Auditor blames group for delays

A group of western Iowa Lewis and Clark enthusiasts received good and bad news this week from Iowa state officials: Their pet project will go forward, but they bear some blame for a three-year work stoppage.

The organization, Friends of Discovery, has long worked toward completion of a visitors center at Lewis and Clark State Park in Onawa, Iowa, about 60 miles north of Omaha.

This week, the Iowa Department of Natural Resources announced that the center is on the road to completion with the awarding of an $877,818 contract to a Sioux City, Iowa, builder.

Then, on Tuesday, State Auditor David Vaudt criticized the Friends of Discovery, saying the long delay in construction stemmed in part from a failure to monitor money paid to an Omaha fundraising organization, Community Services Group.

Deanna Burgess, president of the Friends of Discovery, said she had not seen the audit report Tuesday. She declined to comment.

Improper payments totaling $230,700 were made to Community Services Group by the Friends of Discovery, Vaudt said in his report. That amount included money meant to be used for construction fees and educational materials, as well as commissions for a grant that was awarded to the project but which expired before being used, Vaudt said.

Daniel Corcoran, of the Community Services Group, said the report is in error.

“Everything was aboveboard and paid according to contract,” Corcoran said. “I don't know where the auditor came up with that stuff.”

Contact the writer:

444-1310, elizabeth.ahlin@owh.com

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