In an update to our report yesterday with regard to an ongoing burglary investigation in Fremont County. Sheriff Kevin Aistrope reports his Deputies arrested 32-year old Justin Michael Evans, of Randolph.  The man was taken into custody in Hamburg, on a valid Fremont County warrant charging him with Conspiracy in connection with a Nov. 28th burglary incident in Farragut.

On Wednesday, Aistrope said 31-year old Marcus Washington, of Clarinda, 36-year old Alfred Mutchler, and 29-year old Mindy Irvin, both of Shenandoah, were taken into custody. Washington and Mutchler are being charged with Burglary in the 3rd Degree. Irvin was charged with Conspiracy. They were being held in the Fremont County Jail on $5,000 cash bonds, only.

Additional information is being gathered, and additional arrests are possible as the investigation continues. Shenandoah Police, as well as Sheriff’s Deputies in Montgomery and Page Counties are assisting in the ongoing investigation.

Some good news and a little bad news was announced during Wednesday’s City Council meeting in Atlantic, with regard to electric and water usage rates. Atlantic Municipal Utilities (AMU) General Manager Steve Tjekpes, told the Council the good news is that there will be no increase in electric rates for next year. The last increase was 3-percent, in Dec. 2015.

He said also, that a rate survey by the National Public Power Association, shows that out of the 183 electric utilities in Iowa, there are only seven communities with residential rates lower than Atlantic’s 8.6-cents per kilowatt hour. On the Commercial side, only six utilities have a lower rate, and for industrial-size utilities, only four utilities have a lower rate than Atlantic.

On the other side of the coin, the water rates will be going up by 3-percent. Tjepkes said a public hearing will be held during AMU’s next Board meeting, with the increase taking effect Feb. 1st. He says for the average residential customer, that amounts to an extra 70-cents per month, to as much as one-dollar. The increase is necessary, he says, to keep up with the cost of operating the utility.

The driver of a car that went out of control and rolled over in Mills County, Wednesday afternoon, was injured but refused transport to the hospital. The Iowa State Patrol reports 33-year old Jurkug Deng, of Omaha, was traveling north on Interstate 29 at around 4:37-p.m., when his 2005 Mazda went from the right to the left lane, in order to get around another vehicle.

The Mazda went out of control, left the road to the right and rolled into the east ditch before coming to rest on its top. Deng, who was wearing a seat belt, told authorities he had earlier changed a flat tire and was using the small spare to drive on, when the accident occurred.

He was treated at the scene for minor injuries.

The Iowa Finance Authority Board of Directors, Wednesday, approved a total of $7.4 million in grants to 25 Local Housing Trust Funds to support local affordable housing initiatives which will assist more than 2,600 Iowa families. The funding is provided from the State Housing Trust Fund’s Local Housing Trust Fund program.

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

In our area:

• The Council Bluffs Housing Trust Fund, Inc. received a grant amounting to $168,345.
• Council of Governments (COG) Housing, Inc. (Serving Audubon, Carroll, Crawford, Greene, Guthrie and Sac Counties), received a $262,007 grant.
• The Dallas County Local Housing Trust Fund, Inc. received $204,203 for the Dallas County area.
• The Southern Iowa COG Housing Trust Fund was awarded a $253,673 grant for their service area, which includes Adair, Adams, Clarke, Decatur, Madison, Ringgold, Taylor and Union Counties.
• The Southwest Iowa Housing Trust Fund, Inc. was awarded $331,727 for their service area, that includes: Cass, Fremont, Harrison, Mills, Montgomery, Page, Pottawattamie (excluding the city of Council Bluffs) and Shelby Counties.

The State Housing Trust Fund was created by the Iowa Legislature in 2003. Since its inception, the program has provided $63 million in affordable housing assistance that has benefited nearly 23,000 Iowa families. This funding has leveraged another $152 million in other funds or $2.42 for every dollar of State Housing Trust Fund investment.

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.