(LE MARS) Today is the first day Plymouth County residents may apply for a permit using Iowa’s new weapons permit law.
Next month, Sheriff Mike Van Otterloo will issue permits that are plastic cards with a photo i-d using a picture taken at the sheriff’s office.
According to Van Otterloo, gun permits will be issued for five years instead of the yearly renewal.
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There are about 400 Plymouth County residents with gun permits. Sheriffs will no longer ask why the person wants a permit.
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Guns may be carried in places where alcohol is served, but the person with the permit cannot be intoxicated based on Iowa’s .08 alcohol limits.
The law will require those renewing permits to have proof of training.
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Van Otterloo sent letters to those whose permits expire in the first three months of next year. He’s also providing information on the sheriff’s office web page www.plymouthcountysheriff.com. Look for weapons permits on the bottom of the left side of the home page. Applications for permits will only be handled during office hours Monday through Friday form 8 to noon and 1;30 to 5 pm, unless there’s an appointment for another time. He welcomes calls or emails with questions about the state law change.
Staples to end operations in Hawarden next year
(HAWARDEN)–Staples Promotional Products will shutdown operations in Hawarden early next year.
Headwear has been manufactured at the Staples Promotional Products’ Hawarden location which was formerly known as K-Products.
Staples Promotional Products Vice President Richard Witaszak explained product demand changed since the operation began in Hawarden in 1977.
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Employees were notified earlier this month of the plans to close the Hawarden operation in the second week of next year.
There are about 20 associates at Staples in Hawarden who may take severance pay or apply for jobs at Staples in Orange City.
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Staples is based in Overland Park, Kansas and has operations in both Orange City and Marcus.
Chocolate treats in Le Mars tonight
(LE MARS)–Sweet treats and special values are offered for holiday shoppers in Le Mars tonight.
The Le Mars Area Chamber of Commerce “Chocolate Treat Night” is part of the Chamber’s holiday events. Holiday store participants will have chocolate treats available to shoppers from 6-8 tonight.
Chamber Holiday Dollars need to be spent by Thursday, December 24th.
New judge appointed for Plymouth and five northwest Iowa counties
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) A Sioux City attorney has been named district judge in Iowa’s Third Judicial District.
Gov. Chet Culver appointed Jeff Poulson as district judge on Tuesday for the district that includes Plymouth, Woodbury, Sioux, Monona, Ida and Crawford counties.
Poulson is an attorney in private practice in Sioux City. He received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Wyoming in 1974 and his law degree from Drake University in 1976.
The vacancy was created when District Judge Gary Wenell of rural Sioux City retired from being a fulltime judge after 20 years on the bench.
(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
Iowa prison on lockdown after 4 inmates stabbed
FORT MADISON, Iowa (AP) Prison officials say the Iowa State Penitentiary in Fort Madison has been on lockdown after the stabbings of four inmates.
Department of Corrections spokesman Fred Scaletta says the inmates were taken to a hospital to be treated for their wounds after the stabbings Tuesday morning.
No staff members were injured.
Scaletta says the maximum security prison was placed on lockdown after the 11:30 a.m. stabbings. Officials continue to investigate how the incident started and who else might have been involved besides the inmates who were stabbed.
Thieves steal safe from Des Moines school
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) Des Moines police are investigating a theft case at a middle school where the culprits got away with a safe, two cash drawers and an undisclosed amount of money from the kitchen office.
The Des Moines Register reports the theft at Meredith Middle School happened sometime after Nov. 23. It was reported Monday morning.
Police say an employee discovered the break-in at a kitchen entry door. A window to the kitchen office had been broken. The safe had been on a table just inside the door.
School security officers say no alarms were set off. The kitchen has no cameras.
FDA says Iowa egg farm can resume shell egg sales
WASHINGTON (AP) The Food and Drug Administration says it will allow an Iowa egg farm linked to a widespread salmonella outbreak to resume selling its shell eggs to consumers.
Wright County Egg recalled 380 million eggs earlier this year after the farm was linked to more than 1,600 salmonella illnesses. A subsequent FDA inspection revealed dead chickens, insects, rodents and towers of manure at the farm. The company has not been allowed to sell shell eggs since then, except to breaker facilities that pasteurize the eggs.
FDA commissioner Margaret Hamburg said Tuesday that the “time has come” for the company to resume shell egg sales from one of its six farms after it implemented corrective measures.
Lake Delhi group supports public ownership of dam
CEDAR RAPID, Iowa (AP) A task force says it supports rebuilding the dam at Lake Delhi in northeast Iowa with public ownership and control of the dam and public access to the lake.
The Gazette reports that the task force in a report says public ownership would ensure participation in and eligibility for federal programs and accountable and transparent oversight.
Gov. Chet Culver created the task force after heavy rains washed away part of the privately owned dam, draining the 9-mile-long lake in July.
Iowa has asked the Federal Emergency Management Agency to reconsider its decision that the dam isn’t eligible for disaster aid because it’s owned by a private group. Repairs are expected to cost nearly $6 million.
(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
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