Authorities Investigate Kingsley Woman’s Death
(Le Mars) — Plymouth County Sheriff’s Office is investigating what is being called a suspicious death of a 54-year old Kingsley woman. At around 11:38 a.m. Monday morning, the Communications Center received a 9-1-1 call regarding an unresponsive person located at 111 W 3rd Street in Kingsley.
Emergency personnel were immediately dispatched and found a dead woman. The woman’s body has been transported to Ankeny at the State of Iowa Medical Examiner’s office for an autopsy. At this time, the exact manner and cause of death are unknown. An acquaintance made the 9-1-1 call after discovering
the dead woman’s body. A search warrant was executed for the residence. The next of kin are being notified, and no additional information will be released until that is completed. The Plymouth County Sheriff’s Office was assisted by the Kingsley Ambulance staff.
Leusink Pleads Not Guilty To Charges
(Le Mars) — A former Plymouth County Sheriff’s Deputy has pleaded not guilty to theft charges dating back several years. Aaron Leusink entered the plea on Thursday on five counts of burglary, four counts of theft, unlawful possession of prescription drugs and felonious misconduct while in office which all stem from an investigation opened earlier this year into a number
of thefts reportedly taking place while he was employed by the county.
Leusink was relieved of duty in April after local officials became aware of possible criminal acts involving him which led to the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation getting involved. He was arrested last month and released on bond the next day. A trial date has not been established.
Sioux County Officials Identify Burnt Victim Found In Vehicle
(Orange City) — Sioux County authorities have identified the victim of the vehicle fire as 78-year old Rudolph Martinez of Hawarden. The Sioux County Sheriff’s office was able to determine that the victim most likely had a medical incident, which caused him to leave the roadway he was traveling on.
His vehicle then came to a stop in a cornfield, north of Ireton, which had been chopped. The field and ultimately the vehicle started on fire with the victim inside.
Sioux County Sheriff’s Office stated in the news release that they do not believe foul play is suspected.
Supervisors To Hear Report On Domestic Violence
(Le Mars) — Plymouth County Board of Supervisors will meet this morning at
the County Courthouse Board Room. The county governing board will meet with
Weed Commissioner, Matt Loutsch as they approve the annual report. Cathy VanMaanen from Safe Place, will discuss Domestic Violence Awareness Month and ask for a proclamation. County Recorder, Jolynn Goodchild will submit her quarterly report, and County Engineer Tom Rohe will submit a construction
permit from the Southern Sioux Rural Water Association for Preston Township.
Le Mars City Council To Discuss Police Department Residence Ordinance
(Le Mars) — Le Mars city council will hold a public hearing on the Cleveland Park Restroom Improvement Project beginning at noon today, as part of the city council meeting. The city council review a proposed ordinance with the city’s police department. At present time, it is merely a policy to have officers reside within a 15 minute response time from the police headquarters. The police department is wanting to implement an ordinance
dictating that officers reside with the stated radius of Le Mars.
Gehlen Catholic To Celebrate Homecoming Festivities
(Le Mars) — This week Gehlen Catholic will celebrate its Homecoming festivities. Amy Jungers serves as the Development Director for Gehlen and says all week long students will dress up in different attire to commemorate the occasion.
Of course, it has already been previously announced that the annual parade has been cancelled for this year, but Jungers says the school still plans to hold coronation ceremonies Friday afternoon.
Jungers lists the names of the Gehlen students who are competing for the title of Homecoming King and Queen.
The 7th through 12th grade students will participate in various fun activities Friday morning as part of the Homecoming celebration. Gehlen Catholic will take on South O’Brien Wolverines Friday evening with kick-off scheduled at 7:00 p.m. to be held at the Le Mars Community Stadium.
Plymouth County 4-H Celebrates National 4-H Week
(Le Mars) — This week is recognized as National 4-H Week and Ann Schroenrock, co-coordinator with Plymouth County Extension and Outreach serves as the 4-H Youth Director and oversees the many 4-H activities within Plymouth County. She says Plymouth County has consistently ranked among the
top counties in Iowa with its 4-H program.
Schoenrock says although COVID-19 prevented the Plymouth County Fair from occurring, she says local 4-H members were still able to have their projects judged this past summer through the “Gold and Clover Classic.” One of the focuses for celebrating this National 4-H Week is a fundraising activity to occur on Tuesday.
Schoenrock explains how people can donate to help support the local 4-H program.
Schoenrock says they have set a goal of raising at least $3,000.
Le Mars Fire Department Educates Students About Fire Safety
(Le Mars) — This week is also National Fire Prevention Week with the focus on kitchen fires, and the Le Mars Fire and Rescue Department will be busy all month long visiting with more than 1500 students distributing fire safety educational materials.
Schipper says members of the Le Mars Fire and Rescue Department will be visiting the various schools and day-care centers telling the students how to be safe around fires.
Dave Schipper, the fire chief for the Le Mars Fire and Rescue Department says Le Mars is fortunate to not have very many juvenile started fires, and he believes the education effort is one of the reasons.
With the emphasis placed on kitchen safety, Schipper says nationwide, nearly half of all home fires start in the kitchen area.
Reynolds Says Iowa’s Food Security Is In Better Shape Now
(Le Mars) — Food security became an issue for many Iowans when COVID-19 first struck the state as thousands of people were laid off from their jobs, food processing companies were at reduced production levels, livestock producers were not able to market their hogs and cattle and resulted in euthanizing of their herds, and the state’s food banks and food pantries ran short on food supplies, as they saw a big demand for food products. While in Le Mars on Friday, Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds addressed the food security concerns during the coronavirus pandemic. She says conditions at the meat processing facilities have greatly improved since April and May, mainly due to additional testing.
Reynolds says she and several other officials were concerned unless action was taken, so many large numbers of livestock would not be able to be processed for meat and food purposes.
Reynolds says part of the reason for the large numbers of COVID-19 spread throughout the meat processing facilities, and through the industry itself, was due to congregate living by many of the employees.
Reynolds shared her comments when visiting with KLEM news last Friday while making a stop in Le Mars.
Secretary Of State Issues Advice On Absentee Ballots
(Des Moines, IA) — Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate says voters should take their time, read the directions and make sure to sign the outer envelope used to send an absentee ballot back to the county auditor. He says if the auditor gets your ballot before October 31st, the auditor then has 24 hours to reach back out to you if there are any deficiencies. Pate also reminds you to use both envelopes for their absentee ballots. Pate says returned ballots that are not inside the second “secrecy” envelope are opened in the presence of a Republican and a Democrat, who will remove the ballot and place it into another envelope to create and give it that element of secrecy. The secretary of state’s office has had more than 50 researchers who specialize in election security review the electronic infrastructure Iowa uses for voting. That includes the state website where Iowans may track their absentee ballots.
Barge Traffic On The Missouri River Could Be Slow
(Kansas City, MO) — Barge traffic along the Missouri River this fall could be facing a slowdown as work is still underway to repair damage to the navigation channel after three years of high water and widespread flooding. U-S Army Corps of Engineers Kansas City district commander, Colonel Bill Hannan, says the river levels have returned to normal– but because of all the damage to navigation structures, it’s creating shallow spots in the navigation channel. Last year’s floods damaged up to 75-percent of the seven-thousand river training structures on the lower Missouri River. Repairs could cost 200-million dollars but the Corps of Engineers only allocated 20-million. Hannan the Corps is working hard to find more money to restore the river’s navigation channel.
ACLU Files Lawsuit On Behalf Of Protesters Banned From Statehouse
(Des Moines, IA) — The American Civil Liberties Union of Iowa has filed a lawsuit on behalf of a group of 17 protesters who have been banned from the statehouse. The members of Des Moines Black Lives Matter were involved in a felon voting rights demonstration in July when they were banned for six months, up to a year. Members had been arrested inside the statehouse on warrants connected to the damage done to a police vehicle. When they were taken outside, others tried to free them from custody. The suit filed by the A-C-L-U claims banning them from the statehouse violates their constitutional rights to free speech, free assembly, and the right to petition the government.
Corn And Soybean Harvest Continue On Speedy Pace
(Undated) — The U-S-D-A weekly report shows one-quarter of the Iowa corn crop has been harvested — which is more than three weeks ahead of last year and 12 days ahead of the five-year average. It is only the second time since 2000 that at least one-quarter of the corn was harvested by October 4th. The soybean harvest is now at 55 percent. This is the second time in the last 15 years that at least half of the soybean crop was harvested by October 4th. The report says farmers in south-central Iowa are way behind the average — with only 18 percent of the beans there in the bin.
