(Adaville) Merrill and Hinton fire departments were called to the unoccupied Adaville church parsonage around 8:30 Saturday morning. The Plymouth County Sheriff’s office received a report of smoke coming from vents in the church parsonage. The Merrill Fire Department was dispatched to the scene, and called for tanker support from the Hinton fire department. Hinton tankers were on the scene for about an hour, with Merrill firefighters returning to base after approximately two hours at the church. No further details are available. Adaville church parsonage is located about six-and-a-half miles west of Merrill on County road C-38. (It was previously incorrectly reported that the fire was in the church building.)
(LE MARS)–The 35th annual National Old-Time Country and Bluegrass Festival and Contest returns to Le Mars August 30th through September 5th.
Bob and Sheila Everhart and the Pioneer Ag Expo present the seven-day, 10 stage event at the Plymouth County Fairgrounds in Le Mars.
Music featured includes old-time country bluegrass, folk and ragtime, mountain music, traditional and American.
The celebration of America’s musical heritage features jam sessions, workshops, guest bands, a Tipi Village and six evening dances.
(CUSHING)–A pasture walk for area beef producers will feature a grazing specialist from Iowa State University.
The pasture walk June 23rd is at the Ludvigson Stock Farm pasture near Cushing and begins at six p-m with a light meal.
Topics will include rotational grazing of an alfalfa-grass mix on the contour, conservation techniques to prevent stream bank erosion, winter feed, managing paddocks and how to change grazing and movement by animals.
Registration through the Sioux County I-S-U Extension office is five dollars.
(LE MARS)–Young anglers can fish at the Le Mars Municipal Park Ponds during Ice Cream Days.
The Le Mars Sportsmans Club annual fishing derby is Saturday June 19 with registration at 5 p-m. Fishing is from 5:30-6:30 p.m.
The Sportsman Club event is open to kids 12 years old and younger.
Bait will be supplied by the Sportsmans. Largest fish prizes will be awarded for bass, bluegill, crappie, bullheads, catfish, perch and walleye.
Many prizes will be provided by the Sportsmans Club and sponsoring businesses.
(SIOUX CITY)–A Siouxland group will receive state funds to create jobs for artists and learning opportunities for children.
Lt. Governor Patty Judge announced nearly 300-thousand dollars in arts grants form the Iowa Arts Council.
The major grant funding includes the Sioux City Symphony Orchestra. The musical group will receive 95-hundred dollars to the Concert for Young Audiences Sixth Grade concert.
The October 21st performance is an educational outreach concert to provide students with exposure to symphonic music. The Symphony’s brass, woodwind and string ensembles will perform in all Sioux City elementary schools.
(SIOUX CITY)–Maintenance work on Interstate 29 is changing traffic patterns in the Little Sioux area.
According to the Iowa Department of Transportation’s Sioux City District office, the northbound ramps at exit 95, near Little Sioux, are closed to complete paving of the ramps and shoulders.
The project is expected to be completed by July first, weather permitting.
JOHNSTON, Iowa (AP) The National Weather Service says storms have created some flooding in Iowa.
Meteorologist Brad Fillbach says the Raccoon River in Des Moines has flooded at state Highway 28 and at Fleur Drive. He says there’s flooding just south of Des Moines too, on the North River in Norwalk.
There’s also flooding in southeast Iowa. Fillbach says the Cedar Creek in Bussey and the Des Moines River in Eddyville and Ottumwa also have flooded.
The storms forced the Des Moines Downtown Farmers Market to shut down on Saturday morning. Youth races at the Hy-Vee Triathlon in Des Moines also were canceled Saturday.
Fillbach says a storm that started about 5 a.m. Saturday dropped 1 to 3 inches of rain and caused the rivers to rise rapidly. Flood warnings remained in effect for parts of Iowa until Sunday.
WEST BRANCH, Iowa (AP) A pile of rubble has been left behind after part of a 103-year-old building collapsed in the downtown district of the city of West Branch in eastern Iowa.
The building collapse happened Friday evening. The building was constructed in 1907. It had once been the city’s post office and for decades was a gas station. The current owners are husband and wife John McNutt and Irene Lande. They were renovating the building to make a wine tasting room and event center.
McNutt says no one was in the building when the collapse happened. He says he doesn’t know what caused the collapse. No details were available from the Cedar County Sheriff’s office.
McNutt and Lande hoped to have the winery open in October. Now they say they’ll have to do an assessment on the building.
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) Iowa Gov. Chet Culver has appointed an associate judge in the state’s second judicial district to be a new district judge in Iowa’s 2B judicial district.
Culver’s office announced the appointment of Steven Oeth on Saturday. Oeth is a graduate of Drake University. He has served as Boone County attorney and worked in private practice. He was named to his current post as district associate judge in Iowa’s second judicial district in 1997.
Oeth replaces Iowa District Court Judge David Danilson, who was appointed to the Iowa Court of Appeals.
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) The artist best known for painting “American Gothic” is to be honored with a cultural district in downtown Cedar Rapids.
The Cedar Rapids Downtown District has announced the Iowa’s state historical society has certified the “Grant Wood Cultural District” and a dedication ceremony is set for July 12. Officials say the district is a walkable, mixed-use area that includes many cultural and historical facilities.
It includes the Cedar Rapids Museum of Art, as well as a theater and library.
Wood died in 1942 at age 50. He was born in Anamosa and spent his childhood there before moving to Cedar Rapids.
Wood founded the Stone City Art Colony to help artists through the Great Depression, and in 1934 became a professor of art at the University of Iowa.
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) Gov. Chet Culver tops the slate of big-name Democrats looking to energize state party activists at their convention.
U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota offered a feisty, populist keynote address Saturday in Des Moines. Sen. Tom Harkin isn’t running for re-election this fall, but he also spoke to his home state crowd.
Culver is running for re-election against a predecessor, Republican Terry Branstad. He says he’s not going to let Branstad pull the plug on progress in Iowa.
Des Moines attorney Roxanne Conlin is running against five-term U.S. Sen. Charles Grassley in November. She tells Iowa Democrats that she’s assembled a grassroots army for the fall campaign.
Iowa Republicans will hold their convention June 26.
WATERLOO, Iowa (AP) Iowans looking for a piece of Waterloo history can now buy it for 65 cents.
The city says red roadway bricks that were salvaged during the reconstruction of Rainbow Drive are up for sale. The sale was Saturday and will be again on June 19.
The Iowa City company Gavin Historical Bricks is selling the pieces in Waterloo for 65 cents apiece. The Waterloo City Council sold the company the bricks for a lump sum after city engineering staff said landscapers and others were asking if they bricks were for sale.
The bricks were salvaged over the last three years. They now sit in piles, mixed with dirt and other road materials.
(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
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