DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) Federal officials are suing for nearly $19,000 in fines against a northwest Iowa dog breeder who’s been cited repeatedly for mistreating animals.
According to Associated Press, 56-year-old Gary Felts owns Black Diamond Kennel near Kingsley.
The lawsuit says federal inspectors with the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service have cited Felts several times, including for having dogs whose coats were matted with feces and dirt and for failing to protect dogs from the elements.
In June 2010, an administrative law judge ruled that Felts had willfully violated federal regulations. Felts’ license was suspended and he was fined nearly $19,000.
(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
(LE MARS)–A Le Mars business will add an option for customers and bring its downtown services together at one location.
First National Bank Le Mars Market President Kevin Eekhoff announced the plans for a new service at the main bank which is at 111 Central Avenue Northwest.
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According to Eekhoff, Dennis Nemmers of Nemmers Construction is the general contractor for the project
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The downtown Motorbank at 50 Central Avenue Southeast will be closed when the new drive-up lanes are installed and open.
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Convenience and efficiency are factors in the change.
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The Market President says there are several ideas of what could happen at the Motor Bank Branch, but at this point a final decision hasn’t been made.
First National’s South Bank at 1321 Hawkeye Avenue S-W will continue to operate as usual. First National also has banking locations in Sioux City and Sioux Center.
(DES MOINES) The redistricting maps released today (Thursday) pair two Republican congressmen in one new district and two Democratic congressmen in another. Congressman Tom Latham of Ames and Congressman Steve King of Kiron (KY-run) would be forced to face-off against one another in 2012. King says he’s definitely going to seek reelection in 2012, but before commenting further he wants to wait to see how state legislators view the new maps.
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“They will look at that from their perspective first and they have to have a few days to churn the information,” King says. “And if they were to come back and say that this bill doesn’t have a chance, then there won’t be any reason for me to evaluate what I might do, so I’m going to sit back for a little while and see what they might do.” King was a state senator when the last redistricting plan was adopted a decade ago. He says it’s an “unusual coincidence” that two Republicans and two Democrats in Iowa’s five-member congressional delegation would be forced to run against their one another under this new plan.
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“We will see what happens and I haven’t heard anything about the intentions of the legislature, but I do want to sit back and let them make that decision,” King says. Congressman Latham issued a written statement, making it clear he, too, plans to seek reelection in 2012. The plan also would pit Democratic Congressmen Bruce Braley of Waterloo and Dave Loebsack of Mount Vernon against one another. Neither has commented yet on the proposed map for a new first congressional district. News report by Radio Iowa)
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) Chief Justice Mark Cady will continue his leadership role for the Iowa Supreme Court.
The court said in a news release that Cady was elected to the post by his colleagues.
Cady became chief justice on Jan. 1 after voters ousted the previous chief and two others from the court because they voted to strike down a state law banning same-sex marriage.
He’s the court’s senior member at 13 years of service and he’s been a judge in Iowa for 28 years.
Cady is from Fort Dodge.
ATLANTIC, Iowa (AP) Military authorities say a U.S. Army soldier from Atlantic was wounded during combat in Afghanistan.
A news release from the Iowa National Guard says Spc. Nathan Allen was hit by small-arms fire on Tuesday during operations in Kunar Province.
His father told Atlantic radio station KJAN that Allen was shot three times and was expected to be flown to a hospital in Germany.
The Guard says the 23-year-old Allen is assigned to the 101st Airborne Division.
Allen had enlisted in the Iowa National Guard in February 2008. He transferred to active U.S. Army duty in August 2008.
The Guard says Allen graduated in 2006 from Atlantic High School.
COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (AP) A child has been pulled from a hotel swimming pool in Council Bluffs and officials in the city say the boy was last known to be in critical condition.
The Daily Nonpareil says rescue crews responded to the Quality Inn Suites on Tuesday evening after receiving a report of a 10-year-old boy being found in the pool.
Fire and Rescue Service Director Rick Benson says it was unknown how long the child was in the pool before being found. He says the boy was breathing when crews arrived.
The child is from New Mexico. He was taken to the Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha, Neb.
Benson says although the child was breathing it was a life-threatening situation. He says he had not received an update on the boy’s condition.
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) Fire investigators say a Cedar Rapids woman injured in a fire at her mobile home set the fire herself.
Authorities say 56-year-old Cynthia Wiseman was rescued from her burning home on Tuesday after firefighters found her on the kitchen floor. The Gazette reports that Wiseman was talking at the scene and was taken to University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics for smoke inhalation.
The hospital was not releasing any information on her condition.
Officials say Wiseman had a disability that prevented her from getting out of the house on her own.
A fire department spokesman says the fire started in the living room but he declined to say how or why Wiseman started the fire.
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) Iowa Sen. Tom Harkin says Cedar Rapids has received a grant of nearly $1.5 million from the U.S. Department of Transportation to purchase new buses.
Harkin is a senior member of the appropriations subcommittee, which funds transportation initiatives. He announced the funding on Wednesday.
Harkin says the money will help the city replace old buses with ones that are safer and more efficient and make it easier for the elderly and those with disabilities to get around Cedar Rapids.
The city will use the money to buy five new buses.
(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
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