Funeral Services For Lyon County Sheriff’s Deputy Scheduled For Today – Reynolds Orders Flags To Be At Half Staff
(Des Moines) — Governor Kim Reynolds has ordered flags to be at half staff today in honor of the Lyon County Sheriff’s Deputy who lost her life as a result of a roll-over accident. Funeral services will be held today at Sioux Falls for Deputy Stephanie Schreurs, a 24-year veteran of the Lyon County Sheriff’s Office. The funeral is scheduled for 10:00 a.m. at the Sanford Pentagon Center with a processional that will travel from Sioux Falls to Schreurs hometown of Alvord, Iowa, where she will be laid to rest for burial. The accident happened during the early morning hours of August 9th. Schreurs died on August 13th.
Emergency Personnel Respond To Another Train Incident Behind Le Mars Public Library
(Le Mars) — The Le Mars Fire and Rescue Department, Le Mars Police, and the Le Mars Ambulance were called at about 4:00 a.m. this (Monday) morning for what was reported as a possible train versus pedestrian accident, again near the Le Mars Public Library. The engineer of the C-N northbound train reported that he heard and felt a thud, and thought he had possibly had hit
something or someone. First responders checked the tracks and under the train and did not locate any vehicle, or body. The train moved ahead so fire and police personnel could look at the center of the tracks. Fire Chief Dave Schipper says he and his crew had a sinking feeling when they first heard the page.
Fortunately, this time around, there were no victims with the train accident. Schipper says once the train had moved, they conducted a secondary search and found what created the concern.
Schipper says rail crews have been notified and will come to Le Mars later this morning to make the necessary repairs, before another train is allowed to pass through the town.
The rail crossing at 18th Street and Business Highway 75 or Hawkeye Avenue, has been repaired over the weekend and is now open. Rail crews were able to replace the warning devices that were damaged on Friday morning when a train had hit a semi truck and trailer.
Laundry Facility Has Fire
(Le Mars) — Fire broke out Saturday morning at around 11:20 a.m. at the King Koin Launderette facilities located on the 100 block of 5th Avenue Northwest located on Highway 75. Upon arrival, smoke could be seen coming from the laundry facility. Fire Chief Dave Schipper says the dryer was perhaps overloaded with clothes, causing the drum of the dryer unable to
turn and the heating element igniting the clothes inside the dryer. The clothes had burnt, and the dryer was damaged and listed as a total loss.
Schipper says there wasn’t any damage to the structure of the building.
Firefighters were on the scene for approximately 45 minutes.
Granite Avenue To Close For Installation Of Box Culvert
(Le Mars) — The Plymouth County Secondary Road Department will close Granite Avenue from 200th Street going south to County Road C-38 beginning today. Work crews will replace an old bridge with a box culvert. The road is expected to be closed until September 13th.
Sioux City Airport To Close For Runway Repairs
SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) – The Sioux City airport must close several times in the next month because of a runway construction project.
The Sioux City Journal reports the airport is working on rebuilding a secondary runway, and the closures are needed because of work on the areas where that secondary runway intersects the main one.
The airport closed to flights Thursday and is scheduled to reopen
Sunday at 8 p.m. The next two closures are Aug. 23 through Aug. 25 and Sept. 14 through Sept. 15.
The overall $24 million runway project is scheduled to be completed next spring. The Federal Aviation Administration is paying 90 percent of the cost.
—
Farmers Market Vendor Raises Money To Purchase Tents
(Le Mars) — You may recall back on the morning of Saturday, July 20th strong winds measuring up to 50 mph had passed through Le Mars causing some damage including downed power lines and trees, and even causing a livestock trailer to be blown over on its side. Those winds also destroyed many of the tents and canopies for the Le Mars Farmers Market vendors. 16 year old Jada Tirre, a farmer’s market vendor, decided to raise money in order to purchase and replace several of the vendor’s damaged tents.
Tirre was able to raise enough funds to purchase five tents. She says the vendors were grateful for her initiative. Tirre says she got the idea to raise the money for the Farmers Market vendors after she saw how the winds damaged her goods that were for sale.
Tirre presented a new tent to vendor Josh Cobbs of Sioux City, Saturday morning during the Farmers Market hours of operation.
Cobb says he had his tent for only a couple of weeks before it was destroyed during the wind storm.
Cobb says he sells tailgating games and backyard games, along with rustic flags. As for Tirre, she markets home baked goods.
Sioux City To Host Presidential Native American Forum
WASHINGTON (AP) – Democratic presidential candidates will descend on Iowa this 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 today 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.
Odebolt Man Pleas Not Guilty To Vehicular Homicide After Being Intoxicated
IDA GROVE, Iowa (AP) – A man Iowa authorities say was intoxicated when his vehicle crashed into another, killing three men, has pleaded not guilty to charges in the case.
The Sioux City Journal reports that 21-year-old Ryan Childers, of
Odebolt, entered the written plea Friday in Ida County District Court to three counts of vehicular homicide and one count of serious injury by motor vehicle.
Authorities say Childers was driving a pickup truck the wrong way on Highway 59 just north of Holstein on March 16 when he hit a car head-on. The car burst into flames, killing its occupants, 21-year-old Francisco Joel Nicia Guerro, 25-year-old Jose Danilo Gonzalez Guerro, and 39-year-old Felipe De La Cruz Nava, all of Denison. Childers and his passenger were seriously injured.
—
Forest City School District To Install Solar Panels
FOREST CITY, Iowa (AP) – An Iowa school district is considering installing solar panels on land it recently bought near its high school.
The Forest City school district is evaluating several options for
the 17.3 acres of land it purchased near its high school.
Superintendent Darwin Lehmann says using the land to generate solar power would help power the high school and save the district money on utility bills.
Another option being considered would be to create several test
plots that students in Future Farmers of America could use.
The district has time to research options because it plans to keep
the land in the Conservation Reserve Program through 2021.
