(DES MOINES)–State incentives to start up operations in Le Mars are being offered to a business to process pork.
Kay Snyder of the Iowa Department of Economic Development explained the assistance for North American Co-Pack Iowa includes a loan.
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North American Co-Pack is a new business with plans to offer processed pork products to retail, food service and industrial customers.
Snyder said state assistance would include tax credits.
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North American Co-Pack Iowa plans to move into an existing facility in Le Mars and invest one-point-three million dollars for the business. Snyder described the value-added agriculture aspect of the business as important to the Economic Development Board members who approved the assistance Thursday.
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Information from the Economic Development Department indicates the plant would focus on sliced meats and other ready-to-eat food processing and will be located at a property that allows for expansion. The location and other details are not available yet.
K-22 is open to traffic
(LE MARS)–A five-month paving project ended Thursday afternoon when a Plymouth County road reopened to traffic.
Plymouth County Engineer Tom Rohe reports County Road K-22, from the Woodbury County line north to County Road C-60 is open to traffic.
Cedar Valley Construction of Waterloo was the contractor for the pavement replacement project. The county road was closed in April.
Model A Fords to make ice cream stop in Le Mars
(LE MARS)–Le Mars is the destination today (Friday) for vintage wheels.
Joe Lamb of the Central Iowa Model A Ford Club says the group makes four-day, 400 mile trips known as the “Great Annual Model A Ride Around Iowa.”
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Lamb expects 40 Model A Fords to be driven on county roads at speeds of 45 miles an hour for the visit to Le Mars.
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Lamb says the group welcomes Le Mars area residents who’d like to see in his words, “a whole bunch of funny looking cars” and learn about the Model A hobby.
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The Model A group will be at the Blue Bunny® Ice Cream Parlor and Museum for a noon-hour stop and also will see the motorcycle collection of Rich Schultz of Le Mars.
Palin due in Des Moines tonight
(Des Moines)–Former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin will headline an Iowa Republican Party fundraiser tonight (Friday) and the chairman of the Iowa Tea Party movement will be there. Ryan Rhodes says he bought a ticket to the event as soon as he heard about it.
Palin made a trip to Iowa last December, for a book-signing event in Sioux City. Her last splash on the Iowa political scene was in early June when she posted messages on Twitter and Facebook, endorsing Republican Terry Branstad’s bid for a fifth term as governor. That didn’t sit well with some Tea Party activists or with some of the Republicans who were supporting Branstad’s opponent, Bob Vander Plaats. Bryan English, director of public relations for the Iowa Family Policy Center, supported Vander Plaats and he has “no intention” of buying a ticket to see Palin.
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English says he knows of no one affiliated with his group who’s going tonight.
State Representative Dwayne Alons, a Republican from Hull, is also a Vander Plaats supporter who questioned Palin’s endorsement of Branstad.
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Alons considers Vander Plaats more “in line” with Palin on the issues, but he believes Palin may have chosen Branstad because Branstad, like Palin, is a former governor. The Tea Party’s state chairman worked earlier this year for a Republican congressional candidate who had Tea Party backing and finished third in a seven-way race.
C-SPAN intends to broadcast the event live, starting at seven o’clock this evening. That’s how Leisa Stapp of Moville is going to see Palin.
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Stapp saw Palin in person this past December. Stapp and her teenage son were among a small group who camped overnight in the parking lot of a book store in Sioux City so they could be first in line for Palin’s autograph the next day. (News report by Radio Iowa)
Lawsuit seeks class-action in egg recall case
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) A lawsuit has been filed seeking class-action status for a case against two Iowa egg farms involved in a recall of 550 million eggs linked to salmonella illnesses nationwide.
The lawsuit was filed Wednesday in federal court in Chicago on behalf of six people who fell ill after eating eggs produced at Wright County Egg near Galt, Iowa, and Hillandale Farms of Iowa, near New Hampton.
Spokeswomen for Wright County Egg and Hillandale Farms declined comment.
Ken Moll is an attorney representing the plaintiffs. He says his law firm has received permission to inspect the farms to gather evidence.
The lawsuit claims the egg companies were negligent in not producing eggs safe for public consumption.
More than 1,500 people have fallen ill from eating the contaminated eggs, but the lawsuit suggests the actual number could be much higher.
Congress wants information from Maine egg farms
PORTLAND, Maine (AP) Maine soon will see if its egg farm inspections withstand congressional scrutiny.
A congressional committee has requested inspection records and documents related to allegations of problems at farms with ties to Jack DeCoster, including several in Maine. The request follows a recall of 380 million eggs from an Iowa farm owned by DeCoster because of possible salmonella contamination.
Maine state veterinarian Don Hoenig says he pushed for Maine’s rules because of salmonella found in chicken houses in the past in Maine. He says no commercial farm buildings have tested positive since October 2009.
He says Maine has regulations that go beyond federal requirements. For example, Maine requires vaccinations of young birds for salmonella, follow-up tests to ensure the vaccinations worked, and stepped-up inspections and cleaning of buildings.
ISU flood damage estimated at up to $50M
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa (AP) An official of Iowa State University estimates August flooding on campus caused between $40 million and $50 million in damage, repair and mitigation costs.
Vice President for Business and Finance Warren Madden gave that estimate Thursday to the Iowa Board of Regents meeting in Cedar Falls.
Madden also says officials believe Hilton Coliseum which was filled with up to 14 feet of water will be ready for men’s and women’s basketball in November.
He says the August flood affected 17 ISU facilities, and most of them remain completely or partially out of service. But Madden says fall classes began on time.
According to The Gazette of Cedar Rapids, Madden says a maintenance shed on the ISU golf course is likely the only damaged facility that will have to be replaced.
Bond increased for Iowa pastor charged in sex case
WEST UNION, Iowa (AP) A judge has increased bond for a northeast Iowa pastor accused of sexually abusing a teenage girl after the pastor allegedly tried to contact the girl from jail.
The Rev. Timothy Parker of Westgate is charged with third-degree sexual abuse and lascivious acts with a minor.
At a bond review hearing, Iowa Assistant Attorney General Susan Krisko argued Parker’s alleged efforts to communicate with the girl and her family violated a protection order. Krisko submitted letters she said Parker wrote to persuade his accuser and her family to drop the charges.
The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier reports Parker’s attorney initially intended to ask the court to reduce the $40,000 bond but opted to withdraw the request.
Judge Margaret Lingreen set bond at $50,000, cash only. Parker remained in jail Thursday.
Lawsuit filed over fatal Waterloo shooting
WATERLOO, Iowa (AP) The family of a Waterloo man who was shot and killed during a scuffle with police has filed a lawsuit claiming the officers failed to issue a warning about the gunshots and didn’t use non-lethal force before firing a gun.
Eric Rule was shot in the driveway of his home in September 2009 by officers responding to a domestic incident at the house.
Attorneys for Rule’s estate and his wife, Bethany Rule, filed a lawsuit Monday against the city and police officers Steven Bose and Jamie Sullivan.
Waterloo police and the city’s attorney declined comment.
The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier reports the 31-year-old Rule and Bose scuffled after the officers asked Rule to find another place to stay the night and Bose shot Rule twice after failed punches and a Taser shock.
Bose was cleared of any wrongdoing.
Trial set in strip-search lawsuit in Iowa
ATLANTIC, Iowa (AP) A lawsuit against the Atlantic School District over an alleged strip search of five high school girls is set to go to trial next year.
Three of the girls sued in Cass County District Court in May, claiming, among other issues, constitutional rights violations.
The Atlantic News Telegraph says the case was moved to federal court in June after all parties agreed.
Attorney Edward Noethe, who represents two of the girls, says the trial is set for September, 2011, in Council Bluffs. The girls and their families are seeking punitive damages.
The girls were allegedly searched in a locker room in August 2009 after a classmate reported the theft of $100 from her purse.
(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
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