Hebert Hearing Delayed Until November 13th
(Le Mars) — The court has granted a continuance for the rural Akron woman accused of killing her husband. 33-year old Becky Hebert was originally scheduled to appear in court yesterday for her preliminary hearing for the shooting death of her husband, 40 year old Jeremy Hebert. The preliminary hearing has now been scheduled for November 13th.
Sioux Center Christian Teacher Arrested
(Sioux Center) — Sioux Center Police have arrested a teacher from the Sioux Center Christian school for lascivious acts with a child. 35-year old Curtis Van Dam of Sioux Center was arrested on Monday and charged with the Class C felony. According to the Sioux Center police, a complaint was filed with police on Wednesday of alleged inappropriate conduct between Van Dam and the student the day before. Police searched Van Dam’s residence on Saturday, and he was arrested Monday morning. Van Dam was booked into the Sioux County jail where he
is being held on a $5,000 bond. The investigation is continuing, and additional charges are anticipated.
No Meeting Scheduled This Week For County Supervisors
(Le Mars) — The Plymouth County Board of Supervisors are taking the week off and will not meet today, as there were not enough agenda items to warrant a meeting.
City Grass, Limb, Leaves, and Tree Disposal Site To Remain Open Through November
(Le Mars) — Le Mars city officials have announce the tree, limb, leaves and grass drop-off site located on the west end of town will remain open through November, with weather permitting. There will be a change in the hours on Wednesdays beginning Wednesday Nov. 1st from 1:00 p.m. to 5 p.m. , due to the
time change. Saturday will remain the same 10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.
Superintendent Webner Tells School Board That Finances Are In Good Shape
(Le Mars) — Le Mars Community School Superintendent, Dr. Steven Webner, informed the Le Mars Community Board of Education that the financial position of the school district is in good shape. Webner handed out graphs to the board
members showing the amount of money that was undesignated or unreserved from the general fund balance. For fiscal year 2017, the graph indicated the school had a balance of $3,760,003 which was up from the fiscal year 2016 figure of
$2,942,396.
Wintersteen Selected As Next Iowa State University President
(Ames) — Iowa State University has a new president, but not a new face to the Ames based campus. The Board of Regents announced last evening their choice for the person to lead the university. The new president is Wendy Wintersteen.
Wintersteen was among the four finalists. She is the current Dean of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences for Iowa State University. The 61-year-old Wintersteen has been dean of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences since 2006. During this time, the regents noted in a news release that she had helped raise more than $247 million from donors and that undergraduate enrollment in the college had grown by 90 percent.
Her contract is for five years, and she’ll be paid $525,000 in her first year, $550,000 in her second year and $590,000 in year three. She’ll also receive a package of deferred compensation.
Wintersteen is the 16th president for Iowa State University. She will fill the position left vacant when Steven Leath took the job as president of Auburn University.
Many Iowa agricultural organizations have been responding favorably of the Wintersteen announcement.
Iowa Department Of Transportation To Use Blue Lights On Snow Plows
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) – Iowa Department of Transportation officials are convinced that blue and white emergency lights on snow plows are effective at
reducing crashes, and they’re going to seek a change in state law to permanently allow the lights.
The department started a test project in 2015 to see if switching to blue and white lights would increase visibility and reduce crashes.
The agency found there were 29 crashes from October 2013 to April 2015 that involved vehicles rear-ending or side-swiping plows. After the blue and white lights were tested from October 2015 to April 2017, that number dropped to 10 crashes.
The agency is in its third year of testing and plans to ask lawmakers next session to change state law and make the new lights permanent every winter.
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Iowa Withdraws Stop Gap From Affordable Care Act
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Iowa has withdrawn its request with the Trump administration to opt out of the Affordable Care Act and redirect federal money toward lowering premiums for younger participants in a single state-run program. The idea was designed to stabilize health care insurance in the state,
making premium costs based on age in addition to income. Just one company – Minnesota-based Medica – plans to provide policies next year with an anticipated 58 percent increase in premiums. Gov. Kim Reynolds says the state decided to pull its proposal because federal agencies signaled it would be weeks before they could provide details on the financial viability of the program. Open enrollment for coverage next year under the law begins in nine days, and 72,000 people in Iowa buy their own policies.
King Inspects “Border Wall” Prototypes
(Des Moines) — Republican Congressman Steve King was in California last week to see prototypes for “the wall” along the southern border.
King, a former contractor, considers the workmanship “great,” but King says the 30-foot-tall sections are not “conducive” to a construction zone that will be hundreds of miles long.
Congress has not yet approved funding for completing a wall along the southern U.S. border, but six construction firms were chosen in August to build eight examples of what they would erect if chosen to build the barrier. King has asked for a meeting with President Trump to discuss his concerns about the prototypes.
The government is spending 20-million dollars on the prototypes. Erecting a wall along the southern border was one of the primary promises Trump made during the 2016 campaign. King says Trump needs to appoint someone to oversee the project.
There’s some discussion of linking funding for enhanced border security with providing some sort of legal status to young adults who were children when their parents brought them into the country illegally. Plus Democrats in congress and some Republicans oppose construction of a permanent barrier along the southern border.
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