(LE MARS)–Absentee ballots for the November election will be available for voters in the Plymouth County Auditor’s office beginning September 23rd.
Auditor Stacey Feldman says the absentee ballots will be available during business hours Monday through Friday from 8 a-m to 4 p-m. Absentee ballots may be cast in the Auditor’s Office until Monday, November 1st at 5 p-m.
Absentee ballot may be mailed to voters, if the voter makes a request in writing. Forms are available at the Plymouth County auditor’s office or at the county web site, www.co.plymouth.ia.us under Online Services and then County Forms. Absentee ballot request forms may be mailed to the auditor’s office at the Courthouse, 215 Fourth Avenue Southeast, Le Mars.
Voters who request an absentee ballot to be mailed to them must have the request form to the auditor’s office no later than 5 p-m October 29th. The Auditor’s office provides the postage for all absentee ballots returned by mail. Ballots must be postmarked prior to midnight November 1st which is the day prior to the election. They can be delivered to the Auditor’s office before the polls close at 9 p.m. on November 2nd which is Election day.
Feldman is the Auditor and Commissioner of Elections and the deputy is Cheri Nitzschke.
Troop C trains in California; donations for care packages accepted
(FORT DODGE)– Members of the Iowa Army National Guard are heading to a California desert base as they finish training for duty in Afghanistan.
Troop C of the Army National Guard in Le Mars is part of the largest activation in the history of the Iowa Guard.
National Guard spokesman Lt. Col. Greg Hapgood said the soldiers are going to the National Training Center at Fort Irwin.
In an Associated Press report, Hapgood said that Fort Irwin, in the Mojave Desert, provides a realistic training setting for any unit heading to Afghanistan.
The troops began arriving in California on Monday and will spend a couple of weeks there before going overseas.
The soldiers were most recently at Camp Shelby, Mississippi. The troops went on active duty in early August.
Once in Afghanistan, the troops will help train the Afghan army and national police as well as conduct humanitarian missions. They are scheduled to return to Iowa next July.
Donations for care packages with specific items at each collection location have been set up at 15 businesses, churches and schools in Le Mars. Volunteers will collect the item donation boxes during the first week in October. Donations to cover the cost of postage are being accepted through an account set up at Primebank. Names of soldiers who should receive a package may be left with one of the volunteers, Pat Warner of Le Mars by calling 546.5778 or by email to pdwarner@frontiernet.net.
The goal is to send the packages for the holidays.
Similar collections by other groups showing support for the soldiers are underway in Akron and Orange City.
(Associated Press contributed to this report.)
Saul sentenced to prison for drug and weapons convictions
(SIOUX CITY)–A Sioux City man will serve prison time for drug and weapon convictions in federal court in Sioux City.
According to written information from the U-S Attorney’s office, 37 year old John Saul received the prison sentence after pleading guilty to seven charges of firearms violations and one charge of distributing meth and marijuana. Saul’s guilty plea was in June.
Prosecutors said he admitted to having stolen firearms at his residence, removed the serial numbers and used a hack saw to shorten the barrel length of a shotgun. An undercover officer bought firearms, more than 600 rounds of ammunition and meth and marijuana from Saul.
The weapons were reported stolen in Jefferson, South Dakota.
A judge ordered Saul to serve 176 months in prison and six years of supervised released after the prison term.
He’s being held for the U-S Marshal’s Service until he can be taken to a federal prison.
Flying high, Sarah Palin’s next stops: Iowa, TV
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) Forget Disneyland. Sarah Palin is going to Iowa.
The 2008 GOP vice presidential nominee will be the big draw at Friday’s Reagan Dinner in Des Moines, the Iowa Republican Party’s biggest fundraiser. The question that will be on everyone’s mind is whether she’ll run for president in 2012.
Home to the nation’s leadoff presidential caucuses, Iowa can be tough terrain for high-profile candidates.
If Palin decides to run, she would start with strong appeal among the social and religious conservatives who play a crucial role in the state’s Republican politics. But political observers note that her appeal wouldn’t necessarily last if it’s not backed up by a strong effort to reach out to caucus voters.
Sentencing delayed in Dubuque killing
DUBUQUE, Iowa (AP) Sentencing is delayed for a Dubuque man found guilty of killing of a friend and wounding his neighbor.
Michael Mayton was to be sentenced on Friday for second-degree murder and several assault charges. He faces up to 50 years on the murder charge.
The Telegraph Herald says Mayton’s sentencing was postponed after his public defender, David Staudt, was appointed to serve as a judge. Another public defender will be assigned to the case.
Mayton was convicted in the August 2009 stabbing death of his friend, David Tate, and the stabbing of his neighbor, Richard Schramm Jr.
After the jury’s verdict in July, Mayton was accused of assaulting the prosecutor. Mayton has pleaded not guilty to a willful injury in that case.
Toddler dies after rolling vehicle into Iowa pond
CHARITON, Iowa (AP) Authorities say a 2-year-old girl died after she knocked a vehicle into gear and it rolled down a hill into a pond at her home in southern Iowa.
The accident happened Monday afternoon.
Lucas County Sheriff Jim Baker says it appears the vehicle rolled about 70 yards down the hill into the water.
The sheriff identifies the child as Carley Rose Shelton.
He says emergency crews recovered her body from the pond.
UI launches moped safety campaign
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) The University of Iowa is launching a new safety campaign for moped riders.
The Gazette reports the university wants students, faculty and staff to comply with local laws requiring a safety flag.
Several students have already had a flag installed on their bikes. Officer Brad Allison of the university’s Department of Public Safety says the flags are free and it will make riders safer.
Officials say the push has been in the works for about six months and isn’t related to last month’s moped accident involving Iowa football player Josh Koeppel.
The offensive lineman was hit by a truck on August 30. He walked away from the crash.
Memorial service set for Jack Shelley
AMES, Iowa (AP) A memorial service will be held next week for longtime Iowa broadcaster John “Jack” Shelley.
Shelley died on Tuesday at an Ames retirement home after a career that spanned from covering World War II to teaching at Iowa State University. He was 98.
A memorial service will be at 11 a.m. on Tuesday at St. John’s by the Campus Episcopal Church in Ames. Burial will be in Linwood Cemetery in Shelley’s hometown of Boone.
Visitation is Monday at Adams Funeral Home in Ames.
Shelley was a former broadcaster at WHO radio and television. He taught broadcast journalism at Iowa State from 1965 to 1982.
Larry Schmitz of Le Mars, a former KLEM Radio News Director, received the Jack Shelley award from the Iowa Broadcast News Association (IBNA) in 1980. The Shelley award recognizes outstanding achievement in broadcast news and has been presented by the Association since 1972.
No. 9 Hawkeyes, No. 24 Wildcats ready for showdown
TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) No. 9 Iowa and 24th-ranked Arizona opened the season with easy victories.
Now, they both get a real test.
Not just one of the biggest college football games of the weekend, Iowa-Arizona on Saturday is a chance for both teams to see if those two opening wins were feel-good or indicators of how good this season can be.
Iowa represents a standard Arizona is striving for. The Hawkeyes have finished in the Top 10 four times in the past eight years and have been bowl eligible in nine straight seasons.
The Wildcats have made steady progress under coach Mike Stoops after a lost decade, winning eight games in each of the past two seasons, and are ready to take the next step toward creating a winning tradition.
Iowa St looks to contain K-State RB Daniel Thomas
AMES, Iowa (AP) It’s easy to see the critical matchup in Saturday’s Big 12 opener between Kansas State and Iowa State.
Wildcats running back Daniel Thomas has rushed for more yards through two games than any player in team history. And Iowa State’s rush defense was sliced up for 275 yards in a blowout loss at No. 9 Iowa last week.
The Cyclones (1-1) will have to find a way to contain Thomas to have a shot at a much-needed win. He ranks third in the country with 185.5 rushing yards per game.
The game will be played at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Mo.
(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
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