(LE MARS)–A rural Le Mars farmer will begin a three-year term on the Plymouth County Farm Service Agency County Committee.
Clark Tindall was elected after balloting to fill an opening from America, Elgin, Grant, Johnson, Portland, Preston, Washington and Westfield Townships. The other candidate was Brad Harvey of rural Akron.
Kent Brown previously served as a committee member from those townships.
County Committee members make decisions on how federal farm programs are administered locally.
Loess Hills property owner offers help for preservation
(WESTFIELD)–A rural Westfield man is making his case for preservation of the Loess Hills. He’s offering his services to those who want to pursue protection of native species.
Bill Zales is a retired botany professor whose classroom today is often the 300 acres he and his wife live on in the Loess Hills near Westfield. Zales is willing to help others preserve the Hills and also suggests other resources.
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Zales came to the area to visit relatives many years ago. That led to his decision to retire in the area.
Zales views the native prairie in Plymouth County as a treasure.
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Zales recently met with Jim Henrich of Akron, who chairs the Plymouth County Board of Supervisors, to talk with Henrich about preservation of the Loess Hills.
Vehicle sinks in Storm Lake
(STORM LAKE)–Two men escaped serious injury when a truck towing an ice shack broke through Storm Lake Sunday afternoon.
The Buena Vista County Sheriff’s office reports the truck driven by 55-year-old Paul Lussman of Storm Lake sank to the bottom of Storm Lake.
Lussman and his passenger, 44-year-old Larry Dietrich of Storm Lake, were able to free themselves and came to the surface of the lake.
A person on the lake who had an all terrain vehicle took Lussman and Dietrich to shore where they were treated for minor injuries, including hypothermia.
(Fonda)–A former Fonda man drowned in that northwest Iowa town while trying to rescue his dog. According to Fonda Police Chief Alex Leu, a call was received about 1:30 Sunday afternoon of an unattended pickup parked near the intersection of Lake and Vine Street with the engine running. The pickup was near the Fonda Pit, an old gravel pit and campground area. The caller could see winter clothing items near open water created by an aerator. The Fonda police, fire, and ambulance services began search and rescue operations. The body of 64-year-old James Stacey of Marshall, Missouri, formerly of Fonda, was found at the edge of the water and ice. Leu says evidence at the scene indicates Stacey attempted to rescue his dog who had fallen in the water. During the rescue, Stacey fell through the ice and was unable to escape the water. The dog was found safe in the pickup. The incident is being investigated as an accidental drowning. (News report by Radio Iowa)
Norfolk man dies after being stabbed
NORFOLK, Neb. (AP) Madison County authorities say a 27-year-old Norfolk man died at a hospital after being stabbed during an altercation.
County Attorney Joe Smith says Timothy Warren died about 5 a.m. Sunday at Faith Regional Health Services in Norfolk. Smith says Warren was stabbed earlier that morning.
An autopsy was ordered for Monday.
Smith says another man was treated for an arm wound. He did not give the man’s name.
No arrests have been reported.
(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
Body of elderly Iowa woman found outside her home
AVOCA, Iowa (AP) Pottawattamie County authorities say the body of a 90-year-old Avoca woman was found outside her front door.
Sheriff’s Sgt. Duane Richie told Atlantic radio station KJAN that a neighbor found the body of Alice Miller on Sunday.
Richie says it’s believed Miller slipped on her icy front porch when she went outside a little before 8 a.m. to get her newspaper. A neighbor noticed Miller’s front door was still open a few hours later.
Richie says it’s unclear whether Miller was knocked unconscious by the fall or whether her other injuries were too severe to let her get back up or call for help before succumbing to the elements. National Weather Service records say it was about 10 degrees in nearby Harlan around the time of her fall.
Iowa work-release inmate still listed as escaped
CORALVILLE, Iowa (AP) A work-release inmate still has not returned from his pre-Christmas shopping in Coralville.
Mick Meeks is residential manager of Hope House. He said Monday that 30-year-old Joseph David Dahlen is still listed as escaped from the minimum-security center.
Dahlen was given permission to leave Hope House for a short shopping trip on Thursday. He didn’t come back by his deadline of 5:45 p.m.
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.
Fire damages 3 rooms at Urbandale motel
URBANDALE, Iowa (AP) One person was treated for smoke inhalation after a fire that damaged three rooms at an Urbandale motel.
Fire officials say alarm calls came in at 12:43 a.m. Sunday from the Motel Relax.
Fire officials told The Des Moines Register that the fire began in a room on the first floor and spread to two adjacent rooms.
Damage is estimated at $25,000.
The cause is being investigated.
Police say man reported himself too drunk to drive
IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) Iowa City police say a 25-year-old man called 911 to report a drunken driver: himself.
According to the Iowa City Press-Citizen, police say Francisco Castro called the emergency number around 8:30 on Christmas morning. Officers found Castro sitting in the driver’s seat of a running vehicle.
Police say Castro told officers that he called 911 because he thought he was too drunk to drive. A follow-up test showed his blood-alcohol level was nearly three times the legal limit.
There is no listed phone number for Castro. Online court records don’t yet list the case or his attorney.
Cedar Rapids’ power grid needs work after flooding
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) It could be at least another year before the power grid that serves downtown Cedar Rapids is fully repaired. It still hasn’t been fully restored following the 2008 flood.
Alliant Energy’s Interstate Power and Light built a temporary substation to serve downtown in the wake of flooding from the Cedar River. But utility spokesman Scott Drzycimski told the Cedar Rapid Gazette that it was built in three weeks compared to a year for a normal substation and isn’t as reliable.
IPL has been working to find a less-vulnerable home for the substation, which had been near the river.
A new substation isn’t expected to be in service until late next year or early 2012.
(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
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