Akron and Westfield Voters To Decide On School Bond Issue
(Akron) — Voters from Akron and Westfield will have the opportunity on Tuesday to vote on a proposed $6,685,000 bond issue that will go to help upgrade the facilities at the Akron-Westfield School District. Superintendent Randy Collins explains what the 20 year term bond will cover.
This will be the second time voters have seen the measure on a ballot. The bond issue was defeated last September by a slim margin. Collins says the bond needs to pass by a 60 percent majority, and last September it had only 58 percent approval. He says nearly 600 people voted in September.
The Akron-Westfield school superintendent says this time around the bond is being presented to voters in a slightly different manner.
Collins says the upgrade and expanded facilities are needed in order for Akron-Westfield school district to remain competitive.
There is only one polling place for the bond measure. Voters can cast their votes at the Akron Public Library with polling hours between 7:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m.
Plymouth County 4-H To Hold Fun Walk/Run
(Le Mars) — The Plymouth County 4-H program is hoping to raise money by hosting a fun walk and run, scheduled for Saturday evening. Ann Schoenrock, co-program coordinator with the Plymouth County Extension Services says the fun walk and run is being sponsored by the Plymouth County 4-H Foundaton. She says the event will mark the first, of what is hoped to be many more fun walks and runs.
Schoenrock says there will be plenty of other activities featured at the fairgrounds besides the fun walk and fun run.
The Plymouth County 4-H Youth Director says this fun walk and fun run will be slightly different as participants are encouraged to utilize illuminators to light up the trail.
Schoenrock explains the route after starting at the Plymouth County fairgrounds.
Three Sex Abuse Cases Are Combined Against Jailer
COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (AP) – Three Iowa child sex cases against a Nebraska jail officer have been consolidated.
Shawn Beu has pleaded not guilty to the charges, which include sexual abuse, sexual exploitation of a minor and possession of child pornography. His trial is scheduled to begin June 1 in Pottawattamie County District Court. A judge has barred most of the court documents from public scrutiny.
Beu was arrested on warrants after a search of his Council Bluffs home. He’s a corrections sergeant at the Douglas County Jail in Omaha. Jail director Mark Foxall did not immediately return an email message left Friday seeking comment.
Inmates Have To Right To Counsel When Challenging Corrections’ Decisions
IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) – A judge has ruled that Iowa inmates have the right to legal counsel when challenging Department of Corrections’ decisions that can add time to their sentences.
If upheld on appeal, the ruling could help inmates during classification and disciplinary hearings run by department officials. It’s not clear who would pay for their attorneys.
The department on Thursday appealed the decision by Judge Scott Rosenburg. The Iowa Supreme Court will decide whether to keep the case or send it to the Court of Appeals.
The high court ruled last year that misdemeanor defendants have the right to counsel under the Iowa Constitution. Given that decision, Rosenburg says it makes sense that inmates “facing the possibility of an increase in the amount of time he or she will be incarcerated” also qualify.
Authorities Identify Woman That Was Killed In A Cedar Rapids Fire
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) – Officials have identified a woman who died after being found in a burning condominium in Cedar Rapids.
Cedar Rapids officials announced Friday that 62-year-old Robyn Furmanski was pronounced dead Thursday at a hospital.
Firefighters were dispatched around 2:40 a.m. Thursday to a six-unit, three-story building behind Garfield Elementary School. The Cedar Rapids Fire Department said firefighters found the woman inside a unit that was ablaze.
The occupants of the other five units were safely evacuated. Firefighters say the woman’s unit was heavily damaged and that there was smoke damage to the other units.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation. Investigators are also waiting for more information from the State Medical Examiner’s Office to determine Furmanski’s cause of death.
Iowa State University Football Players Rescue Woman From Drowning
UNDATED (AP) – A group of former and current Iowa State football players pulled a woman out of a canal while on spring break at South Padre Island in Texas.
Former Cyclones linebacker Jack Spreen tells The Associated Press that he and some friends were sitting on a balcony at their hotel on March 16 when they noticed a car go into the nearby canal.
Spreen says he and two friends saw a woman, which police identified as Luis Maria Castro, attempting to kick out the windshield as water filled the passenger side of the vehicle. The three Cyclones tried to break the driver’s side window without success, but the woman was able to make a hole in the windshield. Spreen says he and his friends pulled the woman out.
