DES MOINES – Governor Kim Reynolds and the Iowa Economic Development Authority announced today (Thursday), that a total of more than $450,000 in grants have been awarded through six Empower Rural Iowa Grant Programs. The grant awards will support rural initiatives spanning from child care and housing to workforce attraction and leadership development in more than 20 counties.  For example, the IGNITE Pathways program in Woodbine will leverage Rural Innovation funding towards creation of an automotive maintenance and care training program to address the lack of local options in this field. The need was identified through the research and analysis by a local high school program that focuses on developing innovative solutions to real, rural problems.  And, the City of Manning is receiving $10,000 for the Manning Betterment Foundation, from the Fiscal Year 23 Rural Child Care Market Study Grants.

In another example, Iowa Central Community College will use Rural Scale-Up funding to bring the successful career academies model to the western part of their region through the development of a new regional center in Storm Lake. This opportunity will enhance the learning capabilities, provide equitable access to high-quality career technical education programming, and help close opportunity gaps that exist in the region.

In its inaugural year, the Rural Enrichment grant is funding eleven projects across the state, including “OkoboTree”, a visual art tree preservation project; a live music venue in an alley off Polk City’s main square; and downtown lighting project in Osceola.  Governor Reynolds says she “Signed the Empower Rural Iowa Act in 2019 to ensure that the rural communities that are the heart of who we are as a state have the resources needed to connect, invest and grow. Since then, Empower Rural Iowa grants have provided support for dozens of now thriving businesses, communities and entrepreneurs in our rural communities.”

More information about the Empower Rural Iowa Grant programs is available at  iowaeda.com/empower-rural-iowa

(Clarinda, Iowa) – The Page County Sheriff’s Office has released a cumulative report on arrests and incidents, covering the Sept. 24th through the 26th. Sheriff Lyle Palmer says the following individuals were arrested:

• Brian Kent Hullman was arrested Sept. 24th and charged with OWI/1st offense. He was taken into custody following an accident on westbound Highway 2, near C Avenue. His bond was set at $1,000 cash or surety
• Harry McGregor MaCveen was arrested on the 26th, for possession of drug paraphernalia, and OWI/1st offense.
• Ashley Louise McClarnon was arrested Sept. 27th, on a Fremont County Iowa Warrant. McClarnon was transported and released to Fremont County Deputy.
• On Sept. 28th, Timothy Dethlef Asmus was arrested for driving while barred.
• Alex Jeremy Hansen was arrested Oct. 3rd, for Violation of probation.
• On Oct. 5th, David Duane James was arrested for domestic abuse assault and serious trespass. James was arrested the previous day (Oct. 4th) as well, for violation of a no contact order (phone calls) and violation of a no contact order (text messages).

(Atlantic) The Cass County Sheriff’s Office, today (Thursday), released more information about an accident that occurred at around 6:35-a.m. Wednesday, southwest of Atlantic.
According to Chief Deputy Sheriff John Westering, a 2016 Jeep SUV, for reasons unknown, went out of control and left the road near 58882 White Pole Road. The vehicle exited the road to toward the north before crashing through a fence, and entering a soybean field. The SUV collided with machinery in the yard of the residence.

The driver – identified as 42-year-old Marian Faddis, of Atlantic – was transported by Cass EMS to Cass Health. She was later flown by helicopter to the UNMC in Omaha, where she was reported to be in stable condition.

(Radio Iowa) – A new report finds the rate of Iowa children living below the federal poverty line fell significantly in the past quarter-century. The study by the non-profit Child Trends found child poverty rates in the state dropped from 19-percent in 1993 to just six-percent by 2019. Avenel Joseph, vice president for policy at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, says she’s encouraged by this trend, but is concerned it won’t last. “Because many of the additional economic supports that were offered during the pandemic has since expired, that is compounded by the significant rise in prices over the last year,” Joseph says. “We’re at risk of undoing the progress we’ve worked so hard over the last generation to achieve.”

Joseph says the expansion of economic assistance policies is a major factor in the drop of child poverty rates. “These are things like increased Child Tax Credit, the Earned Income Tax Credit, food assistance, heating assistance, housing assistance, which have all had various impacts on rising children out of poverty,” she says.

Nationwide, the report found child poverty fell an unprecedented 59-percent over the past 25 years.

See the full report at: https://www.childtrends.org/publications/state-level-data-for-understanding-child-poverty

(reporting by Natalie Krebs, Iowa Public Radio)

(Guthrie Center, Iowa) – Guthrie County ISU Extension & Outreach received a $2,000 matching grant from the Guthrie County Community Foundation, during the 2022 grant cycle. The funds will be used to assist in closing of the education gap, by providing the three daycare centers in Guthrie County with various educational STEM Kits to give youth a head-start on learning. The centers that received a kit are Little Panther Daycare and Preschool in Panora, Little Chargers Early Learning Center in Guthrie Center, and Exploration and Learning Station in Stuart. Each kit will have various directions for the teachers on how to use the kits with different age groups.

Officials say the goal of the project is to combine literacy with STEM education by encouraging reading books with hands on activities. Since COVID, the largest impacted areas in a youths learning are math and literacy. According to the Iowa Statewide Assessment of Students Progress test from 2021, less than half of the first graders were able to read at their respective grade level.

Mollie Clark, Youth Development Coordinator, & Brooke Ramsey, Asst. Dir. of Little Panther Daycare

Make-do Invent kit supplies

Science Kit supplies

Bee-Bot Coding Kit supplies

Mollie Clark, Youth Development Coordinator, & Sydney Henderson, Director of Little Chargers Early Learning Center. (All photos & information is courtesy the Guthrie County ISU Extension Office)

The kits can incorporate various materials to complement and grow the kit. Mollie Clark, Youth Development Coordinator, says “Each kit has multiple activities within it with ample supplies. We have also compiled an easy-to-use set of directions for the kits so anyone at the daycare should be able to pull out the kit, read through the directions, and implement the activities with the youth.”

The kits consist of a Coding Kit with bee bots and their accessories which are ideal for helping kids understand cause and effect, directional language and early programming. A Make Do Invent Kit with tools to help bring out the engineer in everyone, these are a simple to use, open-ended system of tools for creative cardboard construction. The last kit is a Science Experiment Kit with hands-on activities and projects that cover a wide host of topics, including art, astronomy, clay, geology, and math. Krista Downing, Guthrie County ISU Extension Program Coordinator, says “We want to thank the Guthrie County Community Foundation for awarding us these funds, this project would not have been possible without their support.”

If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to the Guthrie County ISU Extension office at 641-747-2276.