Police To Conduct Vehicle Training – 14th Avenue Northeast To Be Closed
(Le Mars) — The Le Mars Police Department and the Plymouth County Sheriff’s office
will be conducting some precision vehicle operations training today, and as a
result of that vehicle training, a notice has been issued to the public that 14th
Avenue northeast will be closed from the Law Enforcement Center proceeding south to
Plymouth Street. 14th Avenue northeast will be closed between 8:00 a.m. and 4:00
p.m. All business and residential accesses on 14th Avenue northeast will remain
open. This will be a closed training from the public.
Water To Be Turned Off Today Along Business Highway 75
(Le Mars) — City officials will be turning off the water today along Business
Highway 75 or 5th Avenue Southwest beginning at 10:00 a.m.
The water will be shut down south of Casey’s General Store to 3rd street
Southwest. Depending on complications the water could be off for up to 4 hours.
This will be the first of many connection points on our water main replacement
upgrade project. Thank you in advance for your cooperation. Questions should be
directed to the Le Mars city hall or the Le Mars Water Department.
Le Mars School Board To Convene This Evening
(Le Mars) — The Le Mars Community Board of Education is scheduled to meet this
evening. The local school board has a light agenda, but they will hear a report
from Shawn Starr and Jodi Richey regarding adoption of textbooks for the 9th grade
English classes. Each of the school district’s principals are scheduled to appear
before the school board to offer their end of the year reports, and the board of
education will discuss the superintendent’s progress on the goals established as
part of teh superintendent evaluation process. The school board will also discuss
the legislative priorities for 2017 as set by the Iowa Association of School
Boards. The school board is expected to approve contracts for Trisha Baldwin as a
teacher associate and for Cody Dyhrkopp as the assistant girl’s basketball coach
for 9-12.
Sioux City Council Looks To Add On To The Tyson Events Center
SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) – The Sioux City Council is mulling a bevy of proposals
that would amount to about $60 million in upgrades to the Tyson Events Center.
The upgrades are aimed at helping the Sioux City venue better compete with event centers in Omaha and Lincoln in Nebraska and Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
A consultant on Friday unveiled the proposed upgrades to the City Council.
They include adding everything from smartphone charging stations to a 15,000 square
foot atrium at the main entrance.
Smaller suggested additions included a walk-in convenience store for visitors
to buy prepackaged food.
Big-ticket add-ons included expansion of the building’s concourses and a
15,000 square foot lobby entry that could house more restrooms, merchandise stands
and concessions.
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Branstad Reflects On A Year Since Bird Flu Epidemic
(Merrill) — A year ago at this time, Iowa officials were dealing with the tragedy
of the avian bird flu and how it devastated the state’s poultry and egg industries.
Several million egg laying hens and turkeys died, or were put down, because of the
bird flu. Iowa Governor Terry Branstad was recently in northwest Iowa, and KLEM
news visited with him. Branstad says fortunately, there has not been a case of the
bird flu reported this year. He says the state is better prepared if an outbreak
was to happen again.
Congress Discusses GMO Food Labeling
(Maurice) — Discussion about genetically modified organisms and the labeling of
food items containing GMO’s was held in Washington D.C. this past week when the
Senate Agriculture Committee reached an agreement as to the Robert’s-Stabenow bill.
Iowa Republican Senator Chuck Grassley says the new language solves the immediate
problem of a patchwork of state labeling laws. Grassley says he will support the
bill, but he says “we must get away from a non-science based agenda driving law and
rules. The science has proven that GMO foods are safe and equivalent to non-GMO
foods from a safety perspective”. Grassley continues to say, “giving consumers a
choice is a good thing, and it’s time to realize that there’s a place for all types
of food in our consumer-driven economy without stigmatizing another scientifically
safe alternative.” GMO’s have been a part of the food supply for more than 20
years, and the Iowa Soybean Association says there has not been one recorded
documented case where somebody was ill from a GMO-based food. The state soybean
organization says in a news release that the law will provide a unified symbol for
food manufacturers who were facing uncertainty Additionally, the exemption for
meat, dairy, and eggs fed GMO’s is a positive for Iowa soybean farmers whose number
one customer is livestock. The Iowa Corn Growers Association essentially echoes
the sentiments of the Iowa Soybean Association. They are encouraging their
farmer-members to contact their elected representatives and to push for passage of
the bill. In the dairy industry, a growth hormone, known as rbst is sometimes
injected into cows so they will produce more milk. Dairy farmer, Lee Maassen of
Maurice spoke with KLEM news about the issue during the June Dairy Month open house
held on the Maassen dairy farm last Wednesday.
The Maurice dairy producer says not all dairy farmers use the hormone in their
herds.
Maassen believes consumers and advocacy groups have made a mountain out of a mole
hill regarding the growth hormone.
Ottumwa Police Shoot Man After Stand-off
OTTUMWA, Iowa (AP) – The Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation says a man has
been shot and injured by Ottumwa police officers.
A DCI news release says Ottumwa police received a call about a house fire just
before 9 p.m. Saturday. The caller also told police that a man was outside shooting
a rifle into the burning home.
Officials say arriving officers confronted the man and ordered him to drop the
rifle, but he refused. Police say the man raised the rifle at officers in a
threatening manner, and officers shot him.
The man was taken to a hospital, where he underwent surgery for his injuries.
His condition is not known at this time, and his name has not been released.
Per department policy, the officers have been placed on paid administrative
leave.
