Capitol Notebook: Iowa officers to be hired with federal grant

DES MOINES — Four Iowa law enforcement agencies will split $750,000 in federal grant funding from the U.S. Department of Justice to hire six new law enforcement in Dubuque, Postville, Le Mars and Jefferson County to advance community policing.

Iowa Republican U.S. Rep. Ashley Hinson announced the funding on Friday through the Department of Justice’s Office of Community Oriented Policing Services COPS Hiring Program.

Hinson, in a statement, said Iowa needs “more law enforcement officers to protect our communities, but recruitment has been a major challenge.”

Funding for the COPS Hiring Program was included in the FY22 appropriations package Hinson supported.

“I'll continue working to keep our neighborhoods safe and supporting our brave men and women in blue,” said Hinson, who sits on the budget-writing House Appropriations Committee.

The funding is part of a combined $139 million grant awarded by the Department of Justice to 180 law enforcement agencies across the nation to hire 973 additional full-time law enforcement professionals.

The competitive award program provides grant dollars directly to law enforcement agencies to hire new or rehire additional career law enforcement officers and deputies to advance community policing and crime prevention efforts.

According to a DOJ news release, of the 180 agencies awarded grants, nearly half will use the funding to focus on Building legitimacy and trust between law enforcement and communities; 30 agencies will seek to address high rates of gun violence; 26 will focus on other areas of violence; and 28 will focus resources on combating hate and domestic extremism or supporting police-based responses to people in crisis.

The complete list of awards can be found at the federal justice department website.

Pipeline hearing postponed

State utility regulators will reschedule a public hearing regarding a hazardous liquid pipeline in Iowa after the board determined proper notice had not been provided to all affected individuals.

The public hearing must be rescheduled due to an error regarding sending notice to landowners and any other affected people with an interest in property over which eminent domain is being requested, an Iowa Utilities Board news release said.

The Iowa Utilities Board will meet at 10 a.m. on Wednesday to discuss possible dates for the public hearing.

The hearing is regarding a 14-mile anhydrous ammonia pipeline entirely in Lee County in southeast Iowa. The project is proposed by the San Antonio, Texas-based energy company NuStar. It would give Iowa Fertilizer Co., near Wever, Iowa, access to a larger anhydrous ammonia pipeline network.

Water quality projects funded

The Iowa Economic Development Authority announced $3.3 million in grants to water and sewer infrastructure projects in nine Iowa communities. The funding comes through the state’s Community Development Block Grant program.

“Investments in water infrastructure are vital to supporting Iowa families and businesses,” IEDA director Debi Durham said in a news release. “The awards announced today will not only support nine water quality projects but also will create opportunities for these communities to thrive.”

The projects that received funding are in Arcadia, Crystal Lake, Elgin, Fostoria, Guttenberg, Hospers, Oelwein, Spencer and Yale, and the grants range from $1.9 million for water system improvements in Arcadia to $322,000 for wastewater plant improvements in Elgin.

Gazette Des Moines Bureau