(LE MARS)–Very heavy rainfall and high winds moved through parts of Siouxland this morning.
The National Weather Service issued a flash flood warning until 6:30 this morning for Plymouth, Cherokee, Woodbury County southeastern Sioux County, southeastern Union County, and western O’Brien County. The KLEM rain gauge recorded 1.10 inches of rain as of 6 a-m.
Wind gusts of up to 35 miles an hour were reported at the Le Mars Airport at 3:15 during a severe thunderstorm. A severe thunderstorm warning was issued for parts of northwest Iowa, southeast South Dakota and northeast Nebraska due to the possibility of wind gusts of up to 70 miles an hour.
Shawn Olson of Plymouth County Emergency Management says heavy rain, but no hail was reported during the severe thunderstorm activity. A semi rolled over in South Dakota just across the border from Akron about three this morning. No one was injured.
The Akron Fire Department responded to a report of a tree on fire due to downed power lines on 277th Street, also about three this morning. There were also reports of trees downing power lines along county road C-16, east of Akron and north of Brunsville.
MidAmerican Energy had about four-thousand customers without power during the storm. About half of the outages were in Sioux City.
(LE MARS)–More than 40 years of service by a city of Le Mars department head will be recognized by the city of Le Mars.
The city is hosting a Le Mars Area Chamber of Commerce “After 5 Retirement Reception” for Fire Chief Wayne Schipper on Thursday, June 24th.
Schipper is retiring June 30th after serving on the Le Mars Fire Department for 43 years.
The 5 p-m retirement reception is at the city of Le Mars golf course banquet hall, 935 Park Lane.
The reception is open to the public.
(DES MOINES)–Two northwest Iowa communities are making a splash with new pool plans.
The 50-year-old pool will be replaced in George with a one-million dollar project hat includes a drop slide, zero depth entry and diving board. The pool will be 52-hundred square feet. Project funds include 100-thousand dollars from the Community Attraction and Tourism (CAT) fund.
Sanborn will build a new aquatic center with five swimming lanes, a zero-depth entry, a bathhouse, water slides , and diving tower. The two-point-one-million dollar project has been awarded 100-thousand dollars in Community Attraction and Tourism (CAT) funds.
The Vision Iowa Board approved the CAT grant funds during a meeting Wednesday in Grinnell. Both George and Sanborn need to complete fund raising to receive the state money.
SIOUX CITY—EVERY VOTE COUNTS, ESPECIALLY IN THE RACE FOR THE IOWA DISTRICT TWO REPUBLICAN NOMINEE FOR STATE REPRESENTATIVE.
WOODBURY COUNTY AUDITOR AND COMMISSIONER OF ELECTIONS PAT GILL SAYS THAT RACE BETWEEN CATE BRYAN AND RYAN BEARDSHEAR IS A DIFFERENCE OF 16 VOTES.
A PROVISIONAL BALLOT HEARING WAS HELD THURSDAY AFTERNOON TO REVIEW ELEVEN BALLOTS, TEN WERE ACCEPTED AND COUNTED.
Listen to
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ACCORDING TO GILL, THE WINNER WILL NOT BE OFFICIAL UNTIL AFTER-ELECTION ABSENTEE BALLOTS ARE COUNTED MONDAY AND THE RESULTS ARE CERTIFIED WITH THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS TUESDAY. (NEWS REPORT BY JOSIE COOPER, KSCJ NEWS, POWELL BROADCASTING)
WASHINGTON (AP) Two Democratic congressmen from the Midwest want President Obama and Admiral Thad Allen to order a full evaluation of the impact of the BP oil spill on Mississippi River shipping lanes.
U.S. Reps. Bruce Braley of Iowa and Phil Hare of Illinois sent a letter to Obama and Allen on Thursday urging such an evaluation.
Braley and Hare say the oil is drifting closer to the Southwest Passage, which is a critical shipping lane for farmers who rely on barge traffic to ship their crops overseas. They say they are concerned about the effect a slowdown in Mississippi River traffic could have on prices.
The two congressmen noted that a sharp decline in the prices of agricultural commodities came after Hurricane Katrina in 2005 because of a traffic slowdown on the Mississippi.
WEBSTER CITY, Iowa (AP) A Hamilton County jury has found 15-year-old Edgar Concepcion Jr. guilty of first-degree murder in the death of his 3-year-old cousin, Krystel Banes.
In its verdict late Thursday afternoon, the jury also found the Charles City youth guilty of one count of sexual abuse in the first degree, one count of sexual abuse in the second degree and one count of child endangerment resulting in bodily injury.
The jury received the case Wednesday afternoon, but deliberated only a few minutes before adjourning until Thursday.
Concepcion’s sentencing is set for July 19 in Floyd County District Court in Charles City. He will be held at the Central Iowa Detention Center in Eldora until sentencing.
DAVENPORT, Iowa (AP) A federal judge in Davenport has sentenced a former Van Buren County man to more than 16 years in prison on drug and explosives charges.
At the sentencing hearing Thursday, U.S. District Court Judge John Jarvey ordered 31-year-old Jerry Lee Schlarbaum to serve 150 months in prison for the possession of a pipe bomb and 50 months on methamphetamine conspiracy and manufacturing charges. Jarvey said the former Stockton resident must serve the sentences consecutively.
After his prison term, Schlarbaum will have to serve eight years on supervised release.
Police stopped Schlarbaum in Henry County in March of 2008 for allegedly driving without a valid license. They say a search of his vehicle turned up materials used in methamphetamine manufacture, as well as methamphetamine itself, plus the pipe bomb.
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) A 21-year-old Cedar Rapids man has pleaded guilty to a student loan scheme involving the recruitment of fake students to enroll at Kirkwood Community College.
Authorities say Cory Bailey pleaded guilty Thursday in U.S. District Court to one count of mail fraud.
According to information in the plea agreement, Bailey recruited potential fake students to sign up for classes at Kirkwood Community College in 2007, so he and two others involved in the scheme could access their information to apply for financial aid.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Bob Tieg says the other two men listed only by their initials in the criminal information haven’t been indicted or charged.
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) The Iowa Attorney General’s office says new criminal charges have been filed in the Iowa Film Office case.
The attorney general’s office said Thursday the new complaint was filed last week in Polk County District Court. It contains additional charges against defendants named in February, including Wendy Weiner Runge and Matthias Alexander Saunders. The new complaint also contains charges naming Zachary LeBeau, a Minnesota resident and filmmaker.
The complaint contains one count of ongoing criminal conduct against LeBeau, and 11 counts of fraudulent practice in the first degree against Runge, Saunders, and LeBeau.
LeBeau surrendered Thursday at the Polk County Jail and was released on $10,000 bond. There was no change in arrest status for Weiner Runge and Saunders, who have pleaded not guilty and are free on bail bond.
IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) State officials have announced more than $1 million in federal grant money to three colleges in Iowa.
The University of Iowa will get more than $700,000 in grant money from the Department of Health and Human Services for research on oral diseases and disorders.
The Department of Education has awarded two grants.
Loras College will receive $200,000 and for educational science equipment and Iowa Valley Community College will get $165,000 for equipment designed to improve health occupation programs.
Sen. Chuck Grassley announced the awards on Thursday.
Federal officials say thousands of Iowa organizations, colleges and state agencies apply for federal grants each year.
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) It’s been known for more than two decades as “The Other White Meat.” But the pork industry thinks it’s time the meat got a new slogan.
The National Pork Board plans to replace its iconic slogan after 23 years. Officials hope a new tagline can help improve sales that have been flat for decades.
Ceci Snyder is the Des Moines, Iowa-based board’s vice president of marketing. She says the current slogan is well-known but its meaning seems to be lost on most people. The slogan was developed in 1987 to tout pork’s nutritional value and versatility.
Snyder said the board won’t completely drop “The Other White Meat” as a marketing tool but will come up with a new slogan as part of a branding campaign being launched next spring.
BURLINGTON, Iowa (AP) The Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway Co. says it plans to replace seven approach spans on its Mississippi River bridge at Burlington.
The railroad announced Thursday in Fort Worth, Texas, that the work will begin later this month.
The construction of the new approaches will supplement a separate construction project that began last year to replace the bridge’s old swing span with a new lift span over the river’s navigation channel.
The new approaches will use new reinforced concrete foundations with 250-foot steel bridge spans.
The bridge is on the railroad’s main Chicago-to-Denver corridor and links Burlington with Gulfport, Ill.
(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
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