(KINGSLEY)–Kingsley voters backed the candidate on the ballot for mayor.
According to Plymouth County Auditor Stacey Feldman, there were 169 votes Tuesday for the special election to fill the mayor’s vacancy. Mayor Wayne Plendl resigned in August. The mayor pro tem was unable to serve due to requirements of his employer and also resigned.
Nearly all the votes, 125 of the 169 cast, were for Rick Bohle who ran for mayor. Write-in candidate John Hackett received 35 votes. There were eight other write-in votes.
Feldman says the results of the election are unofficial until the Plymouth County Board of Supervisors review the results in a canvass on Tuesday, December 28.
Remsen land donated for public hunting
(LE MARS)–A new partnership between Plymouth County government, the Conservation Board, the heirs of a Remsen woman and Pheasants Forever will provide more public hunting. Check back for details this (Wednesday) morning.
Mayor: attitude is positive
(LE MARS)–Team work among city of Le Mars employees is being praised by the mayor.
Mayor Dick Kirchoff Tuesday told the Council and public even with the prospect of working to move snow for a second Christmas in a row, there’s a positive attitude.
Kirchoff has recently visited all city departments. He made his comments during a “Thumbs Up” portion of the Council meeting.
Listen here
{audio}images/stories/mp3/December2010/teamwork122210.mp3{/audio}
Snow removal efforts got a “Thumbs Up” from Council member John Rexwinkel.
Listen here
{audio}images/stories/mp3/December2010/snow122210.mp3{/audio}
Council member Delana Ihrke had a seasonal thought, “Merry Christmas.”
Odd and even parking explained
(LE MARS)–Odd and even parking requirements in Le Mars are in effect until April. With the holidays, city residents are being encouraged to pass along the parking rules to their out-of-town visitors.
Council member Ken Nelson said midnight is what counts.
Listen here
{audio}images/stories/mp3/December2010/oddneven122210.mp3{/audio}
There are additional parking restrictions in the downtown area of Le Mars.
Police issue tickets enforcing the odd and even parking requirements when a snow emergency is declared.
The latest forecast is three inches of snow Thursday.
Thillen sentenced to prison for drunk driving, eluding
(ORANGE CITY) A Le Mars woman has been sentenced to prison for two felony convictions in Sioux County District Court.
Sioux County Attorney Coleman McAllister reports 26-year-old Brandi Thillen of Le Mars was sentenced Monday for O-W-I and eluding.
The charges followed an arrest by a sheriff’s deputy after a pursuit in May and a traffic stop for an equipment violation by an Iowa State Patrol officer in June that led to the O-W-I.
Thillen was sentenced to up to five years for each of the felony convictions and fined more than 38-hundred dollars.
Police search for armed robbery suspect
(SIOUX CITY)–Sioux City Police are putting an armed robbery in Morningside on the Crimestoppers program for tips to solve the crime.
Police responded to an alarm at the Kum and Go convenience store at 2053 South Lakeport Street about three Monday morning.
The store clerk reported being robbed at gunpoint by two men who left the business. The clerk was not injured.
Cash and merchandise were taken, but the amount has not been released.
The suspects are described by Sioux City Police as two black males with average builds who were wearing masks to disguise their identities.
Teens cited into juvenile court following prescription drug investigation
(LE MARS)–Four Le Mars teens are charged in Juvenile Court after an investigation into a report that someone was selling prescription drugs at Le Mars Community High School.
Le Mars Police issued written information about the investigation which began November 11th.
According to authorities, 17-year-old Allegra Statema is charged with felony delivery of a controlled substance.
Three other teens are charged with possession of a controlled substance. They are 16-year-olds Austin Engel; Chris Palmquist; and Matthew Bergquist.
Texas man must register as sex offender after Sioux County conviction
(ORANGE CITY)–A Texas man will serve a prison term for a conviction in Sioux County District court.
Sioux County attorney Coleman McAllister released information about the conviction of 31-year-old Richard Dewayne Shannon, Junior of Fabens, Texas.
Shannon was charged with lascivious acts with a child at a campground in Rock Valley on Memorial Day holiday weekend.
Rock Valley Police charged Shannon in June and he pleaded guilty to the felony charge Monday.
Shannon was ordered to serve five years in prison and received a special sentence committing him to state custody for 10 years. After he’s released, he was ordered to wear electronic monitoring for five years and register as a sex offender.
EPA reaches settlement on unauthorized dredging
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) The Environmental Protection Agency says it has reached a $65,000 settlement with two Dakota Dunes men who impacted nearly 22 acres of wetlands near the Missouri River in Dixon County, Neb., with unauthorized excavation and dredging.
The EPA says Kevin Vaughan conducted the digging and earth moving on land owned by Bryce Andersen without obtaining necessary permits from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
Vaughan has submitted a draft work plan for restoring the site.
A corps representative who inspected the property in 2006 documented a discharge of dredged material into the river that altered its natural flow by disconnecting its backwaters and tributaries, including Turkey Creek.
The EPA says Vaughan told the agency that the work was done to create a hunting habitat for himself and his associates.
(COPYRIGHT 2010 BY ASSOCIATED PRESS. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED)
Tyson Foods CEO compensation at $8.7 million
The CEO of Tyson Foods Inc. has received compensation of nearly $8.7 million in his first year at the helm of the meat producer.
Donnie Smith was Tyson’s senior group vice president of poultry and prepared food and took over as CEO in November 2009, replacing Leland Tollett who retired.
Regulatory filings show Smith was awarded a salary of $855,577 and a performance-based cash bonus of nearly $3.8 million for the 2010 fiscal year. He also received stock awards and options valued at nearly $4 million.
The Springfield, Ark.-based company has recently returned to a profit after one of the worst downturns in decades. The business has operations in Cherokee and Storm Lake as well as Dakota City, Nebraska.
The Associated Press pay package formula is designed to isolate the value of total compensation and may differ from totals companies list in filings with regulators.
(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
Study on preschool ranks Iowa high
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) A new report ranks Iowa third in the nation on spending on the youngest of preschool children, but child advocates say more can be done.
The study is by the Washington-based Voices for America’s Children. It says Iowa spends $753 per child on preschool for children up to the age of 2, which experts say is the most crucial age for brain development. California leads the nation.
Outgoing Gov. Chet Culver pushed a $90 million expansion of preschool for all 4-year-olds in the state. Gov.-elect Terry Branstad and GOP leaders have said that spending will be an issue when the Legislature convenes next month.
Sheila Hansen, a child advocate in Iowa, says she hopes there’s room for compromise
Branstad retains director of retirement system
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) Gov.-elect Terry Branstad is retaining Donna Mueller as chief executive officer of the giant Iowa Public Employees’ Retirement System, keeping her in a post she has held since 2003.
The IPERS system is a public pension fund for state and local government workers. The director of the independent agency is responsible for overseeing operations, investments and benefits paid through the program.
The fund has more than 300,000 members and more than 2,200 participating employers. Assets in the fund exceed $21 billion.
Mueller came to Iowa from Boston, where she headed the Boston Retirement Board. She has a law degree from Washington and Lee University in Kentucky and is a graduate of the John F. Kennedy School of Government’s Program for Senior Executives at Harvard University.
Branstad names Human Rights director
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) Gov.-elect Terry Branstad has named Isaiah McGee as director of the Iowa Department of Human Rights, an agency that’s designed to eliminate economic, social and cultural barriers in the state.
McGee, of Waukee, is a member of the Iowa Advisory Commission of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights. He also has served on the Generation Iowa Commission and the Iowa Indigent Defense Commission.
McGee received his undergraduate degree from Cornell College, and a master’s degree from Drake University. He formerly served on the board of the Greater Des Moines Partnership and the Iowa Homeless Youth Center.
2 Iowa cities make final list for Olympic Trials
IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) Council Bluffs and Iowa City are two of the three finalists to host the 2012 U.S. Olympic Team Trials for wrestling and weightlifting.
Those cities, along with Columbus, Ohio, have been chosen from an initial list of seven cities to host the trials.
Each city will make their final presentation next month.
Officials are expected to announce the winning bid on Jan. 17.
The event will determine which athletes represent the U.S. at the 2012 Olympic Games in London, England.
Greensboro, N.C., Hampton, Va., Oklahoma City, Okla. and Pontiac, Mich. did not make the final cut.
10 treated after carbon dioxide leak at Iowa plant
HARLAN, Iowa (AP) Authorities say 10 workers were taken to a hospital after a carbon dioxide leak at a bacon processing plant in Harlan in western Iowa.
Atlantic radio station KJAN says emergency crews responded to Shelby County Cookers at 8 a.m. Tuesday after a call about high levels of the gas, used to rapidly freeze bacon products.
Harlan Fire Chief Roger Bissen says the plant has the required detectors and the ventilation system was working, but the levels went up so fast that the system couldn’t keep up and people were overcome. He says all 10 workers were treated at the hospital and released.
Bissen says firefighters found two gas lines leaking inside the plant. The cause remains under investigation.
Fire destroys livestock operation
NEW ALBIN, Iowa (AP) Authorities say a fire at a hog operation in northeast Iowa destroyed at least two buildings and killed several pigs.
Waterloo television station KWWL says the fire broke out Monday afternoon at a farm near New Albin in Allamakee County. Fire crews remained on the scene into Monday night.
There was no immediate word on how many animals died in the blaze or an estimate on the damage.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
Submit your news release, confidential news tip or news idea by email klemnews@lemarscomm or by calling 712.546.4121 or 712.546.9672 fax.
