Home News Saturday News, May 18th

Saturday News, May 18th

Graduation Ceremonies Scheduled For 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.
Gehlen Catholic High School officials have announced their 2019 Valedictorian and Salutatorian. Katelyn Langel, the daughter of Mick and Tami Langel of Le Mars is this year’s Valedictorian for the Senior Class of 2019, while Jason Konz, the son of Tom and Ruth Konz of Granville is the chosen Salutatorian. Both seniors will speak during the commencement ceremony on Sunday at 12:30 p.m. Meanwhile, at Le Mars Community High School only one senior is scheduled to speak during graduation. Keegan Pippett, the son of Chris Pippett and Jill Casson has been selected by his classmates to offer the commencement address. Joan Meis is this year’s Le Mars Community High School Valedictorian and Johanna Theeler is the Salutatorian. Both ceremonies will be broadcast live on KLEM radio 1410 AM and 96.9 FM.

 

 

Street Crews To Work On City Intersection Next Week

(Le Mars) — Le Mars city crews are scheduled to begin work making repairs to the intersection of 1st Street northwest and 2nd Avenue northwest during the week of May 20th. The contractor Vander Poll Construction will start on the rebuilding of the two storm sewer intakes and plan on leaving the intersection open to traffic during that part of construction unless they feel the need to close some or all of it for their safety. Contractors will then fully close the intersection down in all four directions on May 28th to start tearing the intersection out.

 

 

Farm And Commodity Groups Pleased To See Metals Tariff Lifted

(Des Moines) — Several Iowa farm and commodity organizations are praising the Trump Administration for lifting the tariffs imposed on steel and aluminum. The action was done on Friday. Iowa Secretary of Agriculture, Mike Naig says he is encouraged by the trade news coming out of Washington. Naig says with the steel tariffs lifted, it is now time for Congress to approve the USMCA trade agreement. The Iowa Agriculture Secretary says the passage will protect our relationships with two of our biggest ag trading partners, Canada and Mexico. Trent Thiele, president of the Iowa Pork Producers Association says “this is a change we have been requesting since last fall because retaliatory tariffs by Mexico had the effect of reducing U-S pork exports to one of our top markets.” Thiele says, “Mexico’s 20 percent retaliatory tariff on U-S pork has cost our producers $12 per animal.” Removing the metal tariffs restores zero-tariff trade to U-S pork’s largest export market. This action will allow Iowa hog producers to now focus our energies on convincing Congress to ratify the U-S–Mexico–Canada Agreement.” Craig Hill, president of the Iowa Farm Bureau Federation says Iowa Farm Bureau members have been advocating for increased trade and closely monitoring the situation as trade disruptions are coming at a difficult time for Iowa farmers, because of floods, wet weather causing planting delays, and low commodity prices continue to make profits elusive. In addition to lifting the metals tariffs, the Trump administration also announced Japan will fully lift its restrictions on American beef imports. This will allow U-S beef products from all cattle, regardless of age, to enter Japan for the first time since 2003. Matt Deppe, CEO of the Iowa Cattlemen Association says “removing non-tariff trade barriers, such as the age restrictions on products from U-S cattle that were previously in place, is important to increase the export value of Iowa’s beef products. Iowa cattlemen are also eager to see USMCA ratified, and we encourage the administration to work on a bi-lateral trade agreement with Japan that will further benefit Iowa cattle producers by reducing the tariff advantage Australia currently enjoys.”

 

 

Iowa’s Unemployment Rate Holds Steady

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Iowa’s unemployment rate remained at 2.4% in April for the 10th month in a row.
Iowa Workforce Development reported Friday the jobless rate held steady, where it has been since July 2018.
Iowa has the nation’s third-lowest rate, behind only Vermont and North Dakota, and tied with New Hampshire.
The number of Iowa residents with jobs in April increased by 4,600 to 1.67 million. The number of unemployed residents dropped to 40,400.
Iowa’s figure compares to a national unemployment rate of 3.6% in April.

 

 

Fourth Man Charged With Council Bluffs Murder

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (AP) – Police in western Iowa say a fourth person has been charged in the robbery death of a Council Bluffs man.
Council Bluffs police say in a news release that 25-year-old Ryan McDonald, of Glenwood, was arrested around 3:30 a.m. Friday on a warrant charging him with first-degree murder in the January death of 38-year-old Adam Angeroth. Police did not release any information explaining McDonald’s suspected role in the killing.
Prosecutors have also charged three people from Omaha in the killing, including a 16-year-old boy charged as an adult with first-degree murder.
Angeroth’s body was found in his apartment on Jan. 24. Police have still not release details of his death, including how he was killed.

 

 

Des Moines Man Ruled Competent To Stand Trial For Murder

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – A Des Moines man accused of killing his cousin has been ruled mentally competent to stand trial.
The Des Moines Register reports that 30-year-old Sean Foster pleaded not guilty Monday to a charge of first-degree murder. Foster is accused of killing 50-year-old Albert Barron III in December. The two were roommates.
A court document says a judge previously ruled that Foster suffered from a mental disorder that prevented him from understanding the charges against him.
The trial is scheduled to begin July 15.

 

 

Iowa Weather May Remain Cool and Wet For Several Weeks

(Des Moines) — While parts of Iowa had record high temperatures in the low 90s on Thursday, forecasters say cooler, wetter weather will likely dominate much of the rest of the month and well into June. During a National Weather Service briefing, climatologist Martha Shulski (SHUL-skee) says heavy rain will spread across Iowa and much of the Northern Plains next week, raising the critical risk of renewed flooding.

In spite of a few scattered hot and humid days, Iowa’s weather has been much cooler than normal this spring and forecasters anticipate that pattern will remain.

Thanks to the El Nino, it’s possible the cool, wet weather will last well into summer, as will the risk of more flooding, as the ground remains saturated in many parts of the state.