Tamarack Avenue Closed For Installation of Concrete Culvert
(Le Mars) — Plymouth County Secondary Roads Department will be closing Tamarack Avenue between 220th Street and 230th Street, beginning today and continuing through September 8th. The road is being closed so work crews can replace an old
wooden bridge with a concrete box culvert.
Kingsley Fire Department Responds To Shed Fire
(Kingsley) — The Kingsley Fire Department responded to a small shed that caught on fire at around 1:15 Monday morning. According to Kingsley Fire Chief, Paul Huth, the fire was reported at 213 Rutland Street and no other buildings were in danger since the shed was at least 200 feet away from the home.
Huth says the Kingsley Fire Department was on the scene for nearly an hour and a half. Huth says the fire is still under investigation, but he is not certain as to the cause of the fire.
The Kingsley Fire Chief says the owner had intended to tear down the shed later next spring. Huth says the building was destroyed, but the shed did not contain any contents, and was used only as a storage facility.
Le Mars Community School Board To Meet
(Le Mars) — The Le Mars Community Board of Education is scheduled to meet this evening at the Education Service Center. The school board will hear a framework report that has been approved by the Teacher Quality Committee that meets the
state’s required 36 hours of collaboration time. The school board will also be given the proposed annual learning goals for reading, math, and science. The school board is scheduled to discuss the new teacher and administrator introduction scheduled for Monday, September 11th at 6:00 p.m. at the Education
Service Center. The school board will act upon the resignation of Kelly Hemmelman as a part-time custodian at the high school. The school board is also expected to award contracts to five teacher associates. They include: Amy Wadle, Jay Pratt, Stephanie Ruiz, Jill Van Roekel, and Shellie Manley. The board of
education will consider approving contracts for the teachers agreeing to serve as mentors and mentees, according to the district’s Teacher Leadership and Compensation Plan. The school board is expected to appoint JoLynn Sitzmann and Stephanie Buhman as Level I investigators of abuse. The Le Mars Police
Department will be appointed to serve as Level II investigators. The school board will also consider a T-K student from Akron-Westfield for open enrollment. The school board will go into closed session to discuss a real estate transaction deal.
Trump Offers Federal Disaster Proclamation To Seven Iowa Counties
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Officials say President Donald Trump has issued a presidential disaster declaration for seven Iowa counties hit by severe weather and flooding July 19-23.
The counties are Allamakee, Bremer, Buchanan, Chickasaw, Clayton, Fayette and Mitchell.
The declaration will provide federal funding under the Public Assistance Program, which may be used for emergency work and the repair or replacement of disaster-damaged facilities.
Assessments in the seven counties showed an estimated $7 million worth of damage that could be eligible under the Public Assistance Program.
Gov. Kim Reynolds also received notification Sunday that the disaster declaration includes funding to conduct hazard mitigation for the entire state.
Newspaper Asking For Additional Information From Public Information Board About Fatal Shooting By Police Officer
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – The Iowa Public Information Board recently met in secret to discuss an accidental fatal shooting by a Burlington police officer.
The Des Moines Register objected to the board’s decision to take action Friday based on the secret meeting. The board declined to say what action it took.
Board member Rick Morain says he understands the newspaper’s frustrations, but he supports the action because he took part in the private discussion.
The board met Friday to review the 2015 accidental fatal shooting of Autumn Steele. She was shot in front of her toddler by a Burlington policeman.
Steele’s family and the Burlington Hawk Eye want state officials to release a 12-second police video that includes the shooting.
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Victim Dies From Car Fire — Authorities Consider Incident As Homicide
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Des Moines police say a man has died from the severe burns he received in a vehicle fire, and investigators are treating the case as a homicide.
Firefighters responded Friday afternoon to a fire in northeast Des Moines and found two vehicles aflame. Crews also found a man severely burned, and he was taken to a local hospital and then moved to a burn unit at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics in Iowa City.
The man died of his injuries Sunday. Police are withholding his name until his relatives can be notified.
Investigators have determined the fire was intentionally set and consider the death a homicide.
It’s the 23rd homicide in Des Moines this year.
Iowans Assist Texans Following Harvey
Around 20 Red Cross volunteers from Iowa are in Texas, helping victims of devastating flooding from Tropical Storm Harvey along the Gulf Coast. Marty Schiessl (SHE-sul) of Dubuque spoke with KCRG-TV this weekend shortly before driving an Emergency Response Vehicle to Houston. He said preparation is key.
This is his ninth national deployment and Schiessl was told he’d be serving food to those in need.
Schiessl told KCRG he volunteers simply because he enjoys helping people and he encourages other Iowans to give it try.
In addition to the 20 volunteers, four Emergency Response Vehicles from Iowa are in Texas.
