Authorities Identify The Fatal Accident Victim
(Le Mars) — Authorities have identified the victim from the fatal vehicle accident that happened Wednesday evening. 32-year old Mitchell L. Anderson of 32512 county road K-49 of Hinton was driving his 1999 Chevrolet pickup truck near the intersection of C-60 and K-18 South in the southwestern area of the county. Anderson lost control and started sliding off the roadway,
going down a steep embankment, and rolling over into a creek bed. There were no other vehicles or passengers involved. Anderson was transported to Floyd Valley Healthcare at Le Mars where Plymouth County Medical Examiner, Dr. Sheila Holcomb conducted her examination.
Jeneary Previews State Legislature General Session
(Le Mars) — Monday, begins the General Session of the Iowa legislature, and today we continue our conversation with State House Representative Dr. Tom Jeneary of Le Mars as to the issues most likely to be discussed during the session. Mental health has been on the minds of state lawmakers and constituents alike, and Jeneary believes the legislators will take up the issue early in the session.
“Empower Iowa” is another topic that Jeneary says will be debated in the state legislature.
Jeneary says child care will also be a focus of attention for state
lawmakers.
The entire interview can be heard by going to the KLEM website feature page at www.klem1410.com.
Friends Of The Le Mars Public Library Elects Officers
(Le Mars) — Friends of the Le Mars Public Library held its annual meeting last evening (Thursday) at the Four Brothers restaurant in Le Mars. The organization elected its new officers for the year. Taking on the role of president is Tia Ten Napel. Vice President is Katie Detloff. The position of Secretary will be handled by Carrie Campbell, and Mary Albrecht is the Treasurer. Shawn Brooks is the President Emeritis.
Friends of the Le Mars Public Library Officers: left to right, Shawn Brooks, President Emeritis, Treasurer, Mary Albrecht, President Tia Ten Napel, and Vice President, Katie Detloff. Not pictured is Secretary, Carrie Campbell.
State Fair To Raise Ticket Prices
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – It will cost you more to attend the Iowa State Fair this year. The fair announced Wednesday that gate prices for adults will rise to $14 from $12 last year, and tickets for children ages 6 to 11 will increase to $8 from $6. Advance purchase prices are going up a dollar: to $9
for adults and $5 for children ages 6 to 11. Children 5 and under still will get in free. There will be ticket discounts on some days for certain groups, including Older Iowans Day on Aug. 19.
Dave Hoffman of Le Mars is the president of the Iowa State Fair. He says despite the increase in price, the Iowa State Fair still remains a good value.
The Iowa State Fair has done a lot of renovation to their facilities during the last several years, and this year, according to Hoffman, the 4-H Exhibit Hall is getting a make-over.
Hoffman says recently, the Iowa State Fair acquired a popular cookie business, and the State Fair is adding facilities to sell more chocolate chip cookies that are fresh from the oven and are warm, soft, and chewy.
The fair runs Aug. 13-23 this year.
Steyer Qualifies For Democratic Debate
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) – Billionaire Tom Steyer has qualified for next week’s Democratic presidential debate in Iowa. He’ll be on stage alongside Joe Biden, Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders, Pete Buttigieg and Amy Klobuchar. Steyer qualified by hitting polling requirements in South Carolina and Nevada, two of the early voting states. He said while campaigning in New Hampshire on Thursday that his campaign has momentum. A new Fox News poll conducted in South Carolina put Steyer at 15%, and another
Fox News poll in Nevada put him at 12%. In previous early state and national polls, Steyer has mostly been in the low to mid-single digits.
Fatal Quarry Accident
GARRISON, Iowa (AP) – Authorities have released the name of a worker killed in an accident at an eastern Iowa rock quarry. The Benton County Sheriff’s Office identified him as 30-year-old Michael Lee Griffith, who lived in Vinton. First responders were sent around 1:15 p.m. Wednesday to Wendling Quarries, just southeast of Garrison. They found Griffith had been trapped
in a rock bin and had already died. Details about what happened haven’t been released. The accident is being investigated.
Governor Reynolds To Choose Supreme Court Justice
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – The names of three finalists for Iowa’s vacant Supreme Court seat have been forwarded to Gov. Kim Reynolds, who will appoint one of them. The Judicial Nominating Commission on Thursday selected as finalists Joel Barrows, a district court judge out of Bettendorf; Matt
McDermott, a Des Moines attorney; and Dana Oxley, a Cedar Rapids attorney.
The three were selected from a dozen applicants. Reynolds will have 30 days to make the appointment to fill the vacancy left by the sudden death in November of Chief Justice Mark Cady.
State Auditor Says Submitted Data For Medicaid Provider Is Unusable For Audit
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – The state auditor says the Iowa Department of Human Services provided data for an audit of its Medicaid Home Health Program that was so flawed that it was unusable. Auditor Rob Sand said Thursday that it took eight months to get information on the number of patients served,
services received and fees paid, but the data was flawed and he couldn’t determine whether money was properly spent or recipients adequately served.
Home Health Services provides home-based nursing care, physical therapy and other services for Medicaid recipients. A DHS spokesman disputes Sand’s assertions and says the agency relies on independent audits to ensure it’s operating properly.
Election Officials Have Stopped Using Flawed Database For Felons To Have Voting Rights Restored
IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) – Iowa election officials have stopped using a long-flawed database of felons who are ineligible to vote as they rebuild it from scratch. Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate’s office removed the database,
which contained more than 100,000 entries, from the statewide voter registration system last week. Workers are recreating the list by reviewing each entry and adding back those that are verified felony convictions. They hope to complete the review before the November election. Pate spokesman Kevin Hall says newly registered voters, who must attest that they aren’t
felons, will be compared against only the verified entries to check their eligibility.
