Commencement Ceremonies Scheduled for Sunday
(Le Mars) — Commencement ceremonies are scheduled for Sunday for Le Mars schools and surrounding schools. Gehlen Catholic will begin its graduation ceremony at 12:30 p.m. and they will have 38 seniors receive their diplomas.
Le Mars Community is scheduled to hold its commencement inside the new High School Competition Gym beginning at 3:00 p.m. 134 students will be presented diplomas at Le Mars Community. Both graduation ceremonies will be broadcast
live on KLEM radio. Each of the other schools within Plymouth County will also hold their graduation on Sunday afternoon. Remsen St. Mary’s will begin at 2:00 p.m. with 24 seniors. MMCRU is also to scheduled to begin at 2:00 p.m. at the MMC-RU gym in Marcus. MMCRU will promote 43 senior students.
Hinton will graduate 53 students, Akron-Westfield is set to give diplomas to 40 seniors, and Kingsley-Pierson will have 39 seniors walk across the stage to receive their diplomas.
School Teacher Arrested For Sexual Exploitation of Student
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – A former Des Moines school district art teacher has been arrested and charged with having a sexual relationship with a female student.
Television station KCCI reports that 50-year-old Jason Soliday was arrested Friday and booked into the Polk County Jail on a charge of sexual exploitation by a school employee.
Soliday remained jailed Friday afternoon on $5,000 cash-only bail. An attorney was not listed for him in online court records.
A spokeswoman for the district says Soliday resigned Thursday to avoid being fired.
—
Centerville Woman Charged With Murder and Arson
CENTERVILLE, Iowa (AP) – A Centerville woman has been charged with murder and arson after authorities found her husband’s body in their burned home nearly two weeks ago.
Centerville police say they arrested 45-year-old Barbara Pasa on Friday.
Police Chief Tom Demry says in court documents that Pasa claims she left her husband, 50-year-old Tim Pasa, lying in bed on May 5 with a lit candle in the room.
Firefighters responded to a fire there and found Tim Pasa’s badly burned body. Fire investigators determined the fire was started intentionally on the bed near his body. An autopsy revealed no smoke inhalation. Toxicology tests are pending.
Demry says investigators determined that Barbara Pasa recently bought a $200,000 life insurance policy on her husband and he had recently told family members he believed his wife was poisoning him.
It was not immediately clear whether she yet had an attorney from whom to seek comment.
FDA Warns Congressman Blum’s Company To Clean Up Act
IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) – The Food and Drug Administration is encouraging businesses not to use an Iowa company’s service or any other that promises to hide information about safety violations.
The FDA said this week that it’s aware of Tin Moon., a Dubuque
marketing company founded by U.S. Rep. Rod Blum and his business partner in 2016.
Tin Moon has solicited business from companies who have received FDA letters warning them to correct safety violations. Tin Moon says FDA letters are derogatory and hurt business, and that its “reputation management service” can remove them from page one of online search results.
FDA says companies should focus on correcting violations rather than “on ways to hide these warnings from the public.” The FDA says it’s important for citizens to have access to accurate information when searching for a product or company.
Tin Moon has been under scrutiny since February, when The Associated Press reported that Blum failed to disclose it on his annual financial disclosure.
Tin Moon’s Monty Alexander declined comment Friday.
U-S House Vote Down Farm Bill
(Washington D.C.) — Democrats had criticized the proposed Farm Bill because it includes new work requirement for food stamp recipients who are in their 50s or the parents of
school-aged children, but it was conservative Republicans in the U.S. House who defeated the bill for another reason. They were demanding an immediate vote on an immigration crack-down. Enough of them then voted against the Farm Bill crafted by some of their fellow Republicans that the bill fell 15 votes
short of passing. The current Farm Bill expires September 30th.
Senator Chuck Grassley is urging his fellow Republicans in the U.S. HOUSE to go back to the drawing board and fix the Farm Bill they’ve crafted.
Republican Candidate For Ag Secretary Visits Le Mars
(Le Mars) — A Republican candidate seeking the position of Iowa Secretary of Agriculture made a campaign stop at Le Mars Friday afternoon. Dan Zumbach is a farmer from northeast Iowa, but also serves as a State Senator, and is the chairman of the Senate Agriculture Committee. Zumbach says there are several
similarities between his farm and those he has seen here in northwest Iowa.
Some of the other candidates seeking the position of the Iowa Secretary of Agriculture have had leadership roles with major farm groups or commodity organizations. Zumbach has not had any leadership roles with agricultural groups outside his local county. However, he doesn’t see that as any
disadvantage for his campaign.
Zumbach says there are several challenges facing Iowa agriculture, but he
sees a need to connect between the rural and urban areas.
Zumbach says he wants northwest Iowa to know and understand that he is a strong advocate and friend of Iowa agriculture.
