City Council Discusses Changing Dates For Discharging Fireworks
(Le Mars) — During Tuesday’s meeting of the Le Mars city council, discussion focused on the discharge of fireworks within the city limits, and whether the city should change the dates to allow for fireworks to be discharged.
Councilman Clark Goodchild brought up the topic during the general discussion portion of the council meeting. Goodchild advocated for a reduction of dates allowed to discharge fireworks. Goodchild says he had several complaints
from last year when pets had gone missing, or would be terrified. City administrator Jason Vacura reminded the city council, for a change in the city ordinance to occur, there may not be enough lead time between today and the normal date allowed by the state to discharge fireworks. He cited public hearings would need to scheduled, and the council would have to have at least
two readings, and perhaps a third reading, before the ordinance could go into effect. No action was taken today on the topic, but council members agreed to review the fireworks issue in August following this year’s Independence Day Holiday to evaluate the number of complaints. Le Mars Fire Chief Dave Schipper informed the city council there are several communities within the state that have either banned the discharge of fireworks, or have greatly reduced the window of opportunity to discharge fireworks. Vacura reminded the council that state law also allows for the discharge of fireworks around the Christmas and New Year’s Holdiay season. The state allows fireworks to be discharged between June 1st and July 8th, and again December 10th through January 3rd.
High School Graduate Volunteers With Ambulance Staff
(Le Mars) — This is National E-M-T week, and yesterday we told you the challenges of ambulance services trying to recruit volunteers. Today we want to introduce you to a young woman who just graduated from Le Mars Community High School on Sunday, and today she leaves to enroll in basic training for
the Army National Guard. Dacia Buss is also an emergency medical technician,and volunteers some of her time with the Le Mars Ambulance Services. Infact, Buss says her goal is to become a military medic. She explains why she
decided to join the local ambulance staff.
Through Western Iowa Technical Community College, Buss received her training while at the same time studying in high school, participating in sports and being a member of the National Honor Society.
Buss explains why she chose to join the military services and pursue her passion of medical training.
Buss says every moment of free time, following the completion of her school homework, she would then turn her thoughts to studying to become an emergency medical technician. She says she was influenced to become an E-M-T from watching television medical shows.
The recent graduate says following her summer of military basic training, she will pursue a college degree at Iowa State University.
At this stage in her life, Buss isn’t certain whether she wants to pursue a full-time or a part-time career with the military, but she is certain she wants to have a connection to the health profession.
Buss will spend nine weeks at Oklahoma for her military basic training, then she will go for additional 16 weeks training to be a military medic. She won’t begin her college studies at Iowa State University until the start of the second semester.
Man Sentenced To 30 Years In Prison For Death Of Woman In Fire
SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) – A Sioux City man has been sentenced to 30 years in prison for the fire-related death of a woman last year.
The Sioux City Journal reports that 52-year-old Robert Mahoney was sentenced Tuesday to 25 years for first-degree arson and five years for involuntary manslaughter, with the sentences to be served one after the other. A jury convicted Mahoney in March of the counts for the death of 51-year-old Wanda Blake.
Blake died three weeks after Mahoney torched his Sioux City apartment on Feb. 4, 2018. Prosecutors say Mahoney was bored when he set a small fire using bug spray and a lighter. When the fire went out, Mahoney became angry and set a second fire, which blazed out of control and damaged several units
at Central Apartments.
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Tornado Damages Home Near Adair
ADAIR, Iowa (AP) – Authorities suspect a tornado destroyed a house and damaged other buildings on a farmstead in southwest Iowa’s Adair County.
No injuries have been reported. The incident was reported around 1:30 a.m. Wednesday, 2 miles (3 kilometers) east-southeast of Adair.
The National Weather Service says debris from the farmstead landed on Interstate 80. The tornado sighting has not yet been confirmed.
Reynolds Appoints Trombino For Interim Director Of Administrative Services
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Gov. Kim Reynolds has appointed Paul Trombino to temporarily lead Iowa’s human resources agency after its previous director failed to win Senate confirmation.
Reynolds spokesman Pat Garrett said Tuesday that the governor has installed Trombino as interim director of the Department of Administrative Services while she recruits a permanent replacement.
The move comes after the Iowa Senate adjourned last month without confirming Janet Phipps Burkhead to another term as the agency’s director.
Minority Democrats had blocked the appointment due to concerns about her handling of sexual harassment allegations in state government, among other
things.
Trombino has been serving as the state’s chief operations officer since leaving the private sector to return to government in January. Previously, he was director of the Iowa Department of Transportation before resigning in 2016. Trombino was also President Trump’s pick to lead the Federal Highway
Administration, but withdrew from consideration in 2017.
As interim director, Trombino doesn’t need Senate confirmation.
Southwest Iowa Man Sues Sheriff’s Deputy
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – A southwest Iowa man has filed a free speech lawsuit against a sheriff’s deputy, his supervisor and the county after he was charged with harassment for writing a social media post that profanely criticized the deputy.
The ACLU of Iowa filed the lawsuit Tuesday on behalf of Jon Richard Goldsmith, a Red Oak resident who became angered after attending a festival in Corning and watching an Adams County sheriff’s deputy search a car and have a confrontation with another person.
Goldsmith later criticized the deputy, Cory Dorsey, in a profane
Facebook post that led the sheriff’s department to charge Goldsmith with third-degree harassment, a misdemeanor.
The charge was later dismissed but the ACLU sued the county, Dorsey and his supervisor, Sgt. Paul Hogan, for what it alleged was a free speech violation.
The suit calls for the county to pay damages to Goldsmith, stop charging people who criticize law enforcement and require training of officers.
Sheriff Alan Johannes declined to comment.
Judge Delays Sentencing Of “Bachelor Star”
INDEPENDENCE, Iowa (AP) – A judge has delayed sentencing for former “The Bachelor” star Chris Soules for leaving the scene of a fatal 2017 accident.
The decision comes after Judge Andrea Dryer ruled Tuesday that she will disregard letters from the deceased driver’s relatives. Dryer says the wife and sons of Iowa farmer Kenneth Mosher aren’t victims under state law because Soules was not convicted of causing Mosher’s death.
Soules pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor for leaving after rear-ending a slow-moving tractor driven by Mosher.
Mosher’s relatives wrote victim impact statements urging Dryer to impose the maximum sentence of two years in prison. The letters were included in the Department of Correctional Services’ pre-sentence investigation report.
Dryer agreed with Soules’ lawyers that the letters should be
stricken. She ordered a new pre-sentence investigation.
Davenport Spends More Than A Million Dollars For Flood Control
DAVENPORT, Iowa (AP) – Officials say Davenport’s public works department has spent more than $1 million on fighting floods this spring and that figure is expected to rise as the city prepares to hold back future deluges.
A provisional flood barricade holding back the Mississippi River
ruptured on April 30, sending floodwaters into downtown Davenport.
The Quad-City Times reports that Davenport Public Works Director Nicole Gleason says the future outlays are tough to project. She noted that the flooding costs put pressure on a department which already has a limited number of workers with numerous other obligations to manage.
The expenditures for cleanup and recovery efforts factors in
facility-related costs, money for signs, labor for public works crews, resources such as sandbags and the price of using equipment.
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Iowa City Man Convicted Of Sexually Assaulting Woman During Home Invasion
IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) – An Iowa City man convicted of sexually assaulting a woman during a violent home invasion has been given 75 years in prison.
A judge imposed the sentences last week on 26-year-old Sullivan Smith-Berry. He’d been convicted in March of burglary, three counts of robbery and one of sexual abuse. He and 30-year-old Earl Riley Jr. are accused of breaking into an Iowa City apartment on Nov. 3, 2017, and beating two men.
Police say Smith-Berry dragged a sister of one of the men into a bedroom and assaulted her.
Riley has pleaded not guilty to the same charges and is scheduled to begin trial on July 16.
