(Hawarden) — Fire officials from six different communities were busy fighting a structural fire last evening in Hawarden. Fire broke out at about 10:30 p.m. and fire crews battled the blaze for more than five and a half hours. Jon Strong is the fire chief for the Hawarden fire department. He says the 90 feet by 250 feet building was used primarily for storage.
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He doesn’t know the damage estimate, but says it will be in the several thousands of dollars. Strong isn’t certain of the origin of the fire but says the state fire marshall is scheduled to arrive on Thursday to investigate. There were no injuries involved with the fire. Those fire departments that responded included: Hawarden, Akron, Ireton, Sioux Center, Alcester,South Dakota; and Hudson, South Dakota.
(Akron) — Prior to responding to the fire in Hawarden, the Akron Fire and Rescue Department were called to the scene of a roll-over auto accident. The accident happened about 8:45 p.m. last evening. The accident occured at the intersection of K-18 and 314th Street. The subjects of the accident were reported to be pinned inside the vehicle. The names and the conditions of those involved in the accident are not known at this time.
(LeMars) — Each year the LeMars Junior Varsity Boy’s Basketball team hosts the Hall of Pride Game at the LeMars Community High School. Both workers and team players donated their time with all proceeds going to support non for profit organizations in our area. The event was able to raise several hundred dollars. This year, team members chose to donate $570 to the new LeMars Area Dialysis Services and the remainder of the funds were donated to the Nohava Backpack for Kids program. Mike Donlin, president of the LeMars Area Dialysis Service accepted the donation and says the board of directors are very pleased and delighted that the Junior Varsity basketball team chose to support our cause.
(LeMars) — The Plymouth County Board of Supervisors once again heard from Gene Pluegger of LeMars who appeared before the Supervisors again asking if they would consider paving a stretch of road about a mile long near a cemetery. Pluegger asked the supervisors to consider placing the paving project on the five-year plan. Chairman Jim Henrich said they can’t give any promises that the road will be placed on the five year plan. Supervisor Mark Loutsch tried to explain that the county sometimes is able to receive funding from the state and that many times determines which roadway is placed on the prioritiy list.
The Board of Supervisors also heard from Dick Sievers, the executive director of Mid-Sioux Opportunity.
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Sievers informed the supervisors that all funds stay in Plymouth County, although the charity organization helps people in a five-county area. Sievers says it is likely the funding from the federal and state government will likely be cut over the next 2 to 5 years. He didn’t say which programs would be adversely affected but only to say the budget cuts will be inevitable in most programs. Supervisor Craig Anderson asked the question if Mid-Sioux had calculated how many employees may lose their jobs as a result of the proposed budget cuts. Sievers replied, he hasn’t looked at that as of yet. Mid-Sioux employs more than 80 people and the headquarters are located at Remsen. The Supervisors also heard funding requests from Tony Schroeder representing the Plymouth County Fair, and from Judy Bowman representing the Plymouth County Historical Museum.
(Sioux City) — Sioux City Police are asking for the assistance of the public to find a suspect involved with an assult. At about 7:00 this morning, the Sioux City Police Department received a report of an assault at 17th and Jones Streets. A 16 year old female reported that while she was waiting for her bus, an unknown male grabbed her from behind. The suspect covered her mouth and threatened to harm her. The girl was able to escape when a car passed and the male released her. The victim ran home and appears to be uninjured. The only description of the suspect is that he is male, about 6 feet tall and thin. He was wearing a dark brown work style coat, jeans, and a mask or scarf over his face. The Police are asking if you were in the area of the incident and have a better description of the suspect or witnessed the incident, please contact Detective Troy Hansen at 898-4554. You can also contact Crime Stoppers by calling 258-TIPS, texting to CRIMES with SCPDTIP in the message.
(LeMars) — Plymouth County Republicans have announced the locations for the January 3rd caucuses. Precincts 1 & 6 which include the townships of Portland, Westfield, and Sioux will gather at the Security National Bank community room at Akron. Precincts 2,3,4,11,12,and 13 that includes the townships of Preston, Grant, Johnson, Washington, Elgin, America, and LeMars Wards 1,2,and 3 will caucus at the LeMars Convention Center Lower Level in LeMars. Precinct 5 that includes the townships of Fredonia, Meadow, Marion, and Remsen will gather at the Remsen Union High School Auditorium in Remsen. Precinct 7 that includes the townships of Liberty, Plymouth, and Stanton will meet at the Merrill Community Center gym. Precinct 8 including Hancock, Perry, Hungerford, and Lincoln townships will meet at the Hinton Community Center in Hinton. Precinct 10 includes the townships of Union, Henry, Elkhorn and Garfield will caucus at the Kingsley Community Center at Kingsley. Caucuses will begin at 7:00 p.m. and continue until 9:00 p.m.
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Iowa’s jobless rate has fallen below 6 percent for the first time in two years, in part because of a growth in manufacturing.
The latest employment numbers show the jobless rate in November fell to 5.7 percent. That’s the lowest since September 2009 when the rate stood at 5.9 percent. It is also down from 6 percent in
October.
Iowa Workforce Development Director Teresa Wahlert says the decline in the rate shows the Iowa economy is on firmer ground and the economic recovery has “stepped up a notch.”
About 1,100 manufacturing jobs were added in November with 3,700 jobs being created overall.
The Iowa Policy Project, an Iowa City-based think tank, argues Iowa’s economy remains sluggish with not enough jobs being created to offset those lost since 2008.
