Pickup Truck and SUV Collide At City Intersection
(Le Mars) — The Le Mars Fire and Rescue Department along with the Le Mars Police and Le Mars Ambulance Services responded to an accident last evening at the intersection of 2nd Avenue and 3rd Street Southeast. The accident
happened at about 7:30 p.m. and involved a pickup truck heading east and an SUV going south. The two vehicles collided at the intersection. The driver of the pickup truck sustained non-life threatening injuries and was transported to Floyd Valley Healthcare by the Le Mars Ambulance. The driver
of the S-U-V did not suffer any injuries. The Le Mars Police Department is investigating the accident. No names have been shared as of yet.
USDA Rural Development Announces $7 Million Grant To Premier Communications For Rural Broadband Internet
(Hawarden) — U-S Department of Agriculture Rural Development made an announcement Friday morning regarding a $7 million dollar grant given to Premier Communications, headquartered in Sioux Center, to expand broadband
internet to rural areas of northwest Iowa and southeast South Dakota. The announcement was made at a Sioux County family livestock farm near Hawarden, by former Iowa Agriculture Secretary, and now USDA Under Secretary, Bill Northey. Northey equates the importance of investment of extending
broadband internet to the rural areas much like during the turn of the century when rural America first received electricity and telephone service.
He tells of the economic importance to have rural regions connected to the broadband internet.
Northey says Congress allocated $600 million dollars to be invested for the specific purpose of introducing fast-speed broadband internet into rural regions. He says so far, only a handful of companies nationwide have benefited from the rural investment.
Northey says in order to be eligible for the federal grant, an investment partnership consisting of state and local funding also had to be secured.
He gives the statistics as to how many people will now have access to the broadband internet as a result of the approved grant.
The USDA Under Secretary says the return on the investment of rural access broadband internet will be staggering to calculate.
Northey expands on his answer about the return investment from having rural America connected to the internet.
Premier Communications which serves 28 communities within northwest Iowa and southeast South Dakota made an initial investment of $2.5 million, however a company spokesman says the actual investment when completed may be closer to
$12 million dollars. Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds also attended the announcement ceremony.
Reynolds Comments On Japanese Trade Tour
(Hawarden) — Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds returned Thursday evening from a trade mission to Japan. Reynolds was accompanied on the trade tour with Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig, and Iowa Economic Development
Director, Debbie Duram, along with officials from Iowa farm and commodity organizations. Reynolds attended an announcement ceremony at a Sioux County farm Friday morning and was asked about the Japanese trade tour?
As a result of the foreign visit, Reynolds says Japanese officials showed some positive interest in purchasing additional Iowa agricultural products.
(photo contributed.)
Reynolds says in addition to encourage Japanese retailers to purchase more Iowa beef and pork products, the trade mission also focused on those Japanese companies that have invested in Iowa and have businesses located within the Hawkeye state.
The Iowa governor says the delegation was able to make several pitch presentations as to why Japan would want to consider investing in Iowa. She says the U-S, and specifically Iowa, may be able to capture some of the lost market share and expand on our exports to Japan.
Reynolds Allows For Weight Limits To Be Lifted On Transport Of Propane And Anhydrous Ammonia
DES MOINES – Governor Kim Reynolds has signed a proclamation that will temporarily allow vehicles that transport propane and anhydrous ammonia to be oversize and overweight.
The late harvest and high demand for petroleum products throughout the Midwest have resulted in low supplies of propane as well as difficulty transporting adequate supplies of anhydrous ammonia for agricultural activities. The proclamation temporarily suspends provisions of Iowa Code §§ 321.463 (6) (a) and (b) and 321E.29 and Iowa Admin. Code chapter 761-511 pertaining to movement of oversize and overweight loads of propane and anhydrous ammonia.
The proclamation is effective November 16, 2019, and will expire at midnight on December 15, 2019.
Iowa Supreme Court Chief Justice, Mark Cady Dies
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – The family of Iowa Supreme Court Chief Justice Mark Cady says he has died of a heart attack at age 66.
Cady’s family says in a statement posted on the court’s website that he died unexpectedly on Friday. In the statement, the Iowa Judicial Branch statement says Cady’s “passing is a great loss to the court and the state he so loyally served.” A spokesman says Cady was in Des Moines when he died.
Cady, of Ft. Dodge, was appointed to the Iowa Supreme Court in 1998 and named chief justice in 2011.
He was a key vote in decisions that rankled social conservatives. Cady wrote the 2009 unanimous opinion that made Iowa the third state to permit same-sex marriages and he wrote last year’s decision upholding a woman’s right to an abortion under the Iowa Constitution.
Reynolds Orders Flags To Be Flown At Half Staff To Honor Justice Cady
DES MOINES – Gov. Kim Reynolds ordered all flags in Iowa to be lowered to half-staff today Saturday, November 16th to sunset on the day of Justice Cady’s memorial service, in honor and remembrance of Chief Justice Mark Cady, who served Iowa with dedication and
distinction as the Chief Justice of the Iowa Supreme Court. Details regarding the memorial service are forthcoming.
Albia Woman Found Guilty Of Killing Her Husband
ALBIA, Iowa (AP) – A south-central Iowa woman convicted in September of killing her husband has been sentenced to life in prison.
The Daily Iowegian reports that 47-year-old Barbara Pasa, of Centerville, received the mandatory life sentence on Friday.
A jury convicted Pasa of arson and first-degree murder. The badly burned body of 50-year-old Tim Pasa was found in a bed on May 5, 2018, and investigators determined the fire at the Centerville home was started intentionally. An autopsy determined his death was related to an injection of an anesthetic, propofol.
Barbara Pasa was a nurse at a Centerville hospital at the time of her husband’s death.
Investigators say she had bought a $200,000 life insurance policy on her husband. He had also told family members he believed his wife was poisoning him.
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Organizers Of Iowa Ride Change Dates
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Organizers of a new statewide bicycle ride are changing the date of their planned event so it doesn’t conflict with an annual ride that dates to the 1970s.
Organizers of Iowa’s Ride announced Friday on the group’s Facebook page that the ride would be held from July 12 to July 18, a week earlier than previously planned.
The change means the ride won’t overlap with the Register’s Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa, or RAGBRAI, scheduled for July 19 to July 25. RAGBRAI is organized by The Des Moines Register.
Iowa’s Ride also will move from east to west, while RAGBRAI traditionally travels west to east.
The former director of RAGBRAI and his staff resigned and launched the rival event amid a backlash over the Register’s handling of a story involving fundraiser Carson King.
Iowa City To Address Urban Deer Over-Population
IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) – Iowa City has kicked off its program to manage the city’s deer population.
The city has placed deer crossing signage in several locations, including along Scott Boulevard and First Avenue.
City officials say deer activity in these areas is likely to increase in the coming weeks, and drivers are urged to use caution in the posted locations.
The city has also signed a contract with White Buffalo to sharp shoot during the upcoming winter to reduce the growing population of deer within city limits.
