Train Collides With Semi Truck And Trailer
(Le Mars) — An Union Pacific train collided with a semi truck and trailer at the crossing of 18th Street and Business Highway 75. The accident happened at about 11:40 a.m. this (Friday) morning. The semi truck and trailer is operated by Decker Trucking of Fort Dodge, Iowa, when apparently, the truck was wanting to turn left, or south, and merge onto traffic on
Highway 75, when the back portion of the semi-trailer was still on the rail tracks when the train hit the trailer. The semi-trailer was an insulated trailer, but was empty at the time of the collision. The driver of the truck was able to escape without injuries. Extensive damage happened to the semi-trailer, and to the rail crossing guards. City officials have announced they will keep the intersection of 18th Street Southwest between
Lincoln Avenue and Hawkeye closed until such time the railroad can replace the warning devices. They hope to have the intersection open by Tuesday, August 20th.
Sioux City To Host Summer Shriner Convention
(Sioux City) — Abu Bekr Shrine Temple is proud to host the Central States Shrine Association Summer Session in Siouxland, August 21-24, 2019. The Central States Shrine Association, “CSSA”, is composed of 22 Shrine Temples from seven states. Shriners will be traveling to Siouxland for three days of fun, fellowship, competitions, and parades. According to Todd Saunders, the Potentate of the Abu Bekr Shrine of Sioux City, the convention will attract more than 2000 Shriners.
To showcase the Shriners love of parading and promoting awareness of Shriners International, there will be two parades. The first parade will be in Downtown Sioux City, Iowa, on Thursday evening, August 22, at 6:30 pm, on 3rd Street, heading west to Pierce Street, and ending at the Tyson Events
Center. The second parade will be in South Sioux City, Nebraska on Saturday, August 24, at 9:30 am, on Dakota Avenue. The parade will run south on Dakota Avenue from 12th Street to 27th Street. Saunders says all different types of Shriner entries will be featured at both parades. He says Sioux City is probably best known for its White Horse Mounted Patrol.
Saunders says the convention will consist of competition among all the Shrine Temple units.
Besides appearing at community parades, the Shriners are most known for their hospitals and work with children needing medical attention.
Saunders says the closest Shrine Hospital to Sioux City is based at the twin-cities of Minneapolis-St. Paul.
This marks the first time in over 80 years that Sioux City will be the host to the Central States Shrine Association Summer Session. Saunders says “Abu Bekr Shrine’s turn to host CSSA only comes around once every 22 years.
Grassley Critical Of EPA To Grant Ethanol Waivers To Oil Refineries
(Des Moines) — Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley is using some blunt language to describe the E-P-A’s decision last Friday to grant waivers to big oil companies, reducing the amount of ethanol that must be blended into gasoline.
Grassley says the waivers were intended for small refineries, but are now being granted to the likes of Exxon and Chevron.
Last year the E-P-A granted 38 ethanol waivers to oil companies and this year has granted 31, but Grassley says there’s “no victory” here for farmers.
Grassley says he’s lobbied President Trump and Ivanka Trump on the issue — and Trump heard from farmers when the president visited a western Iowa ethanol plant earlier this summer.
But Grassley says officials in Trump’s Environmental Protection Agency are blocking ethanol’s progress. Grassley made his comments during taping of the Iowa Press program that airs
on Iowa Public Television.
Presidential Candidates Respond To Native American Forum
WASHINGTON (AP) – Democratic presidential candidates will descend on Iowa next week to do something that Native Americans say doesn’t happen enough: court their vote.
At least seven White House hopefuls have said they’ll attend a forum in Sioux City on Monday and Tuesday named for longtime Native American activist Frank LaMere, who died in June. Tribal leaders and citizens will talk with candidates about issues including health care, education and violence against Native women.
Several candidates attending the forum, including Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, Julian Castro and Marianne Williamson, have issued platforms dedicated to the needs of indigenous people.
Richard Witmer is a political scientist from Creighton University
who specializes in American Indian politics and policy. He says the Native American vote can swing a close national election.
South Sioux City Police Officer Cleared Of Shooting By Grand Jury
SOUTH SIOUX CITY, Neb. (AP) – A grand jury has cleared a South Sioux City police officer of any criminal wrongdoing in a shootout that left the officer wounded and the suspect dead.
The decision came in the case of Officer Brian Van Berkum, who
confronted Luis Quinones Rosa outside a bar in May because Rosa matched the description of a man who had been seen with a gun. Investigators say Rosa shot first at Van Berkum, striking the officer in a leg and abdomen.
Van Berkum returned the fire, hitting Rosa in a leg. Rosa was found unresponsive later in a nearby vehicle and taken to the hospital, where he died.
Van Berkum underwent surgery, and has since recovered and returned to work.
Grand Jury Clears Union Pacific Officer In Shooting
MASON CITY, Iowa (AP) – A grand jury has found no criminal wrongdoing by a Union Pacific railroad officer for the November shooting of a Mason City man.
Cerro Gordo County Attorney Carlyle Dalen tells the Globe Gazette that the grand jury opted not to indict Union Pacific Special Agent Louis Miner after convening this week.
State investigators say Miner stopped Nathan Lee Olson for
trespassing on UP property on Nov. 29 and an altercation ensued before Miner shot Olson near a railroad crossing in Mason City. Police have not said whether Olson was armed when he was shot.
Olson was hospitalized for about two months following the shooting.
Union Pacific Railroad, based in Omaha, Nebraska, employs certified police officers to patrol its properties across the Midwest.
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Altoona Police Search For Armed Robbery Suspect
(Altoona) — Some tense moments occurred early Friday morning around the Adventureland Amusement Park and Prairie Meadows Casino and Racetrack at Altoona, Iowa. Altoona police placed a lockdown on the area after an armed robbery took place at the Spectator’s Bar and Grill, near the two tourists destinations. Altoona is a suburb of Des Moines and is located just east of the metro area. Altoona police and other law enforcement agencies converged on the area. Police were asking the public to stay away from Adventureland Amusement Park and Prairie Meadows. Police did a room-by-room search at the
Adventureland Inn looking for their suspect. Both entities re-opened their gates after police tactical units swept the area. The incident happened at around 7:35 a.m. Friday morning. Altoona Police Sergeant Alyssa Wilson says they are looking for an African-American male that is approximately 5 feet-five inches tall, weighing about 150 pounds. The suspect was seen on
surveillance video wearing a white button shirt, blue pants, and a dark hat.
The suspect was seen carrying a hand gun. Sergeant Wilson says there were no injuries, and she says police are actively looking for the suspect. No arrests have been made, but police are still searching for the suspect.
Police say it was an isolated incident, and they don’t believe the public is in any general danger.
Iowa’s Unemployment Rate Rises Slightly
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Iowa’s unemployment rate climbed slightly in July to 2.5% but remains among the lowest in the nation.
Iowa Workforce Development announced Friday that the unemployment rate rose from 2.4% in June. The rate had been stuck at that level since July 2018.
Although the unemployment rate increased, the number of residents with jobs also rose by about 4,000 compared to June. The number of unemployed residents increased by about 1,400.
Iowa’s unemployment rate was third-lowest in the nation, behind Vermont and North Dakota and tied with New Hampshire.
The national unemployment rate in July was 3.7%.
Police Investigate Cemetery Vandalism
MANCHESTER, Iowa (AP) – Police in the eastern Iowa city of Manchester are investigating the vandalism of a cemetery there.
Television station KCRG reports that nearly 30 headstones were found damaged or broken in Oakland Cemetery in Manchester.
Police say in a post on the department’s Facebook page that they
suspect the vandalism was carried out Thursday night. In all, 29 headstones were damaged.
No arrests have been reported. Anyone with information on the
vandalism is asked to call police.
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