Home News Tuesday News, July 2nd

Tuesday News, July 2nd

Heavy Rains Fall On Plymouth County Causing Flash Flooding

(Le Mars) — Heavy rains fell on many parts of northwest Iowa last evening, including Plymouth County causing some street flooding. The national weather services had issued flash flood warnings for parts of Plymouth County. The Plymouth County Sheriff’s Office is reporting scattered debris on the roads.
At Remsen, at about 9:00 p.m. the Remsen Police reported trying to slow down traffic on Highway 3 near Kennedy Street due to what was said of having up to eight inches of water on the highway. Paul Huth is the fire chief of Kingsley and tells of the situation in Kingsley, including how much rain fell at Kingsley.

Hinton Fire Chief Chad Beck says his community received nearly two and a half inches of rain. At Remsen, Todd Tentinger reports they received 3.3 inches of rain. Up north at Alton, Fire Chief Quinten Van Es offers a report.

Van Es says the rain fell continuously for nearly four hours.

Van Es says he is not aware of any damage that took place in his region from last evening’s rain storm.

Le Mars Fire Chief Dave Schipper says the Floyd River rose nearly five feet overnight to a level of 17.2 feet. Schipper says flood stage for the Floyd River is 20 feet. However, Schipper says the Willow Creek is full and has pushed out to the recreational trail at 4th Avenue northeast, west of the Le Mars Municipal Park. Schipper says the campground, so far, is still fine, as
the Willow Creek is still within its banks near the campground.

 

 

Former Westfield City Clerk Charged With Theft

(Le Mars) — The former city clerk for Westfield has been placed under arrest and charged with first degree theft, a class C felony, for taking city funds.
The Plymouth County Attorney’s office filed charges against Angela Sorensen.
Those charges were filed after the completion of a thorough audit investigation involving the State of Iowa Auditor’s office. The state auditor’s office conducted an investigation of the Westfield city funds dating from January 1st of 2013 up through September 30th of 2017. The audit was conducted as a request of the city council. The state auditor’s office identified $39,970 of undeposited receipts, $28,060.30 of improper disbursements, and $6,163.46 of unsupported disbursements. The total
amounted to more than $74,000 dollars.

Angela Sorensen

 

 

County Supervisors Will Not Meet This Week

(Le Mars) — The Plymouth County Board of Supervisors will not be having a meeting this week. The next meeting will be held on Tuesday, July 9th at the County Courthouse Board Room.

 

 

City Council To Convene At Council Chambers

(Le Mars) — The Le Mars city council is scheduled to hold its meeting today, beginning at noon from the city council chambers. The city council has a short agenda. They will begin by holding two public hearings, the first to hear comments on an offer to purchase city-owned property located at 1964 Lincoln Avenue, Southwest. The second public hearing will focus on a storm sewer project being proposed for Prospect Street, southwest. The council has scheduled one action items which is an agreement with JEO Consulting Group.
The council is expected to go into a closed session to discuss the purchase or sale of real estate.

 

 

Le Mars Fire and Rescue Department Issues June Monthly Report

(Le Mars) — The Le Mars Fire and Rescue Department has issued its June monthly report. During the sixth month of the year, the Le Mars Fire and Rescue Department responded to a total of 39 calls, of which 18 were fire calls, ten rescues, six investigations, and five requests for services.
During the month of June, the Le Mars Fire and Rescue Department did not need to respond to any mutual aid calls.

 

 

Extension Services To Offer Food Preservation Workshop

(Le Mars) — Have you ever thought about how great it would be to have some of summer’s foods during the autumn and winter months? Iowa State University Extension and Outreach of Plymouth County will hold a workshop seminar entitled: “Preserving the Taste of Summer.” Janelle Johnson, coordinator
with the Plymouth County Extension explains.

Johnson says the preserving workshop will be held next Tuesday, July 9th at the St. Joseph Catholic Church in Stuble.

The Plymouth County Extension official says the workshop will begin at 5:00 p.m. and continue until 9:00 p.m. Johnson says more people are taking an interest in preserving food.

Johnson says interested people will need to register with the Plymouth County Extension and Outreach office. They will not need to bring anything to the preserving workshop seminar, but they will leave taking home some items.

Those interested in attending the preservation workshop seminar will need to register with the Iowa State University Extension and Outreach of Plymouth County.

 

 

Reynolds Appoints Banking Executive To Supervise State Banking Division

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – The chief executive officer of an Iowa-based banking company has been appointed to be the state’s top banking regulator.
Gov. Kim Reynolds says she’s named Northwest Financial Corp. CEO Jeff Plagge to superintendent of the Iowa Division of Banking.
Plagge replaces Ron Hansen who was appointed by former Gov. Terry Branstad in 2015. He will step down and return to the private sector in September.
Plagge’s appointment is subject to Iowa Senate confirmation.
The banking superintendent oversees an agency that regulates state chartered banks and has authority over consumer lenders, mortgage businesses, real estate appraisers and payday lenders.
Northwest Financial, a family-owned company with 18 locations in Iowa and Nebraska, is the fifth largest Iowa-based bank.
Campaign finance records show Plagge donated $1,000 to Reynolds’ campaign in July 2017.

 

 

Principal Takes Over Wells Fargo Retirement Funds

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Principal Financial Group says it has closed its purchase of the Wells Fargo’s Institutional Retirement & Trust business.
Principal said Monday it is beginning the integration of the Wells
Fargo’s 401k, pension, executive deferred compensation, employee stock ownership plans and asset advice business.
Principal Chairman Dan Houston says Principal broadens offerings in retirement and asset management, doubling the size of its U.S. retirement business with the deal.
Principal says it’s appointing several executives from the Wells
Fargo business to its retirement leadership team and says it will keep open locations in Minnesota, North Carolina, Texas and the Philippines.
The Wells Fargo retirement businesses manage about $827 billion in assets.
Principal previously announced the $1.2 billion deal would be
financed with cash and senior debt financing.

 

 

Midwest Business Supply Managers See Improvement In Economy

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) – A new report says a June survey of business supply managers suggests economic growth will continue over the next three to six months in nine Midwest and Plains states.
The report issued Monday says the Mid-America Business Conditions Index rose to 55.4 last month from 54.3 in May. The April figure was 55.9.
Creighton University economist Ernie Goss oversees the survey, and he says “weak farm income, produced partially by tariffs and flooding, pulled regional growth below that of the nation.”
The survey results are compiled into a collection of indexes ranging from zero to 100. Survey organizers say any score above 50 suggests growth. A score below that suggests decline.
The survey covers Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri,
Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma and South Dakota.