(LE MARS) After the hustle and bustle of the holidays, the cold settles in and people in the Midwest start to go a little stir crazy. Marge Dull of ABC Travel in Le Mars says that the majority of people vacationing somewhere warm will be heading out mid-January through the end of March.
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Dull explains why Mexico is a hot spot this year.
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Those going to visit Mexico need to be reminded that you do need a passport to travel anywhere beyond the border zone, so if you’re thinking about going, start the passport process now.
Dull explains the most important travel tip of all when getting ready to fly…be prepared.
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Dull adds that winter travelers should allow themselves even more extra time before a flight, just in case unexpected weather shows up and roads are bad on the way to the airport. (Angela Drake, KLEM News)
Mitten money helps needy families
(REMSEN)–Families in five northwest Iowa counties are getting help because businesses and their customers were part of a Mid-Sioux Opportunity”Mitten” fund raiser.
Nearly 2,000 dollars was collected through the donation of one dollar for paper mittens that represented the fund raiser’s donation.
Mid-Sioux executive director Dick Sievers says the money will be used for direct assistance to families in Plymouth, Cherokee, Sioux, Ida and Lyon Counties.
This was the second annual mitten fund raiser for the Remsen-based Mid-Sioux.
Head-on collision injures several south of Sioux Center
(SIOUX CENTER)–Three people were taken to a hospital in Sioux Falls after a head-on collision two miles south of Sioux Center on Thursday night.
The Sioux County Sheriff’s office reports a car driven by 17-year-old Michaela Rodenburgh of Sioux Center was traveling north on Highway 75. Rodenburgh crossed the center line and her car collided with a car driven by 46-year-old Ming-Chen Lorohrer of Orange City.
Ambulances from Orange City took Rodenburgh and her two passengers, 16-year-old Courtney Vreugdenhill and 16-year-old Nathan Reichert, both of Sioux Center, to Orange City Area Health System.
Five passengers in Lorohrer’s vehicle from Orange City were taken by ambulances from Sioux Center to the Sioux Center Hospital.
They include 15-year-old Caleb Rohrer; 37-year-old Huiu-Yu Lin; 21-year-old Kai Chen; 22-year-old Kota Naqaoa; and 24-year-old Yuiko Higashino.
The driver, Lorohrer, Chen and Naqaoa were transferred to McKennan Hospital in Sioux Falls.
The accident is still being investigated.
Work identity leads to arrest in Sioux County
(ROCK VALLEY)–A Rock Valley man is in the Sioux County Jail after his arrest for identity theft.
According to the Sioux County Sheriff’s Office report, 42-year-old Jaime Sanchez-Gonzalez is accused of using someone else’s identity to get a job at Double V Dairy in Rock Valley.
The felony charge was filed Thursday after the sheriff’s office investigated a report about the false identity.
Merry Christmas from Powell Broadcasting/KLEM Radio. The business office is closed and will reopen Monday, December 27. Enjoy more of the 36 hours of Christmas on KLEM 1410 AM and 96.9 FM on this Christmas Day. Regular programming will resume Sunday.
5 Iowa programs share $335K for housing help
WASHINGTON, D.C. (AP) Five Iowa programs that offer housing counseling will share $335,000 in federal funding.
The money from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development is to be used to provide services to homeowners and -buyers, renters and the homeless.
Grants ranging from $35,000 to $166,000 are headed to the Center for Siouxland, United Neighbors Inc. in Davenport, Opportunities Made Easy Inc. in Des Moines, Iowa Finance Authority in Des Moines, and Family Management Credit Counselors Inc. in Waterloo. Those programs help Iowans find affordable housing and improve their finances, among other things.
(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
New law creates mixed signals in establishment
YANKTON, S.D. (AP) South Dakota’s expanded smoking is appearing to be a bit hazy.
Since taking effect Nov. 10, there have been at least five reports to police of people smoking at Tobacco Road in Yankton.
Owners of the bar said that they are in full compliance with the law.
The issue is a portion of the law saying operators shall inform violators that no person may smoke tobacco or carry any lighted tobacco product in any public place or place of employment.
Yankton County State’s Attorney Rob Klimisch says after reading the law, it looks like owners’ only responsibility is to let people know what it says, and their responsibility ends at that spot.
The state attorney general office has received hundreds of inquiries regarding the ban.
(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
Gov. Culver says 2010 was good year for Iowa
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) Gov. Chet Culver is wishing Iowans a happy holiday and a great start to the new year.
In his holiday message, the outgoing governor says the state came out ahead in 2010, “with a growing economy, a fiscally sound government and a healthy recovery from historic natural disasters.”
Culver also offers a special thank-you to the more than 3,100 Iowa soldiers who are deployed overseas and their families.
US Marine on leave killed in Illinois car accident
EAST ST. LOUIS, Ill. (AP) Authorities say a 24-year-old U.S. Marine on leave from his North Carolina base is dead after a three-vehicle crash in southwestern Illinois.
Illinois State Police say Blake G. Hinds of Burlington, Iowa, was in a three-vehicle crash early Thursday evening near a bridge in East St. Louis. Police say Hinds had been stationed at Camp LeJeune, N.C., and may have been on his way home for Christmas.
Police say Hinds’ vehicle rear-ended a tractor trailer before he lost control of his vehicle and it collided with another vehicle.
The St. Clair County coroner pronounced Hinds dead at the scene.
Police say Hinds was wearing a seat belt and his car’s airbags deployed.
The Hawk Eye newspaper of Burlington, Iowa, reports that Hinds was a 2005 graduate of Burlington High School.
Court date set for man charged with arson
CLINTON, Iowa (AP) A Clinton man charged with arson for allegedly trying to burn down his house two years ago is to be arraigned next week.
The Clinton Herald says a Dec. 29 court appearance is scheduled for Jeffrey Soboroff. He’s charged with first-degree arson, possession of an incendiary or explosive device with intent to use and assault with the intent to injure a peace officer. The charges stem from a fire at his home on Nov. 4, 2008.
According to court documents, two gasoline cans were found inside the house and state fire marshal’s office determined the fire was intentionally set.
Soboroff is currently serving a 10-year prison sentence in a separate case involving harassment and extortion charges in 2008.
Vandals strike library in Hiawatha
HIAWATHA, Iowa (AP) Vandals have hit the public library in Hiawatha near Cedar Rapids, busting out a large window.
Assistant library director Patricia Struttmann told The Gazette that it appears someone used a crowbar or baseball bat.
Struttmann says the damage happened between Wednesday night and Thursday afternoon, when the library was closed for Christmas. She discovered the damage on Thursday when she went to the library to remove books left in the drop-off box.
The window has been boarded up until it can be repaired.
Struttmann says this is the second time in recent years that vandals have broken out widows in the library. She said it also happened on New Year’s Eve in 2007.
Inmate escapes from Iowa work release center
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) A state prison official says an inmate has escaped from a residential work release facility in Coralville.
Fred Scaletta of the Iowa Department of Corrections says Friday that 30-year-old Joseph David Dahlen failed to return to the minimum-security center from a furlough.
Scaletta says Dahlen was placed on escape status Thursday night.
Dahlen is serving a 10-year prison sentence for second-degree robbery in Linn County. His sentence began in August 2003. He was transferred to work release last October.
Union OKs contract with Titan Tire in Des Moines
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) Members of a local United Steelworkers union have approved a two-year contract with Titan Tire, ending a one-week shutdown at the Des Moines plant.
The Des Moines Register says the 500 members of Local 164 approved the deal on Thursday. Local union chief Mike Mathis says the vote was by a majority, and workers will return to work Sunday night.
The shutdown began when management locked the doors at the plant on Dec. 17 after contract talks failed.
Morry Taylor, chief executive of Titan Tire, said he was pleased with the vote.
The new contract freezes wages at $22 per hour and requires a greater workers contribution to the company’s insurance coverage.
The Des Moines plant makes tires for agricultural equipment. It has about 800 workers.
Photo display honors fallen Neb., Iowa soldiers
ASHLAND, Neb. (AP) A photo display honoring 98 fallen soldiers from Nebraska and western Iowa is on display at the Strategic Air and Space Museum in Ashland.
The museum’s interim executive director, Evonne Williams, told the Lincoln Journal Star the exhibit was inspired by the family of a Pender soldier who died in Iraq in 2006. The relatives of Army National Guard Sgt. Joshua Ford said they felt like his life had been forgotten within months of his death.
Pat Mracek, mother of fallen Army Sgt. Cory Mracek of Hays Springs, says the display ensures that doesn’t happen.
“Remembering Our Fallen” is on display through Dec. 31. Then the exhibit will travel to Fremont, North Platte, Osceola and the Nebraska Capitol.
Iowa fullback Brad Rogers to miss Insight Bowl
IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz says fullback Brad Rogers will miss next week’s Insight Bowl against Missouri, and the rest of this season’s practices, because the freshman is undergoing heart tests.
Rogers played in 11 games this season, running for 75 yards on 11 carries. He also caught two passes for 15 yards.
The Hawkeyes (7-5) will play Missouri (10-2) on Dec. 28 in Tempe, Ariz.
(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
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