Vondraks Selected As 2016 Fair Royalty
A pair of Vondraks were crowned Plymouth County Fair Royalty on Wednesday evening.
The Fair Queen is Alexandra Vondrak of Hinton and the title of King was given to
Joe Vondrak of Akron. Following the announcement, newly crowned fair queen Allie
Vondrak shared her gratitude, and wished that everyone will enjoy “the best five
days of summer”.
Alexandra Vondrak says she set an early goal to become the Plymouth County fair
queen.
Next up for Alexandra will be to represent Plymouth County in the state wide
competion for the title of Iowa Fair Queen held at the Iowa State Fair in Des
Moines. Alexandra says she is excited about the opportunity and looking forward to
the event.
The newly crowned Plymouth County Fair queen remains busy with all her 4-H
projects.
This year’s Plymouth County Fair King is also a Vondrak. Joe Vondrak was given the
title of being an ambassador for the fair.
Joe Vondrak also remains busy with his fair projects. He admits that he enjoys
cooking and baking.
Much like the fair queen and several other Plymouth County 4-H members, Joe Vondrak
has had projects that received the purple ribbon and was exhibited at the Iowa
State Fair.
The other members of the fair royalty includes: Sally Probst and Morgan Ten Napel
as the fair princesses, and Walker Raymond and Jordan Utesch were selected as a
fair prince. Mr. Personality was presented to Carter Bohle, and Queen Alexandra Vondrak also earned the title of Miss Congeniality.
Fair Attendance Holds Nearly Steady With Year Ago Figures
(Le Mars) — Attendance for the first day of the fair came in strong, although
slightly lower than last year’s Wednesday attendance. Fair officials are reporting
Wednesday’s attendance for 2016 was at 18,900 compared to last year’s first day
attendance estimated at 19,000. Fair officials say the break from last week’s heat
wave may have played a major role in the strong first day showing. Other factors
to be considered is the entertainment consisting of Remsen native and now country
western recording artist Danika Portz, and the popular Bull Riding Contest was
moved from Sunday evening to Wednesday, and for the first time, the fair board had
a fireworks display following the conclusion of Wednesday evening’s entertainment.
Rexwinkel And Criswell Inducted Into Plymouth County Fair Hall Of Fame
(Le Mars) — The Plymouth County Fair Board announced the names of two long-time
volunteers of the fair as their 2016 inductees into the Plymouth County Fair Hall
of Fame. Lorene Rexwinkel and Shirley Criswell were so honored during a
presentation held last evening prior to the crowning of the fair royalty.
Former Neola City Clerk Charged With Felonies
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – The former city clerk for the city of Neola has been
charged with three felonies and other charges after a state audit last year found
more than $230,000 was misspent over a five-year period.
Neola officials fired Deb Schierbrock in August of 2013 after a city check
written to pay for a fire truck bounced.
State auditors found improper overtime payments and numerous checks written to
Schierbrock among other problems.
The Iowa Department of Public Safety says the Pottawattamie County Attorney
filed the charges on Wednesday after state agents investigated.
Schierbrock is charged with ongoing criminal conduct, felonious misconduct and
non-felonious misconduct.
She was released on a promise to appear in court on Aug. 19.
Crime Analyst Loses Job From Racial Comments
IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) – An analyst at the Iowa state crime laboratory has been let
go after posting a racist rant on her Facebook page saying she no longer trusts or
feels safe around blacks.
The Iowa Department of Public Safety said Wednesday that criminalist Amy
Pollpeter, a 10-year employee, was terminated Tuesday.
Pollpeter lashed out at the Black Lives Matter movement – and all blacks in
general – in a Facebook post July 8, which was first reported by the Des Moines
Register.
Her rant came one day after the killing of several police officers in Dallas
by a black man who shot them during a protest over police brutality.
Pollpeter wrote that, “BECAUSE OF BLACKS” she now does notice skin color and
“frankly, I no longer feel safe around them.”
Alliant Energy To Expand Wind Farms
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Alliant Energy has announced it will invest about $1
billion to expand its wind energy operations in the state.
Alliant executives and Gov. Terry Branstad made the announcement Wednesday.
The Iowa utility said in a news release that it is seeking regulatory approval
to expand its Whispering Willow Wind Farm in Franklin County and possibly develop
wind energy in other areas of the state. Utility spokesman Justin Foss says the
project will also generate more than 1,500 jobs in Iowa. Foss said it is not yet
clear how many turbines the project would see erected.
The company says the five-year project will produce 500 megawatts of energy.
