Home News KLEM News PM Update June 2, 2010

KLEM News PM Update June 2, 2010

(Le Mars)–Action was delayed on a courthouse window replacement contract with Lamperts in Le Mars and H&H Builders of Kingsley at Tuesday’s Board of Supervisors meeting. County Attorney Darin Raymond wants to be clear on a payment schedule.

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Raymond also wanted one more check on the window count to make sure it is accurate. The historic building has 112 windows.

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Raymond said after the final details have been worked out, the board chairman could sign-off on the project.

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At the May 4th Supervisors meeting, the board approved a contract with H&H Builders for $37,200 and a purchase of triple pane Eagle windows by Anderson from Lamperts of Le Mars for $129,470. Supervisor Mark Loutsch abstained from the vote. (News report by Dave Ruden)

(LE MARS)–No one was injured in a fire started by a child playing with matches in a home in Le Mars last night.

Le Mars Fire Chief Wayne Schipper says the fire call to the Amy Squibb residence, 110 4th Ave Southeast, involved a small area of the bed and floor.

Squibb and her children were home at ten last night when one of the children reported the fire in the bedroom.

Fire fighters removed smoke from the one-and-a-half story home and the family was able to stay in the home.

(DENISON)–Authorities aren’t saying how many weapons were stolen when a western Iowa gun shop was burglarized over the Memorial Day weekend. Crawford County Sheriff Jim Steinkuehler says Pete’s Gun Shop in Vail was broken into sometime during the holiday.

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(As above) Sheriff Steinkuehler says the person, or persons, got in through a vent at the back of the building and took “several handguns and rifles.” He says they’re asking for the public’s help in solving the case.

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(As above) A reward of $4,000 is being offered, which includes money from both the U-S Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives in Kansas City and the Crawford County Sheriff’s Office. Anyone with any information is asked to contact the ATF’s tip line at 1-800-ATF-GUNS, the Crawford County Sheriff’s Office at (712) 263-2146, or the Crawford County CrimeStoppers at (712) 263-4050. Callers can remain anonymous. (NEWS REPORT FROM RADIO IOWA)

PIERRE, S.D. (AP) A federal appeals court has rejected the Yankton Sioux Tribe’s attempt to prevent the transfer of two federal recreation areas along the Missouri River to the state of South Dakota.

The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Wednesday upheld a federal judge’s ruling that had allowed the transfer of the North Point Recreation Area just above Fort Randall Dam and the nearby White Swan Lakeside Use Area, which also is located on Lake Francis Case.

The appeals court says the land in the recreation areas is not within the boundaries of the Yankton Sioux Tribe’s reservation. That means the land could be included in an extensive transfer of U.S. Army Corps of Engineers land along the Missouri River to the state.

(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

NORFOLK, Neb. (AP) The murder case against a man suspected in a Norfolk slaying will be tried along with a related assault case.

An Aug. 10 trial date has been set in both cases against 31-year-old Leodan Alarcon-Chavez.

Alarcon-Chavez faces several charges in the December assault and March stabbing death of 30-year-old Maria Villareal.

He’s charged in Madison County District Court with first-degree murder, witness tampering, violating a protection order and use of a deadly weapon to commit a felony in the slaying in the killing. He faces charges of terroristic threats and use of a deadly weapon to commit a felony in the assault.

Alarcon-Chavez has pleaded not guilty to all charges.

He could face life in prison without parole if convicted of first-degree murder.

(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

WATERLOO, Iowa (AP) Closing arguments are scheduled in the trial of former Agriprocessors slaughterhouse manager Sholom Rubashkin, who is charged with dozens of child labor law violations.

The final arguments are expected to take much of the day Wednesday.

Rubashkin faces 67 misdemeanor child labor counts that allege he allowed minors to work too long and around dangerous chemicals and machinery. On Tuesday, Black Hawk County Judge Nathan Callahan tossed out 16 charges because five minors listed in a complaint failed to testify.

Rubashkin is awaiting sentencing on separate federal financial fraud convictions.

Agriprocessors was the site of a May 2008 raid in which 389 workers were arrested on immigration charges.

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) Nearly two years after a devastating flood, the Cedar Rapids City Council has voted to return to its home in the historic Veterans Memorial Building on May’s Island.

The council voted 7-1 Tuesday night to again hold regular meetings in the building, which has remained empty since being damaged in the June 2008 flooding of the Cedar River.

Some on the council expressed interest in meeting in a third-floor courtroom in the former federal courthouse that will become a city building. But others said it’s unclear whether that space would work and opted to return to the Veterans Memorial Building while leaving open the possibility of another move in the future.

The Veterans Memorial Building’s restoration is being financed with state and federal money.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) The deadline for requesting an absentee ballot for the June 8 primary election is Friday.

Iowa Secretary of State Michael Mauro says in a news release issued Tuesday that a mailed absentee ballot must be requested by 5 p.m. Friday and absentee ballots returned by mail must be postmarked by Monday June 7.

Mauro says absentee ballots returned by hand can be turned into a county auditor’s office until polls close at 9 p.m. on Primary Day.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) The City Council in Iowa City has approved tough limits on panhandling after years of complaints by downtown business owners.

The council voted for the plan Tuesday night. It bans people from asking for money within 10 feet of a building, 15 feet of a crosswalk and 20 feet of an ATM.

The law is intended to limit panhandling to a small strip of land in the city’s pedestrian mall. It’s in response to business owners and others who have complained panhandlers scare off customers.

The ordinance takes effect June 9. Police could fine violaters $65.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) Des Moines firefighters called to extinguish an early morning house fire have found the body of a woman in an upstairs bedroom.

The fire was reported in the northwest Des Moines home just before 5 a.m. Wednesday.

Firefighters found the fire largely contained to the kitchen. It took them about 10 minutes to knock down flames, then when they entered the home they found the body of a woman believed to be in her 50s.

No one else was in the home.

Fire investigators were trying to determine the cause of the fire Wednesday.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) A Des Moines police officer who pleaded guilty last month after allegedly making sexual advances against a woman in his squad car has been sentenced to one year of probation and counseling.

Polk County District Chief Judge Arthur Gamble sentenced 35-year-old Maynard Richardson on Tuesday as part of a plea agreement.

Gamble denied Richardson’s request for a deferred judgment, which could have removed the conviction from his record.

Des Moines police fired Richardson after allegations that he groped a 22-year-old woman in the back of his squad car. She had been stopped on suspicion of drunken driving.

Richardson pleaded guilty to nonfelonious misconduct in office and false imprisonment.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) The Des Moines Main Post Office will be officially designated the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans Memorial Post Office Building.

The building on Second Avenue will be renamed Thursday morning, with local Postal Service officials joining U.S. Rep. Leonard Boswell.

Boswell, a 20-year-military veteran, introduced a bill to rename the building to honor veterans of the wars. It was approved by Congress and was signed into law last fall by President Barack Obama.

URBANDALE, Iowa (AP) The Fourth of July may be more than a month away but police in Urbandale are giving early notice of their new zero-tolerance policy for illegal fireworks.

Urbandale police say the tougher position is in response to complaints about a lack of enforcement last year.

Police say they will respond to complaints and violators will be cited. Parents of children under 14 will be cited if their child is found to be in violation of the city ordinance.

Violating the ordinance is a simple misdemeanor.

NEW YORK (AP) Canadian convenience store operator Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc. is taking its $36-per-share cash offer for Casey’s General Stores Inc. directly to shareholders in a tender offer after Casey’s rejected its bid.

The offer is a nearly 1 percent discount to Casey’s closing price on Friday. But it is a 14 percent premium to the stock price before Alimentation Couche-Tard made its initial offer.

Couche-Tard also says it plans to nominate candidates for Casey’s board.

Casey’s said in April the bid undervalues the Ankeny, Iowa, company, which operates more than 3,500 stores nationwide.

The total bid is worth $1.87 billion, excluding about $29 million in Casey’s debt.

The offer expires July 9.

(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

Submit your news release, confidential news tip or news idea by email klemnews@lemarscomm.net, by calling 712.546.4121 or 712.546.9672 fax.