Eagles Donates Funds To Le Mars Fire and Rescue Department
(Le Mars) — The Le Mars Eagles Club made a contribution of $500 today to the Le Mars Fire and Rescue Department. Tim Britt is the president of the local Eagles organization. He says this isn’t the first donation to the fire department, but the amount donated was higher than in previous years.
Le Mars Fire Chief Dave Schipper says the local fire department is grateful for the donation by the Eagles Club. He says the contribution will go to help with equipment and additional training expenses.
The Eagles president says the local organization holds several fund raising activities through the year in order to help support area charities.
Sports Betting Begins In Iowa
(Des Moines) — Several casinos around the state held ceremonies and began taking their first sports bets on Thursday as it became legal at noon.
The sports book operator counted down three-two-one and the ribbon was cut to cheers at the Prairie Meadows Casino in Altoona, Republican state senate majority leader Jack Whitver (WIT-ver) of Ankeny says some Iowans were already betting illegally.
The state will collect taxes from sports gambling, but it may only be a small percentage of what is already collected from casinos. Whitver and State Senator Tony Bisignano of Des Moines made the first bets at Prairie Meadows. Bisignano bet on the New York Yankees to win their game and Whitver – who was a standout wide receiver at Iowa State — picked the Cyclones to beat Iowa this year in football. Customers lined up after the ribbon cutting to place their bets. Mick Schminkey of Pleasant Hill put 40 dollars down on a few N-F-L preseason games. He says he’s been waiting for Iowa to approve sports gambling since the Supreme Court threw out a federal ban last year. Eventually Schminkey hopes to win a few bets, but this was for the experience.
Iowa is one of the early states to adopt sport betting but others are close behind. Places like Oregon, Illinois and Indiana are working out the final details. A similar ceremony took place at the Isle Casino Hotel in Bettendorf . Bettendorf Mayor Bob Gallagher placed the ceremonial first legal sports bet on his alma mater.
William Hill is running the sports betting for the Isle and Vice President Michael Grodsky says they are ready for sports gamblers.
Eighteen of the 19 state-licensed casinos plan to offer sports betting.
Ten of them were ready to go for the first day and the rest are expected to complete the process in the next week or so, including the Hard Rock Casino of Sioux City and Grand Falls Casino at Larchwood.
National Safety Transportation Board Releases Report On Crop Duster Plane Crash
SUMNER, Iowa (AP) – A preliminary report from federal aviation safety officials says a crop duster involved in a fatal crash in northeastern Iowa hit power lines before going down on Aug. 9.
The report from the National Transportation Safety Board released Thursday says a witness told investigators that the airplane flew “very low” over his home early that morning and that he was “amazed it cleared the trees.”
The fiery crash near Sumner killed the pilot, 56-year-old David
Baker, of Swedesburg.
The report doesn’t list a definitive cause of the crash, but says
the plane hit a set of power lines about 40 feet high before hitting a second set of power lines, a roof mounted antenna and a utility pole before crossing Highway 93 and crashing into a tree.
Bankers Are Concerned About Declining Rural Economy
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) – The latest monthly survey of bankers in parts of 10 Plains and Western states indicates a shrinking rural economy, and three-quarters of bankers said President Donald Trump’s trade policies are having a negative effect on their local economies.
The Rural Mainstreet survey released Thursday shows the its overall index falling from an already anemic 50.2 in July to 46.5 this month. Any score below 50 indicates a shrinking economy.
Creighton University economist Ernie Goss, who oversees the survey, says trade tensions “are driving growth lower for areas of the region with close ties to agriculture.” Goss also noted that despite negative consequences from tariffs, nearly 7 of 10 bank CEOS surveyed support either raising or continuing the Trump administration’s current tariffs.
Bankers from Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wyoming were surveyed.
Butler County Sheriff’s Office Paid Too Much For Overtime
ALLISON, Iowa (AP) – A northern Iowa sheriff says improper employee payments uncovered by a state audit were errors caused by a misunderstanding of several policies.
The audit report of the Butler County Sheriff’s Office released
Thursday says the improper payments totaled more than $57,000. It cited excess overtime and holiday pay for 26 employees from December 2014 through October 2018.
Auditors say the county paid overtime if employees worked more than eight hours in a single day rather than following the county and Fair Labor Standards Act policy that calculated overtime for law enforcement personnel working more than 171 hours in 28 days.
The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier reports that Sheriff Jason Johnson says the overtime issue had never been raised in regular state audits. He says his office immediately changed procedures when told about the error.
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Two Men Found Guilty For Burlington Murder
BURLINGTON, Iowa (AP) – Two men have been found guilty of beating to death a man at a Burlington apartment complex.
Court records say Majestic Malone and Markell Price were convicted Tuesday of kidnapping and second-degree murder in the slaying of Edward Breuer on March 17. They had been charged with first-degree murder.
Sentencing is scheduled for Sept. 30.
A third defendant, Stanley Baldwin, is scheduled to go on trial Aug. 27. Court records say he’s asking that his trial be moved out of Des Moines County.
Court documents say Malone and Price forced Breuer inside an apartment after Baldwin accused Breuer of breaking into it. Neighbors in the same complex said Breuer had been visiting them earlier that evening.
The documents say Malone and Price carried Breuer back out of the apartment several minutes later and laid him face down in the dirt before Price poured a can of soda over Breuer’s head.
