County Supervisors To Hear Proposal To House Inmates From Clay County, South Dakota
(Le Mars) — The Plymouth County Board of Supervisors will hear from newly appointed Chief Deputy Jeff Te Brink as he submits a proposal for the supervisors consideration to house inmates from Clay County, South Dakota.
In other action, the county supervisors are expected to approve Doug Manley and Jeremy Homan to the County Compensation Commission. County Engineer Tom Rohe will submit a couple of permits for the supervisor consideration. The first permit is from Northern Natural Gas to be located in Plymouth township, and the second permit is for a tile crossing located in Johnson
township. The Plymouth County Board of Supervisors will begin the process of a budget review and discussion for the fiscal year 2019-2020 county budget.
Badge Pinning Ceremony To Occur Prior To City Council Meeting
(Le Mars) — There will be two badge pinning and acknowledgment of promotions, along with an oath of office to take place this morning at 11:30 a.m. prior to the start of the city council meeting. Battalion Chief Steve Schwarz of the Le Mars Fire and Rescue Department, along with Assistant
Police Chief, Justin Daale.
Both are scheduled to participate in the special ceremony. The Le Mars City Council has a light agenda for today’s meeting. There are no action items listed for the city council to consider, only consent items, consisting of approval of bills, monthly financial statement, the renewal of a liquor license for beer and wine permit for Family Table Restaurant, Pizza Hut, and The Brew. The city council will
also discuss the urban revitalization tax exemption requests. For general discussion, the city council will hear from Fire Chief Dave Schipper as he delivers the annual report.
Jim Klein Named Chamber’s “Boss of the Quarter”
(Le Mars) — The Le Mars Chamber of Commerce awarded its latest “Boss of the Quarter” honor this afternoon. The honor was presented to Jim Klein of American Bank for his 20th anniversary as an Agriculture Loan Officer.
Klein was nominated for the honor by Angela Wurth, who has served as Klein’s assistant for more than 11 years. She says in the nomination that she is thankful for Klein’s leadership, guidance, and knowledge that he provides
the loan department. She adds, Jim’s beliefs, values, and great customer service holds true at work as well as outside the bank in all his community efforts. His integrity and wanting to create long-term relationships with his customers is also important to him and something we strongly believe here at American Bank. Jim Klein is also one of the kindest, most patient person we know, and I am proud to be his assistant. Our congratulations go
to Jim Klein of American Bank for being selected as the Chamber of Commerce 2019 1st Quarter, “Boss of the Quarter.”
Angela Wurth (left) stands with Jim Klein. Wurth had nominated Klein for the Chamber of Commerce “Boss of the Quarter” award.
House Leadership Takes King Off Of Committees
(Washington) — U.S. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy made good on his threat to punish fellow Republican Steve King Monday by removing the 4th District Iowa Congressman from all House committees.
McCarthy’s actions come in the wake of comments King made last week to the New York Times which quoted King as asking how the terms “white supremacy” and “white nationalism” became offensive.
King responded to McCarthy’s action by releasing a statement saying McCarthy’s decision is a political decision that ignores the truth.
King went on to say “the quote in the Times story has been completely mis-characterized”, and that he will “continue to point out the truth and work with all the vigor that he has to represent 4th District Iowans for at least the next two years.”
State Senator Randy Feenstra of Hull, who will challenge King in a 2020 GOP primary, reacted to McCarthy’s action by saying “Sadly, today, the voters and conservative values of our district have lost their seat at the table because of Congressman King’s caustic behavior.”
House Democrats may be next in taking action against King.
Illinois Democratic Rep. Bobby Rush said Monday that he’ll introduce a censure resolution over the Iowa Republican’s remarks to The New York Times.
Iowa Legislature Begins Work
(Des Moines) — With the sound of the gavel, the Iowa legislature came to order for the opening of the 88th General Session. The chief clerk of the House of Representatives, Carmin Boal, then administered the oath of office to the 100 state representatives.
House Representative Tom Jeneary of Le Mars sits at his legislative desk. (photo contributed)
Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds is scheduled to deliver her “Condition of the State” address to the state legislature this morning. Reynolds will speak from the Iowa House beginning at 10:00 a.m.
Secretary of State Office Neglected To Include Gun Rights Amendment To Ballots
IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) – A plan to give Iowa residents expansive gun rights has been derailed after the state’s elections office forgot to notify the public of the constitutional amendment approved by lawmakers last year.
Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate tells the Des Moines Register that a “bureaucratic oversight” resulted in his office’s failure to publish notice of the amendment in newspapers before last fall’s elections as required.
The error means that amendment supporters likely must start over and that the earliest it could appear on ballots for a statewide referendum is 2022, instead of 2020. The amendment sponsor, Rep. Matt Windschitl, calls it a “monumental setback.”
The plan would amend the Iowa Constitution to declare that the
“right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.”
Critics say the plan would block gun safety laws.
The error was first reported by the Bleeding Heartland blog.
Waukee School Superintendent To Resign
WAUKEE, Iowa (AP) – The superintendent of the embattled Waukee Community School District will be leaving her post at the end of the school year.
The school board voted Monday to accept Superintendent Cindy
McDonald’s resignation, effective June 30. The third year of her three-year contract will be voided.
A special state audit report released last month said administrators improperly used state credit cards and spent nearly $129,000 on items and services that “were not in the taxpayers’ best interest.” The report says the items included nearly $28,000 for lounge chairs and furniture for the
superintendent’s office and more than $83,000 on district administrators’ retreats.
The district’s former chief operating officer, Eric Rose, is charged
with two counts of solicitation to commit a felony and one count of felonious misconduct in office. Dallas County court records say Rose has pleaded not guilty.
Iowa Legislators To Decide On House Seat That Is Still In Question
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – House Democrats appointed to a committee to review the results of a contested northeast Iowa House election are vowing to fight any attempt to rush to judgment on whether to count 29 absentee mail
ballots.
Kayla Koether trails Republican incumbent Michael Bergan by nine votes for the Iowa House District 55 seat.
Bergan was seated Monday and continues to represent the district.
The question the committee and eventually the Republican-led House must resolve is whether the ballots will be counted.
The dispute is the result of a conflict between state law and
current practices of the U.S. Postal Service.
Iowa law says mailed absentee ballots received after election day
must have a postmark to allow election officials to determine they were mailed by the mandatory deadline of the day before the election. However, the postal service doesn’t typically postmark absentee ballot envelopes.
Committee Chairman Steven Holt, a Republican, said Monday the
committee will meet again Wednesday to hear from attorneys but not take evidence about whether the ballots were legally cast.
Democrat Brian Meyer says his party will fight attempts to resolve the matter without due process and may take the case to court.
An election contest hasn’t gone to the Iowa Legislature since a
Senate dispute was settled in 1992.
