(Radio Iowa) – The holidays aren’t so happy for Iowans who are dealing with economic hardships and hunger, as the state’s largest food bank is seeing records for demand set month after month. Michelle Book, C-E-O and president of the Des Moines-based Food Bank of Iowa, says there’s still an impact being felt from the pandemic. “Pair that with the incredible inflation we’ve seen, and then a decrease in federal support for many of these families that are living right at or below the poverty level,” Book says. “So we have many of our pantry partners across our 55 counties have seen double, triple and some of them four times the need than a year ago at this time.” The organization just marked its 40th year of service and saw an increasing need throughout 2022.

“May was a record breaker in 40 years, and then June broke that record, July broke it, August broke it, and so forth as we’ve gone into fall,” Book says. “We have served close to 150,000 individuals and 53,000 households every month for the past six months.” They’re seeing young couples and their children using the services, and she notes that people typically don’t enter the pantry network unless there’s been a significant change in their world.

“Maybe a car repair, they’ve lost their job, their refrigerator doesn’t work,” Book says. “Most people are using the pantry maybe three or four times a year. They’re not there every day that the door opens, but they’re there when there’s some sort of catastrophe within their household where they just don’t have money left over to pay for food.” Book says donations are welcome and monetary gifts go farthest as the food bank can buy in bulk.

On the web at foodbankiowa.org

(Webster County, Iowa) – Police in Fort Dodge, Wednesday, arrested a man and a woman in connection with the murder of a newborn baby. Authorities report 24-year-old Taylor Blaha and 31-year-old Brandon Thoma,each face a charge of first-degree murder. Blaha is the mother of the newborn, and Thoma is the father. Thoma also faces an abuse of a corpse charge. His cash bond was set at slightly more than $1-million, while Blaha’s bond is $1-million.

Police have been searching for the baby’s remains since late November. The baby’s remains have not been found. Police say they got their first tip on Nov. 22 that a baby was born inside a home, later died and that their body was moved.

Police say lab results and interviews led to the couple’s arrests.

Blakesburg, Iowa – The Iowa Department of Public Safety reports the Iowa DCI (Division of Criminal Investigation) was called to an officer involved shooting Wednesday, near rural Blakesburg, in Wapello County. The incident occurred at the conclusion of a pursuit of an armed robbery suspect. The suspect was being treated for an apparent gunshot wound(s) at an area hospital.

No further information is being released at this time.

(Atlantic, Iowa) – The City Council in Atlantic, Wednesday, passed a Resolution approving the Amended Calendar Year (CY) Budget for the Atlantic Municipal Utilities (AMU).
AMU General Manager Steve Tjepkes said during the meeting, that the main reason for the amendment, is the increased costs of their purchased power. The wholesale market price of power in our area, he said, increased 67%, resulting in $1.8-million dollars in higher purchased power costs.

Despite the huge increase, Tjepkes said there is some good news….

He says there will not be an increase in electric rates for 2023, but for the first time in the last 3-years, the AMU Board of Directors has approved a slight increase in water rates, beginning with your February 2023 billing cycle. The increase is necessary, he said, due to a failing underground storage tank

Tjepkes said they will be replacing an underground water holding tank with an above ground tank. The project is expected to cost $1.8-million.

In other business, the Atlantic City Council approved a Class-C Liquor permit for Weitzel’s Restaurant, and the appointments of: David Schwab to the Atlantic Library Board of Trustees; Bill Garrett to the Atlantic Airport Commission, and Kyle Steffens to the Planning and Zoning Commission.

They also passed a Resolution approving the sale of City-owned property at 301 Maple Street (the structure was demolished and only the lot remains). Jamie Joyce has agreed to purchase to property for $10,000, with the intent to expand his graphic and design business.

Decatur County, Iowa – In an update to their previous report, officials with the Iowa Department of Public Safety have announced no foul play is suspected in the case of body found near a burned-out vehicle November 26th east of Leon, in Decatur County.

Deputies responding to 20210-272nd Avenue found the body of 69-year-old Michael Moulds, of Corydon, deceased in a field beside his burned vehicle. A joint investigation by the Decatur County Sheriff’s Office, Iowa State Patrol, and Division of Criminal Investigation showed that Moulds’ vehicle became stuck in the field and caught fire.

An autopsy conducted by the Office of the Iowa State Medical Examiner determined there was no physical trauma discovered that would have caused Moulds’ death. The final autopsy findings are pending toxicology.

(Radio Iowa) – The C-E-O of Wells Enterprises in Le Mars says he doesn’t expect much to change with the sale of the family owned business to an Italian company. Mike Wells says under the sale agreement with Ferrero of Italy, the ice cream company will remain a stand-alone business with its offices in Le Mars, and 100 percent autonomy. “The Wells name will be on the outside of the building, the management team will stay in place, they need all of our employees and that was a central part of what I call the trifecta protect the employees how to commit to the community and how to honor my family and its 109 years of ownership,” Wells says.

Wells Enterprises produces ice cream under the Blue Bunny brand and has offices in Le Mars and production operations in Le Mars, Henderson, Nevada, and Dunkirk, New York. Wells says Giovanni Ferrero visited with him in Le Mars to learn about the importance of the company to the city, and that was part of the reason he made the deal. “As I hauled Giovanni around when he was here in June, we went by the football stadium and we, you know, went by the trail system and all the wonderful things that wells over the years has had an opportunity to invest in,” Well says.

“And he got the punchline very quickly — that our commitment to this community is what makes this community what it is — and that they would have an ongoing obligation to that.” Wells says he will serve as an advisor to the company after the sale is completed. Current Wells President Liam Killeen will become C-E-O, and the existing leadership team will remain in place.

Ferrero started in 1946 as a small pastry shop in Alba, Italy and has grown to become a global leader in sweet-packaged foods, including the brands Nutella, Kinder, Tic Tac and Ferrero Rocher. Terms of the transaction, which is expected to close in early 2023, were not disclosed. Several buses shuttled Wells employees to the Le Mars Convention Center for the announced at 9:30 this morning.

(DES MOINES) The Iowa Finance Authority Board of Directors today announced the award of a total of more than $11 million in grants to 26 Local Housing Trust Funds to support local housing initiatives. The grant awards are made available through the Local Housing Trust Fund program and are expected to assist 2,390 families.

In the KJAN listening area:

• The Council of Governments (serving Audubon, Carroll, Crawford, Greene, Guthrie and Sac Counties), receives a grant in the amount of $378,349.
• The Pottawattamie County Housing Trust Fund, Inc., receives a $339,494 grant.
• The Southern Iowa COG Housing Trust Fund (Serving Adair, Adams,Madison, Ringgold, Taylor, Union and Decatur Counties), receives a grant for $370,860.
• And, the Southwest Iowa Housing Trust Fund (Serving Cass, Fremont, Harrison, Mills, Montgomery, Page and Shelby Counties) is receiving a grant for $402, 427.

“The 2023 Local Housing Trust Fund awards represent the largest amount allocated through the program for local housing initiatives since the program’s inception,” said Iowa Finance Authority Executive Director Debi Durham. “Thanks to the funding increase supported by Governor Reynolds and the Iowa Legislature, the program is able to serve as an invaluable and flexible resource for meeting the important and unique housing needs of each region of the state.”

“The State Housing Trust Fund is a critical financing tool that helps us to advance local housing priorities,” said Scott County Housing Council Executive Director Leslie Kilgannon.  “These funds allow us to provide safe, adequate housing opportunities for our workforce and members of our communities.”

The grant funds will be used for initiatives such as preserving aging housing stock, subsidizing local rental and down payment assistance programs, providing low-interest loans or grants to assist Iowans with home rehabilitation, financing construction of new single-family housing for low-income Iowans and supporting housing for persons with disabilities and homeless assistance programs.

The State Housing Trust Fund was created by the Iowa Legislature in 2003. The awards announced today will leverage an additional $3.2 million in other financing or $.28 for every dollar of Local Housing Trust Fund program funding. Since its inception, the State Housing Trust Fund has provided $112.2 million in affordable housing assistance to benefit more than 35,200 Iowa families, leveraging more than $175 million in other funding resources.

The State Housing Trust Fund helps ensure decent, safe and affordable housing for Iowans through two programs. The Local Housing Trust Fund Program receives at least 60 percent of the SHTF allocation to provide grants for organizations certified by the Iowa Finance Authority as a Local Housing Trust Fund.

The remaining funding goes to the Project-Based Housing Program, which aids in the development of affordable single-family and multifamily housing. The Iowa Finance Authority administers both programs and provides technical assistance to housing-related organizations.