(Radio Iowa) – Refugee resettlement agencies in Iowa are preparing for more refugees who were evacuated from Afghanistan last month. The Des Moines office of the U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants has already resettled one family and it expects the capacity to stretch to about 350 more Afghan refugees. Kerri True-Funk is the office’s director. True-Funk says, “We’re going to get overwhelmed pretty quickly, just with the number of ongoing arrivals that we have, in addition to Afghan folks.”

She says agency has received an outpouring of support from many Iowans for the effort, including the governor’s office. After consulting with the Iowa Bureau of Refugee Services, True-Funk says the hundreds of expected Afghans are in addition to the agency’s scheduled arrivals from other countries. “We haven’t started getting the bulk of people that were airlifted out at this point,” she says. “They are still in processing, so we’re kind of seeing how it goes along and playing it by ear.”

True-Funk says USCRI is being overwhelmed with calls from Iowans who want to help. The best way to do that, she says, is through cash donations.

(By Kassidy Arena, Iowa Public Radio)

(Des Moines) – Former President Donald Trump is scheduled to hold a rally in Iowa, next month. His leadership Political Action Committee, Save America, announced Tuesday Trump will make an appearance at the State Fairgrounds in Des Moines, on Oct. 9^th.

Doors open with live entertainment at 2-p.m., with Trump’s speech set for 7-p.m. Tickets are limited to two per mobile number, are available on a first-come, first-served basis through Save America.

Trump’s last visit to Iowa was just before the election in November, 2020, during a rally in Dubuque. 

Police in Creston report three people were arrested on separate charges, Tuesday. At around 8-a.m., 52-year-old Patricia Schroeder, of Creston, was arrested at the Union County Law Enforcement Center, for Violation of a No Contact/Protective Order. She was cited for the offense, and then released on a Summons to Appear. At around Noon, Tuesday, Creston Police arrested 35-year-old Michael Simpson, Jr., of Creston, on an Adams County Warrant for Failure to Appear. He was transferred to the custody of Adams County.

And, around 5:35-p.m., 35-year-old Daniel Snyder, of Diagonal, was arrested in Creston for Public Intoxication. He was being held in the Union County Jail on a $300 bond. Authorities said also, a man residing in the 600 block of Poplar Street, in Creston, reported Tuesday afternoon, that sometime in the previous 24 hours, someone had entered his vehicle that was parked at his residence, and stole his wallet that contained cash, credit cards and checks. The loss was estimated at $1,000.

(Radio Iowa) – The Board of Regents, Tuesday, approved plans for the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics to build a facility in North Liberty that includes a hospital that local health officials spoke out against. C-E-O Suresh Gunasekaran told the Regents the hospital is part of a double building. The right hand side of it is a hospital and on the left hand side of it is an academic and clinic building. Together the proposed budget is 395 million,” Gunasekaran says.

The State Health Facilities Council approved the plan on a 4-1 vote after voting 3-2 against the plan in February. The administrators at other hospitals in the area argued the new hospital will expand beyond specialty care and take away their patients. Gunasekaran’s presentation to the Board of Regents mirrored his remarks in the State Health Facilities hearing. “The justification for this building is the continued need for expanded clinical care at U-I Healthcare. As well as the need, every time we expand our clinical capacity, to also expand our academic capacity,” he says.

A member of the board asked Gunasekaran how they were going to avoid the cost overruns of millions of dollars when they built the U-I Children’s Hospital. He says they have put several safeguards in place to try and prevent that from happening. “One such feature is the construction manager at risk. Where one outside party is responsible for the total scope of the project and managing all of the component parts,” according to Gunasekaran. “We also took it one further step to allow that manager to participate in the design process and the development of the budget.”

He says they’re also getting input from those on campus. Gunasekaran says they’ve collaborated with the University of Iowa Design and Construction Services throughout the entire process — which he says is different than the last time.  A University of Iowa spokesman says this building is out in the open — which makes construction easier. Construction is expected to begin later this month, with completion in 2025.