(LE MARS)–Plymouth County residents can help guide the work of the Iowa State University Extension Service.
Regional Extension Education Director Sherry McGill says there are five Plymouth County Extension Council openings to be filled by voters November 2nd.
McGill explains Extension Council members are volunteers who help set programming and policy.
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According to McGill, four committee members: Dr. Les Hemmingson, Joe Kessenich, and Kay Michaelson, all of Le Mars, and Val Sitzmann of Hinton are serving on a committee to nominate candidates before August 2nd.
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Candidates nominated need support from 25 voters by August 25th to be on the ballot.
(LE MARS)–Thoughts of thanks, respect, and a change of the chief’s coat and helmet were exchanged at a reception for retiring Le Mars Fire Chief Wayne Schipper Thursday afternoon.
Schipper is retiring after 27 years as chief, being the city’s first fulltime chief and 43 years as a fire fighter.
Le Mars Mayor Dick Kirchoff said it was evident that Schipper has had a deep love and passion for the fire service industry and the community’s citizens and businesses as well as fire departments of the area.
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There was also applause for Schipper’s wife, Marlene, as city administrator Scott Langel noted the demands of being a working fire chief.
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Police Chief Stuart Dekkenga presented a plaque of appreciation from the city’s law enforcement.
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Le Mars E-M-S Director Bill Rosacker thanked Schipper for his dedication and the dedication Schipper has instilled in fire fighters who area also emergency responders.
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Schipper thanked the community, including citizens and businesses, city staff, city council, law enforcement and his family.
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The city hosted the Le Mars Area Chamber of Commerce “After 5” to honor Schipper. David Schipper of Spencer is the city’s new fire chief. He is the son of the retiring chief.
(LE MARS)–The surface on a new street serving a growing industrial area in southwest Le Mars is nearly open to traffic.
City administrator Scott Langel explains the main line paving of Blue Diamond Drive is complete.
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Langel expects Blue Diamond Drive to be open in one week, weather permitting. The same is true of the Third Avenue Southeast white-topping project south of the Plymouth County Courthouse. Langel says the mainline as well as driveways and sidewalk approaches are in for the Third Avenue Southeast project.
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Langel says Barkley Asphalt will do the asphalt work along the parking, adjacent to the Courthouse, and also the asphalt tapers needed on Third Street South. Barkley could be on the job June 25th
(SIOUX CITY)–A Cherokee man will spend five years in prison for a child pornography conviction in federal court in Sioux City.
According to information from the U-S Attorney’s office, 57-year-old Lucian Siepka pleaded guilty to transportation of child pornography.
During the plea-taking, Siepka told a judge he posted images of child pornography on an Internet website, downloaded, and saved images of child pornography on his computer.
He was sentenced to 60 months in prison, fined $100 and was ordered to be on five years of supervised release after the prison term.
(HINTON)–A Rolfe man was injured in a one-vehicle accident east of Hinton Wednesday afternoon.
According to the Iowa State Patrol, 27-year-old Travis Shimon of Rolfe was driving a semi east on Plymouth County Road C-60, just east of Kestrel Avenue. Shimon told authorities he became distracted looking at the crops and the right tires dropped off the road and the semi went into the ditch.
Shimon was taken to Mercy Medical Center by Hinton Fire-Rescue to be treated for non-incapacitating injuries.
The Patrol was assisted by Hinton Police and the Plymouth County Sheriff’s Departments.
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DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) Gov. Chet Culver says the Microsoft Corporation plans to move forward with the construction of a modular data center in West Des Moines.
Culver said Thursday that the $100 million facility is expected to be up and running by next spring.
The Iowa Economic Development Board approved an award to Microsoft that will prove tax benefits from the High Quality Jobs program for the creation of 25 jobs. Microsoft says those jobs will pay an average wage plus benefits of $31.04 per hour.
Culver says the technologically advanced facility will significantly reduce water, power and carbon wastes associated with traditional datacenter facilities. He says it will also enable a more efficient and higher utilization of computing capacity and productivity.
ANKENY, Iowa (AP) Former Republican Gov. Terry Branstad, who’s seeking a return to office, has named state Sen. Kim Reynolds as his running mate.
The 50-year-old Reynolds is a first-term lawmaker from Osceola and a former four-term Clarke County treasurer.
Branstad announced Reynolds as his choice for lieutenant governor on Thursday. They planned a series of news conferences in six cities, beginning in Ankeny.
The Iowa Republican State Convention, which is on Saturday, must ratify Reynolds, but little opposition is expected.
Reynolds meets one of Branstad’s key priorities in a running mate by not bringing a long history of issue positions to the race.
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) Gov. Chet Culver has added Franklin County to a disaster emergency proclamation because of severe weather.
He added the county on Thursday after powerful storms hit northern Iowa with heavy rain that caused flash flooding and produced several tornadoes. Hancock and Wright were added on Wednesday.
The proclamation will allow the counties to use state resources to deal with the aftermath of the storms.
Six counties are now on the list, which also includes Ringgold, Union and Taylor in southern Iowa.
Grants are available assist eligible county residents. More information is available on the state’s Department of Human Services’ website.
WATERLOO, Iowa (AP) Waterloo police are asking for the public’s help in solving an early morning shooting that resulted in the death of one man and the wounding of another.
Authorities say 58-year-old John Marvin Parham Jr. died Thursday in Allen Hospital after someone on foot opened fire at him and 27-year-old Terence Terril Dixon while they were in front of Parham’s home.
Captain Tim Pillack says Parham was hit a number of times in the torso. Dixon fled the scene after the shooting and was found about two blocks away with gunshot wounds to his left arm and abdomen. The gunman fled the area before police arrived.
Dixon was being treated at Covenant Medical Center
Pillack says investigators believe the attacker used a handgun, and officers found a number of spent shell casings in the area.
WATERLOO, Iowa (AP) Police in Waterloo say they have arrested a 14-year-old and her mother for allegedly stabbing a woman and driving at her with a car last month.
Officers say the 14-year-old stabbed 18-year-old Tiara Mayes after a quarrel on May 27. They say the girl then got in her mother’s car, and her mother allegedly drove onto the sidewalk toward Mayes.
Court records indicate that Mayes was next to her 4-month-old son, who was in a stroller.
The car missed Mayes but struck another person.
The 14-year-old was arrested Wednesday for willful injury and going armed with intent.
Her mother, 34-year-old Angela Latonya Harris, was arrested for aggravated assault.
Authorities did not know Thursday whether either of them had an attorney.
ALTOONA, Iowa (AP) Police in Altoona say they have arrested a man in connection with the shooting of an English Bulldog last weekend.
Officers say 49-year-old Bernard Lear of Altoona was arrested late Wednesday night and was being held on $6,300 bond for charges of felon in possession of a weapon, animal abuse and a warrant for failure to pay child support.
Police found the dog severely injured in a wooded area on Saturday evening and said it had to be euthanized because of its injuries.
Polk County Sheriff’s Deputy Jana Rooker said the dog had been staying with a family member of Lear’s in Des Moines.
WASHINGTON (AP) U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley says the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration has awarded a $1.5 million grant to Ottumwa.
The Iowa Republican said Thursday that the city will use the funds to construct additional infrastructure at the Ottumwa Industrial Airport. Grassley said this will help retain existing jobs, expand businesses, prepare for construction of a new job training facility at the airport, and encourage private investment and job creation.
The Economic Development Administration serves as a venture capital resource to meet the economic development needs of distressed communities throughout the United States.
WASHINGTON (AP) U.S. Rep. Bruce Braley says the city of Dubuque is receiving a $1.3 million grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development for stimulating the local housing market.
The Iowa Democrat says the grant invests in Dubuque’s economic future at a time when Iowa is continuing to recover from the economic downturn.
The Community Development Block grant program is sponsored by HUD and aims to develop housing and expand economic opportunities specifically for low to moderate-income workers.
WATERLOO, Iowa (AP) Members of the Waterloo City Council are taking heat for voting to hire an out-of-state architect for the city’s new public works complex.
The council voted 5-2 Monday to hire Kueny Architects of Pleasant Prairie, Wis., to begin the design phase for the complex, financed by a $5 million I-JOBS grant.
Councilmen Quentin Hart voted in favor of Iowa-based architects. Hart says the I-JOBS program was designed to boost Iowa employment.
Central Garage Superintendent Mark Rice says Kueny Architects was chosen by a selection committee that reviewed seven proposals two from Iowa firms. He says Kueny met the requirements the committee was looking for.
Rice said the grant should still generate jobs, pointing out that when construction begins, the work would be performed by people from the local work force.
(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
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