Emergency 9-1-1 calls regarding missing and/or sexually exploited children could be the first step towards saving a child in your community. Mike Jensen, Shelby County Assistant Emergency Management Coordinator says the Shelby County EMA/911 has completed 70 hours of enhanced specialized training and is now better prepared to take those types of calls. Shelby County EMA/911 has recently become a National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC)/9-1-1 Call Center Partner. The program acknowledges the Agency’s commitment to making the safety of children a priority.

Every 9-1-1 call involving a missing and/or sexually exploited child must be handled according to best practices. To promote the adoption of these best practices, NCMEC has created the 9-1-1 Call Center Partner Program. The Shelby County EMA/911 has incorporated the best practices in its policies and training material, making a commitment to follow these best practices. Jensen says “We feel that we have always had a good program in place for addressing these types of calls but being able to take advantage of this partnership will further enhance our capability.” He said they owe the accomplishment in large part to the training commitment of their 911 dispatch staff.                       

Every year 800,000 children go missing in the United States. That’s more than 2,000 children per day. Calls about missing and sexually exploited children can become high profile events that have a devastating impact on the victim’s family, your community, and your call center.  Every 9-1-1 call center must have in place policies and training to help ensure every missing and sexually exploited child is given the best chance to be found alive and unharmed. NCMEC is encouraging all Emergency Call Centers to become a NCMEC 9-1-1 Call Center Partner in order to obtain the skills and resources needed to respond to calls pertaining to missing and/or exploited children.

Agriculture Deputy Under Secretary for Rural Development Doug O’Brien today (Tuesday) announced the selection of projects in Iowa for loans and grants that will support job creation efforts, business development and strengthen economic growth in rural communities across the state.

Among the five projects receiving funds is the Harrison County Rural Electric Cooperative, which will use a $344,000 loan to construct a 10,000-square-foot central warehouse facility for Grato Holdings, Inc. The new warehouse will consolidate the company’s operations.

O’Brien made the announcement in Clarinda, during a two-day tour in Iowa. The trip began with a groundbreaking ceremony at Manning Regional Healthcare Center, in Manning. USDA Rural Development is providing a $21 million loan to assist with construction of the hospital. Following the ceremony, O’Brien toured the new Clarinda Regional Health Center in Clarinda, Iowa. The health center recently received an $18.9 million USDA loan to help with construction costs.

Funding is being provided through USDA’s Rural Economic Development Loan and Grant program (REDLG), which provides zero-interest loans to local utilities which they, in turn, pass through to local businesses (ultimate recipients) for projects that will create and retain employment in rural areas. With today’s announcement, the USDA says it is investing nearly $2.5 million to spur economic growth.

A Crescent man was seriously injured during a motorcycle accident Monday afternoon, in Pottawattamie County. Pott. County Sheriff’s Department Chief Investigator, Sgt. Dwayne Richie, said 58-year old Ronnie Stuart was flown by LifeNet helicopter to Creighton Medical Center in Omaha following the crash on Mynster Springs Road, northeast of Council Bluffs.

Richie says Stuart was traveling eastbound in the 19-thousand block of Mynster Springs Road on a 2000 Confederate Hellcat motorcycle at around 1:50-p.m., when he failed to negotiate a curve in the road. The cycle went off to the right and struck the east side of the ditch and came to an abrupt stop. No charges were filed. A report on Stuart’s condition is not available.