacted homeowners. The program ID is 28.

(Council Bluffs, Iowa) – Officials with the Community Foundations of Southwest Iowa have announced that applications are now being accepted from organizations providing charitable services in seven counties: Audubon, Cass, Fremont, Harrison, Mills, Montgomery, and Shelby. Page and Crawford counties participate in proactive grantmaking during the fall, rather than accepting applications. There is more than $400,000 available across the seven listed counties in this grant cycle, and those interested in a breakdown of the funding can learn more at swiowafoundations.org.

Beginning July 15, application details, a fact sheet, and a link to the application form can be found on the website. Applications will only be accepted through the online system. Only organizations providing services in each county are eligible to apply. They must be able to demonstrate broad community/county support and be an IRS-approved 501(c)(3) public charity, a local municipality, or a fiscally sponsored project.

The Community Foundations of Southwest Iowa aims to improve the quality of life in each county by supporting community needs in the areas of civic engagement, culture, health, education, and social services. The objective of the grant program is to fund projects that will have a lasting impact.

The grant funds are made possible by the generosity of local donors.