Total Motors Holds Ground Breaking Ceremonies
(Le Mars) — Several community business leaders were on hand this morning for the ground breaking ceremonies of Total Motors new auto dealership and services. Scott Taylor, the owner of Total Motors, thanked the community for supporting him with the expansion of the new auto sales and repair services facility. He told KLEM news what the auto dealership will look like when completed.
Taylor says when the construction of the new facilities are complete, it will mean Le Mars will again have a Chevrolet new vehicle dealership.
The Total Motors owner says it has been a long time coming for Le Mars to have a Chevrolet and other GM brands dealership.
California Dairy Producer Enjoys Iowa’s Business Climate
(Primghar) — More than a thousand people attended last evening’s June Dairy Month open house sponsored by the dairy producers and dairy processors that make
up the Western Iowa Dairy Alliance. Summitt Dairy, near Primghar was the host dairy farm as visitors took the opportunity to tour the farm and milking
facilities. Summitt Dairy owner, John Westra moved from California to northwest Iowa to operate the dairy. Westra says California’s regulations prevented him from conducting a successful dairy business.
Westra says northwest Iowa provides for a good economic business environment.
Westra says he agreed to host the annual tour because he wants people to know where their dairy products originate, and how important the dairy industry is to the local economy.
Summitt Dairy markets its milk to AMPI located at Sanborn and also to Dean Food’s in Le Mars. Westra says he appreciates having milk processing facilities so close to his farming operation, but he adds it was the surrounding culture
that appealed to him and his family to make the move from California.
Summitt Diary milks about 750 cows and delivers approximately 6,000 gallons of milk on a daily basis, and has eleven employees.
Lottery Official Pleads Guilty To Fraud
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – A former lottery computer programmer has pleaded guilty in Iowa to running a criminal scheme that allowed him to collect millions of dollars in lottery winnings in four other states.
Former Multi-State Lottery Association security director Eddie Tipton on Thursday admitted that he manipulated the computer software he designed, allowing him to provide winning numbers to his brother and others.
Tipton, his brother Tommy Tipton and Texas businessman Robert Rhodes will repay $2.2 million in prizes they improperly claimed in Colorado, Oklahoma, Wisconsin and Kansas.
Iowa prosecutors will ask for a 25-year prison sentence for Eddie Tipton.
Tommy Tipton also pleaded guilty Thursday in Iowa and was sentenced to 75 days in jail.
IOWA DEMOCRATIC PARTY-CHAIR
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – The chair of the Iowa Democratic Party says he has resigned from the job because of health issues.
Derek Eadon says in a news release that he stepped down Thursday because he was diagnosed recently with what he described as a painful ailment. Treatment will require radiation procedures over the summer.
Eadon says his health has caused him to miss too much time on the job and it’s important for the party chair to dedicate all his or her attention to the work. Eadon was elected by a party committee to the position in January. He replaced Andy McGuire, who has since launched a gubernatorial campaign.
Andrea Phillips, 1st vice chair of the party, will assume Eadon’s role until party leadership meets July 22 to elect a permanent replacement.
WRESTLER-SEX ABUSE
IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) – A U.S. wrestler who spent years in prison for a sexual assault he denies testified Thursday that he was pressured by his coach and lawyers to waive his right to a jury trial.
Jordan Holm is seeking a new trial based on claims that he received ineffective assistance from his lawyers.
Holm, 35, was convicted of sexually assaulting a University of Iowa student after an off-campus party in 2002. The former Minnesota state champion was a star University of Northern Iowa wrestler at the time.
After nearly seven years in prison, Holm became a U.S. Open champion in the Greco-Roman discipline and nearly qualified for the U.S. Olympic Team last year.
The prosecutor testified Thursday that the decision to waive a jury trial was ridiculous because Johnson County juries are notoriously pro-defendant. A judge later found Holm guilty.
SEVERE WEATHER-IOWA
PRAIRIEBURG, Iowa (AP) – Thunderstorms running across Iowa have injured at least one person, mowed down crops and damaged homes and farm buildings.
Tornadoes were reported Wednesday in several eastern Iowa counties. Linn County authorities say a woman was injured when the roof of her garage collapsed on her near Prairieburg. Several semis were overturned at a grain business, and a roof was torn off a Prairieburg home.
Another tornado reported near the Linn County Fair in Central City sent fairgoers to shelters. Trees and tents were damaged but no fairgrounds buildings.
Golf ball-size hail and heavy rain were reported in the Des Moines area.
Fremont County authorities in western Iowa say a tornado touched down in a rural area between Sidney and Shenandoah, flattening crops. A home near Farragut was damaged.
