Home News KLEM News Update October 3, 2010

KLEM News Update October 3, 2010

 (LE MARS)–Smoke detectors are the focus of Fire Prevention week today through Saturday.

Studies show 65 percent of fire deaths occur in homes without smoke detectors or homes that do not have a working smoke detector.

“Smoke detectors: a sound you can live with,” is the theme for Fire Prevention Week.

The Le Mars Fire-Rescue Department Pancake and Sausage Breakfast is at Fire Station #1, 45 First Avenue Southwest until one this (Sunday) afternoon. The downtown fire station is across the street from the Eagles Club. A free will offering will be accepted.

The Le Mars Fire-Rescue Department has more than 20 members.

Flood warnings extended in northwest Iowa

(SIOUX FALLS)–The National Weather Service in Sioux Falls on Saturday extended flood warnings for the Big Sioux River in Siouxland .

At Akron, the flood warning is extended until Thursday morning at eight.

The latest Big Sioux River reading at Akron was 20.3 feet which is 3.7 feet above flood stage. The river will continue to fall to below flood stage by Wednesday.

At Hawarden, the flood warning continues until Thursday afternoon at five.

Nonprofits to be chosen by farmers who want to grow communities

(UNDATED)–Farmers in northwest Iowa counties may grow their communities with a grant program.

Twenty-five hundred dollar awards are offered to farmers’ favorite non-profit groups.

Jerry and Donna Varenhorst of Le Mars selected Good Samaritan Society-Le Mars when the Monsanto Fund “America’s Farmers Grow Communities” was offered.

The program is intended to benefit nonprofit community groups such as ag youth organizations, school and other civic groups important to farmers. The deadline to apply is December 31st. One winner will be drawn from each county.

Farmers age 21 and over who are actively engaged in farming a minimum of 250 acres of corn, beans or 40 acres of open field vegetables are eligible to apply. Information is available through a web site www.growcommunities.com or through a phone application process 877-267-3332

Ghost towns to be remembered at museum program

(LE MARS)–Harvest-themed activities are hosted by the Plymouth County Historical Museum this month.

“A Harvest of Ghost Towns,” is in the newly renovated Study Hall October 23rd at 2 p.m.

Glen and Judy Hayworth of Kingsley will present a program and video on ghost towns. The Hayworths have studied the lore of lost communities for about a decade.

The Northwest Iowa Genealogy Society is assisting with the program. Memorabilia about Plymouth County’s ghost towns may be brought to the museum on October 21st. The items will be displayed for the weekend of the ghost town program in the Study Hall.

The museum’s Ethnic Food Fair returns on the last day of this month. Anyone who’d like to offer samples of ethnic food is asked to call the museum immediately.

The food fair is Sunday, October 31st in the Old Central Gym at the museum. Ethnic music is also planned.

 VNU Gala planned Saturday

(SHELDON) An annual fund raiser for a group serving more than 150 adults with disabilities is in Sheldon this Saturday.

The 22nd annual Benefit Gala at Village Northwest Unlimited is an evening of hors d’oeuvres, conversation and auction fun. The fund raiser at Village Northwest Unlimited’s Wansink Center Gym begins at 6:30 Saturday evening with the auction bidding at seven.

The auction of items donated by individuals and businesses features a variety of services, restaurant certificates and accommodations. The online auction is on the Village web site www.villagenorthwest.org

 

USD receives $700,000 grant for brain research

VERMILLION, S.D. (AP) The University of South Dakota has received a $700,000 grant for brain imaging and behavioral research to aid service members returning from combat.

USD will partner with Avera Sacred Heart Hospital in Yankton for the project, which focuses on the psychological, behavioral and neural correlates of post-traumatic stress disorder in troops returning from Iraq and Afghanistan.

The money comes from the Telemedicine and Advanced Technology Research Center of the U.S. Army Medical Research Material Command.

(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

Iowa mom in crash that killed kids goes home

ANKENY, Iowa (AP) An Iowa mother who was hospitalized for five months after a crash that killed two of her children has gone home.

Troy DeJoode says his wife Heather has returned to their Ankeny home.

Heather DeJoode spent four months in inpatient rehabilitation after the May 6 accident that left her with a traumatic brain injury and pelvis and facial fractures. She was in a coma for a month.

Troy DeJoode says she walked out of the rehab center without an assistive device. She’ll require ongoing outpatient therapy.

The DeJoodes’ 5-month-old daughter Claire and 5-year-old son Carson died after the accident.

Troy DeJoode says a third child, 3-year-old Chase, was injured but is doing well.

Authorities say the family’s vehicle was struck by a pickup truck.

N. Iowa toddler drowns in ornamental pond

FONDA, Iowa (AP) A northern Iowa toddler who went missing has been found dead in an ornamental pond near his grandparents’ home.

Fonda police say family members reported the 23-month-old boy missing Friday.

His name has not been released.

He apparently had taken off running from someone in the family.

Fonda police and firefighters searched the area and found the boy submerged in a pond near his grandparents’ home a short distance away.

He was transported to an area hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Police say his death appears to be an accident but an investigation is ongoing.

Meth lab explosion hurts 2 in Des Moines

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) Des Moines police blamed a meth lab accident for an explosion and fire in an east Des Moines apartment.

Police say the explosion was reported about 8 p.m. Saturday in an apartment on East Fifth Street.

Two men in the apartment suffered significant burns and other injuries. They were taken to Des Moines hospitals.

The apartment was damaged, but adjacent units were OK and no other residents were displaced.

Police and the fire department were still investigating the explosion but say it apparently was caused by a meth lab accident.

Free counseling offered to Iowa flood victims

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) Free crisis counseling is being offered to Iowans in the nine counties affected by flooding this year.

Project Recovery Iowa is funded by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

The project’s outreach workers can provide individual and group counseling, educational services and referrals.

The services are confidential.

The nine affected counties are: Delaware, Fayette, Hamilton, Jasper, Jones, Marion, Polk, Story and Warren.

Iowans who need help can call the Iowa Concern Hotline at 1-800-447-1985 or the Iowa Department of Human Services.

Judge dismisses suit filed by suicidal inmate

DUBUQUE, Iowa (AP) A judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed by a Dubuque County jail inmate who claimed he tried to kill himself with a razor that was given to him by jail staff.

Mark Davison filed the lawsuit last spring against the Dubuque County sheriff’s office and the jail, claiming staff gave him the razor after he said he was off his medications and suicidal. The Telegraph-Herald in Dubuque reports the lawsuit was dismissed Sept. 20 because it named the wrong defendants.

Les Reddick, the attorney representing the sheriff’s office and jail, says the entities cannot be sued. He says the lawsuit should have been filed against the county.

Reddick says the statute of limitations on the case expired and it can’t be refiled.

Davison’s attorney didn’t return a call Friday seeking comment.

Flu shots now available in Iowa

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) Health experts in Iowa say there are plenty of flu shots available in the state this season.

Dr. Patricia Winokur is an associate dean at the University of Iowa’s medical school. She says Iowans can get the flu shot “anywhere” and the vaccine was made available earlier in the season this year.

Other health experts say stores and pharmacies have a financial incentive to offer flu shots. Suellen Novotny is executive director of the Visiting Nurse Association of Johnson County. She tells The Gazette in Cedar Rapids that the group is “stunned” at the competition among local pharmacies.

Winokur predicts fewer flu cases this year. She says that’s because people who had swine flu last year will have immunity. Last year Iowa had 41 deaths and 659 swine flu hospitalizations.

(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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