Easter Egg Hunt Scheduled For Saturday
(Le Mars) — Easter is this coming Sunday, which means the annual Easter egg hunt will take place on Saturday at the Cleveland Castle Park in Le Mars. Children will have the opportunity to pick over 10,000 plastic eggs that will be scattered on the grounds. Brad Pick of Primebank says the annual event is a lot of fun for children and parents alike.
Pick says children will also want to visit with the Easter bunny.
The Cleaveland Park will be separated into three different areas to accomodate three different age groups.
Each of the 10,000 plastic eggs will be filled with candy. Pick says the employees enjoy getting the eggs ready for the annual hunt.
Last year, the event was post-poned a week due to some incliment weather conditions. Pick says if the event is needed to be delayed, notice will be posted on facebook, and here on KLEM radio.
The Easter egg hunt is scheduled to begin at 11:00 a.m.
Police Identify Man Killed By Rail Car
SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) – Police have identified a worker killed in a northwestern Iowa transportation hub accident.
The police say 42-year-old Brian McCormick, of Sioux City, died in the Wednesday accident at Big Soo Terminal.
Big Soo general manager Kevin Knepper says McCormick was a warehouseman and maintenance technician who had been working for Big Soo about eight months.
Knepper would not comment on the circumstances surrounding the accident. A news release said the accident involved a “switching operation with train cars,” in which McCormick was struck and killed by an unmanned car.
The death remains under investigation.
—
Reynolds Signs Bill Expanding Mental Health Services
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – A new law is expanding access to mental health services across Iowa.
Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds signed legislation Thursday at a ceremony in the state Capitol rotunda that creates six access centers to provide short-term care for people in crisis. The legislation also doubles the number of teams across the
state that provide 24/7 flexible treatment and support to patients.
The nonpartisan Legislative Services Agency estimates the total cost at more than $31 million over two years. Funding would come from federal, state and local taxes. Iowa’s 14 mental health regions would spend down excess cash reserves to pay for initial costs.
Reynolds also signed a bill requiring Iowa school districts to train
educators on how to identify and help students at risk of suicide.
Sibley Man Wins Lawsuit Against City
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – An Iowa man threatened by city officials with legal action for saying on a website that his hometown smelled like “rancid dog food” has won a free-speech lawsuit.
Josh Harms, represented by the American Civil Liberties Union of Iowa, filed suit in U.S. District Court earlier this month asking a judge to block Sibley officials from suing him. City officials said they’d sue if he didn’t stop criticizing the odor problem from an animal food processing plant and talking with reporters about it.
On Thursday a judge approved a permanent injunction prohibiting city threats. The city agrees to pay Harms $6,500 in damages and $20,000 in legal fees.
The city promises to hold First Amendment training and will not prevent Harms from launching a website under the address www.sibleystinks.com .
Nebraska Sex Offender Pleads Not Guilty To Sexual Assault Charges
SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) – A convicted Nebraska sex offender has pleaded not guilty to Iowa accusations that he sexually assaulted two women in Sioux City.
Court records say 30-year-old Zachary Person entered a written plea Thursday to six charges, including sexual abuse by a habitual offender, assault with intent to commit sexual abuse, serious assault and other crimes. No trial date
has been set.
The records say he assaulted a woman at Morningside College on Feb. 12, 2017, and another woman the same night at a motel.
Nebraska records say Person, from Norfolk, was sentenced in October to 15 to 20 years for trying to assault a woman in Omaha. The Nebraska Sex Offender Registry says he’s also been convicted of sex crimes in 2012 in Dawson County and
2016 in Dodge County.
Wartburg College To Boost Security Measures Following Incidents
WAVERLY, Iowa (AP) – A northeast Iowa college has begun bolstering security following reports that a man entered unlocked dorms and bathrooms and harassed female students.
The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier reports that no charges have been filed against the man. The complaints say he entered dorm rooms and bathrooms at Wartburg College in Waverly in February, touched students without their permission and stole money. Police say charges are likely when an investigation
is finished.
Security cameras have been installed in 11 new spots in addition to 30 already located around campus. Locks also will be installed on bathrooms, and motion-sensor light switches will be changed so bathroom lights are always on.
—
Farmers Intend To Plant More Soybeans Than Corn
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Corn has been dethroned as the king of crops as farmers report they intend to plant more soybeans than corn for the first time in 35 years.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture says in its annual prospective
planting report released Thursday that farmers intend to plant 89 million acres (36 million hectares) in soybeans and 88 million acres (35.6 million hectares) in corn.
The primary reason is profitability. Corn costs much more to plant because of required demands for pest and disease control and fertilizer. When the profitability of both crops is close, farmers bet on soybeans for a better return.
The only year that soybean acres beat corn in recent memory was 1983, when the government pushed farmers to plant fewer acres to boost prices in the midst of the nation’s worst farm crisis.
Iowa is the top corn producing state, followed by Illinois, Nebraska and Minnesota. Top soybean states are Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota and North Dakota.
