Up to 800 John Morrell workers could benefit from Labor Grant
(Sioux City)–The U-S Department of Labor has awarded Iowa six-point-two million dollars in a grant to help around 800 workers who lost their jobs with the closing of the John Morrell meatpacking plant in Sioux City. Jane Oates is the assistant secretary for employment and training at the Labor Department.
Oates says the workers that are interested can come and take part in assisted job search, where they sit down and get one-to-one attention to match the skills they had a John Morrell with a new job. Oates says the workers can also go back to school and get training for a different career.
She says Iowa Workforce Development has told federal officials there are possible future jobs in wind energy or food processing with other employers. Oates says some workers will need more help than others and there is no way to determine how much of the money might be spent on each of the workers.
“We don’t set those limits here, we allow the local workforce professionals to look at the aspirations and the skills of each of the displaced workers, each of the people who have lost their job,” Oates says, “I mean clearly, some people may need a little bit of help to move on to the next job, and others may need a heavier dose response. So we try to make these national emergency grants as flexible as possible, so that professionals on the ground can make those kinds of decisions, along with the client, the out of work worker.” Oates says about half of the money will come to Iowa to get the process started.
Oates says they will send the first three-point-seven million dollars, but won’t give the state the rest until the state proves there’s a need for the money. The John Morrell plant closed on April 9th. Oates says the closing initially impacted around 12-hundred workers, but some opted to retire and others have already found other jobs.(News report by Radio Iowa)
Contractors’ barricades will be down for the weekend
(LE MARS)–Two streets in Le Mars will be open by the holiday weekend.
City administrator Scott Langel says the projects are Blue Diamond Drive serving an industrial area in Southwest Le Mars and the concrete surface known as white-topping on Third Avenue Southeast.
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The city received economic development targeted state transportation funds, RISE, for the Blue Diamond Drive project.
O’Brien County authorities charge felony sexual abuse
(PRIMGHAR)–A Primghar man is being held in the O’Brien County Jail after his arrest for felony sexual abuse.
The sheriff’s office released written information about the arrest Wednesday of 49-year-old Jonathan William Strain of Primghar. Strain is charged with felony sexual abuse in the second degree and felony incest.
Strain is being held on 25-thousand dollars cash bond.
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Bare-foot bandit sought in Siouxland
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) Authorities say a suspected teenage burglar from Washington known for daring exploits to evade capture is moving eastward.
Police in Norfolk, Neb., have issued a warrant for 19-year-old Colton Harris-Moore following a June 19 break-in at a municipal airport office. Police say an SUV was stolen from the airport that day, then turned up nearly 240 miles away in Iowa.
Harris-Moore has been dubbed “The Barefoot Bandit” after allegedly committing crimes sans footwear.
The Camano Island, Wash., teen has evaded authorities since escaping from a halfway house in April 2008. He’s believed to have stolen boats, cars, even several small airplanes that have been hot-wired and crash-landed.
Much to the chagrin of law enforcement, a Harris-Moore fan club boasts more than 42,000 followers on Facebook.
(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
Des Moines waits as gates lowered on lake
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has started releasing water from rain-swollen Saylorville Lake. The goal is a slow rise in the Des Moines river as it winds toward Des Moines and a vulnerable levee protecting a neighborhood near downtown.
The release is a critical test for the levee, which failed in 1993 and 2008, flooding the working-class Birdland neighborhood.
The center panel of the inflatable dam on the spillway was lowered at 6:15 a.m. Thursday. Corps spokesman Bill Heinold says there are five sections, and it will take about 15 hours to lower them all.
Des Moines Public Works Director Bill Stowe says there was no change in the levees overnight. Crews will be spending the day in the Birdland neighborhood, walking the levee and watching for any possible signs of trouble.
Polk County officials issue health recommendations
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) The Polk County Health Department says people should avoid flooded areas, direct contact with flood waters and mosquitoes to reduce health risks.
The department issued those recommendations Thursday in response to the increased risk of flooding in Polk County.
Director Terri Henkels says pools of standing water attract mosquitoes, which increase the risk of encephalitis and West Nile Virus.
Henkels says people should try to avoid being outside during dawn and dusk, minimize areas of exposed skin and use insect repellant.
Henkels also recommends those who walk through floodwater or have cleaned up flood debris get a tetanus shot soon.
Prosecutor wants Iowa teen tried as adult
INDIANOLA, Iowa (AP) The Warren County attorney’s office says an Indianola teenager accused of fatally shooting a friend should be tried as an adult.
The 14-year-old boy is charged with first-degree murder in the death of 16-year-old James Doyle on June 27.
Assistant Warren County Attorney Karla Fultz filed a motion on Monday to move the case from juvenile court to district court. A hearing is set for July 21.
If tried and found guilty in juvenile court, the boy could be held in juvenile detention until his 18th birthday. For adults, first-degree murder carries a penalty of life in prison without parole.
A message left for the teen’s public defender, Paul White, on Thursday was not immediately returned.
The Associated Press doesn’t name juveniles charged in a crime.
Sentencing delayed for teen convicted for murder
CHARLES CITY , Iowa (AP) The sentencing of a Charles City teen convicted of killing his three-year-old cousin has been continued.
Fifteen-year-old Edgar Concepcion, Jr. was found guilty of first-degree murder, sexual abuse and other charges in the death of his cousin earlier this month.
Sentencing was set for July 19. But Floyd County Attorney Normand Klemesrud says the Department of Corrections needs more time to complete a pre-sentencing investigation.
A new sentencing date hasn’t been set.
Trial for former IU player delayed again
IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) The sexual abuse trial of former Iowa football player Cedric Everson has been delayed yet again.
The judge in Everson’s case granted a continuance on Wednesday because of concerns over the health of Everson’s attorney.
Everson and former teammate Abe Satterfield were accused of assaulting a woman in a dormitory room in October 2007. Both men were charged in May 2008 with second-degree sexual abuse.
Their case had been delayed multiple times since. But Satterfield entered a written plea in April to assault with intent to inflict serious injury and agreed to turn state witnesses against Everson.
Satterfield’s sentencing is set for July 23.
Horses removed from Iowa farm on alleged neglect
FREDERICKSBURG, Iowa (AP) Authorities have removed a herd of horses from a farm in Chickasaw County because of allegations of neglect.
The sheriff’s office says 13 horses and a mule were loaded into trailers on Tuesday after neighbors complained they weren’t being fed and were ill.
Karl Sibert with the Iowa Equine Rescue and Awareness League wouldn’t disclose where the animals were taken.
Sheriff Marty Larsen says he’ll consult with the Chickasaw County attorney’s about possible charges.
Iowa residents urged to consider fireworks safety
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) The Cedar Rapids Fire Department says the safest way for residents to celebrate the coming Fourth of July holiday is at a professionally run public fireworks display.
The department is urging anyone who supervises children to make sure children don’t possess illegal fireworks or mishandle legal fireworks. Firefighters want to remind residents that even though sparklers are legal they are a common cause of fireworks injuries.
Fireworks injuries frequently include eye injuries and hearing damage.
(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
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