Sioux County Sheriff’s Office Seeking Assistance For A Hit-And-Run Accident
(Orange City) — The Sioux County Sheriff’s Office is seeking the public’s assistance for a hit-and-run accident that happened Thursday at about 11:46 p.m. at Hull. A BMW 325-I was parked and unattended on Birch Street when another vehicle struck the driver’s side door, and leaving the scene without reporting the accident. The BMW sustained approximately $900 in damages.
Anyone with information about this accident is asked to contact the Sioux County Sheriff’s Office. If you wish to remain anonymous, you can use the Text-A-Tip program.
Le Mars Recreational Trail Being Extended
(Le Mars) — The city of Le Mars has been busy with the construction and extension of its recreational trail running parallel to Key Avenue beginning at the Agri-Vision John Deere dealership, located west of Le Mars, and heading south past the Wells Enterprises corporate offices, to county road
C-38 passing by the Sadona Hills Housing Development. Contractors have been pouring the concrete for the extension of the trail during this week.
City administrator Jason Vacura reminds people the extension of the recreational trail falls inside the city limits, and is not considered as part of the proposed Plywood Recreational Trail. Vacura says the extension adds another half mile to the already eleven-plus miles of the existing Le Mars recreational trail. Vacura says the recreational trail extension should be available for use in a matter of a couple of weeks.
City Clean-up Days Scheduled For September 7th – 13th
(Le Mars) — City officials have announced the dates for the fall clean-up which are scheduled to begin next Saturday, September 7th and continue through Friday, September 13th. City administrator Jason Vacura says this year the clean-up week is a bit different.
Vacura says the landfill has added fees for the disposal of old television sets and computer monitors, as well as with white goods or appliances.
Vacura reminds residents the city clean-up program is for Le Mars residents only, and is not extended to businesses or industries. Residents are responsible for taking their disposable items to the Plymouth County Landfill.
Plymouth County Farm Bureau To Hold Annual Meeting
(Le Mars) — Trade tariffs, low commodity prices, pending trade agreements, non-meat substitutes, and waivers against ethanol production are all topics of concern for today’s America’s farmers. The Plymouth County Farm Bureau organization is aware of these issues, and most likely, these and other issues may be discussed next Tuesday evening as the farm organization holds its annual meeting at the Century Hall at the Plymouth County Fairgrounds.
Mark Bohner is the Regional Manager for the Plymouth County Farm Bureau. He says this year, the farm group has a special speaker scheduled to address the members.
Bohner says Farm Bureau is beginning its grass roots survey with members to inquire what issues are on their minds, and should be pursued by the Iowa and the American Farm Bureau organizations.
The Farm Bureau official says the membership will discuss issues that go beyond the borders of Plymouth County, and those issues may extend beyond agriculture.
Bohner says the county annual meeting is being held in a timely manner.
The Plymouth County Farm Bureau meeting will start with featured exhibits at 5:30 p.m. with the meal to begin at 6:30 p.m.
The annual meeting is open to all members of the Plymouth County Farm Bureau.
Le Mars Girl To Receive Girl Scouts Gold Award
Faith Laskey – Recipient For Girl Scouts Gold Award
Public Defender Also Is A Town Police Officer – Officials Question Whether He Has Conflict With Jobs
IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) – A supervisor with Iowa’s state Public Defender’s Office has a part-time side job as a local police officer, creating a potential conflict of interest.
Michael Adams is supervisor of the special defense unit, which is
appointed to defend low-income defendants in complex criminal cases statewide. But since 2008, he has also served as a part-time reserve police officer in the city of Colfax.
Adams’ unit is routinely appointed to defend clients in Jasper
County even as he occasionally patrols one of its cities as an officer.
The potential conflict has gone largely unnoticed, but it became an issue this month in a murder case involving a man who was investigated by Colfax police and is being represented by Adams’ unit. Adams says he has no direct involvement on either side of the case.
Still, multiple defense attorneys say they were stunned to learn of Adams’ dual roles.
Former Director Of DHS Files $2 Million Wrongful Termination Lawsuit
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – The former head of the Iowa Department of Human Services has filed a complaint with the state seeking $2 million for wrongful discharge.
Jerry Foxhoven says in documents filed Thursday with the State
Appeal Board that Gov. Kim Reynolds, her chief of staff and legal counsel fired Foxhoven on June 17 as he questioned whether it was legal for the DHS to pay the salary of a governor’s staffer who had moved from the agency to the governor’s office.
Foxhoven, known for his frequent workplace praise of the late rapper Tupac Shakur, says his firing was done to prevent him from enforcing his legal right to disclose information he believed was illegal.
Reynolds has said Foxhoven never raised such concerns and never asked the staff for a legal opinion.
Fire At Fort Dodge Correctional Facility
FORT DODGE, Iowa (AP) – A fire on the roof of a prison in Fort Dodge appears to be under control.
The Iowa Department of Corrections says the fire was reported about 2 p.m. at the Fort Dodge Correctional Facility.
Officials believe the fire started on the roof of a prison housing
unit where contractors were making repairs.
Local fire officials say the fire appears to be under control.
The Corrections Department says all prison staff, contractors and
inmates are accounted for.
The Fort Dodge facility is a medium security prison designed to hold a maximum of 1,400 inmates, overseen by a staff of about 260 people.
Des Moines To Establish Recycling Center
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Officials are moving ahead with a proposed $24 million recycling center in Polk County that they say will ensure paper sorted for recycling is no longer dumped in a landfill.
Environmentally aware Des Moines residents were frustrated after learning that nearly 20 tons of recycled paper ended up in the landfill every day last summer after the metro’s recycling company couldn’t find a buyer.
Metro Waste Authority official Michael McCoy says their agency,
which runs the landfill, wants to construct the facility to handle, sort and ultimately sell up to 45,000 tons of recyclables annually.
The Des Moines Register reports the recycling center could open in 2021.
McCoy noted the facility won’t increase the Metro Waste ratepayers’ trash and recycling fees. But the president of a recycling processor believes otherwise.
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Nurse To Serve 15 Months In Prison For Stealing Painkillers
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) – A former nurse who admitted diverting pain medications from residents at two northeastern Iowa nursing homes has been sentenced to 15 months in federal prison.
The Courier reports that 36-year-old Lacey Staveley, of Evansdale, was sentenced Thursday in Cedar Rapids.
Staveley pleaded guilty last year to one count of acquiring a
controlled substance by misrepresentation, fraud, deception or subterfuge and another count of making false statements relating to health care matters. She was later charged with contempt after police say she stole pills from a relative after she had pleaded guilty to the nursing home thefts.
Prosecutors say she took hydrocodone intended for two chronic pain patients at Cedar Falls Health Care in November 2016, then faked medication logs to cover her tracks. Officials say she also took pain medication in 2018 from two patients at Harmony House in Waterloo and replaced them with anti-psychotic and antidepressant drugs.
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