Le Mars Community School Celebrates Homecoming
(Le Mars) — This week is Homecoming week for Le Mars Community School District, with the theme “Welcome to the Jungle”. Coronation and the community pep rally are scheduled to happen on Friday afternon at 1:00 p.m. with the Homecoming parade scheduled to begin at 2:15 p.m. All of the afternoon events will be featured live on KLEM radio. This year’s king candidates include : Tyler Borchers, Tyler Paulson, Caleb Cline, Matt Ellefson, Hunter Fedders, and Beau Ohm. The queen candidates include : Holly Schneider, Paige Tracey, Angel Lamoreux, Allie Theisen, Emily Ahlers, and Kassidy Rieken. Kickoff for the football game against the Storm Lake Tornadoes is at 7:00 p.m.
Family Medical Clinics Honored
(WASHINGTON, DC) — The National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) announced that Floyd Valley Hospital’s Family Medicine Clinics (Le Mars, Marcus, and Remsen) have received NCQA Patient-Centered Medical Home (PCMH) Recognition for using evidence-based, patient-centered processes that focus on highly coordinated care and long term, participative relationships. Mike Donlin, Administrator for Floyd Valley Hospital and the Family Medicine Clinics says “We have been working to accomplish this goal since the transition to the Patient Care Team Model several years ago.” Donlin continued to say, “We are excited to earn this highest level of recognition. It raises the bar even higher to continue providing high quality health care.”
The NCQA Patient-Centered Medical Home is a model of primary care that combines teamwork and information technology to improve care, improve patients’ experience of care and reduce costs. Medical homes foster ongoing partnerships between patients and their personal clinicians, instead of approaching care as the sum of episodic office visits. Each patient’s care is overseen by clinician-led care teams that coordinate treatment across the health care system. Research shows that medical homes can lead to higher quality and lower costs, and can improve patient and provider reported experiences of care.
Plymouth County Government Security Questioned
(Le Mars) — On Tuesday of this week a man attended the Jackson County Board of Supervisors meeting at the Jackson County courthouse at Maquoketa and fired a shot at a county official. County supervisors then rushed the shooter and tackled him. During the struggle, a second shot was fired killing the shooter. Earlier this year, an incident occurred in Madison County when an individual brought a gun to the county courthouse. The question has been asked if our Plymouth County government officials are safe? KLEM news questioned Plymouth county supervisors about their thoughts about whether added security measures are needed. Chairman Jim Henrich says he has never felt threaten, and says recently, the county has implemented a security plan. Henrich doesn’t believe added security in terms of a positioned sheriff’s deputy is needed to attend supervisor meetings.
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Supervisor Craig Anderson says he is concerned for the safety of Plymouth County employees and for his fellow supervisors, but, like Henrichs, Anderson has never felt threaten. Prior to serving as a county supervisor, Anderson was on the county planning and zoning commission. He says there were a few occasions when Sheriff Mike Van Otterloo was called to be in attendance of those meetings.
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Woodbury County Courthouse recently implemented a security program involving a metal detector placed at entrances. At the Plymouth County courthouse, there is one metal detector, but it is located on the third floor, outside the door of the courtroom. Supervisor Mark Loutsch offers his comments on the situation.
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Mapleton To Hire New Police Chief
MAPLETON, Iowa (AP) – The western Iowa community of Mapleton is accepting applications for a new police chief, despite pleas from residents to reinstate the former chief.
Residents shared their disapproval of a new hiring during a city council meeting Wednesday night. The council voted to put an advertisement out for the position.
John Holton, who had been chief for years, was terminated at a special city council meeting during the summer. Officials have declined to discuss the matter.
But residents have voiced opposition to the firing since then.
Officer Kirk Kinnaman is serving as interim police chief in the meantime.
Farmers Expected To Harvest Record Crop
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – The nation’s corn and soybean farmers will harvest by far the largest crops ever this year, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said Thursday in a new report.
Bigger crops have been expected this year as adequate rain and cool temperatures made for favorable growing conditions, but the new estimates far surpass previous records.
Corn farmers are expected to harvest nearly 14.4 billion bushels of corn, up from last year’s 13.9 billion bushel record. The 171.7 bushels per acre yield is significantly higher than the previous record set in 2009 of 164.7 bushels per acre. Record yields will be set in 18 states, the USDA said.
Despite the strong forecast, concerns have grown in recent days that early cold weather is creeping into the upper Midwest and some crops are maturing later this year. Temperatures below freezing could slow or stop crops from reaching full maturity and affect the harvest. That possibility was not reflected in Thursday’s report. Ten states including Illinois, Iowa, and Nebraska have the highest number of ears per corn stalk ever, the USDA says.
Biden To Make Iowa Campaign Appearance
WASHINGTON (AP) – Vice President Joe Biden is returning to the key presidential state of Iowa next week, reminding voters not to count him out of the next presidential campaign.
The White House says Biden will be in Des Moines on Wednesday. He’ll speak at an event for a Catholic social justice group called Nuns on the Bus.
Biden’s visit will come days after former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton comes to Iowa to headline retiring Iowa Senator Tom Harkin’s annual steak fry fundraiser, attended by thousands of Iowa political activists. Last year Biden was the headliner for that event, which frequently attracts potential White House contenders.
Both Clinton and Biden are considering running again for president in 2016. Iowa traditionally holds the first presidential primary contest.
Carole King To Help Braley On Campaign
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Democratic Senate candidate Bruce Braley has a friend in Carole King.
Braley’s campaign announced Thursday that the singer-songwriter would meet with supporters at four locations around the state on Friday. The four-term congressman from Waterloo is locked in a tight Senate race with Republican Joni Ernst. Both are vying to win the Senate seat vacated by retiring Democratic Senator Tom Harkin.
King, whose 1971 album Tapestry won four Grammy awards, will appear in Council Bluffs, Creston, Newton and Iowa City to thank volunteers.
She is the second musical star from the 1970s to back Braley. Last month Joe Walsh of the Eagles promoted a fundraising effort that gave contributors a chance to win tickets to an Eagles concert.
Railroad Company Fined
FORT DODGE, Iowa (AP) – A railway company will pay $2,000 for disciplining an Iowa employee seeking doctor-ordered time off, federal officials announced Thursday.
Canadian National Railway, doing business as Chicago Central and Pacific Railroad, violated the Federal Railroad Safety Act when it denied the request, according to the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
The $2,000 will cover compensatory damages for the employee, who sought time off in October for an illness. The employee at the company’s Fort Dodge Yard complex was instead given a letter of reprimand for violating the company’s attendance policy.
The company will also remove disciplinary information from the employee’s record and provide whistleblower rights information to workers.
Canadian National Railway can file an appeal with the department’s Office of Administrative Law Judges. A spokesman for the company declined to comment.
