Iowa is getting 30 million dollars from the federal government for “domestic preparedness.” Iowa Homeland Security advisor Ellen Gordon says the grant money is available specifically for prevention, and she says that’s exciting because it’s the first time the state has had such financing to work with local law enforcement to think about ways to prevent terrorist attacks. Most of the money — nearly 23-million — will be made available as grants for law enforcement agencies.A small portion of the money — 473-thousand dollars — will be used to support “Citizen Corps Councils” that are in place throughout the state. Gordon says they’re citizen-based community organizations which allow citizens to be allowed in planning, prevention and training activities so if something happens, they’ll know what to do and what to expect.
