City Council Discusses Fireworks
(Le Mars) — The issue of fireworks was discussed during yesterday’s Le Mars city council meeting. Mayor Dick Kirkhoff informed council members that the city has been receiving some complaints about the discharge of fireworks.
Kirkhoff called for Le Mars Police Chief Kevin Vande Vegte and Le Mars Fire and Rescue Chief Dave Schipper to address the council, and to explain the current laws as they pertain to the sale and discharge of fireworks. Police Chief Kevin Vande Vegte informed the council as to what the law allows as for the dates and times fireworks can be discharged.
The Police Chief reminded the city council fireworks can only be discharged on private property.
Fire Chief Dave Schipper says his office has received six complaints so far this year. Schipper told the city council they have the opportunity to change the dates for the discharge of fireworks. He says other communities across the state have already made some changes.
Councilman Clark Goodchild inquired as to if the city council could change the dates of the sale of fireworks? Schipper responded by telling the city council, according to Iowa law, the dates for sale of fireworks cannot be changed or altered by local government entities.
Vande Vegte says his department has and will, issue citations if the rules of discharging fireworks are not being followed.
Schipper says he doesn’t like the law, and commented that many public safety associations were against the fireworks bill.
The council indicated they may address the issue again sometime following the Independence Day, 4th of July holiday.
Hawarden Business Destroyed By Fire
(Hawarden) — A Hawarden business suffered extensive fire damage on Tuesday. Firefighters were called to Jeff’s Radiator and Exhaust Repair at about 4:30 p.m. According to owner Jeff Carr, all the employees were able to escape the flames. One employee of the car repair business says workers were trying to get gas out of the gas tank of a car when something had “sparked.” Fire officials are still investigating the cause and origin of the fire. Besides the Hawarden Fire Department, Akron and Ireton was also called to help fight the fire.
Floyd Valley Home Healthcare Recognized
(Le Mars) — Floyd Valley Community Health (FVCH) was recently recognized as a 2018 Premier Performer by SHPBest. This is the third consecutive year that FVCH has received this honor and was one of just four programs in Iowa to receive recognition this year.
The annual SHPBest™ program was created to acknowledge home health agencies that consistently provide high quality service to their patients. With the largest Home Health Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HHCAHPS®) benchmark in the nation, SHP is in a unique position to identify
and recognize organizations that have made patient satisfaction a priority and have been rewarded for their efforts with high marks on the HHCAHPS survey.
SHPBest award recipients are determined by ranking the overall score for all SHP HHCAHPS clients. The providers that rank in the top 5% receive the Premier Performer award. In addition, all award recipients must have scored better than or equal to the SHP national average for the period for each of the 5 publicly reported domains.
Tara Geddes, Community Health Manager adds, “This recognition is a direct reflection of the care and compassion Floyd Valley Home Health staff demonstrate to our patients each and every day. Our staff is committed to ensuring our patients meet their individual goals while in the comfort of their own home. We are very proud to have received the Premier Performer
award for patient experience for the third consecutive year and are grateful to have the privilege to provide high quality home health services to our community.”
Estherville Treasurer Of Booster Club Charged With Theft
ESTHERVILLE, Iowa (AP) – An Emmet County man has been accused of stealing nearly $30,000 from a north-central Iowa high school booster club he helped manage.
Timothy Loock, of Estherville, has been charged with first-degree theft. He had been treasurer of the Estherville Lincoln Central School District booster club from 2015 until November, when he was removed from the position.
Estherville police say the department completed an investigation
Monday into allegations of misappropriation of money collected by the club.
Loock was arrested Monday and held in the Emmet County Jail before to making a Tuesday court appearance.
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Grassley Concerned About Iran’s Actions
(Washington) — Tensions have heated up between the United States and Iran within the past few days with Iran suspected of placing explosives on oil tankers. U-S Senator Chuck Grassley says Iran is up to its old tricks, dating back to the Reagan administration.
Grassley told reporters during his weekly news conference that he doesn’t believe the sanctions against Iran will be lifted anytime soon.
Grassley Says House Speaker Pelosi Needs To Sell USMCA Trade Agreement To New Freshmen Members Before It Will Pass
(Washington) — During Grassley’s news conference, he also spoke of the proposed USMCA trade agreement. Former Secretary of Agriculture and Iowa Governor, Tom Vilsack says signing the trade agreement would boost farmers’ income, and it would set a good example for other trade agreements. Senator
Grassley echoed Vilsack’s sentiments.
Grassley says Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi will first need to visit with new incoming freshmen House members to convince them of the benefits of the trade agreement, before any vote on the measure can take place.
Reynolds Staff Member Offers Explanation Of Foxhoven’s Resignation
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – A spokesman for Gov. Kim Reynolds says she asked Iowa Department of Human Services Director Jerry Foxhoven to resign because “she wanted to go in a new direction” at the agency.
The Reynolds administration gave the explanation Tuesday, a day after she sought the immediate resignation of Foxhoven . Reynolds hired Foxhoven two years ago.
Reynolds’ spokesman Pat Garrett says in a statement the governor “has spent the first part of this year assembling a new team, from top to bottom, to carry out her vision.”
He says more changes will be announced in the coming days and weeks.
On Monday, Reynolds announced she’d selected Department of Public Health Director Gerd Clabaugh to take on interim duties running the DHS until a permanent replacement is hired. Reynolds only briefly noted Foxhoven had resigned and didn’t initially give a reason.
