Plymouth County Secondary Roads Department Announces Road Closures Due To Flood Damage
(Le Mars) — The Plymouth County Secondary Roads Department has announced several rural roads remain closed due to damage caused by flooding. The roads are primarily located in the northeast and southeast portions of
Plymouth County. Those roads that are closed include Roosevelt Avenue between 300th and 310th Street, 120th Street near Lake Avenue, 235th Street between county road K-18 and heading east for a half mile. 165th Street between Key Avenue and Lake Avenue is also closed due to flood damage. Finally Otter Avenue between 140th Street and 150th Street is closed.
Plymouth County Engineer Tom Rohe says county work crews are repairing each of the closed roadways, and he believes the roads will remain closed until April 26th.
Three Governors Meet With Army Corps Of Engineers To Discuss Flood Mitigation
(Council Bluffs) — The governors of Iowa, Nebraska and Missouri are asking the Army Corps of Engineers to come up with more flood-prevention solutions.
The three governors and Army Corps officials met Wednesday afternoon in Council Bluffs and plan to meet again in three weeks. Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds told reporters the Corps must prioritize “flood management and people.”
(Photo by Ken Anderson)
Nebraska Governor Pete Ricketts (RICK-ehts) delivered the same message.
And Missouri Governor Mike Parson amplified the point.
Reynolds says the three governors are ready to lobby congress for changes in Army Corps regulations that have governed how the Missouri River levee system is managed.
Reynolds says the governors ask the Corps to ensure any temporary construction to repair damaged levees can be part of the permanent levee system.
Reynolds talked about both the short-term and the long term strategy.
Missouri’s governor suggests state officials should have “a more active role” in making the decisions about long-term river management. Travel difficulties prevented the governor of Kansas from attending yesterday’s (Wednesday’s) gathering and she plans to be part of the next meeting in three
weeks.
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Stored Grain Compromised Due To Flooding Cannot Be Sold Or Fed To Livestock
(Le Mars) — Farmers affected by the recent flooding are facing multiple questions of which there are no simple answers.
For many farmers that had flood waters surround their farms, and especially those farmers with stored grain that was compromised by the flood waters, they are wondering what can be done with that grain? According to Steve Johnson, Iowa State University Extension and Outreach Farm Management Specialist, farmers with grain that was affected by flood waters have very few options.
Johnson says that grain cannot even be delivered to an ethanol plant.
The Iowa State University Farm Management Specialist says there are not a lot of options available. He says the only option is for farmers to bury the affected grain at a landfill.
Johnson says crop insurance will not cover the damage of the crop in a stored facility, only if that crop was adversely affected prior to harvest. He says hopefully, farmers had the foresight to have a blanket insurance coverage that protected their facilities and the contents.
Johnson says farmers need to think of their losses in the same manner as if a tornado had struck their farms, instead of the floods.
Remsen St. Mary’s To Hold Fund Raiser Ball On Saturday
(Remsen) — Remsen St. Mary’s will hold its annual fund raising ball scheduled for Saturday evening at the the Avalon Ball Room in Remsen. Laura and Kris Schiltz both serve as co-chairs for this year’s event. Kris Schiltz previews the evening’s activities.
Laura Schiltz says tickets are already sold out for the Saturday event. She says the Remsen St. Mary’s ball serves as a major fund raiser for the Catholic school with this year’s funding to help offset the cost with a boiler.
Tradition has dictated the featured key-note speaker at the Remsen St. Mary’s Ball would be an alum of Remsen St. Mary’s. Kris Schiltz says this year that responsibility falls on 1988 alum, Kate Galles-Bettsworth.
Laura Schiltz is a graduate with a public school education, but now realizes the value of having a Catholic school education.
For Kris Schiltz, she is a graduate of Remsen St. Mary’s, and now her children are attending Remsen St. Mary’s.
Part of the Saturday evening’s activities includes an auction with the naming rights of the Remsen St. Mary’s gymnasium. Laura Schiltz says there will be an added benefit to this year’s successful bidder.
Doors will open at 5:00 p.m. Saturday evening at the Avalon Ball Room at Remsen.
June Trial Scheduled For Kidnapping Case
SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) — A June trial has been scheduled for a man accused of trying to abduct a 14-year-old girl in Sioux City.
Woodbury County court records say 23-year-old Michael Marshall-Limoges pleaded not guilty Wednesday to kidnapping, enticing a minor, assault and other charges. His trial is set to begin June 25.
Court documents say he was driving behind the girl and a 9-year-old boy on March 22 and then stopped. Police say Marshall-Limoges got out, grabbed the girl and put her in his car. The girl managed to escape, and he drove away.
Police say license plate numbers from a witness led investigators to Marshall-Limoges. The court documents say he told officers that he tried to kidnap the girl so he could alleviate his anger by hurting other people.
City Clerk Sentenced To Prison
COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (AP) — A former city clerk in southwestern Iowa has been sentenced to five years of probation and six months of home confinement for stealing thousands of dollars from the city.
Federal prosecutors say 57-year-old Carol Jennings also was ordered Tuesday to pay more than $77,000 in restitution.
Jennings was clerk of Riverton. Her indictment says Jennings opened two accounts with a local bank using falsified documents and deposited city funds into the accounts. Prosecutors say she then converted most of the money for her own use.
She’d pleaded guilty in November to bank fraud.
An audit of Riverton’s financial records in 2016 showed nearly $331,000 in improper or unsupported spending and undeposited collections. The audit was conducted after Jennings was fired in 2015.
Fire Death Victim Identified
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) — Authorities have released the name of a woman who died after a fire at her condominium complex in southwest Cedar Rapids.
She was identified as 61-year-old Toni Cooley. Firefighters encountered her in a doorway as they responded to the blaze Tuesday. She was pronounced dead at the scene. No other injuries have been reported.
The Cedar Rapids Fire Department says the fire erupted in Cooley’s living room and likely was started by discarded smoking materials.
