(LE MARS)–A Le Mars woman was injured when her vehicle struck an embankment under a bridge west of Le Mars Friday afternoon.
The Plymouth County sheriff’s Office investigated the accident involving a sport utility vehicle being driven west on 200th Street, near Juniper Avenue.
Authorities report 61-year-old Joyce Brownmiller was traveling west on the gravel road when she had some type of medical condition. Brownmiller’s vehicle began swerving on the road, went into a driveway, through a farm yard and a cornfield before going under the bridge.
Members of the Le Mars Fire Rescue department helped get Brownmiller out of the vehicle. She was taken to Floyd Valley Hospital by Le Mars Ambulance.
The sheriff’s office listed her injuries as incapacitating.
(LE MARS)–Tailgates, cheers and coaches are part of the 2010 “Pride Night” at Jim Lorenzen Field in Le Mars Monday night.
“Pride Night” is an annual celebration to show community support for Gehlen Catholic and Le Mars Community Schools’ extra-curricular activities .
Highlights of the event include the introduction of all activity sponsors and coaches and all students involved in activities/sports.
Fall sports season preview are planned with interviews of the coaches by KLEM Radio Sports Director Denny Callahan.
Cheerleaders, dance teams and band from both schools will perform to spread school spirit through the stadium.
Three people will have the opportunity to kick a field goal and win up to $500 during the annual “Kick for Cash” contest sponsored by KLEM 1410 AM-96.9 FM/Powell Broadcasting, Le Mars.
Gates open at 5:15 Monday afternoon with a joint Tailgate party by the Gehlen Catholic and Le Mars Community Booster Clubs beginning at 5:30 Monday afternoon. The Pep Rally begins at seven.
(Le Mars) The water color paintings of three Le Mars artists will be featured at the 33rd Annual Iowa Watercolor Society Exhibition this fall in Ames. Jane Schultz, Glenda Drennen and Jean Weiner (WINE-ER) will all have pieces on display at the Octagon Center for the Arts August 26th through October 24th.
Weiner, who recently moved to Le Mars from Albany Georgia, has been painting professionally for the last 6 years. The passion to paint was given to her through extraordinary circumstances. Jean was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer that required removal of tissue and reconstructive surgery. Seven years ago on August 24th, she awoke from a successful surgery and her painting journey began.
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And paint she did. Her husband bought her supplies and she self taught herself through books and study pieces. She has also attended multiple workshops and is continuously learning more about her craft. A lot of Weiner’s work focuses on simplicity.
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Jean also teaches free-form watercolor classes at the Le Mars Arts Center on Wednesdays. For more information about the classes visit www.jeanweinerart.com. (News report by Angela Drake, KLEM News)
(LE MARS)–A project to reduce storm water near industry in southwest Le Mars is complete.
City administrator Scott Langel says Clark Construction of Merrill completed a detention basin for storm water control near 24th Street Southwest.
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The city previously added a detention basin on 21st Street Southwest. Langel says that eliminated a similar problem last year.
(ELK POINT)–A living history event is celebrated in Siouxland this weekend.
The annual Elk Point Lewis and Clark Heritage Days Festival re-enacts the first election west of the Mississippi River. The August 22, 1804 event was part of the Lewis and Clark Corps of Discovery.
Following the death of Sergeant Charles Floyd, the explorers elected a new sergeant by having the men vote.
The election will be re-enacted tomorrow (Sunday) afternoon at two in the Elk Point City Park. The park is the festival headquarters. A pre-1840’s style Buckskinners Rendezvous is planned today and tomorrow (Saturday and Sunday).
A Tug of War has been added to this year’s Heritage Days with competition for men, women and children who are under the age of 12. The contest begins this (Saturday) morning at 10. Contestants need to bring a pair of gloves. Other events include kids’ games such as sack races and the tomahawk/knife/fry pan throw. The East River Cow-Chip Throwing championship is this (Saturday) afternoon at 2:30.
Iowa jobless rate edges up in July
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) Iowa’s unemployment rate was up slightly in July but remained well below the national rate.
Iowa Workforce Development said Friday that Iowa’s unemployment rate inched up to 6.8 percent in July, from a revised June rate of 6.7 percent.
A year ago the state’s jobless rate was 6.1 percent.
Iowa gained 1,700 jobs in July over June and 3,700 jobs over July 2009.
Leisure and hospitality, construction, and trade and transportation all saw jobs gains last month.
Director Elisabeth Buck of Iowa Workforce Development says Iowa’s private sector hired at a strong enough pace in July to overcome job losses on the government side.
The U.S. unemployment rate was 9.5 percent in July.
Information from: The Des Moines Register, https://www.desmoinesregister.com
Recall expands to more than half a billion eggs
WASHINGTON (AP) Half a billion eggs have been recalled in the nationwide investigation of a salmonella outbreak that has already sickened more than 1,000 people.
Iowa’s Hillandale Farms said Friday it was recalling more than 170 million eggs after laboratory tests confirmed salmonella. The company did not say if it is connected to Wright County Egg, another Iowa farm that recalled 380 million eggs earlier this week.
An FDA spokeswoman said the two recalls are related. The strain of salmonella poisoning is the same in both cases.
The eggs recalled Friday were distributed under the brand names Hillandale Farms, Sunny Farms, Sunny Meadow, Wholesome Farms and West Creek. The new recall applies to eggs sold between April and August.
Iowa deputy hurt in broadside crash
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) A Polk County sheriff’s deputy was hurt when the sport utility vehicle he was driving was broadsided by another motorist.
Police say Deputy Andrew Hunt was injured in the crash late Thursday night. He was treated at a hospital and released early Friday.
Hunt has been with the sheriff’s office at least 13 years and leads a K-9 unit. The police dog in the SUV was not hurt.
The Iowa State Patrol is handling the investigation.
Information from: The Des Moines Register, https://www.desmoinesregister.com
Abortion foes seek ban on remote program
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) Abortion opponents are pressing state medical regulators to block a program that lets doctors prescribe an abortion-inducing drug after meeting with patients only via the Internet.
Opponents told members of the Iowa Board of Medicine on Friday that the system offered by Planned Parenthood of the Heartland was dangerous to patients.
Planned Parenthood officials didn’t attend the meeting but say their program is safe and meets the needs of women in rural areas who otherwise couldn’t get the drug, called RU-486. Doctors and women talk over an Internet video connection at 15 clinics, and the physician then remotely opens a container with the pills.
The board has created a group to study the matter but didn’t discuss the matter Friday.
Dems approve 2012 changes
ST. LOUIS (AP) The Democratic National Committee has approved a 2012 presidential primary nominating calendar that pushes back the start of the voting by one month.
Democrats will hold the Iowa caucuses on Feb. 6, 2012, and the New Hampshire primary on Feb. 14. Nevada caucuses will be Feb. 18 and the South Carolina primary on Feb. 28. Other states will go on March 6 or later.
States holding their contests later will get anywhere from 5 percent to 20 percent more delegates to the convention.
The party also is reducing the number of independent superdelegates from 20 percent of the total number of delegates to 15 percent.
Obama is the likely nominee but Democrats wanted to change the process anyway after the 2008 protracted primary fight.
Iowa mother gets 50 years in baby’s death
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) A judge has sentenced a Des Moines woman to 50 years in prison in the death of her infant daughter.
Tresa Rains pleaded guilty last month to child endangerment. She originally was charged with first-degree murder in the death of her 5-month-old daughter Zara Yamen.
Rains said Friday that she’s sorry about her daughter’s death, but would not say exactly how the baby died.
Authorities say Rains admitted to using a pillow to suffocate the baby in 2007.
Rains says she will use her time in prison to become a better mother. After Zara’s death, Rains remarried and had another child.
Information from: KCCI-TV, https://www.kcci.com
Body of missing swimmer found in Keokuk
KEOKUK, Iowa (AP) The body of a missing swimmer has been recovered from the Mississippi River in Keokuk.
Police Chief Tom Crew says two fishermen were returning to a boat dock Thursday morning when they found the body and brought it in.
The body is identified as that of 35-year-old Efren Cruz, a Mexican national who had been living and working in Keokuk.
Cruz disappeared while swimming near the Keokuk wastewater treatment plant early Wednesday.
An investigator with the state coroner’s office ruled the death accidental.
(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)