Airport Terminal Holds Ribbon Cutting Ceremony
(Le Mars) — City officials formally opened the newly remodeled Le Mars Municipal
Airport Terminal during a ribbon-cutting ceremony held Thursday noon. During the
open house ceremonies, city administrator Scott Langel says the renovation project
was a perfect example of the utilization of both public and private partnership
funds.
Langel says the city hopes to begin other airport improvement projects yet this
year, including an environmental study for the ultimate goal to extend the Le Mars
airport runway.
Langel says there are four steps to extending the runway.
The city administrator says more than 8,000 flight operations have used the Le
Mars Municipal airport this past year. He says airport improvements have already
prompted one business to locate in Le Mars, and he anticipates others to look at
erecting additional airplane hangers at the airport facilities.
Langel reported to the gathering the Le Mars airport has had many dignitaries
stop, including both President George Bush, senior and junior. Langel says city
funding, as well as the usage of Tax Incremental Financing or TIF, will help with
other airport improvements slated for the near future.
Langel also spoke of the desire for the city to construct additional airplane
hangers to the south side of the terminal building.
Plymouth County Authorities Investigate Motorcycle Accident
(Le Mars) — What started as a traffic stop due to speeding, turned into a
motorcycle accident involving injuries. A Plymouth County Sheriff Deputy was
traveling on Highway 3 near the Cherokee-Plymouth County border when he activated
his emergency flashing lights to 19 year old Alexander Jacobo of Marcus. Jacobo
was riding a Honda motorcycle and was heading westbound. He applied his brakes
and began to pull off the roadway to the shoulder of the road. The front tire of
the motorcycle went onto the gravel portion of the shoulder causing Jacobo to lose
control. The motorcycle then flipped. The Remsen Fire and Rescue Department
along with the Remsen Ambulance Service and Oyens Fire Department, and Oyens
Ambulance responded to the scene. Jacobo was transported to the Floyd Valley
Healthcare in Le Mars by the Remsen Ambulance. The accident is still being
investigated.
Appeals Court Upholds Akron Man’s Conviction
(Des Moines) — The Iowa Supreme Court on Thursday denied a request for further review of 39 year old Jeremy Hebert’s appeal. Authorities say Hebert of Akron, called 911 in 2014, and claimed he would blow up the White House. When federal agents and a Plymouth County Sheriff’s deputy went to Hebert’s home to question him, he then threaten to kill them. Hebert was convicted on three counts of assaulting a peace officer with intent to inflict serious injury and was sentenced to five years in prison. He was also charged with making a threat to use an explosive device, but was acquitted of that charge. The Iowa Court of Appeals upheld Hebert’s conviction in April. Hebert remains in custody in the Rockwell City prison.
Spencer Preacher Charged With Sexual Exploitation
(Spencer) — A Spencer, Iowa pastor is facing several charges for allegedly engaging in sexual activity with three people he was counseling. 51 year old Kevin Grimes is charged with three felony and two misdemeanor counts of sexual exploitation by a counselor in Clay County District Court. Court documents state that Grimes engaged in sexual conduct with three emotionally dependent individuals over the past four years in his capacity as CEO of the Spencer Dream Center. Grimes was also the senior pastor at Spencer’s Dayspring Church from May of 2008 to May of 2016. He was booked into the Clay County Jail on a $5,000 bond.
Iowa Economic Development Approves Incentives For Prestage Farms
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – A state board has approved $11.5 million in incentives
for a North Carolina company that plans to build a $240 million pork plant in
northern Iowa’s Wright County.
The Iowa Economic Development Board on Thursday approved the incentives for
Prestage Farms to build the plant near Eagle Grove.
Wright County officials are considering giving the company $8 million in
local tax breaks.
To get the state aid, Prestage promised to create at least 922 full-time
jobs, of which 322 must pay at least $15.54 an hour.
Prestage opted for Eagle Grove after the plant was rejected in Mason City,
about 50 miles northeast.
The company is based in Clinton, North Carolina.
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Bullying Prevention Center Running Out Of Money
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Nearly one year after Gov. Terry Branstad announced the
creation of a bullying prevention office, the program has no designated dollars
and relies on inconsistent funding.
Documents show the Governor’s Office for Bullying Prevention at the
University of Northern Iowa has received no private grants since launching in
September 2015.
The office offers some programming, but the lack of clear or consistent
funding raises questions about its long-term effectiveness in addressing statewide
bullying and harassment.
UNI’s Center for Violence Prevention oversees the office. The center had at
least $68,000 available in private grants for the budget year that began in July,
but most of the money is earmarked for efforts related to sexual assault
prevention and relationship abuse.
Branstad cited budget constraints in January for not recommending state
dollars to the office.
Iowa Supreme Court To Review Whistleblower Case
AMES, Iowa (AP) – For a second time, the Iowa Supreme Court will review the case
of an Iowa State University whistleblower who was viciously mistreated by his
superiors.
The court said Thursday it has granted further review in the case of Dennis
Smith.
A court awarded Smith nearly $1.3 million in damages after hearing how he was
unfairly branded a workplace threat by his boss, who he’d reported for financial
misconduct. Those damages were cut in half after an earlier Iowa Supreme Court
ruling. Smith was later awarded $368,000 in legal fees.
In March, the Court of Appeals ruled 2-1 that Smith should have been awarded
only a fraction of those legal fees. A dissenting judge warned that the decision
“would effectively slam the courthouse door shut to many employees with
whistleblower claims.”
University Of Iowa Drops Bias Assessment And Response Team
IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) – The University of Iowa has dropped plans to create a bias
assessment and response team.
In January university chief diversity officer Georgina Dodge proposed a team
to address complaints of racial or other bias on campus concerning incidents that
“skirt the line between a policy violation or even a crime.”
But Dodge recently told the Iowa City Press-Citizen (https://icp-c.com/2bCopbe
) the plans raised concerns about the possible impact on academic freedom. She
says that over the past eight months, bias response teams at other institutions
have become more punitive in their focus and have overreached their authority.
She says the university goal remains: ensuring there’s a “safe place in which
anyone who is subjected to biased treatment can go to find resources and to get
help in coping.”
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