School Board To Discuss Superintendent’s Progress On Goals
(Le Mars) — The Le Mars Community Board of Education will convene this evening for its bi-monthly meeting. The school board will hear reports from each of the school district’s principals. Curriculum Director Rachel Leavitt will review the 2018-2019 annual progress report with board members. The Le
Mars Education Association will present its initial bargaining proposal for the 2020-2021 master contract to the Board of Education on January 6, 2020.
The school board will discuss the annual board and administrator retreat that has been scheduled for January 27th. The school board will discuss the “Legislative Day on the Hill” which is scheduled for Tuesday, January 28th. School Superintendent, Dr. Steven Webner will provide an update on the
superintendent goals established as part of the superintendent’s evaluation process. Dr. Webner will also discuss with the school board information regarding a possible agreement between the Le Mars Community School District and the Iowa Local Government Risk Pool Commission for natural gas
purchases. The school board will also discuss changing policy for the times and dates for school board meetings.
Former Iowa Congressman Berkley Bedell Passes Away
(Undated) — Former Congressman Berkley Bedell passed away during the weekend. Bedell, a Democrat, served the 6th District of Iowa, or the northwest area during the 1970’s and 1980’s. Bedell was 98 years of age at the time of his passing. Bedell started a fishing tackle company called “Berkley” located at Spirit Lake, Iowa, prior to being first elected to
Congress. Tom Bedell, Berkley’s son says his father died after suffering a stroke earlier in the week. Two area people, Clayton Hodgson of Le Mars and Judge Jeff Neary of Merrill, had worked with Bedell during his time as a Congressman. Hodgson served as Bedell’s District Director, while Neary started as a legislative and case worker intern, but then advanced to become
a full-time staff member with Bedell. Neary offers his thoughts about the former Congressman.
Neary says it was the constituent services that Bedell cared about the most.
Many wonder how was a Democrat Congressman able to retain his seat in the House of Representatives for so long while representing a predominately strong Republican district?
Bedell would often hold several town-hall meetings where he was interested in knowing the thoughts and opinions of the people of his district, and he was also concerned about government waste, and the over-the-top costs on hardware tools, such as the famous $500 hammer purchased by the military.
Woman Charged With Non-support Of Dependent Adult
WAVERLY, Iowa (AP) – A northeastern Iowa woman has been charged with non-support of a dependent adult in the May death of a 77-year-old woman who had suffered severe burns. The Bremer County Sheriff’s Office says in a news release that 56-year-old Debra Kleppe, of Tripoli, was charged Thursday in
the death of Sylvia Schwerin, of Sumner. The sheriff’s office says it was notified of Schwerin’s death on May 30, a day after she was taken to a community hospital. Investigators say she had been scalded over 20 percent of her body. Officials believe the burns happened by accident, but that Kleppe failed to seek medical treatment for them.
Clive Police Involved With Shooting Incident Following Chase
WEST DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Police in central Iowa say a fleeing suspect has been shot by a Clive officer after the suspect pointed a handgun at the officer. The Clive Police Department says in a news release that the shooting happened in West Des Moines early Saturday morning following a brief high-speed chase on Interstate 235 and, later, on foot. Police say an
officer chasing one suspect between houses shot the suspect after the fleeing man pointed a handgun at the officer. The suspect was rushed to a local hospital. Neither his identity nor his medical condition had been released by mid-morning Saturday.
Seal Pup Dies At Des Moines Zoo
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Officials at a Des Moines zoo say a 3-month-old seal pup born there has died. Blank Park Zoo officials say the pup, born Aug. 20 and named “Lucy,” died on Nove. 24. A news release issued by the zoo said a necropsy showed Lucy died after suffering from “failure to thrive.”
Zoo spokesman Ryan Bickel says that means the pup wasn’t processing enough calories to survive. Officials say Lucy was not eating on her own in the last weeks of her life and required fluids and supplements from keepers. The zoo now has three harbor seals: Lucy’s parents, Meru and Ross, and her older brother, Monty.
Sports Radio Host Charged With Fraud
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – A former Des Moines sports radio host accused of swindling at least eight people out of $1.5 million has pleaded guilty to one count of mail fraud. The Des Moines Register reports that 60-year-old Marty Tirrell entered the plea Friday in federal court. He faces up to 20 years in prison when he’s sentenced on April 7. Prosecutors say Tirrell told investors he could buy sports tickets with their money, resell them, and
split the profit with them. But prosecutors say Tirrell soon began lying to the victims and sending them bad checks while spending their money on personal items or to pay back other investors.
Biden Comments On Sanders Plan To Withhold Money From Israel
OELWEIN, Iowa (AP) – Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden says it is “bizarre” for rival Bernie Sanders to propose withholding U.S. military aid from Israel if the government there doesn’t moderate its treatment of Palestinians. The former vice president said Saturday that he still supports a “two-state solution” but wouldn’t condition U.S. aid on how Israel treats
Palestinians. Biden cast Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as a “counterproductive” and “extreme right” leader. But he also accused Palestinian leaders of “fomenting” the conflict and “baiting everyone who is Jewish,” while suggesting that some on the U.S. political left give the Palestinian Authority “a pass” when criticizing Israeli leadership.
