(JOHNSTON)–A send-off ceremony for Troop C of the Iowa Army National Guard is planned in Le Mars next month.
About 28-hundred members of the 2nd Brigade Combat Team will report to mobilization at Camp Shelby, Mississippi for more training before a mission in Afghanistan.
The 2nd Brigade has been ordered to active duty under a partial mobilization call up . Guard officials say the mission is to provide full-spectrum operations in combat, support for the Afghan National Army and Police units and assistance to humanitarian relief efforts.
Troop C, First Squadron of the 113th Cavalry, with about 80 soldiers, will have a sendoff Thursday, August 5 at 9 am at Le Mars Community High School. The community is invited to attend.
A Community send-off is also planned in Sioux City for about 170 solders of Headquarters, and Headquarters Troop , 1st Squadron, 113th Cavalry, and Company D, 334h Brigade Support Battalion at 10:30 a.m. at Sioux City East High School on August 5th.
The Storm Lake send-off is Friday, July 30 at the Storm Lake High School at 11 a.m. for Company G, 334th Brigade Support Battalion involving about 80 soldiers.
Fair Entertainment features favorites and new acts
(Le Mars) Dueling Pianos, a Hypnotist, Monster Arm Wrestling and Motocross…Where can you find all these things? The 2010 Plymouth County Fair. The entertainment is as diverse as ever this year, with a lot of new things to watch and participate in. New in the Pioneer Village: a bluegrass band, accapella quartet and dueling pianos.
Also at the village, a hypnotist and the River Billy Band as well as the Browns, will be back.
Added to the grandstand line-up this year is Motocross, which is an off road motorcycle and ATV event. This will be held on Wednesday evening.
New on Friday is Monster Arm Wrestling, an event that’s been at the Iowa State Fair for the last 32 years. No, you’re not taking on Frankenstein or the Boogie Man. This type of tournament style arm wrestling uses The Monster Machine to help facilitate the bout. Owner of the machine and tournament M.C. Lee Ann Krough says this activity is fun for everybody.
Listen here
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Weigh-ins for Monster Arm Wrestling start at 5pm Friday in the Open Class Building, wrestling begins at 6.
For complete schedules of Plymouth County Fair entertainment log on to www.plymouthcountyfair.com.
The fair begins July 28th. (News report by Angela Drake, KLEM News)
Five interested in Plymouth County Conservation Board appointment
(LE MARS)–Five Plymouth County residents are interesting in serving as a volunteer board member for conservation.
Supervisors today (Tuesday) opened letters of interest in the vacancy on the Plymouth County Conservation Board. Board member Clark Goodchild of Le Mars resigned.
Those who applied to be appointed are Penny Eickholt; Stuart Dekkenga; Cindy Lloyd; Bob Schlesser; and John Lucken.
Supervisors plan to review the letters and make an appointment next week.
Board members reviewed requests for changes or new Homestead Tax Credit based on applications filed with the Plymouth County Assessor. The process of reviewing the Homestead Tax Credit requests is part of preparations for property tax statements to be issued by the Plymouth County Auditor’s office for tax payments. the money is collected by the Plymouth County Treasurer and distributed to taxing groups including schools, cities, townships, the county and the state.
Rembrandt man to serve prison sentence for son’s death in head-on collision
STORM LAKE, Iowa (AP) An Iowa man has been sentenced to 15 years in prison for a head-on collision that killed his 10-year-old son last summer.
Matthew Wrather, of Rembrandt, was sentenced on Monday in Buena Vista County District Court after pleading guilty to vehicular homicide and serious injury by vehicle.
A judge sentenced Wrather to up to 10 years in prison on the vehicular homicide charge and up to five years on the other charge. The sentences will be served one after another (consecutively).
Authorities say Wrather was driving drunk when his car crossed the center line of U.S. Highway 71 and hit an oncoming van on July 26, 2009, near Rembrandt.
Wrather’s 10-year-old son, Gavin, was killed.
(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
Recession causes slide in Iowa casino revenue
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) The recession has taken a hit on Iowa casino, where revenues have dropped for the first time since 1993.
State regulators say revenue fell by 3.5 percent for the fiscal year ending June 30. According to the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission, Iowa’s 17 state-regulated casinos reported gross gambling revenue of $1.3 billion in the last fiscal year, down from $1.4 billion in the previous year.
Commission Chairman Greg Seyfer says it’s a sign the economy is taking a toll and that the state may be close to hitting the saturation point.
In 1993, Iowa law restricted gamblers to no more than $5 per wager and overall losses of $200. Lawmakers lifted the betting limits in 1994.
Culver adds Fayette County to disaster list
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) Gov. Chet Culver has added Fayette County to a disaster declaration because of recent storms and flash flooding.
The proclamation, issued Monday, allows eligible residents to seek up to $5,000 in reimbursements for damage incurred for individuals and families whose income is less than 200 percent above the poverty level.
The declaration now covers a total of 35 counties.
Families seeking assistance through the state must apply within 45 days a declaration has been made. The earliest declaration was issued on June 1.
More information is available on the state’s Department of Human Services’ website.
Iowa City sets vote on 21-only bar law
IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) Iowa City’s 21-and-older bar law will go before the voters.
The City Council on Monday voted to put the issue on the Nov. 2 ballot.
The law, approved this spring, prevents those younger than 21 from being in a bar after 10 p.m. The age limit had been 19.
A petition drive led by University of Iowa students and downtown bar owners collected enough signatures to force the council to either repeal the law or send it to voters.
On Monday, the Council voted against repealing the law, then voted to put the measure on the ballot.
This will be the second time in three years that voters will decide how old someone must be to enter a bar at night. In 2007, a proposal to raise the minimum age to 21 was defeated.
Former Iowa accountant gets probation for theft
WEBSTER CITY, Iowa (AP) A former Webster City accountant who pleaded guilty to stealing $260,000 from a client has been given probation and ordered to repay the money.
Douglas Messerly pleaded guilty in May to theft by misappropriation. He was sentenced on Monday in Hamilton County District Court to two to five years probation. He must repay the money he took from a longtime client.
Messerly admitted that between February 2007 and August 2008 he took $260,000 from the client by cashing the investments and depositing the money into his personal account.
The 65-year-old Messerly now lives in Des Moines.
Kitten found in trash to be adopted
ANKENY, Iowa (AP) Officials with the Animal Rescue League say a kitten found alive in a bag of garbage earlier this summer in Ankeny is now ready to be adopted.
The kitten has been named “Alley.” Refuse workers at Waste Management found her in bag of kittens that someone had put out with their trash.
Alley’s four littermates were dead, but Alley has been nursed back to health and is ready for adoption.
People interested in adopting her should show up at the Animal Rescue League office at 11 a.m. Wednesday to fill out applications. A drawing will be held at 11:15 to see who gets to take the kitten home.
Construction worker killed by dump truck
IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) Authorities say a construction worker has been struck and killed by a dump truck Monday in a construction area on Interstate 80 in Iowa City.
Iowa City Police, Iowa State Patrol, Johnson County Ambulance and the Iowa DOT responded to the accident late Monday morning, but the victim was already dead when they arrived at the scene.
The victim’s name was not being released Monday evening, and the incident remains under investigation.
(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
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