Le Mars Community Board of Education Concerned With Stadium Construction Delays
(Le Mars) — The Le Mars Community Board of Education expressed concern, and inquired about the construction delays with the stadium, during last evening’s school board meeting. Members of the board asked Webner if there were any violations with the original construction contract. Board member
Pat Murphy asked if the school should withhold some of the money due to the delays?
Murphy indicated the school is losing revenue from lost gate receipts and concessions due to the on-going construction delays.
Murphy says the delays have now gone beyond the “Act of God” and he is wondering if financial penalties should be placed on the general contractor because of the continued delays. Murphy and other school board members directed Superintendent Dr. Webner to review the contract, since the initial expectation for construction completion was scheduled for July 31st.
Gehlen Catholic Christian Leadership Team To Be Honored With Governor’s Volunteer Award
(Le Mars) — The Gehlen Catholic Christian Leadership Team has been notified that it will receive the Group Governor’s Volunteer Award during an award presentation ceremony scheduled for September 12th at Buena Vista University at Storm Lake. Park Place Estates Assisted Living nominated Gehlen
Catholic’s Christian Leadership Team for the award. Alissa Schipper heads up the Gehlen Catholic Christian Leadership Team. Schipper, stated the school & CLT have a history of great relationships with the assisted living centers & long term care facilities in Le Mars. The students are able to learn & apply their history, communications & religion instruction outside of the classroom. According to Volunteer Iowa, the Governor’s Volunteer Award honors the dedicated people who volunteer their time & talent to assist a nonprofit, charitable organization &/or government entity in the delivery of its mission.
Recommendations are accepted every March for an individual or group, as well as volunteers who have served the organization multiple years. Awards are accepted only in 5 year increments.
Crops Needing Warmer Temperatures And Sunshine To Mature
(Le Mars) — August temperatures have proven to be generally below normal with daytime highs in the 70’s and lower 80’s. The temperatures may feel comfortable for humans, but according to an Iowa State University crops specialist, warm temperatures and additional heat are needed to help our crops mature. Joel DeJong says we have been losing critical growing degree
units during August.
DeJong says the corn is starting to enter the dent stage, which is the first stage for maturity. He says it takes about 35 days under normal conditions for the corn to fully mature, which places the corn maturity at around early October. DeJong says soybeans are starting to fill their pods.
DeJong says it may be a race between the time the crops reach their full maturity, and when we get the first frost. The crops specialist says many of the crops appear to look good, it is just they are not at the stage of development that we would want to see at this time of year.
DeJong says he expects to see mediocre yields in northwest Iowa for both corn and soybeans.
Kingsley Police Chief Pleads Not Guilty To Domestic Abuse
KINGSLEY, Iowa (AP) – The Kingsley police chief accused of injuring his wife has pleaded not guilty.
Plymouth County District Court records say 51-year-old Joseph Hoover entered the written plea Monday to a misdemeanor charge of domestic abuse assault. A trial date hasn’t been set.
Hoover is chief of the Kingsley force, but he’s been suspended with pay.
The records say Hoover acknowledged to sheriff’s deputies that he struck his wife with a forearm and shoulder during their altercation July 19.
Governor Reynolds Says She Will Talk With Trump To Reverse EPA’s Actions On Ethanol Waivers
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds says she is pushing the Trump administration to restore billions of gallons of ethanol demand lost when the Environmental Protection Agency exempted 31 oil refineries from blending ethanol with gasoline to meet the requirements of federal law.
Reynolds on Tuesday speculated that President Donald Trump may not have fully understood the impact of granting the waivers on the ethanol industry.
Now, she says at least one ethanol plant in Iowa has shut down production.
Reynolds says she has calls scheduled with Energy Secretary Rick Perry and Vice President Mike Pence to talk about the ethanol industry after having already talked with Trump, EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler, Ivanka Trump and Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue.
Reynolds says she remains comfortable telling the president about polices that hurt Iowa and its farmers even though she’s been named a co-chair of Trump’s re-election campaign in Iowa.
Journalist Notes On Lottery Rigging Scandal Have Been Subpoenaed
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – An Iowa journalist who wrote a book about the lottery insider who rigged jackpots in several states has been subpoenaed to turn over notes related to his reporting.
Perry Beeman received the subpoena last week from lawyers for Larry Dawson, an Iowa jackpot winner who contends that the rigging reduced his prize by millions of dollars.
Beeman co-wrote the recent book “The $80 billion Gamble” with former Iowa Lottery CEO Terry Rich. It tells the story of how now-imprisoned lottery security contractor Eddie Tipton altered number-picking programs on computers to win jackpots in Colorado, Wisconsin, Kansas and Oklahoma.
The subpoena orders Beeman to turn over his correspondence with Rich since January 2018, including notes related to four interviews they conducted last year.
Beeman says he is considering his options for responding to the
request. He says he has objected to subpoenas previously because they have “a chilling effect on the reporting process.”
The Iowa Supreme Court has ruled that reporter’s sources,
unpublished information and notes are privileged material and may be subject to disclosure only in limited circumstances.
Mason City Teen Pleads Guilty To Gang And Terrorism Charges
MASON CITY, Iowa (AP) – A northern Iowa teenager has pleaded guilty to gang and terrorism charges.
The Mason City Globe Gazette reports that 16-year-old Justin Gilmore is scheduled to be sentenced Nov. 4. His plea agreement says prosecutors will recommend probation and suspended prison sentences for each charge: providing support for terrorism, conspiracy to commit a nonforcible felony,
criminal gang participation and gang recruitment.
Prosecutor Andrew Olson said Monday that he can’t share more details about the case, including the Mason City locations that were threatened, how they were threatened and whether other people have been charged.
A judge ruled in March that Gilmore’s case would not be handled in juvenile court.
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Judge Accepts “The Bachelor” Plea Deal
INDEPENDENCE, Iowa (AP) – A judge has approved a plea deal that imposes two years’ probation and a suspended prison term for an Iowa farmer who appeared on “The Bachelor.”
Buchanan County District Court records say the judge accepted the plea agreement Monday between Chris Soules and prosecutors “because it is in accordance with the pre-sentence investigation report recommendations.”
Soules pleaded guilty in November to a reduced charge of leaving the scene of a serious injury accident for the April 2017 crash that killed 66-year-old Kenny Mosher. Soules was arrested after he rear-ended Mosher’s tractor. Soules called 911, performed CPR on Mosher and waited for first responders, but he left the scene before officers arrived.
Soules appeared on “The Bachelor” and “Dancing With The Stars” in 2015.
