Members of the law enforcement community and citizens this evening (April 9th), will pay their respects to a member of the Audubon County Sheriff’s Office who died in the line of duty the night of March 27th. A Memorial service for K-9 “Harry” will take place beginning at 5-pm in the Audubon City Park, at the band shelter stage. Everyone is welcome to attend. There will be several different agencies on hand for the funeral and procession, which will begin at the Audubon Vet Clinic on the north end of town and conclude at the Audubon City Park.

Harry was critically injured in a crash that injured his partner and human handler, Deputy Shawn Young. The dog was treated for his injuries and stabilized, but doctors at the clinic said Harry’s injuries were insurmountable, and had him euthanized the morning of March 28th.

In a press release a few days after the accident, Sheriff Todd Johnson said at one point or another, Harry was cared for and lived with almost all the deputies who serve Audubon County. The dog had a distinguished career and was responsible for recovering more than one-half pound of crystal meth (ice), four-pounds of cocaine, 10-pounds of methamphetamine, a large amount of marijuana and over $270,000 in drug money, as well aiding in numerous drug arrests and convictions.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — A veteran getting care at the VA hospital in Iowa City is about twice as likely to have to wait more than a month for an appointment as a vet who goes to the VA hospital in Des Moines. Government data show that the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs medical center in Iowa City had more than 2,700 appointments in a recent six-month span that took longer than 30 days to complete.

That amounted to 3 percent of the appointments the hospital completed between Sept. 1 and Feb. 28. The VA hospital in Des Moines reported that 1.5 percent of its appointments missed the goal of having patients wait no longer than 30 days for non-emergency care. About one in 33 appointments in Iowa City didn’t meet the standard compared to one in 64 in Des Moines.

In Nebraska, less than 1 percent of appointments at the Omaha VA Medical Center, Nebraska’s largest such facility, failed to meet a federal timeliness goal of 30 days or less. That’s according to an Associated Press examination of waiting times at 940 VA hospitals and outpatient clinics from Sept. 1 to Feb. 28, done in the wake of last year’s scandal over delays in veterans’ care and cover-up attempts.

Overall, Nebraska’s veterans are more likely to see doctors and other health care providers quickly at the state’s 10 VA facilities than their counterparts around the country. Eileen Kingston is associate director for patient care for the VA Nebraska-Western Iowa Health Care System. She says the system’s managers participate in a weekly meeting dedicated to improving access to care for veterans.

Small towns located in the far southeast and southwest corners of the state were awarded at total of $633,000 in Community Attraction and Tourism (CAT) grants, Wednesday. Jessica O’Riley is spokesperson for the Vision Iowa Board, which approved the grants — including a $480,000 award to a project in Malvern. She says “That’s a community center. It’s going to be a multi-purpose facility located on the fairgrounds in Mills County.”

The Mills County Charles E. Lakin Community Center carries a total project cost of just over $2.5 million. The 16,000-square-foot building will include a large multi-purpose room, a kitchen and catering area and meeting spaces. The other grant, worth $153,000, was awarded to a project in Des Moines County known as Danville Station.

“It’s a library/community center/museum in Danville,” O’Riley said. “It really has a great story connected to it. Two young girls from Danville happened to be pen pals with Anne Frank and her sister, so they’re going to be able to tell the story of Anne Frank. They’re going to have bookcase that you go behind and into this ‘secret’ attic to see that exhibit.” The Danville Station project is expected to cost around $678,000 to complete. It involves the purchase and renovation of a building.

Wednesday’s Vision Iowa Board meeting was held in Algona.

(Radio Iowa)

The Cass County Board of Supervisors today (Wednesday) approved a portion of the funds requested by the Nishna Valley Trails group, for their Troublesome Creek Connector Trail project. The Board agreed to use $12,500 from the Local Option Sales Tax Fund (LOST) for the project, instead of the $50,000 NVT representative Dave Chase had requested during a meeting with the Board on March 11th. The Board cited the County’s outstanding debt (including funding for the Valley Business Park and Communications Center) as the reason for not funding the full amount requested.

The Supervisors said they would try to make additional funds available during Fiscal Year 2015-16. NVT currently has $345,000 committed toward the estimated $550,000 to $600,000 cost of the project.

The Board also approved the securing of a $324,000 loan to pay for the communications center equipment, and a bid from Academy Roofing from Des Moines in the amount of $44,000 to replace the courthouse east roof.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – The House has passed legislation that would make sweeping changes to Iowa’s gun laws, a vote that drew criticism from some lawmakers. The House voted 73-25 Wednesday for the bill, which would allow children younger than 14 to use a handgun under a parent’s supervision. The House voted for the changes through another bill earlier in the session, but the Senate failed to take it up for a vote.

The bill Wednesday adds back many of the proposed changes through a separate, more limited gun bill. A provision that would have taken away a de factor three-day waiting period on a permit to acquire a handgun was removed.

Rep. Matt Windschitl says the legislation respects the Second Amendment rights of Iowa residents. Some lawmakers criticized the age limit removal.