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"Federal homeland-security grants to first-responders are being spread so thinly that many small cities don't know how to spend it, while larger cities are going woefully underfunded. Our analysis showed that Des Moines, which is larger than any of Iowa's 98 outlying counties, got just $250,000 out of the first $28 million provided to the state. Some of the state's smallest counties - with the fewest critically important resources - are spending thousands of dollars on traffic cones and are getting equipment like ballistic helmets that Des Moines can't afford."