ORANGE CITY, Iowa (AP) – A 40-year-old Sioux City man involved in a two-hour standoff with officers has been given jail time and probation.
The Sioux County Attorney’s Office says Kevin Busch was sentenced on Monday. Busch had pleaded guilty to going armed with intent, a felony, and a misdemeanor charge of assault with a deadly weapon.
Authorities say Busch had fired a shotgun at another person at a home about five miles northwest of Ireton on June 23. Busch was still at the home when officers arrived. He surrendered about two
hours later without more shots being fired. No injuries were reported.
Busch was given a deferred judgment on the felony and three years of probation. He was given 180 days in jail on the misdemeanor, with all but 45 days suspended.
(LeMars) — The Plymouth County Board of Supervisors are scheduled to meet today at the courthouse. The agenda includes a visit by Mike Porter of the Pride Group to discuss a proposal for windows.
(LeMars) — The Plymouth County Secondary Road Department will be closing Dogwood Avenue between 180th Street to 190th Steet in order to replace an aging wooden bridge with a culvert pipe. That work will begin today and it is expected to continue until November 9th. While work begins on one project, another project is now completed. The Plymouth County Secondary Roads Department has finished installing a culvert pipe at 320th Street between South Ridge Road and Forrest Road. That road is now open.
(LeMars) — At the LeMars Community School Board meeting last evening, board members were given a presentation by Tanya Schroeder and Ashley Swenson, instructors for the pre-school program at Clark Elementary. The two oversee 41 pre-school students between the ages of 3-5. The pre-school teachers emphasized to the board how each and every activity involves a certain degree of learning. The students are assessed for many developmental skills including social/emotional, physical, language, cognitive, literacy, math, science and technology, social studies, the arts, and elected language. Both Schroeder and Swenson informed the board they can see daily development with each student. There are two sessions of pre-school consisting of more than three hours. Students attend pre-school five days a week. The instructors told the school board what may be perceived as play time is actually some learning time for the pre-school students. Schroeder and Swenson say it is important for the pre-school students to attend pre-school for five days in order to understand the importance of daily routines.
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Tougher laws and enforcement have pushed up the number of people convicted of sex crimes in Iowa, raising the state’s prison and parole costs.
The convictions have risen over each of the past five years. A draft of a state report says sex offenders are serving longer sentences. The report says that by 2021, about 2,600 sex offenders
likely will be serving “special sentences.” Under a state law passed in 2005, after their release from prison the felons are supervised for 10 years or life, depending on the nature of their
offenses.
The draft of a report by Iowa’s Division of Criminal and Juvenile Justice Planning says the special sentences will raise the parole caseload by 78 percent in 10 years.
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Authorities say at least five children have died in Iowa all-terrain vehicle accidents since May. By comparison, 22 children died in ATV accidents from 1982 through
2009, the most recent year for which data are available.
Iowa ranked 29th among the states in the number of ATV-related deaths for all ages from 1982 through 2009. The recent spate of deaths has raised questions about whether Iowa should ban children from driving the four-wheel ATVs.
The ATV industry says children should get proper training and gear and should drive only ATVs that aren’t too big for them to handle.
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Iowa farmers are making good progress on the harvest as well as fall field work as the dry weather continues. The weekly crop report on Monday says the dry spell is affecting soil moisture, with topsoil moisture levels at 35 percent very short and 37 percent short. The report shows 71 percent of the corn crop has been harvested, which is about two weeks ahead of the five-year average. Fifty-nine percent of the corn is in good to excellent condition. The soybean harvest is 95 percent complete, more than two weeks ahead of the average pace. Rain totals for the week ranged from none over much of the northeast two-thirds of Iowa to .22 inches at Underwood in Pottawattamie County in western Iowa.
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