(HINTON)–An outdoor environmental education center project moves to the groundbreaking stage west of Hinton next week.
The Plymouth County Conservation Board’s monthly meeting begins at the ECO Center site at Hillview Recreation Area at six Thursday night.
The building contractor is H-W Design Build of Sioux City.
Jury decides fault percent in Ice Cream Plant explosion suit
(SIOUX CITY)–A jury has assigned fault in a Plymouth County District Court case heard by a Woodbury County jury.
The trial of legal action by Wells’ Dairy against Refrigeration Valves and Systems Corporation began last month in Sioux City. The case followed an explosion at the Dairy’s South Ice Cream Plant in March of 1999.
Wells’ Dairy, and American Industrial Refrigeration (AIR) reached an agreement before the trial last month.
Jury Foreperson Cynthia Bauman answered yes to all questions that Wells’, AIR, and Refrigeration Valves and Systems Corporation were at fault and the fault was a cause of the explosion.
Fifty percent of the total fault was assigned by the jury to AIR; 28 percent to Wells’ Dairy; and 22 percent to Refrigeration Valves and Systems Corporation.
The verdict was filed Wednesday afternoon in the Plymouth County Clerk of Court’s office.
Le Mars man charged after teen was found
(LE MARS)–A Le Mars man was jailed after an investigation into the disappearance of a Le Mars teen this week.
Le Mars Police Wednesday afternoon found 13-year-old Alexis Brewer at 701 Fifth Street Southwest. Brewer’s mother, Jennifer, had reported her missing Monday evening because the teen did not go to school after leaving her home to go to a bus stop.
Le Mars Police issued written information today about the arrest of 20-year-old Jordon Wayne Deckert of Le Mars. Deckert is charged with the felony of sexual abuse in the third degree. Under Iowa law, one of the elements of the charge involves the ages of 12 or 13.
Police say their investigation indicates Brewer and Deckert met Monday and were together at a mutual friend’s residence until police found her there Wednesday.
The police statement indicated investigators do NOT believe Brewer was held against her will.
The investigation continues.
Highway 75 bridge replacement slated near Hull
AMES)–Plans for a bridge replacement proposed by state transportation planners on Highway 75, near Hull, will be presented at a meeting this month.
The Iowa Department of Transportation’s Sioux City District office staff will discuss the project on Highway 75, over Burr Oak Creek, about three miles north of the north junction of Highway 18.
The public meeting is October 21st from 5-7 at the Hull Public LIbrary.
During the bridge project, traffic would be detoured on Highway 18 and County Roads K-52 and A-52.
Information about the project is available at https://www.iowadot.gov/pim
Culver, Branstad hold 2nd debate
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) Democratic Gov. Chet Culver and Republican challenger Terry Branstad will meet in their second debate, offering Culver a chance to turn around a race that polls indicate he’s trailing.
The debate at Coe College in Cedar Rapids begins at 7 p.m. Thursday. It will be followed by a final debate Oct. 21.
Polls show Culver badly trailing Branstad, a four-term governor who served from 1983 to 1999.
Culver has promised to close that gap by focusing on his record in the past four years and contrasting it with Branstad’s plans.
Branstad has focused on job creation and changing government policy to unleash business growth.
Santorum forms PAC to help Iowa candidates
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) Former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum has formed a political action committee he says will funnel at least $25,000 to Iowa candidates in the final weeks before the Nov. 2 election.
Santorum registered the Keystone Political Action Committee with the state’s Ethics and Campaign Disclosure Board and issued a statement Thursday saying he wanted to help conservatives win on Election Day.
It’s the latest move by Santorum, who has frequently visited Iowa and is considered a potential Republican presidential candidate in 2012. Santorum has held events in Iowa five times in the last year and is scheduled to return next week.
Santorum did not indicate which candidates he would support.
Voter rules split secretary of state candidates
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) The candidates for Iowa secretary of state disagree about efforts to increase voter turnout.
Incumbent Democrat Michael Mauro stresses the need to make voting easier, but Republican challenger Matt Schultz warns against fraud.
The two will face off in the Nov. 2 general election.
Mauro supported a 2007 law allowing Iowans to register to vote on Election Day, and he has promoted early and absentee voting.
Most Republican lawmakers opposed the same-day voter registration law, and Schultz argues that those who register at the polls should only be allowed to cast provisional ballots, subject to verification. That way, Schultz says, officials can be sure no one is fraudulently registering on Election Day.
Trucker arrested for drunken driving
IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) A truck driver was arrested and charged with drunken driving after motorists complained his vehicle was blocking traffic.
Police say they found Vitaliy Mitityuk of Virginia passed out in the sleeper of his truck at an intersection in Iowa City early Wednesday.
Police say the truck was running and that officers had to shout numerous times to wake the driver up.
Authorities say Mitityuk acknowledged he’d been drinking beer that night.
Police say the driver’s blood alcohol level was over the legal limit.
Court of appeals upholds assault conviction
IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) The Iowa Court of Appeals has upheld the ruling of a man convicted of breaking into an Iowa City woman’s home and sexually abusing her.
Micah Matthews was found guilty of kidnapping and burglary charges in 2009. Matthews was also found guilty of first-degree sexual abuse, but the charges were merged.
Police say Matthews broke into a home and forced the resident to drive to a nearby ATM in 2007.
Matthews then brought the woman back to her home and sexually abused her.
Matthews argued in his appeal that there was insufficient evidence to show he intended to sexually assault the woman, and that his attorneys made no attempts to suppress DNA evidence.
The court found that the DNA was obtained through a valid warrant and rejected Matthew’s claims.
Matthews is serving a life sentence.
Polk County, Prairie Meadows working on new lease
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) Officials with Polk County and the Prairie Meadows casino and racetrack are working to finalize a new lease agreement.
The negotiations come in advance of next month’s referendum asking voters to approve another eight years of gambling at the Altoona facility.
Polk County administrator Ron Olson says work on a new agreement began in July. He says it should be much different from the current deal.
Polk County owns the facility, which is run by a nonprofit board. The current lease expires Dec. 31.
Revenues from the casino are channeled to the county for community development and betterment grants and to pay off debt for the Iowa Events Center.
Gambling revenue will also pay for a $42.8 million renovation of Veterans Memorial Auditorium in Des Moines.
Officials warn of new meth production
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) Officials are asking Iowans to be on the lookout for methamphetamine labs using a new technique to produce the drug.
The Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement says labs are now using common household containers like pop bottles to make meth.
The agency says the method can mask the telltale odor of a meth lab. It allows producers to move into more-populated areas, including apartments.
Kevin Frampton of the Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement says producers are now moving away from gas cans, tubs and anhydrous ammonia.
Frampton says that someone with more cold packs or garden fertilizer than they’d seem to need should raise a red flag.
ISU researchers test new type of asphalt
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) Researchers at Iowa State University are testing a new type of environmentally friendly paving product.
The product, called bioasphalt, was created by Iowa State researchers. it’s made from biomass, using parts of corn or soybeans left out during food production.
Bioasphalt is being tested for the first time on a section of the Waveland Trail in Ames.
The hope is that bioasphalt could some day replace petroleum as the link that binds asphalt together.
Researchers estimate that bioasphalt could someday save producers almost 20 percent on operating costs.
Cedar Rapids man rescued from burning apartment
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) Firefighters in Cedar Rapids say a 23-year-old man has rescued another man from a burning apartment complex where a waste paper basket caught fire.
Cedar Rapids fire officials say the rescue happened Thursday morning. They say Ryan Walker saw smoke coming from the building while neighbors were yelling that a victim was inside the burning building. Fire officials say Walker pulled a 59-year-old man from the apartment before firefighters arrived.
Fire crews arrived to find the victim outside and smoke coming from the apartment. They extinguished the blaze and gave the victim medical treatment. Officials didn’t identify the victim, who was taken to the hospital with life-threatening injuries. Fire officials say there was no working smoke alarm in the apartment.
(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
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