Home News Thursday Afternoon News, Aug 10th

Thursday Afternoon News, Aug 10th

Iowans To Select New License Plate Design

(Des Moines) — Officials have unveiled three new options for the state-issued license plates for Iowa motorists. Governor Kim Reynolds says her office and several state agencies provided input to the graphic designers in the Iowa D-O-T
who were responsible for coming up with the three alternatives.


The current Iowa license plates have been in use since 1998. They’re blue and white and feature a city and country image. One of the new options is red, white and blue — the colors of the state flag — and includes the image of the eagle that’s in the center of the flag. The design has been dubbed: “Flying
Our Colors.”

Another plate design option is called “The Great Wide Open” and has a graphic image of a summer landscape. The third design is called “City and County Reboot” and has silhouettes of the Des Moines skyline, a barn, a grain silo and a wind
turbine.

In addition to online voting, Iowa State Fairgoers are being allowed to vote on the designs in the Iowa D-O-T’s booth at the fair. New plates with a new design will start being issued sometime next year. “Specialty” license plates and plates with a collegiate design will not be changed.

 

 

Plymouth County Authorities Release Information Regarding ATV Accident

(Le Mars) — More information has been released regarding the four-wheeler A-T-V accident that occurred Tuesday evening at about 7:19 p.m. The accident happened about seven miles northwest of Le Mars. According to an accident report issued
by the Plymouth County Sheriff’s Office, Two teenage girls were riding on an all terrain vehicle traveling north on a private driveway belonging to a hog confinement. The teenage girls drove through a mud puddle on the private driveway and continued in a northeast direction onto 130th Street. The driver
of the A-T-V attempted t make a right hand turn onto 130th Street, but was traveling too fast and was unable to make the turn. The 14 year old girl driver lost control of the the four-wheeler and entered the north ditch where it rolled
three-quarters of a turn, coming to a rest on both the driver and the 14 year old girl passenger, causing injuries to both victims. The driver of the ATV was identified as Sophia Knuth of Westfield and the passenger was 14 year old Presley Marnach of Akron. Both were transported to the hospital.

 

 

Fire Investigation Seminar Held At Orange City

(Orange City) — Fire officials and insurance inspectors attended a fire investigation seminar held Wednesday at Orange City.  The program was put on by Grinnell Mutual Insurance, and its purpose was to help fire fighters and insurance claims officials get a better idea of how fire may start, as well as a
burn pattern of fires, and to look at ways homeowners and businesses may be able to incorporate fire prevention measures to better protect their property against fire-related losses.  Trace Lawless helped direct the program.  He is a fire investigation specialist with Grinnell Mutual and has more than 30 years of experience.  Grinnell Mutual featured six simulated rooms from a home which were set on fire.
Lawless says they had set up two identical living rooms, with the only difference was one was equipped with a sprinkler system.

Following the demonstration, Lawless asked the attending insurance officials if they would rather pay a claim from fire and smoke damage, or from water damage.

A bedroom was set on fire using a flammable liquid.  Lawless says it was to assist fire investigators and insurance companies to see the difference of burn patterns between an accidental fire and one that was intentionally set using flammable liquids.

Next up was a shop scene, which would be common to see in a basement or a garage setting.  The room cell had plastic shelving, instead of metal shelving, and was equipped with shop lights and even wood stains and polyurethane wood finishing
products.  Lawless says he wanted the attending officials to see how quickly the plastic would melt under a fire scenario.  He says having those oil-based products inside a metal cabinet, instead of setting on plastic shelving can help contain a fire.

The final fire demonstration cell featured different types of wallboard showing officials that some products are able to with stand fire better than other products.

In each of the fire demonstrations, officials had the opportunity to view a television monitor showing the increasing temperature of three different points within the room.  Temperatures were monitored at the floor level, mid-way up a vertical wall, and at the ceiling level.  A digital stop clock was also
featured, showing fire and insurance officials just how quickly a fire can spread.  In each instance, within about 30 seconds to 2 minutes, the room would be totally engulfed in flames.

Two members of the Le Mars Fire and Rescue Department participated on the fire investigation seminar.

 

 

DHS Official Defends Actions At Boys Mental Home

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – The state human services director doesn’t plan to order a review of the Iowa school for juvenile offenders after allegations that staffers inappropriately use restraints and seclusion on teens with mental illness.
The Des Moines Register reports that Jerry Foxhoven told the Iowa Council on Human Services on Wednesday that he’s proud of what the state does with what he said are “really, really tough kids” at the Boys State Training School in Eldora.
Disability Rights Iowa said in a report released Monday that the school doesn’t have enough mental health professionals, locks up children by themselves and restrains them in beds with full-body wraps.
Foxhoven defended the facility’s use of “the wrap” as being safer than having staffers use their hands and arms to hold an out-of-control boy.
Foxhoven’s comments came a day after Gov. Kim Reynolds said she trusted him to handle the issue.

 

 

Work Crews Renovate Iowa Capitol Building

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – About two dozen workers are spending a hot summer on scaffolding that wraps around Iowa’s 131-year-old Capitol.
The priority is replacing 15,000 bricks that have deteriorated in the interior dome, but because that task required construction of scaffolding that climbs about 75-feet up from the main structure, maintenance officials decided it was the perfect time to make other repairs to the building.
Workers are replacing glass in some windows that circle the structure, repainting window frames, repairing copper window sills and filling in holes in the sandstone that makes up the building’s face.
Crews also will install a permanent platform in the dome so workers can monitor future deterioration, and workers will install a new exterior lighting system.
The $10 million project is expected to be completed in December 2018.