Supervisors To Hear From Landfill Director
(Le Mars) — Plymouth County Board of Supervisors will meet this morning at the County Courthouse Board Room, beginning at 9:30 a.m. The county supervisors will review zoning fees, and review the revised employee handbook with additional changes. The supervisors are expected to take action on the
revised handbook. The supervisors will review correspondence regarding Banker’s Trust change as bond paying agent. Plymouth County IT Director, Shawn Olsn and Plymouth County Landfill Director Mark Kunkel will appear before the county board. County engineer Tom Rohe will also appear before
the county supervisors. Rohe will present five permit request for tile crossings, and he will submit for the supervisor approval a right-of-way contract for two culvert projects.
City Closes Street For Repairs
(Le Mars) — The Water dept. will be closing 7th Ave. S.E. this morning at 7 a.m. April 23, 2019 right up by the intersection where it meets Plymouth St. . They will be getting it ready to pour concrete at 1:00 p.m. today and it will be reopened tomorrow afternoon around 2 p.m.
City Installing Two Storm Warning Sirens
(Le Mars) — City officials are in the process of installing two new storm warning sirens this week. The new warning sirens will be located on the far north end of Central Avenue, and the second is to be installed at Foster Park. Assistant Fire Chief Mike Wise says the new sirens will be tested after installation is complete which will occur on Tuesday, and possibly into
Wednesday of this week. With the two new additional warning sirens, the city will have a total of eight outdoor sirens located throughout the city. If residents have questions, they should direct their questions to the Le Mars Fire Department.
School Board Approves Salary Increase For Staff and Administrators
(Le Mars) — During last evening’s Le Mars Community Board of Education meeting, school board directors approved the recommendation from the Meet and Confer team which provided an increase of salary to school staff employees and to administration officials. All total, the school board approved an
increase amounting to $84,895.
Museum To Host Accordion Festival
(Le Mars) — Eleven accordion players from the Midwest will gather in the “Old Central” gym at the Plymouth County Historical Museum in Le Mars on Sunday, April 28th for the 17th annual Art Pahl-Peter Boe Accordian Fest.
The event is scheduled to begin at 2:00 p.m. Burt Heithold of South Sioux City, Nebraska will serve as the emcee for the event. He will also perform some selections. A display of Art Pahl memorabilia will be on exhibit. Art Pahl requested the accordion jam in the spring of 2003 when he was dying of cancer. Nearly 500 people attended the initial accordion festival. Pahl was
known for his service of music at care centers, Oktoberfest, the museum, church events, and other special celebrations.
State House Passes Sports Betting Bill
(Des Moines) — The governor must now decide whether sports betting should be legal in Iowa. Last (Monday) night, the Iowa House gave final legislative approval to a bill that would let the 19 state-licensed casinos take wagers on professional and college sports. Representative Bobby Kaufmann (COUGH-
man), a Republican from Wilton, says many Iowans want the freedom to do this legally.
Some casinos have been planning to set up “sports book” areas, but most of the betting would be done through a smart phone app. Representative Dennis Cohoon (kuh-HOON), a Democrat from Burlington, says Iowa is among several states moving to legalize sports betting after a U.S. Supreme Court ruling
last year made it possible.
The bill passed the Senate late last week and 67 members of the Iowa House voted for it last night. Thirty-one members of the House voted against legalized sports gambling. Representative Sandy Salmon, a Republican from Janesville, says it’s a foolish, misguided and ill-advised.
Representative Scott Ourth (ORTH), a Democrat from Ackworth, says wagering on sports is particularly addictive to the young.
Representative Tedd Gassman, a Republican from Scarville, says sports gambling is a “bad idea.”
Kaufmann says keeping sports betting illegal will not make it go away and this bill sets up consumer protections for bad actors.
The bill also allows Iowans to claim prizes in “fantasy sports” leagues connected to the performance of professional athletes from a variety of teams.
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Man Arrested For Shenandoah Killing
(Shenandoah) — A suspect is in custody after a fatal shooting in Shenandoah on Monday. Authorities say 34-year-old Toby Lee McCunn was arrested for first-degree murder in connection with the death of 33-year-old Joshua Lyle Jordan. McCunn is charged in connection with an investigation that began at approximately
4:45 a.m, when Shenandoah Police received a 911 call regarding a shooting that took place at 901 Manti Street. Responding officers found Jordan dead inside the residence. Shortly after 2 p.m., McCunn was located at a residence in Shenandoah and taken into custody without further incident. The suspect
was initially transported to the Shenandoah Medical Center for an injury to his leg, then taken to the Page County Jail. An autopsy will be performed on Jordan at a later date by the Iowa State Medical Examiner’s Office in Ankeny.
DCI officials say the investigation is ongoing, and no other information will be released until after family members have been notified and the forensic autopsy has been completed.
Animal Rights Groups Sue State Over Livestock Protection Bill
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – The state of Iowa has been sued again in federal court by animal rights groups for passing a law last month designed to prosecute people who get hired at farms in order to work undercover to report on animal living conditions.
The measure was approved by lawmakers on March 12 and signed into law by Gov. Kim Reynolds two days later. It creates a trespass charge for anyone using deception to gain access to a farm to cause physical or economic harm.
The lawsuit filed Monday in Des Moines by the Animal Legal Defense Fund and four other groups claims the new law violates constitutional free speech and due process rights.
Lawmakers passed it two months after a federal judge struck down a similar law they passed in 2012, saying it violated free-speech rights. That ruling is on appeal to the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
Elgin Woman Enters Alford Plea On Death Of Her Daughter
WEST UNION, Iowa (AP) – A northeast Iowa woman has entered a plea in the 2018 death of her infant daughter and will spend the rest of her life in prison.
The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier reports 29-year-old Alicia Marie
Rios, of Elgin, entered an Alford plea to first-degree murder during a hearing Monday morning in Fayette County District court in West Union.
Rios didn’t admit guilt but acknowledged the plea was in her best
interest. A charge of child endangerment causing death was dismissed.
Rios was arrested in the death of her 5-month-old daughter, Lydia, who was injured Aug. 21 and died later at a hospital. An autopsy found a skull fracture and Rios acknowledge striking the infant with a coffee table.
The murder charge carries a mandatory prison sentence of life without parole.
Wiping away tears, Rios told the court, “I love my daughter, and I never meant for anything to happen.”
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