Democratic Presidential Candidate To Make A Stop In Le Mars
(Le Mars) — Democratic presidential candidate, Tim Ryan is scheduled to make an appearance in Le Mars on Saturday. The Ohio Congressman will be at the Lally’s restaurant beginning at 11:15 a.m.
Ernst To Stop At Good Samaritan Society On Saturday
(Le Mars) — Republican U-S Senator Joni Ernst of Iowa has scheduled an appearance at Le Mars. Ernst will be at the Good Samaritan Society Saturday morning at 10:30 a.m.
Gehlen Catholic And Le Mars Community To Hold Graduation Ceremonies On Sunday
(Le Mars) — Graduation ceremonies are scheduled for both Gehlen Catholic and Le Mars Community on Sunday. Gehlen will begin its commencement at 12:30 p.m. from the Deb Campbell gym, while Le Mars Community will hold its graduation at 3:00 p.m from the new competition gymnasium. There will be 32
Gehlen Catholic seniors to receive their diplomas, while at Le Mars Community 156 seniors will walk across the stage and be congratulated. Both ceremonies will be broadcast live on KLEM radio 1410 AM and 96.9 FM.
May Is Mental Health Awareness Month
(Le Mars) — May is Mental Health Awareness Month, and according to mental health officials, fortunately, people’s attitude towards mental health illnesses has begun to change. Kim Keleher with Plains Area Mental Health Clinic of Le Mars says no longer should mental health illnesses be kept in the dark.
Keleher says stress, anxiety, and depression are all common types of mental health issues that many people won’t seek counseling or assistance. She says people should perhaps seek counseling when day-to-day problems grow and
become major concerns with our daily lives.
Keleher says family members, friends, and colleagues should look for the clues that indicate a person may be suffering from anxiety, stress, or deep depression.
The Plains Area Mental Health executive says if a family member has questions, or is concerned about a loved one, the Le Mars clinic can offer free consultation. Unfortunately, Keleher says there have been an increase in suicides over the last few years, and she explains why some people choose to end their life.
Keleher says depression is an actual physical aliment clinical condition.
Keleher says her office is also seeing an increase of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder cases. She says many times, staff from Plains Area Mental Health Clinic will go on-site immediately to assist those people suffering from a dramatic trauma event.
Keleher says often times with senior citizen patients they are more reluctant to discuss their concerns relating to their mental health.
Iowa Attorney General Files Lawsuit Against Pharmacy Company
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Iowa is joining four other states in suing a drug company and its former president over actions related to the marketing of the drug OxyContin.
Attorney General Tom Miller announced Thursday that Iowa had filed a lawsuit in Polk County District Court against Purdue Pharma and Richard Sackler, the company’s former president and chairman.
The suit claims Purdue engaged in unfair, deceptive and unlawful
practices in how it marketed OxyContin and that those actions helped cause a national opioid crisis.
Miller accused Purdue executives of being “recklessly indifferent to the impact of their actions, despite ever-mounting evidence that their deceptions were resulting in an epidemic of addiction and death.”
Iowa joined Kansas, Maryland, West Virginia and Wisconsin in filing separate lawsuits Thursday . Another 39 states have already sued the company.
The suit seeks unspecified damages.
The company denied the allegations, saying in a statement it would defend itself against what it called “misleading attacks.
Tyson Foods Sues U.S.D.A.
SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) – Arkansas-based meat processor Tyson Foods is suing a federal agency for $2.4 million, saying it had to destroy 8,000 carcasses because a federal meat inspector lied about checking hogs at a plant in Iowa.
Tyson Foods says Yolanda Thompson, who works for the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety Inspection Service, signed certificates suggesting she checked slaughtered hogs at the Storm Lake plant in March 2018. It says video footage indicates Thompson never entered the plant and actually
approved inspections while sitting in her automobile.
The Sioux City Journal reports that the meat processor filed suit
Tuesday in Sioux City’s U.S. District Court alleging the agencies knew of Thompson’s inadequate inspection practices and physical difficulties walking around the plant.
USDA and Tyson officials declined to comment.
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Bankers Are Concerned About Farm Economy
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) – A monthly survey of rural bankers in parts of 10 Plains and Western states shows they’re rapidly losing confidence in the region’s farm economy.
The Rural Mainstreet survey for May, released Thursday, shows the survey’s overall index dropping from 50 in April to 48.5 this month. Any score above 50 suggests a growing economy, while a score below 50 indicates a shrinking economy.
Creighton University economist Ernie Goss, who oversees the survey, blames trade tensions and tariffs, saying they’re contributing to losses suffered by grain farmers – although livestock producers are faring better.
Still, Goss says, bankers believe “the negatives far outweighed the positives.”
The survey’s confidence index, which gauges bankers’ expectations for the economy six months out, plummeted from 50 to 38.2 – its lowest level in almost two years.
Bankers from Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wyoming were surveyed.
Guthrie County Woman Sent To Prison After Son Drowns In Bathtub
GUTHRIE CENTER, Iowa (AP) – A central Iowa woman whose 11-month-old son drowned in a bathtub has been sent to prison.
Guthrie County District Court records say 25-year-old Seaira Briceno was sentenced Monday to 15 years. She’d pleaded guilty to child endangerment and manslaughter. Those sentences are to be served after her sentences for drunken driving and two counts of child endangerment in Marshall County.
The Guthrie County Sheriff’s Office says Briceno’s baby drowned Aug. 10 when she left him and his 2-year-old brother in the tub at their Bagley home. Briceno told investigators she left the boys for about five minutes, but deputies believe the children were left alone longer.
Two Men Charged With Child Pornography
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Federal prosecutors say two Iowa men face charges in separate child pornography cases.
Officials say 35-year-old Aaron Olson, of Nora Springs, is charged with two counts of sexual exploitation of a child. The indictment says that between 2017 and 2018, Olson used two minors to engage in sexually explicit
conduct to produce child pornography. He faces up to 60 years in prison if convicted. Olson is being held without bond.
Prosecutors also say 31-year-old Derek Clemens, of Evansdale, has been charged with receipt and possession of child pornography. Investigators say he knowing accessed child pornography on his cellphone.
If convicted, Clemens faces up to 40 years in prison. Clemens is also being held without bond.
