Le Mars School Board To Hear Superintendent’s Annual Report
(Le Mars) — The Le Mars Community School Board is scheduled to meet this evening. On their agenda will be District Superintendent, Dr. Todd Wendt as he offers the board his annual report. Assistant superintendent, Mr. Steve Webner will present the board information regarding the district’s status related to requirements of No Child Left Behind. The school board is expected to review submitted bids for two school buses, and make a decision on the purchase of two buses. The school board will also review the Pre-school handbook for 2012-2013. There are no resignations to consider, but the board is expected to act on three contracts.
Merrill To Discuss 5th Street Improvements
(Merrill) — The city of Merrill will be holding an informational meeting on Monday evening at 7:00 p.m. at the Merrill City Hall, Kissinger Community Center to focus on the improvements for 5th Street. The meeting will inform the public of the proposed plans and construction schedule for the utility and street reconstruction project which is being done in conjunction with the Plymouth County K-42 road project.
Tickets On Sale For Bishop’s Dinner
(Le Mars) — Tickets for the sixteenth annual Bishop’s Dinner for Catholic Schools are now available for purchase. The Bishop’s Dinner is scheduled for Sunday, October 14th at the Sioux City Convention Center beginning at 4:00 p.m. with a social hour and the dinner to start at 5:00 p.m. This year’s key-note address speaker is the famous well-known actor Jerry Mathers, who starred in the popular “Leave It To Beaver” television series. Mathers is a Sioux City native, and still has many relatives living in the Sioux City and Kingsley area. Gehlen Catholic Schools Foundation Board Member Rick Kneip of Le Mars says the dinner benefits Gehlen Catholic schools. Kneip says not only does Gehlen receive money through ticket sales, the school is also the recipient of funds through “Education Enhancement Grants” made possible by corporate and individual sponsors of the dinner. Last year, more than $200,000 was raised at the Bishop’s Dinner. The Bishop’s Dinner is the largest fundraiser conducted by the Catholic School Foundation.
Sioux City Girl Dies From Being Thrown From Pickup Box
SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) – A 15-year-old Iowa girl died after she was thrown out of the bed of the pickup truck she was riding in.
Authorities say Alexi Vaul, of Sioux City, died Saturday after an accident in Dakota Dunes, S.D.
Vaul was riding in the back of the Chevrolet truck and talking through a window to 16-year-old William Murray, who was driving when the accident happened. The truck hit a curb
and left the road, and the impact sent Vaul flying.
Vaul suffered fatal injuries. The driver and two passengers riding inside the truck’s cab were not hurt.
Murray is from McCook Lake, S.D.
Iowa CCI: Rude, Loud, and Abnoxious, And They Will Remain That Way
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Members of Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement admit they’re loud and occasionally rude, but they argue that when officials won’t listen, activists must demand
attention.
The group has a history of confrontational tactics dating to the 1970s, but recent incidents gained more attention, especially when members heckled then-Iowa caucus candidate Mitt Romney at the 2011 state fair.
Iowa CCI members also shouted during this year’s state fair for likely Republican vice presidential nominee Paul Ryan to answer whether he intended to cut Medicare. And last week, group members
interrupted a state ethics committee meeting to force a discussion of alleged violations by Regents member Bruce Rastetter. The allegations were dismissed.
Hugh Espey, the group’s executive director, says Iowa CCI has used confrontational tactics since the mid-1970s and won’t stop now.
Expect Traffic Jams For Farm Progress Show
BOONE, Iowa (AP) – The Iowa State Patrol is warning motorists to expect slow traffic along roads near the 2012 Farm Progress Show that starts Tuesday in Boone.
Organizers expect 200,000 people to attend the three-day event and that 20,000 vehicles will travel to Boone County each day.
Roads where heavy traffic is likely include Interstate 35 near Ames, U.S. Highway 30 between Ames and Boone, and state Highway 17 near Boone.
The state patrol says traffic will likely be heaviest from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. to 6 p.m.
Iowans Help Florida Hurricane Victims
(Des Moines) — As Hurricane Issac bears down on the Florida Keys and the coastal region, a group of Iowans representing the American Red Cross have already headed south to help Florida residents. At least nine Iowans are among the volunteers that are at the Gulf Coast in anticipation of Hurricane Isaac. Linda Sutherland of Marion is among the Iowans with the American Red Cross who left for Tampa, Florida. Sutherland was packing her bags, not knowing if she’ll be in Florida for a few days or a few weeks.
Listen to
{audio} images/stories/mp3/August 2012/Sutherland1.mp3{/audio}
She compared the process to the TV show Amazing Race. Other Red Cross staffers from the Sioux City, Waterloo, Cedar Rapids and Des Moines areas are bound for Florida to provide disaster services. Sutherland wasn’t notified she’d be making the trip until Thursday morning.
Listen to
{audio} images/stories/mp3/August 2012/Sutherland2.mp3{/audio}
The trip to Florida will be Sutherland’s 7th trip with the Red Cross. The disaster that struck eastern Iowa four years ago motivated Sutherland to get involved with the organization.
Listen to
{audio} images/stories/mp3/August 2012/Sutherland3.mp3{/audio}
Iowa Medical Board To Investigate Doctor
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – A Des Moines doctor whose pain-treatment clinic was closed in June could lose his medical license, if state regulators have their way.
The Iowa Board of Medicine has accused Doctor Daniel Baldi of incompetence and unethical
practices. The board alleges that Baldi prescribed large quantities of narcotics and other addictive drugs without properly assessing patients’ need for the medications. A hearing on Baldi’s license
has been set for October 11th.
Baldi helped run an Iowa Health System pain-relief clinic near Iowa Lutheran Hospital that Iowa Health leaders closed in June.
Baldi’s lawyer says the doctor denies any wrongdoing and will fight to keep his license.
Animal Rights Groups Watch Trial Of Des Moines Man
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Animal rights activists have turned their attention to an Iowa case of a man charged with causing the heat-related death of a German shepherd.
The Des Moines Register reports that about 20 animal rights activists rallied outside the Polk County Courthouse on Friday morning, pushing for the maximum jail sentence for an Urbandale man
charged with animal abuse.
Urbandale police say 18-year-old Luis Angel Lara-Leyva failed to provide his dog with water on a 90-plus degree day in June, causing the dog’s death.
The Des Moines-based Saint Francis Foundation for Pets organized Friday’s rally, collecting nearly 1,000 signatures in addition to 1,000 already collected for a petition demanding that Polk County
Attorney John Sarcone seek the maximum of a year in jail.
Lara-Leyva’s trial is set for October 24th.
