(Radio Iowa) — The Iowa Department of Transportation is accepting applications for funding from the national Volkswagen Settlement, Debra Arp leads the team that is handling the grant paperwork. “Volkswagen came into a settlement with the U-S Department of Justice and created this trust fund to do environmental mitigation resulting from their defeat devices that were in the vehicles that resulted in faulty emissions testing,” according to Arp.

She says there is nearly five million dollars in funding available to various organizations. She says it is available to private organizations, public transit system operators, city, counties and schools which own and operate diesel powered equipment are eligible to apply. Arp says the goal is to upgrade to make the vehicles cleaner.

She says the funds will replace the current diesel engines being used to improve the emissions in the vehicles or equipment. Arp says anyone in the categories she mentioned is encourage to apply. She says there is four-point-nine million dollars available, with three-point-one million dollars available for buses, around one million dollars for trucks and 700-thousand dollars for non-road and transport equipment.

You can learn more about the funding and how to apply at the program website: www.iowadot.gov/vwsettlement.

(Radio Iowa) — A new state mandate that begins with the New Year requires all health care providers to send prescriptions directly to the patient’s pharmacy through a secure device and a special software program. The Chair of Family Medicine at Mercy One Central Iowa, Tim McCoy, says they launched the e-prescription system in their clinics last September.

“It does speed up things for nursing staff and patients don’t have to come to the pharmacy — or come to the clinic — to take a written prescription,” McCoy says. “A lot of my patients are elderly, and someone that has to come pick a script up, or they couldn’t get to the clinic.” Doctor McCoy says the system has benefited patients.

“Especially patients that have you know, troubles with transportation, elderly patients. It’s actually been very helpful and patients have been very appreciative of, of that,” according to McCoy.

E-prescriptions have been shown to reduce the number of pharmaceutical and medical errors — as well as the amount of falsified prescriptions, which have contributed to opioid misuse.

(Thanks to Natalie Krebs, Iowa Public Radio)

(Radio Iowa) — An author who lives in the tiny southern Iowa town of Bussey (BUS-ee) is offering a tribute to his home state and this region of the country with his new book called “Deep Midwest.” Robert Leonard says it’s a collection of poems, stories and essays about what it’s like to grow up and live in this part of the world — and it covers a range of topics to which most Midwesterners can relate.

“Farm country is a part of our identity, the weather, personal life, family, faith comes in every once in a while,” Leonard says. “Most of the time, it’s little things that happen around us that I find interesting. It’s the kind of sticky story you end up telling somebody about and I just wrote them down.” Sometimes it’s those small occurrences than can become important touchstones, even simple gestures like what some might call a “farmer’s wave” from a passing vehicle.

“There’s so many little things in life,” Leonard says. “Have you ever noticed that if you wave first, they’ll wave back the same way? If you just flip your one finger up, they’ll flip theirs. If you wave side to side, they’ll do the same, and if you start waving fast with just your fingers, they’ll pick up their pace. It’s just remarkable stuff that’s all around us.” Leonard was raised in a farmhouse with no plumbing in a community between Des Moines and Johnston known as Dogpatch, what he calls an “idyllic” place between the city and the country.

While he’s lived in several other states and regions, he decided to return to Iowa to settle down and has found solace in collecting and sharing stories. Leonard, who earned a B-A in history from the University of Northern Iowa in 1977, says life surrounds us with amazing, touching tales every day.

) “It’s everywhere, it’s not just the Midwest. This is where I’m writing and these are my observations,” Leonard says. “They’re just fun and sometimes they’re tragic. Sometimes there’s deaths involved, it’s real life. It’s a lot of bars and other kinds of interesting places.” The book is being published by Ice Cube Press.

Officials with SHIFT ATL in Atlantic said Wednesday, Xi Beta Phi, Chapter Beta Sigma Phi recently donated the proceeds from their annual holiday greens sale to the non-profit SHIFT ATL. The funds will be used to match the Community Catalyst Grant the organization is currently applying for.

Pictured left to right are Mackenzie Bandow, SHIFT ATL and Sara Nelson, Xi Beta Phi, Chapter Beta Sigma Phi. (Photo submitted)

NEWTON – Officials with the Iowa Department of Corrections report, lateTuesday night and early Wednesday morning, department staff and local fire department personnel responded to a fire at the Correctional Release Center, a minimum security facility adjacent to the Newton Correctional Facility. There were no injuries suffered in the incident.

Staff first discovered smoke coming from the facility’s laundry area at approximately 10:16 p.m., Tuesday, and fire emergency protocols were initiated. A call for assistance in containing the fire was answered by the Newton Fire Department, who was on the scene by 10:35-p.m., as the fire was becoming more severe in the laundry room. Soon after their arrival, fire crews from Monroe and Reasnor also responded to the scene to offer assistance. By 10:43 p.m., crews had began suppressing the fire.

While awaiting the fire department’s arrival, inmates were evacuated to a safe area of the facility. A head count was conducted and completed with all inmates accounted for by 11:03 p.m.

As of the latest report, the damage from the fire was contained to the laundry room. The severity of damage to the laundry room is still being assessed. While it appears the fire originated from a dryer, the department will investigate the cause of the fire and ensure all areas of the facility are safe for staff and inmates.

ELDON, Iowa (AP) – Tiny Eldon in southeast Iowa has been losing population, jobs and business for nearly five decades, but one woman is trying to turn things around with a focus on tourism centered around the community’s famous landmark: the house that served as the backdrop for Grant Wood’s famous “American Gothic” painting.

Donna Jeffrey has lived in Eldon her entire life. The Des Moines Register reports that she is leading a downtown Eldon redevelopment nonprofit that seeks to reinvigorate the town by giving visitors a reason to spend more time and money there.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – A 14-year-old boy is dead after a shooting just hours into the new year in Des Moines. Police say the shooting happened about 3:50 a.m. Wednesday.  Arriving officers found the body of Josiah Woods along 17th Street. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Police Sgt. Paul Parizek told KCCI-TV that the shooting happened after a dispute at a gathering. Parizek said police sought information from people at the scene but the lack of cooperation was “frustrating.” No arrests have been made.