Marshalltown, Iowa

The Polk County Board of Supervisors approved a $57,565 contract with Bolton & Menk to study the intersection of NE 56th Street and NE 94th Avenue near Bondurant, Iowa, following a second fatal crash there in five months. Linda Fristoe died Sept. 30 in a three-car collision at the two-way stop; her husband suffered serious injuries. Nineteen-year-old Samantha Moore died in May after colliding with a dump truck at the same site. Families of both victims have petitioned for changes. The study will assess crash history, speeds, and traffic controls, and recommend options such as a four-way stop, signal, or roundabout, with preliminary findings due in two weeks.

Iowa Homes for Heroes, a nonprofit founded by executives of West Des Moines-based R&R Realty Group, presented a newly built four-bedroom home in Urbandale to Navy veteran Johnny Mellor and his family on October 8. Mellor, a former aviation structural mechanic, left the Navy after 16 years when a shipboard accident ended his career. The home, built by KRM Homes, includes accessibility features such as grab bars, built-in tub seating, lowered countertops, and a step-free entry.

Mellor is the second recipient of a home from the nonprofit, which launched in 2025 and previously gave a house to veteran Clint Graham. The organization, which works with the Iowa Department of Veterans Affairs to identify candidates based on financial need and sacrifice in the line of duty, is also remodeling a home in Marshalltown for Arianna Howard, a Gold Star spouse. Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds attended the presentation and said the state does not fund the nonprofit but hopes it can expand with support from other organizations and builders willing to take on construction costs.

Secretary of Veterans Affairs Doug Collins and U.S. Rep. Ashley Hinson held a roundtable at the Iowa Veterans Home in Marshalltown on Aug. 18, discussing funding for VA construction projects, veterans' mental health services, and duplicative administrative requirements. The stop followed the pair's appearance at the Veterans Day Parade at the Iowa State Fair a day earlier, part of a multi-day Collins visit to Iowa.

Local officials, including Iowa Veterans Home commandant Todd Jacobus, pressed Collins to fully fund the VA's construction program, citing pending projects such as a kitchen renovation. Collins said funding levels depend on congressional appropriations. Hinson, a House Appropriations Committee member, touted a bipartisan military construction and veterans affairs budget passed by the House in May that includes increased construction funding. Both officials said they were pleased with recent funding levels under the Trump administration and emphasized continued cooperation between Congress and the VA on modernization efforts, including electronic health records, and on veterans' care priorities.