Grain Bin Accident Victim Now Identified
(Le Mars) — Authorities have identified the Remsen farmer that died as a result of the grain bin accident that happened Tuesday evening. 65 year old Lee Grage of 44787 230th Street was the victim of that grain bin accident.
Rescue crews from four different fire departments responded to assist in the recovery of Grage’s body from inside the grain bin.
City Council Approves Concept Plans
(Le Mars) — The Le Mars city council were informed during their meeting held on Tuesday the Federal Aviation Administration has approved the grants to help finance the runway extension for an additional 150 feet. Also, during the meeting, city council members approved the paving of Industrial Road and
24th Street southwest. The area is near the ethanol storage and transfer facility, and city council members were informed state regulations require two ways of access. Previously, the area had one access that was paved, and the second means of access was with a rock road. However, the city council was informed the rock road was approved by state officials as a temporary
access path. The financing of the paving projects will be through the Tax Increment Financing, or TIF program. During the city council meeting, the city leaders also approved a concept plan allowing six lots, each measuring approximately a third of an acre, that adjoin the new police headquarters, or
what was the former Motor Inn auto dealership. Three parcels of land lie to the north of the facility, and the other parcels of land lie to the south of the new police headquarters. The city council approved a concept plan for the Riverview Heights Subdivision. The area is north of Parkview Terrace and the Riverview ball fields on city owned land. The area will be available for
housing for lower to middle income families who would lease the housing.
Sioux City To Reduce Response Time Under New Program
SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) – Sioux City’s fire department is using a new station alert system that officials say should trim several seconds off response times.
The system generates a computerized voice for dispatches as data are entered from 911 calls to the Woodbury County Communications Center. The information is sent by internet and radio to fire stations, where the information appears on televisions and message boards and is voiced by a
computer.
The system went into use Monday and replaced the department’s paging system, which was scheduled for replacement and no longer serviceable.
Fire Marshal Mark Aesoph says the department estimates the new system initially will cut about 15 seconds from response times and as many as 45 seconds on some calls as personnel become accustomed to it.
Boyfriend Given Probation For Girl Friend’s Death
OSAGE, Iowa (AP) – A man has been given probation for supplying alcohol to a 19-year-old woman who authorities say was drunk when her vehicle hit a tree in northern Iowa, killing her.
Mitchell County District Court records say 22-year-old Justin Slaichert, of St. Ansgar, was sentenced Tuesday to two to three years of probation, fined $625 and given a suspended two-year prison term.
Authorities say Slaichert’s girlfriend, 19-year-old Hanna Pfeifer, died Jan. 6 in St. Ansgar. Court documents say Slaichert told officers he’d bought three beers for Pfeifer.
He pleaded guilty to misdemeanor supplying alcohol to person under legal age, serious injury, after prosecutors lowered the charge from a felony count.
Governor Reynolds Defends Investigation Into Trooper
WINTERSET, Iowa (AP) – Gov. Kim Reynolds is defending a harassment investigation that ended with a state trooper being fired after a 10-month paid leave and examined whether a powerful captain responded appropriately to concerns.
Reynolds said Wednesday that the Department of Public Safety and the Department of Administrative Services followed appropriate procedures and ultimately terminated trooper Wade Karp on July 3.
Reynolds declined to reveal what the investigation found related to Iowa State Patrol Capt. Mark Logsdon, who oversees the governor’s security detail.
A state employee had accused Logsdon of failing to act after she
informed him she was afraid of Karp after receiving unsettling Facebook messages from him seeking a relationship. Karp was placed on paid leave last September when the woman then complained to others.
The state has refused to release the findings of its investigation,
calling them confidential personnel information.
Governor Reynolds Creates “Empowering Rural Iowa Initiative” Program
(Winterset) — Governor Kim Reynolds has signed an executive order creating task forces to address the lack of housing and broadband in rural Iowa. The “Empower Rural Iowa Initiative” also seeks to develop leaders in rural parts
of the state.
Reynolds hopes to name the members of the three task forces by August 1st.
If you’re interested in serving, you may apply on-line at
www.openup.iowa.gov. Adam Gregg, the acting lieutenant governor who is Reynolds’ governing partner, is co-chair of the initiative.
Sandy Ehrig (AIR-ihg) of the Iowa Rural Development Council is the other co-chair. She says the new group will hopefully address a critical need in rural
Iowa.
The Iowa Rural Development Council has already held summits in Jefferson and Grinnell for rural communities. The newly-created task forces will start meeting this fall and will host an “Ideas Summit” — but the date for that has not been announced.
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Law Enforcement Finds Drugs In Vehicle From Traffic Stop
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) – Law enforcement officials near Omaha have seized about 20 pounds of marijuana, cocaine and hash from a car heading to Iowa.
The Douglas County Sheriff’s Office says deputies discovered the
drugs in a car they tried to pull over early Wednesday morning on Interstate 80 in Omaha. Deputies say the car left the interstate and stopped in a parking lot in eastern Omaha.
The deputies searched the car after detecting the smell of marijuana coming from it.
Officials say they found 14 pounds of marijuana in numerous heat-sealed bags inside a black trash bag, nearly five pounds of cocaine and 23 containers of hash.
The driver and a passenger, both of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, were
arrested. Officials say they were driving from Colorado to Iowa.
Ackley Couple Charged With Kidnapping For Locking Up Boy
ACKLEY, Iowa (AP) – A north-central Iowa man and his girlfriend have been charged with kidnapping after police say the couple tortured the man’s 8-year-old son for months by locking him in a basement enclosure for hours every day, withholding food and having a dog bite him.
The Hardin County Attorney’s Office announced Wednesday that 39-year-old Traci Lynn Tyler and 30-year-old Alex Craig Shadlow, both of Ackley, are each charged with kidnapping.
An arrest affidavit says the abuse happened between July and
September 2017 when the boy was locked at least 9 hours a day in an enclosed 6-foot square space under the basement stairs, where he had to sleep on concrete with no bedding and had no access to a bathroom.
Police say Tyler also beat the boy with a fly swatter handle and
urged her dog to bite and attack the boy, leaving permanent scarring on his back and limbs.
Authorities were alerted to the abuse by the boy’s school.
