A Missouri man was injured during a crash this (Thursday) morning, in western Iowa’s Monona County. The Iowa State Patrol says 36-year old Gene Lawrence Odell, Jr., of Kansas City, MO., who was not wearing a seat belt, was transported by Burgess Ambulance to the Burgess Hospital in Onawa, following the accident that happened at around 6:20-a.m. on Interstate 29.

Odell was driving a 2016 Honda Accord northbound on I-29 above the posted speed limit, when he rear-ended the trailer of a semi that was traveling north in the right hand lane. After striking the trailer, the Honda spun off the road into the east ditch, before hitting a fence. The semi, driven by 59-year old Mikhail Kirilovich, of Lynwood, WA, pulled over onto the shoulder following the collision.

The State Patrol says speed and alcohol were factors in the crash.

The Enhance Iowa Board awarded $878,616 in Community Attraction and Tourism (CAT) grants to a fine arts center in Forest City, a pedestrian bridge in Nora Springs and a theater renovation project in Audubon. The three awards mark the first awards made by the new Enhance Iowa Board, created in the last legislative session through Senate File 2308. The Enhance Iowa Board approved the grants at yesterday’s (Wednesday’s) meeting in Des Moines.

Locally, the Rose Theater Renovation Project in Audubon received a requested CAT grant amounting to $61,250, for renovations to the interior and exterior of a historic theatre in Audubon.  Once completed, the theatre will offer family friendly movies on the weekends. The project is expected to cost $323,761 altogether. The grant is contingent upon completion of fundraising by December 31st, 2016.

The Iowa Finance Authority Board of Directors today (Thursday), announced grant awards of $730,680 to 16 homeless and domestic violence shelters to assist with costs associated with providing essential services and emergency shelter operations. The funding is made available through the state-funded Shelter Assistance Fund program.

In the KJAN listening area, projects awarded Shelter Assistance fund awards includes $47,500 to New Visions Homeless Services, in Council Bluffs.

Shelter Assistance Fund applications are accepted on an annual basis and are judged through a competitive process. The Iowa Finance Authority received 19 eligible applications for the 2017 round requesting approximately $900,000 in funding. The program is funded with proceeds from the Real Estate Transfer Tax.

A panel of judges scored the applications based on criteria in several categories, including: project design, experience and capacity, community partnerships, performance, budget and grants management and competition priorities.

The Iowa Council on Homelessness reports that 17,301 Iowans experienced homelessness or were at-risk of homelessness in 2015.

Sheriff’s officials in Union County say an Adair County woman was arrested Wednesday afternoon on a Union County warrant for Failure to Appear, on an original Possession of a Controlled Substance, charge. 19-year old Megan Riley Wilker, of Orient, was being held in the Ringgold County Jail on $2,500 bond.

Officials with the American Red Cross have announced Dan Haynes, executive director of the YMCA, has stepped up to serve Atlantic as the community blood drive coordinator. Haynes is replacing Diane Eblen, who will now fill the role of food coordinator for the drives. The site of community drives going forward, is also moving to the YMCA.

Haynes will work with the Red Cross to plan and host blood drives, recruiting blood donors to donate the blood products needed to treat patients from the area and across the country. The first Red Cross blood drive planned by Haynes will occur Thursday, Nov. 17th.

The Atlantic community is encouraged to make an appointment for the Nov. 17 blood drive to help ensure a sufficient blood supply. A seasonal decline in donations occurs from Thanksgiving to New Year’s Day when donors get busy with family gatherings and travel. However, patients don’t get a holiday vacation from needing lifesaving transfusions. In fact, every two seconds, someone in the U.S. needs blood.

How to donate blood: Simply download the American Red Cross Blood Donor App, visit redcrossblood.org or call 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767) to make an appointment or for more information. All blood types are needed to ensure a reliable supply for patients. A blood donor card or driver’s license or two other forms of identification are required at check-in.

Individuals who are 17 years of age in most states (16 with parental consent where allowed by state law), weigh at least 110 pounds and are in generally good health may be eligible to donate blood. High school students and other donors 18 years of age and younger also have to meet certain height and weight requirements.

Blood donors can now save time at their next donation by using RapidPass to complete their pre-donation reading and health history questionnaire online, on the day of their donation, prior to arriving at the blood drive. To get started and learn more, visit redcrossblood.org/RapidPass and follow the instructions on the site.

The Atlantic School Board and Administration is in what District Business Manager Mary Beth Fast called “the infant stages” of exploring the placement of a $23-million bond issue before the voters next year, to pay for improvements to the School District’s Buildings and Athletic facilities.

Fast told KJAN News she presented information before the Board during their meeting Wednesday night with regard to revenue and expenditure projections forecast out for one-year and a period of five-years. She says that’s enabled the District to address cash flow needs and the unspent authorized budget that puts them in a good position to propose a bond. (click on the left side of the audio bar to listen)

She said there three reasons having a $23-million bond wouldn’t affect the tax rate.

The Board would need to discuss the bond in the next few months, hold public hearings,  and have a special ballot issue next year, so that the bond, if approved, would be in-place for the 2017-18 school year. Superintendent Dr. Michael Amstein, said Jerry Purdy, with the Design Alliance Architect firm appeared before the Board Wednesday night to recap their options with regard to the dire need for instructional space. Those options, as previously mentioned, include: Do nothing; Look at the individual building needs and address them separately, or, construct a new Middle School with a price tag of about $19-million.

The Board also has been discussing the District’s Athletic facilities.

The Audubon County Sheriff’s Office reports the arrest Wednesday afternoon of a man wanted on an Audubon County warrant for Theft in the 2nd Degree. 49-year old Timothy Nathan Turner, of Kimballton, was taken into custody at around 2-p.m., Wednesday, in connection with an investigation into an incident in Kimballton. Turner was being held in the Audubon County Jail pending an appearance before the magistrate.

(9-a.m. News)

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – The Iowa Supreme Court has upheld a lower court ruling that said Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad acted within his constitutional authority when he vetoed funding for two state-run mental health care facilities last year and closed them.  Twenty legislators and Danny Homan, the president of the largest state employee union sued Branstad claiming a state law requires Iowa to have four mental health care institutes and limits Branstad’s ability to close the facilities by vetoing the money to run them approved by lawmakers.

The court concluded today (Thursday) that legislation doesn’t mandate the continued existence of state mental health institutes and Branstad’s veto fell within the governor’s constitutional line item veto power. The court agrees with a November 2005 ruling by District Court Judge Douglas Staskal and dismisses the lawsuit.