(Le Mars) The Plymouth County Board of Supervisors delayed action on a contract approval with Plymouth County and Jackson Recovery Center.
Jackson Recovery offers inpatient services at a facility on the grounds of the Cherokee Mental Health Institute.
Sharon Nieman is a Plymouth County employee who coordinates mental health-related services paid by the county. Nieman had a number of questions on cost increases in the contract which includes a cost-per-day increase.
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Plymouth County Attorney Darin Raymond also had questions on insurance.
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Nieman told the board she would bring their contract concerns to Jackson Recovery and report back to the board. The meeting with Nieman and a staff member from Jackson will be June 2. (News report by Dave Ruden)
(DES MOINES)–Historical sites in northwest Iowa are open for summer travelers and tourists.
The Abbie Gardner Sharp Cabin in Arnold’s Park is the site where the 13-year-old witnessed one of the few violent conflicts between European-American settlers and American Indians in Iowa. The cabin has been restored to resemble its approximate 1856 appearance.
The area is open Memorial Day to Labor Day from noon to 4 p-m daily.
The Blood Run National HIstoric Landmark in Lyon County is along the Big Sioux River and Blood Run Creek. Surveys have identified burial mounds and village sites. The area was occupied from 900 A-D to about 1720 A-D by the Oneota culture and later the Prairie Sioux.
Public access for self-guided tours is available year-round.
SOUTH SIOUX CITY, Neb. (AP) A Canadian company says it’s buying a Missouri-based grain processor that has a plant in Siouxland.
Viterra Inc. of Calgary says it’s paying $90.5 million in U.S. cash to acquire 21st Century Grain Processing, which is based in Kansas City, Mo.
21st Century has an oat mill in South Sioux City, Neb., and a wheat mill near Amarillo, Texas.
Viterra spokesman Karl Gerrand said in a news release Thursday that 21st Century “aligns well with the business’s processing segment.”
21st Century Chief Executive Lynn Rundle says the sale positions his company to continue its growth and long-term success.
The sale faces regulatory approval.
Publicly traded Viterra also has operations in Australia and New Zealand.
(News report by Associated Press. Copyright 2010. All rights reserved)
(CHEROKEE)–Highway 18 in O’Brien County will have lane closures starting June 10, weather permitting.
According to the Iowa Department of Transportation’s Cherokee office, traffic on Highway 18, at O’Brien County Road M-22, west of the Everly area, will be assisted through the work area by flaggers and a pilot car.
The escort will be in place when the roadway is closed on the westbound lane of Highway 18. The roadway will be open to normal traffic patterns when workers are not on the highway.
The project is expected to be completed by early July, weather permitting.
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CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) Weeds may be growing taller in some flooded-out neighborhoods in Cedar Rapids.
The city is taking over mowing duties this summer for buyout properties already purchased and for homes in the greenway or potential flood construction zones.
The upkeep will be limited, with only one pass with a large mower every four to six weeks. Weeds may grow a foot or more by the time the mower returns.
City Public Works Maintenance Supervisor Craig Hanson calls it a “roadside maintenance level.” That means a rough cut, not a close and careful trim.
Right now, the city is mowing 85 buyout homes. That number will grow into the hundreds as the process continues.
Flood waters submerged about 10 square miles of the city in June 2008 and more than 18,000 people were affected.
FORT DODGE, Iowa (AP) A teacher at a Catholic school in Fort Dodge has been fired after saying in a Facebook survey she did not believe in God.
Administrators of St. Edmond Catholic School fired 27-year-old Abby Nurre late last year, just months after she was hired as an eighth-grade math teacher.
The Des Moines Register reports that in August, she responded “No” to a Facebook members’ poll in which she was asked whether she believed in God, miracles or heaven. In November, Nurre posted a comment to the online discussion forum Atheist Nexus.
Nurre was fired in December. In her defense in January, she told the school board teachers are taxpayers who are entitled to think. She later said she is not an atheist, and that opinions on such things constantly change.
PLEASANT HILL, Iowa (AP) Fire has destroyed a wood chip business in Pleasant Hill near Des Moines.
The fire at Hawkeye Woodshavings broke out Thursday night, destroying a warehouse, several vehicles and industrial equipment. No one was hurt.
Fire departments from several surrounding communities were called in to help. Thick, black smoke could be seen about 20 miles away in West Des Moines.
The company sells sawdust and wood shavings for such uses as dairy beddings and mulch for playgrounds.
A damage estimates was not immediately available. The cause of the fire is under investigation.
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) Officials from Des Moines’ Russian sister city are expected to visit next week.
Officials from Stavropol, Russia, plan to be in Des Moines from May 30 through June 5.
During their visit, the officials will tour the city’s wastewater treatment plant; its water works; an elementary school; Anderson Erickson Dairy, Mercy Medical Center; and the Iowa Department of Natural Resources.
The officials also will attend dinners hosted by Mayor Frank Cownie and Drake University President Dr. David Maxwell.
Matt Rosen, chairman of the Greater Des Moines Sister City Commission, says the delegation’s visit is an important part of the commission’s three-year plan to build business, cultural and education ties between the two cities.
HAMPTON, Iowa (AP) Seniors at Hampton-Dumont High School have left their mark nearly 14,000 water-filled plastic cups in the cafeteria.
Custodian Terry Buss discovered the prank Monday morning.
The cups were neatly arranged. In the middle were chairs placed to read “2010,” a note and $50.
Buss says the note thanked the custodians for their hard work, while the money was for the clean up, which took three hours.
Principal Trent Grundmeyer says he got a chuckle out of the prank, but then became concerned about how the students got into the building.
Fifteen students fessed up later in the day.
The prank didn’t go unpunished. The school filed a police report, and the seniors must complete at least three hours of community service.
(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
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