Four Fire Departments Fight Silage Fire
(Merrill) — Smoke could be seen for miles, as fire fighters from four communities were at the scene of a fire located at 25675 County Road K-49, or about 5 miles east of Merrill. A corn silage pile, along with numerous round bales, ignited when a payloader tractor, while working on the silage pile, touched the dry husks of the bales. Underneath the silage pile were old rubber tires that also ignited. Lost are several round bales, tons of corn silage, and the payloader tractor that has a value of at least $30,000. That fire started at about 2:40 p.m. and fire officials were on the scene for more than three hours. Fire fighters from Merrill, Hinton, Le Mars and Oyens responded to that fire.
Le Mars Fire Department and Dean Foods Work Together For Disaster Drill
(Le Mars) — The Le Mars Fire and Rescue Department will hold a simulated disaster drill on this evening at Dean Foods between 6:30 and 8:30 p.m. Fire Chief Dave Schipper says it will be a “hands-on” drill focusing on a truck that has spilled some acid.
Listen to
{audio} images/stories/mp3/August 2012/Schipper drill1.mp3{/audio}
Schipper says other area fire departments have been invited to participate in the drill.
Listen to
{audio} images/stories/mp3/August 2012/Schipper drill2.mp3{/audio}
Jarrod Otta is the plant manager for Dean Foods. He says the milk plant wants to treat the drill as a real emergency.
Listen to
{audio} images/stories/mp3/August 2012/Otta1.mp3{/audio}
Otta says the production line will be shut down for about 15 to 20 minutes, but he says the employees will take an active roll in tonight’s drill.
Listen to
{audio} images/stories/mp3/August 2012/Otta2.mp3{/audio}
Plymouth County Sheriff Office Gets Police Dog
(Le Mars) — The newest member of the Plymouth County Law Enforcement team met with the county board of supervisors during their Tuesday meeting. Sheriff Mike Van Otterloo and Deputy Jacob Wingert introduced Fala, a four and a half month old German Shepard dog. Deputy Wingert will be the trainer and handler of the new canine patrol. Wingert says the dog, its food, and veterinary services are being donated.
Listen to
{audio} images/stories/mp3/August 2012/Wingert1.mp3{/audio}
Wingert says it will take approximately two years to fully train the dog as a registered police dog. He says the dog already displays several characteristics that lead the sheriff’s office to believe Fala will make for a good police dog.
Listen to
{audio} images/stories/mp3/August 2012/Wingert2.mp3{/audio}
Deputy Wingert says Fala will be a big help with the Plymouth County Sheriff’s Department once the training is completed.
Listen to
{audio} images/stories/mp3/August 2012/Wingert3.mp3{/audio}
Wingert says during these early stages of training, he is working with Fala with her socialization skills.
Le Mars Man Sentenced To Federal Prison For Meth Distribution
(Cedar Rapids) — A Le Mars man is one of five individuals sentenced to federal prison for a methamphetamine distribution conspiracy. 30 year old Brent Lamp was sentenced on August 20th to 17 and a half years in federal prison. Lamp pleaded guilty to receiving multiple quantities of methamphetamine and resold it to numerous other people, between January 2011 to December of 2011. Lamp was previously convicted of a felony drug offense in Plymouth County in December of 2001.
Penn National Rejects Casino Contract Offer
SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) – The operator of Sioux City’s riverboat casino has turned down a contract offer from its nonprofit partner that holds the gambling license.
The Missouri River Historical Development on Monday approved an extension of its operating agreement with Penn National Gaming Co. through March 2015, and added language that would allow the group to negotiate with other operators on a new land-based casino.
Penn rejected the offer on Tuesday.
The move could set up a showdown at Thursday’s meeting of the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission. The current contract expired in July, and the commission has warned that if a short-term deal isn’t reached by this week, the state may have no other choice but to shut down the riverboat, which has over 300 employees.
Student Pilot Made False Claims On Training Logs
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – A Waterloo student pilot who admitted to falsifying flight logs to claim he flew more hours than he did is scheduled to be sentenced in federal court in Des Moines.
Thirty-three-year-old Fahad Nabeel Hussein Al-Daous earlier entered a guilty plea to making a false statement to the Federal Aviation Administration.
Al-Daous told FBI agents he falsely logged twice the actual number of hours he flew to save on the cost of getting a pilot’s license.
He attended flight training at Livingston Aviation in Waterloo during 2010 and 2011. When he applied for a commercial pilot training program in September, the flight school discovered he had
not made many flights listed in his logbook.
Prosecutors on Wednesday will seek a year in prison. Defense attorneys say probation is sufficient punishment.
