Supervisors Will Not Meet This Week
(Le Mars) — Plymouth County Board of Supervisors will not be meeting this week as there were not enough agenda items to warrant a meeting. The county supervisors will gather next Tuesday at the County Courthouse Board Room.
Absentee Ballots For School Board Elections Now Available
(Le Mars) — Absentee ballots for the September 12, 2017 School Election are available as of August 15th in the Auditor’s Office at the Plymouth County Courthouse during regular business hours of 8 am to 5 pm, Monday through Friday
to vote in person.
Absentee ballots may be cast in the Auditor’s office until Tuesday, September 12th until 11am.
Absentee ballots to be mailed to voters must be requested in writing. Forms are available at the Plymouth County Auditor’s Office or at www.co.plymouth.ia.us under Online Services and then County Forms. Voters may contact the Auditor’s
office and an absentee ballot request form can be mailed to a voter. Absentee ballot request forms should be mailed to the Auditor’s office at 215 4th Ave. SE, Le Mars, IA 51031.
Voters requesting an absentee ballot to be mailed to them must have the request form to the Auditor’s office no later than 5 pm on Friday, September 8th, as that is the last day absentee ballots can be mailed out to voters. The Auditor’s office provides the postage for all absentee ballots returned by mail.
Ballots must be postmarked prior to midnight, September 11, 2017 (the day prior to the election), or can be delivered to the Auditor’s office before the polls close at 8:00 pm on September 12,
If you wish to absentee vote in the Auditor’s office Tuesday, September 5th through Tuesday, September 12th and are not registered to vote already, you will be required to complete the EDR (Election Day Registration) process at the Auditor’s Office prior to casting your absentee ballot. The EDR voter registration process requires a valid photo identification, and one form of
proof of Plymouth County residency. Examples of proof of residency can be a valid Iowa drivers license with your current Plymouth County address, a utility bill, cell phone bill, residential lease, bank statement, paycheck, government check, vehicle registration, or tax assessment.
If you have any further questions, please feel free to contact the Plymouth County Auditor’s Office at 712-546-6100.
Stacey Feldman is the Auditor and Commissioner of Election and Cheri Nitzschke is the Election Deputy.
Le Mars City Council Expected To Approve Vision Builders Proposal
(Le Mars) — The Le Mars City Council is scheduled to convene today at noon at the city council chambers. The city council will address the Vision Builders Development Agreement, and is expected to take action on the matter. The city council will discuss the Postal Playhouse north addition, as well as discuss the Le Mars Municipal campground improvements and expansion plans. The city council is expected to approve the bond purchase agreement. The council has on its agenda an amendment agreement with the Iowa Department of Transportation
involving the airport planning and zoning.
Crop Conditions Continue To Deteriorate
(Des Moines) — The weekly crop condition report was issued yesterday, and in that report the state’s corn condition declined to three percent very poor, nine percent is poor, 27 percent is listed as being fair, 52 percent is good, and nine percent of the corn crop has an excellent rating. 62 percent of the corn
crop was in or beyond the dough stage, which is six days behind last year.
Eight percent of the corn crop has reached the dent stage, one week behind average. The soybean crop has 94 percent in the blooming stage, that’s five days behind last year, and four days behind average. 82 percent of the state’s soybeans are setting pods, three days behind last year, but two days ahead of
average. Soybean condition is rated as four percent very poor, 11 percent poor, 29 percent is listed as fair, 49 percent is good, and seven percent having an excellent rating. Ag officials say topsoil moisture levels fell to 30 percent very short, 33 percent as short, 37 percent adequate, and zero percent as surplus. Subsoil moisture levels saw similar ratings. 25 percent of the
subsoil is very short on moisture, 33 percent as short, 42 percent as adequate, and zero percent as surplus. That is the highest percentage of very short subsoil moisture supplies since the first week of November of 2013. According to the August 8th U-S Drought Monitor, Iowa’s region of drought expanded to 40
percent of the state including portions of 23 counties are in severe drought conditions.
Iowa State University Extension and Outreach To Host Land Lease Meetings
(Le Mars) — Iowa State University Extension and Outreach are hosting a series of meetings focusing on land lease agreements, cash rental rates, land values, and communication between the landlord and tenant. Gary Wright serves as the Farm Management Specialist for northwest Iowa. He says there are two meetings scheduled for Wednesday, one in Sioux City, and the other in Le Mars.
Wright explains what topics will be discussed at the meetings.
The farm management specialist says the meetings will also look at the landlord and tenant communications.
Senator Ernst Comments On President Trump’s Delay In Criticizing Charlottesville Riots
FORT DODGE, Iowa (AP) – Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst says “it’s very frustrating” that it took President Donald Trump two days to specifically denounce white supremacy in the wake of a deadly clash in Virginia. The Republican freshman senator spoke to reporters after a town hall meeting of about 100 people in Fort Dodge in northwest Iowa. Trump finally condemned hate groups by name on Monday, after first offering a less specific
criticism of groups involved in Saturday’s protests in Charlottesville. Ernst credited Trump with adequately addressing the problem Monday, but wished it hadn’t taken so long. She said the statement was “strong,” but that “I wish he had been right out the gate with that.”
Sioux City Man Pleas Not Guilty to Fatal Stabbing
SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) – A Sioux City man has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder in the stabbing death of a Nebraska man. 29-year-old Daniel Levering pleaded not guilty Monday in Woodbury County District Court in the July 23 stabbing death of 36-year-old Vincent Walker, of Winnebago, Nebraska. Levering’s trial was set for Oct. 17. Levering was arrested on a warrant charging him with killing Walker. Police say Walker was washing his car when he was confronted by three people. Police say the group then assaulted him, with one stabbing him and another hitting him repeatedly with a baseball bat. Walker later died at a Sioux City hospital. —
Woman Killed By Train
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) – Authorities say a woman was struck and killed by a train while she was walking on tracks on the east side of Cedar Rapids.
Medics and law officers were sent to the scene around 7:20 p.m. Monday. The woman was pronounced dead there.
The Linn County Sheriff’s Office is investigating. The woman’s name hasn’t been released, pending notification of her family.
Two People Charged With Murder For Woman’s Death
CLARE, Iowa (AP) – Two people have been charged with murder following the identification of a body found Saturday near the small central Iowa community of Clare.
Authorities on Monday said they have charged 25-year-old Phillip Anthony Williams, of Lafayette, Indiana, and 26-year-old Mackenzie Lee Knigge, of Clare, with first-degree murder in the death of Jessica Gomez. Williams and Knigge were being held at the Tippecanoe County Sheriff’s Office in Lafayette.
The Iowa State Medical Examiner’s Office on Monday confirmed that a body found Saturday in a field near Clare was the 26-year-old Gomez, of Fort Dodge, Iowa.
Mother Ordered To Undergo Treatment After Baby’s Death
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – A Des Moines mother whose baby died on a changing table has been ordered to undergo substance abuse and mental health treatments as part of her sentence.
Laci Taylor had been accused of drinking alcohol before her original sentencing hearing Aug. 3, when she was given a suspended 10-year prison sentence and five years’ probation. She’d pleaded guilty to felony neglect of a dependent person.
On Monday a judge added the treatments to her sentence but didn’t order her to immediately serve any time behind bars. Taylor also must complete 200 hours of community service.
Prosecutors say Taylor left the 3-month-old unattended Sept. 18 on a changing table. The girl’s airway was cut off when she rolled and her neck was compressed against the table ledge.
