Trial Is Set For Counterfeiting Suspect
SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) – An October trial has been scheduled for one of three people accused of trying to pass counterfeit cash at Sioux City’s Hard Rock Hotel & Casino.
Court records say 29-year-old Brittany Derby entered a written plea of not guilty to a forgery charge last week in Woodbury County District Court. Her trial is set to begin Oct. 31.
Police say Derby, Kurt Jones and Jackelen Hartsock made several cash transactions at the casino on Aug. 5. Police say the bills were later found to be counterfeit.
Jones and Hartsock also have pleaded not guilty.
Supervisors Approve Adding Cherokee County To SRT Unit
(Le Mars) — Plymouth County Sheriff Mike Van Otterloo appeared before the Plymouth County Board of Supervisors Tuesday morning to ask for their support and approval to allow Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office and the Cherokee Police Department to be a part of the Special Response Team, or
otherwise known as S-R-T. The Special Response Team is a strategic tactical law enforcement unit comprising of members of the Plymouth County Sheriff’s Office, Le Mars Police Department, and the Sioux County Sheriff’s Office, and is called upon for stand-offs, hostage situations, active shooter incidents,
or otherwise critical and life-threatening incidents. Van Otterloo says on a few occasions the SRT unit has been called to Cherokee County to offer mutual aid assistance with some incidents.
Van Otterloo says nothing would change with the original agreement, other than the addition of the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office and the Cherokee Police Department. He says the only change would be with the name, which may
now be referred to as the Tri-County SRT.Van Otterloo says discussions have taken place over the last several months
with the Le Mars Police Department and with Sioux County Sheriff’s Office about possibly adding Cherokee County.
Van Otterloo also informed the supervisors that the addition of Cherokee to the SRT would also mean more people that would be available on weekends or holidays when there could be a possibility of three or five members may be away from the immediate community.
The Plymouth County Sheriff informed the county supervisors that in recent years, the SRT unit has been called upon on a more frequent basis. He says the SRT unit has been used to deter possible uprisings and confrontations The Plymouth County Board of Supervisors gave their approval of having Cherokee as part of the SRT unit. Van Otterloo believes it may be two to three months before all entities sign on to the agreement.
Iowa Insurance Commissioner Uncertain An Agreement Will Be Made
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – An Iowa official says he’s less optimistic a proposal will be approved that would allow the state to shift money used for the Affordable Care Act.
Iowa Insurance Commissioner Doug Ommen told lawmakers Tuesday he’s still awaiting a decision from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services regarding a so-called stopgap measure for the state’s individual insurance market. He says he’s “less optimistic” because he expected an answer by now.
Ommen says he’s still hopeful and his office has been preparing as if the federal government will give its approval. Open enrollment for health insurance coverage begins Nov. 1. Some other states have sought a waiver to change some funding rules for their individual ACA markets, but data shows Iowa’s plan is among the most expansive.
The proposal would allow government subsidies designed to lower costs for low-income and older participants to be used to entice younger people to buy insurance. Ommen says the plan is needed because Iowa’s current market is facing huge rate increases.
