Life Skills To Hold Cow Pie Bossy Bingo
(Le Mars) –– Earlier this week, we discussed the Life Skills Training Center annual quilt auction, which this year, because there isn’t a county fair due to the coronavirus pandemic, the auction is being held on-line. But the quilt auction is only one fund raiser for the Life Skills. Another annual event is the cow pie bossy bingo, which will be held this year. Shelly Thomson says as in the past, the bossy bingo will be held on Sunday.
If you are interested in viewing the cow bingo, Thomson says there is plenty of room for social distancing.
During the last few years, it wasn’t long after the cow was introduced to the marked area that the cow did her business, and the contest was quickly over.
The Life Skills official says tickets are available at many Plymouth County banks.
Tickets for your chance for a parcel of land are available for five dollars.
Dreckman Creates Another Quilt For Fair Auction
(Le Mars) — For the last 18 years, Geri Dreckman of Le Mars has been creating quilts to be exhibited at the Plymouth County Fair, and then following the fair, she donates the quilt to be sold at the Sunday auction as a way to help raise money for the fair. This year is no different. Dreckman has again created a beautiful quilt that will be up for auction by means of the on-line auction from Brock Auction Company. Dreckman says she loves making quilts and that is the reason why year after year she continues to submit a different quilt for exhibition.
Dreckman tells how long it takes to create and sew the quilts.
Dreckman explains this year’s featured quilt is a large queen-size quilt measuring 95 inches by 100 inches
To look at the quilt, there is a diagonal pattern featuring many earth-tone colors.
Although Dreckman did not spend as many hours creating and sewing this quilt, as some of the past, never-the-less, she says it was difficult to create.
Dreckman says she usually gets started on the next year’s fair quilt shortly after the fair has ended.
People can view Geri Dreckman’s quilt by going to the Brock Company website. The on-line auction ends at 4:00 p.m. on Sunday, August 2nd.
Mitchell Promoted To Rank Of Captain With Le Mars Fire And Rescue
(Le Mars) — Le Mars Fire Chief Dave Schipper has announced the promotion of Ethan Mitchell. Mitchell is now given the rank of captain. Previously, he was a Lieutenant with the Le Mars Fire and Rescue Department. Mitchell has been a member of the Le Mars Fire and Rescue Department for 12 years. Prior to that he was a member of the Sanborn Fire Department. Mitchell is a nationally certified Fire Fighter I and Fire Fighter II and is also certified as a hazzard materials technician as well as serves as an Emergency Medical Technician. The promotion became official on July 29th.
Governor Issues New School Guidelines
(Des Moines, IA) — Governor Kim Reynolds says Iowa school districts given permission to conduct classes online due to high COVID case counts may do so for only 14 days. Districts then have to get state permission to extend the online learning time. Reynolds says online learning is an essential component of teaching kids — but says it can’t make up for the critical role schools play in the development of social and emotional skills. The governor says online learning also may exacerbate the achievement gap for underprivileged students who don’t have access to high-speed internet or the devices necessary to do their schoolwork. The president of the Iowa State Education Association says the governor’s back-to-school guidelines show she has “an outlandish notion” of when it’s safe to reopen schools.
Iowa State Education Association Opposes Reynolds’ Return to Learn Plan
(Des Moines, IA) — The Iowa State Education Association opposes the guidelines in Governor Kim Reynolds’ new return to learn plan. Under the guidance, schools won’t be able to move to full-time distance learning unless positive COVID test rates top 20 percent and ten percent of students are absent due to illness. I-S-E-A President Mike Beranek said, “we are not just talking about numbers as we look at this decision. We are talking about children’s lives and the lives of the educators, school employees and the families who are affected.” He says the health experts and scientists tell us “that counties with extensive testing should be at a positivity rate of five percent or lower before it’s safe to reopen schools.”
Collins Aerospace Laying Off Employees Due to COVID Pandemic
(Cedar Rapids, IA) — Collins Aerospace says it will have to lay off employees in Cedar Rapids due to the pandemic. Officials said the company “continues to experience and forecast reduced business due to COVID-19. While we were hopeful the previous cost-cutting steps to align our business with lower levels of commercial demand would be enough – they simply were not.” Workers impacted will be receiving a separation payment, transition payment, and continuation of benefits. Services will also be available to support those employees through the transition. Collins Aerospace did not release the specific number of layoffs.
Drought Conditions Expand
(Undated) — The new report from the U-S Drought Monitor has portions of 16 counties in western and west-central Iowa suffering from severe drought conditions. That is up from 11 counties last week. Parts of western Iowa are several inches of rainfall below their average for the month of July. Nearly two-thirds of the state is now considered abnormally dry.
Council Bluffs Man Going To Prison On Porn Charges
(Council Bluffs, IA) — A Council Bluffs man will spend 40 years in federal prison on child pornography charges. Twenty-nine-year-old Michael Brandstrom was sentenced to consecutive sentences of 360 months in prison for production of child pornography and 120 months for possession of child pornography. The federal sentence will be served at the same time as his prison sentence in Pottawattamie County State Court for third-degree kidnapping and lascivious acts with a child. He was arrested after an investigation by police into a missing four-year-old child at an apartment in Council Bluffs in September of 2019.
Iowa Football Coach Responds To Report On Racial Bias
(Iowa City, IA) — A report from a Kansas City law firm says the foundation of discipline in the Iowa football program allowed some coaches the bully and demean athletes and many black players felt targeted. Forty-five current and 29 former players were interviewed following allegations of racial bias in the program. Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz says he has learned over the past month that the Iowa program was not as healthy as he thought it was. He says they are focused on creating a more inclusive culture for everybody. Ferentz says while they are implementing changes to make the program more inclusive it will still be based on discipline and toughness.
