COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa – March 26, 2021 – Concrete pavement repairs on southbound Interstate 29 will require closing the ramp from eastbound I-480 (exit 53B) to southbound I-29 (West Broadway interchange) from 5:30 a.m. Monday, March 29, to 5:30 a.m. Tuesday, March 30, weather permitting, according to the Iowa Department of Transportation’s District 4 maintenance office.

During this closure, traffic will be detoured around the work zone by taking northbound I-29 and exiting at North 25th Street (exit 55) and then back on southbound I-29.

For more information about this part of the Council Bluffs Interstate System, go to http://councilbluffsinterstate.iowadot.gov/projects/west-broadway-interchange/.

The Iowa DOT reminds motorists to drive with caution, obey the posted speed limit and other signs in the work area, and be aware that traffic fines for moving violations are at least double in work zones. As in all work zones, drivers should stay alert, allow ample space between vehicles, and wear seat belts.

FORT DODGE, IOWA – The Iowa Dept. of Corrections, Friday, said 39-year-old Matthew Ray Patten, who was convicted of Domestic Abuse Assault in Boone County, failed to report to work from the Fort Dodge Residential Center as required early Friday morning.

Patten

Patten is a white male, height 6’0″, and weighs 286 pounds. He was admitted to the work release facility on February 18, 2021. Persons with information on Patten’s whereabouts should contact local police.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa coronavirus data continued to suggest Friday that virus activity is increasing in the state with infections and deaths continuing to rise. Similar trends were noted Friday by the White House COVID-19 Response Team members who expressed concerns about rising cases. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky says cases and hospital admissions are rising nationally and people should take this moment seriously and continue to wear a mask to avoid another surge.

Iowa reported 979 new cases on Friday and 19 additional deaths increasing the state death total to 5,708. The seven-day positivity rate increased to 4.8%.

(Radio Iowa) – The state unemployment rate was unchanged in February. The rate mirrored January at three-point-six percent despite an overall drop in non-farm jobs by 47-hundred. Iowa Workforce Development says a majority of the job losses came in construction –likely due to the extremely cold temperatures in February.

I-W-D’s analysis says the unemployment rate is expected to decrease in the coming months as temperatures continue to warm up and more people are given the COVID vaccine.

(Radio Iowa) – Potential 2024 presidential candidates are starting to test their messages with Iowa audiences. Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo addressed a crowd of Iowa Republicans early Friday morning.

There’s no firm date yet for the 2024 Iowa Caucuses, but the Iowa G-O-P’s chairman says there’s no pushback from national Republican Party leaders about keeping the Iowa Caucuses as the lead-off event in the presidential nominating process. Pompeo emphasized his service in the Trump cabinet and sketched out his own electoral history for the crowd — as a Kansas congressman and even his race for a seat on the board of his homeowners’ association.

Pompeo served as C-I-A director, then as Secretary of State.

Pompeo criticized the Biden Administration for what he described as its willy nilly approach to security at the country’s southern border. And Pompeo said the Trump Administration’s “America First” foreign policy was a fundamentally different approach that worked with Mexico, North Korea and Iran. Pompeo’s speech to the Westside Conservative Club in Urbandale was his only public event during his two-day trip here. He hosted a private fundraiser for Congresswoman Ashley Hinson of Marion, later in the day, Friday.

(March 26, 2021) – Diamond Vogel and Keep Iowa Beautiful have announced the grant awards for the 2021 Paint Iowa Beautiful program. The program provides free paint to a wide variety of public service projects throughout Iowa. Here is a list of area winners of the 2021 Paint Awards (City/Organization/Project to be painted):

• Adair; City of Adair; Chamber Quarters, City Park, signs
• Anita; DNR-Lake Anita State Park; Picnic tables and shelters
• Audubon; County Tourism; Butterfly Wings Mural on main street
• Bedford; Tinker Tots Preschool; Interior of new building project
• Carroll County; Carroll County 4-H; various public areas for Carroll County
• Casey; Casey Service Club; Building at 611 McPerson Street
• Clarinda; Page County Conservation; Rapp Park-entrance sign and restroom
• Clarinda; Economic Development Corp.; Three homes in need of painting
• Corning; 4-H/FFA Fair Assoc.; 4-H event center building and barns
• Council Bluffs; Habitat for Humanity; Homes throughout Council Bluffs
• Denison; Operation paint brush; Homes that need painted in Denison
• Denison; Women in Business; Washington Park
• Elk Horn; City of Elk Horn; Pool House
• Farragut; Hometown Pride Committee; Main Street store front business and public library
• Glenwood; City of Glenwood; Interior of restrooms in park and rec departments
• Logan; Public Library; Meeting room reading nook & hallway
• Manning; City of Manning; Various Homes
• Missouri Valley; Missouri Valley Chamber; 20 picnic tables in the Missouri Valley City Park
• Mondamin; City of Mondamin; Library, City Hall & Maintenance Building
• Mount Ayr; Town of Mount Ayr; FEMA Safe Shelter, city curb, gutter, and fire hydrants
• Orient; The Wallace Centers of Iowa; Farmhouse, Gathering Barn kitchen, greenhouse and machine shed
• Panora; Panora Lions Club; Gable ends and facia trim boards
• Randolph; Hometown Pride; Depot Building, Fire Hydrants, Park Merry Go Round & War Memorial
• Red Oak; Red Oak Rotary Club; Playground basketball court and Red Oak Child Development Center
• Sac City; Sac City Chamber/Main Street; Local homes
• Shelby; City Of Shelby; gazebo, downtown buildings and picnic tables along trail
• Sidney; Sidney Hometown Pride; Silver Spur Bar & Grill.

In the 18-year partnership with Keep Iowa Beautiful, Diamond Vogel has awarded over 11,860 gallons of paint for 1,132 community projects in Iowa.

Doug Vogel, Vice-President, Marketing, of the Iowa-based Diamond Vogel, says “Governor Reynolds will be signing a proclamation designating April as Keep Iowa Beautiful month and we are pleased to do our part by awarding paint to 132 community projects in Iowa. The partnership with Keep Iowa Beautiful allows Diamond Vogel to assist and work with many local volunteers that help build communities, making Iowa one of the best states in the nation to live.”  Kevin Techau, Executive Director of Keep Iowa Beautiful, says “The Paint Iowa Beautiful program helps us increase our assistance to neighborhoods and communities in improving the attractiveness and beauty of where we live. These projects definitely improve the beauty of Iowa, its countryside and its communities.”

In addition to paint projects, join over 90 communities participating in Keep Iowa Beautiful’s Pick Up Iowa annual program by cleaning up litter and trash along Iowa’s roadsides, neighborhoods, streets, school grounds, parks and streams. Pick-Up Iowa is being held through June 30th, 2021 on any dates that work for your community. To participate you must register your group/organization at https://www.research.net/r/PickUpIowa_2021_SignUp Registered participant groups are eligible for a limited supply of free cleanup supplies such as bags, grabbers, safety vests and gloves donated by Keep Iowa Beautiful.

(Radio Iowa) – Speaker Pat Grassley says House Republicans are planning to set aside around 100 million dollars in next year’s state budget to expand broadband service in Iowa. “We’re going to have a General Fund appropriation that will make a significant investment in broadband,” Grassley says. In January, Governor Kim Reynolds asked legislators to approve 150-million dollars in incentives to companies that extend broadband in each of the next three years. Grassley says the lower, 100 million dollar figure fits within financial plans the House G-O-P is drafting. “We look at everything, whether it’s tax policy, these new appropriations, as a global picture,” Grassley says.

Reynolds has also been pressing to ensure the communications companies getting broadband grants provide the highest upload and download speeds. Grassley says the House plan would allow slower speeds, to allow companies like Mediacom that are employing a different technology to extend service in sparsely populated rural areas. “We agree. We want world class speed,” Grassley says. “However…(in) those areas where there’s one house every four miles, does it make sense for those local providers or the state to be investing the top dollar amount to just do that? How can we do it in a different way?”

Grassley says the House plan would allow slower speeds, so companies like Mediacom that are employing what’s called fixed wireless technology to extend internet service in sparsely populated rural areas could qualify for the state incentives. “Just between our farm and where my grandfather grew up is a fixed wireless tower where they’re providing service to dozens of homes with one place where fiber has been run,” Grassley says, “so there’s a way we think we can do this to get world class speed as well as a quick rollout and reach some of those areas that are hard to reach.”

Grassley made his comments this (Friday) morning during taping of “Iowa Press” which airs tonight on Iowa P-B-S.

(Radio Iowa) – An employee of the Starmont Community School District in northeast Iowa is charged with assaulting a student. The Fayette County Sheriff’s Office says they were called to investigate a report by school officials of an alleged assault by a teacher against a student on March 16th. The criminal complaint filed in Fayette County District Court says 49-year old Anita Smith of Edgewood allegedly grabbed a 16-year-old student’s arm during class and bit it. The bite left a red mark, some bruising and teeth marks. Smith told investigators that she was role-playing when the incident occurred. Smith had been placed on administrative leave during the investigation. She will appear in court on the assault charge at a later date.