Home News KLEM News AM Update April 14, 2010

KLEM News AM Update April 14, 2010

(LE MARS)–Recruiting more family practice physicians remains a focus of recruitment for Floyd Valley Hospital.

The board reaffirmed those efforts with a routine update of the physician recruitment plan Tuesday night.

Hospital administrator Mike Donlin told the board that legal counsel didn’t require any changes.

A community needs analysis is part of the policy update. Donlin told trustees the community needs analysis shows an estimated family practice physician demand of nine compared to the current family practice physician and mid-level professional staff of 6.3. The estimated family practice physician deficit is 2.7 and the ob-gyn deficit is 2.4.

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“Even though we tweak things to what our current situation is, the current supply, the deficits are virtually the same as they were before and our recruitment efforts are going to continue on this basis,” Donlin told trustees. “We need family doctors, in particular, especially when you consider that the 2.7 and the 2.4 that provide obstetric coverage for at least a  large portion of this service area, if not all of it, leaves us with quite a deficit. Then there is a narrative at the end where you can see the emphasis and the conclusion is on family medicine which is, I guess, there shouldn’t be anything newsy here. It just reflects basically what I just mentioning. But having it in place and having it updated every two years is what gives us the footing to do the recruiting efforts that we continue to do.”  

The community needs analysis also showed an estimated physician deficit of point-five percent for general surgery and point-four percent for radiology.

The two-year update of the policy was adopted by hospital trustees.

Donlin also updated the board on efforts by the hospital and Family Medicine Clinic to work with potential candidates to practice in Le Mars who are currently completing training.

(LE MARS)–There’s more success to report from fund raising efforts for the Le Mars United Way.

The first employee-integrated United Way campaign at Wells’ Dairy raised more than 150-thousand dollars.

United Way President Tim Stiles announced the campaign results which follow a highly successful fall United Way drive which exceeded 2009 donations.

Wells’ has committed a corporation contribution to United Way for many years. This year, Wells’ made the decision to extend Wells’ participation by inviting employees to pledge support individually. A 100-thousand dollar first-year goal was set. Stiles says the amount was generously exceeded when Wells’ concluded the two-week campaign last Friday.

The Wells’ Dairy campaign contributed 154-thousand 840 dollars. As part of the campaign Wells’ paid the slight administrative costs allowing all employee donations to be 100 percent directed toward agency services.

The fall campaign not only exceeded 2009 donations, there were double-digit increases from Frontier Communications, NIPCO, Gehlen Catholic Schools, Primebank, Schuster Trucking, and Dean Foods and first-time employee campaigns at BoDeans Baking Company and Nor-Am Cold Storage.

Wells’ employee and Le Mars United Way Board Chair Janelle Bixenman says the increase in contributions is significant in helping the Le Mars area by giving the United Way the necessary resources to support organizations that will ensure children grow into successful adults as well as provide safety net services to help those in need.

(ORANGE CITY)–A Granville woman who was convicted of forgery while on probation for forgery has been ordered to serve jail time.

Nineteen -year-old Brandi Kerchal of Granville was charged with felony forgery after the Sioux County sheriff’s office investigated a report that a $600 check had been taken, was made out to the victim’s sister’s name and was cashed at a Sioux Center business in December.

Kerchal was sentenced Monday to up to five-years in prison for the conviction, but the judge suspended the prison time. She was placed on probation for two years and was fined $750. The judge also revoked the June 2009 deferred judgment for forgery and ordered her to serve 90 days in jail for violating probation.

YANKTON, S.D. (AP) Yankton city commissioners have approved two economic development plans they hope will produce more than 60 full-time jobs.

Dakota Trailer plans to add 49 jobs within the next four years, with financial and land help from the city and the state.

The manufacturing company currently employs 107 people at three sites around Yankton. Brian Strahl, a company manager, says the goal is to consolidate the sites in a new $2 million building.

Another 12 full-time jobs are expected to be created by Aune Trucking Inc. of Irene, which wants to move to Yankton with help from the city.

(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) A man convicted of killing a nationally known Iowa high school football coach is scheduled to be in court for sentencing.

Mark D. Becker was convicted last month of first-degree murder in the June 2009 shooting death of Aplington-Parkersburg coach Ed Thomas.

Sentencing is set for Wednesday morning in Allison. The 24-year-old Baker faces an automatic sentence of life in prison.

Becker’s attorney maintains her client was insane at the time of the shooting and has asked for a new trial.

The shooting was especially shocking to Parkersburg residents because Thomas was known both for producing winning teams and for leading the community.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) Gov. Chet Culver and a Republican candidate for governor are saying they’re not worried by issues that have come up in their campaigns.

Asked Tuesday about the resignation of his campaign manager, Culver told reporters there are bumps in any campaign and he’s confident of victory in November. The Democrat replaced former campaign manager Abby Curran with Donn Stanley.

A Republican seeking the nomination, former Gov. Terry Branstad, also is facing criticism from the Iowa Family Policy Center. The group says it won’t support Branstad if he’s the GOP nominee because of his record as governor, when he raised taxes and worked with Democrats.

A Branstad aide responded that he has a strong conservative record and is focused on Iowa’s future.

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (AP) The technology chief for Google is predicting that cell phones will replace computers as the predominant computing platform.

Michael Jones was in Council Bluffs Tuesday, where he spoke to students at Iowa Western Community College. The city also is home to a Google Data Center, which opened last year and employs about 200 people.

Jones spoke to about two dozen students and teachers, giving his insight about the future of technology. He told them that in five years computers will no longer be sitting on their desks, having been replaced by cell phones.

Jones previously was chief technologist of Google Maps, Earth, and Local Search.

Jones says he wants to encourage the next generation of computer gurus to find solutions to problems that may not even exist yet.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) There is another twist in a 15-year murder case against Jarmaine Allen.

Polk County Judge Robert Blink on Monday declared a mistrial just as jury selection got underway for the fourth murder trial of Allen for a gang-related shooting in 1995.

Blink dismissed prospective jurors because a news account reported the 32-year-old Allen is serving a life sentence for the 1996 shooting of Phyllis Davis, a Des Moines bank executive.

Allen was to be tried in the shooting death of Jody Stokes outside a Des Moines bar.

Although Allen remains in custody, his life sentence for the murder of Stokes was overturned by the Iowa Court of Appeals. The court granted Allen a new trial because a juror in his 2006 trial told other jurors Allen was already serving prison time.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) A contributing to the delinquency of a minor charge filed against the mother of a youthful war protester has been dropped.

The charge was filed against Renee Lynn Espeland one day after her daughter, 12-year-old Frankie Hughes, was charged Wednesday with trespassing for allegedly refusing to leave U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin’s office.

The misdemeanor ticket against Espeland alleged she encouraged and contributed to her daughter’s arrest.

Polk County Attorney John Sarcone said Tuesday that after consultation with Des Moines police it was decided not to go forward with the charge against Espeland.

The incident occurred at the Des Moines Federal Building, where the girl and a woman refused to leave Harkin’s office after it closed for the day.

Espeland says her daughter apparently will have to go to Juvenile Court over the trespassing charge.

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) The Cedar Rapids City Council has officially accepted City Manager Jim Prosser’s resignation.

Two council members, Kris Gulick and Chuck Wieneke, said at Tuesday night’s meeting that they would not accept Prosser’s resignation. Council member Tom Podzimek came to the meeting, but left before the vote.

Prosser leaves Cedar Rapids with a severance package that includes a $165,000 check and health insurance for a year or until he finds another job.

Prosser was Cedar Rapids’ first city manager, hired back in 2006. During his tenure, he reorganized city government and led the city through the flood and the recovery process.

DUBUQUE, Iowa (AP) Police in Dubuque are telling the public to disregard a warning e-mail that falsely claims to be from the department.

For the past week, Dubuque residents have been receiving an e-mail that describes tactics allegedly used by criminals to lure drivers to stop their cars. The so-called “gang initiation” rituals include leaving a car seat with a fake baby near the side of the road and throwing eggs at a windshield, which when mixed with water blocks vision.

Dubuque Police Lt. Scott Baxter says the e-mail was not released by police and none of the described activity has been reported in Dubuque.

Nonetheless, Baxter says motorists should always be careful when approaching any suspicious activity and should call authorities, rather than stopping to help.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) Gov. Chet Culver has signed a bill requiring state education officials and leaders at the state’s public and private colleges to study how to better recruit and retain minority teachers.

Culver went to a Des Moines school Tuesday to sign the measure, which is aimed at finding ways to persuade minority students to become teachers and to seek ways to move minority teachers into administrative positions where they can influence policy.

Culver says it’s important to broaden diversity in Iowa’s teaching profession.

The Iowa Board of Regents will provide support staff for the study. Education officials are scheduled to deliver a report to the Legislature in January.

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) Authorities say a 75-year-old Cedar Rapids man who pleaded guilty in a child molestation case seven years ago faces another sexual assault charge after his arrest at a cemetery in Marion.

According to court documents, Robert Sacora tried to force a 15-year-old male to touch his genitals last weekend while they were sitting in Sacora’s car at the cemetery.

Sacora was charged with assault with intent to commit sexual abuse.

Cedar Rapids police said Tuesday they did not know if Sacora had an attorney.

Sacora was charged with lascivious acts with a child in February 2003 after he reportedly solicited a 9-year-old boy to touch his genitals. He pleaded guilty in that case and was sentenced to time served and five years’ probation. He was also ordered to undergo offender treatment.

(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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