Home News Friday News, July 22

Friday News, July 22

Cooling Unit Started Smoking At Floyd Valley Apartments

(Le Mars) — The Le Mars Fire and Rescue Department was called to the Floyd Valley
Apartments Thursday afternoon at about 2:08 p.m. for a cooling unit that had been
smoking. There was no fire, however, fire officials did cut the power to the
cooling unit, saying it had been arching. Fire Chief Dave Schipper says due to the
excessive heat, the cooling unit was working too long and too hard, and started to
short out causing the smoke. There were no injuries, but fire officials did use a
ventilation fan to remove the smoke from the community room. Fire officials were
on the scene for approximately a half an hour.

 

MidAmerican Issues Peak Alert Due To Excessive Heat

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – MidAmerican Energy issued a peak alert yesterday when the
temperature climbed.
The Des Moines-based utility said in a news release Thursday that it wants
customers to conserve energy from 2 until 7 p.m., when temperatures and heat
indexes are expected to be their highest. The National Weather Service has issued a
warning about excessive heat in Iowa and most of Nebraska through Saturday evening.
The utility says it has enough generating capacity to meet the demand, plus a
reserve, for its 752,000 electric customers. But MidAmerican says customers are
being asked to trim use so they can limit the potential for higher costs.
Nebraska Public Power District spokesman Mark Becker says the district hasn’t
issued any similar recommendation but is watching the weather situation and
consumption records closely.

 

Former Lawton City Clerk Pleads Not Guilty To Child Sex Charges

LAWTON, Iowa (AP) – A former city clerk in northwest Iowa has pleaded not guilty
to a Nebraska charge filed in a child sex case.
61-year-old Douglas Furlich, of Lawton, entered the plea Wednesday in Dakota County District Court in Dakota City. The felony charge is child enticement by use of an electronic
communications device.
The Lawton City Council in Iowa fired Furlich after his arrest.
The Nebraska State Patrol says Furlich posted an ad online saying he was
“looking for a younger guy.” Officials say an undercover officer responded,
pretending to be a 15-year-old boy. Court documents say Furlich went to a South
Sioux City, Nebraska, park in June to meet the boy. Furlich was arrested there.

 

Closing Arguments Expected Today For Murder Trial

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) – Closing arguments are expected Friday in the trial of a Sioux City man accused of killing another man in the northwest Iowa community of Sloan.
Defense and prosecution attorneys rested their cases Thursday in Timothy Schroeder’s trial. He’s charged with first-degree murder and related crimes in the Jan. 9, 2015, shooting death of 29-year-old Dustin Wilder at Wilder’s home.
The defense moved for acquittal on all charges Thursday, saying there wasn’t enough evidence to convict Schroeder. But Judge Jeffery Neary denied the motion.

 

Plymouth County Fair To Hold Pie Championship Contest

(Le Mars) — It’s as easy as pie. How many times have we heard that phrase? Home
baked pies will have special attention at the Plymouth County Fair. New this year
at the fair will be a champion pie contest. Organizers of the champion pie judging
contest are inviting bakers to participate in the contest. The judging is
scheduled for noon on Saturday, July 30th at the Open Class building. Carol
Scheinder serves as a co-chair to the event. She says this will be different from
the traditional Open Class judging of baked goods.

Schneider says the contest is open to anyone who is at least six years old and a
resident of Plymouth County. She says pies can be entered as being baked by an
individual, or by a team of two people.

Schneider says the pie recipe should accompany the pie entry, and it needs to be on
a 3 by 5 inch card. Pie entries need to be prepared in a nine inch disposable pie
pan. The pie contest coordinator says all pies need to be some type of fruit pie.

The champion pie contest co-chair says participants can enter as much as three
pies.

Schneider says people can reference the 2016 Plymouth County Fair Book, page 62,
for additional information. She says there isn’t any entry fee associated with the
pie contest. Contestants need to submit their pie entries on Saturday morning.

Pies will be judged by a panel of local celebrity judges.

 

Man Falls From Wind Turbine

HUXLEY, Iowa (AP) – Authorities say a man has died in a construction accident at a
wind turbine in central Iowa.
The accident occurred Thursday afternoon near Huxley. The Story County Sheriff’s Office
says the 31-year-old man fell about 30 feet inside a wind turbine that’s under
construction.
The man’s name and other details about the accident haven’t been released.