Vilsack and King Schedules Campaign Stops in Le Mars
(Le Mars) — Both candidates seeking the position of the 4th District Representative will make one last swing through Le Mars before election day. Democrat Christie Vilsack has scheduled a stop at the Plymouth County Democratic headquarters on Friday morning, November 2nd. Vilsack will be in the ice cream capital for an hour between 9:30 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. as part of her Value of Common Sense Tour. Meanwhile, Republican Steve King is scheduled to visit Le Mars on Saturday, November 3rd. King will meet with supporters at the Plymouth County Republican headquarters at 2:30 p.m. King will be on his “Restoring OUr American Dream Victory Tour”. Both the Democratic and Republican offices are located on Central Avenue North East in the former Perkins Office Supply building. The two candidates sparred in their seventh and final debate last evening at Mason City.
Thune To Visit Le Mars Today
(Le Mars) — South Dakota Senator John Thune has scheduled a stop at the Habitue’ Coffeehouse for this afternoon at 2:30 p.m. Thune, a republican, is making a campaign swing on behalf of Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney.
Supervisors Question Conservation Trips
(Le Mars) — The Plymouth County Board of Supervisors, during Tuesday’s meeting, questioned County Conservation Executive Director Dennis Sohl about expenditures for two trips that were made by Conservation personnel and youth during the summer. One trip was to Custer County, South Dakota to attend the 2012 Bison Roundup, and the other was a backpacking, hiking and camping excursion to Porcupine Mountain located in Wisconsin. Eight people attended the Wisconsin outing, and Supervisor Craig Anderson asked if the number of people taking the trip was worth the time and expense.
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Anderson wondered if the conservation board was being efficient with the trips.
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Sohl told the supervisors that many times Plymouth county would join other counties to pool resources and vehicles for such outings. Supervisor Don Kass said he would like to see the entire expenditures, including employee salaries, plus he had a concern about the county’s liability insurance as to whether it would cover an accident on the conservation excursions.
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The supervisors did not ask Sohl what were the purpose of the trips, and whether or not it met with educational value. The Plymouth County Conservation Board apparently approved the trips during a summer meeting. The supervisors suggested to Sohl that perhaps future hiking trips may want to focus on the Loess Hills of Plymouth County and western Iowa. The supervisors indicated they may follow up with the issue at a future meeting.
Supervisors Schedule Public Hearing On Road Closure
(Le Mars) — The Plymouth County Board of Supervisors have scheduled November 13th at 11:00 a.m. as the date for a public hearing to gather comments regarding the closure of a gravel road. The road in question is Quarry Avenue located in the southeastern part of the county in Elkhorn township. There are no residents living on that one mile stretch of road.
Dialysis Center Sets Fundraiser Dance Date
(Le Mars) — It may be Halloween, but the Le Mars Area Dialysis Services wants you to start thinking about Valentine’s Day. Mark your calendars for Saturday, February 9th as the Board of the Le Mars Area Dialysis Services hosts their next Valentine’s Day Dance to celebrate the opening of the dialysis clinic located in downtown Le Mars. Randy Readon, Le Mars Area Dialysis Services chairperson says “this year’s celebration will be extra special, as the Dialysis Center was approved by Medicare in March of 2012 and now serves 18 patients. The celebration will be at the Le Mars Convention Center upper level and starting at 7:30 p.m. Entertainment for the evening will be provided by the Singer Somethin’ Blue Band.
Buyback Candy Program To Support Troops
(Remsen) — If your child gets more candy than they can ever consume, the Remsen Family Dentistry wants to make a deal. For every pound of unopened candy, the Remsen Family Dentistry will pay one dollar, up to a five pound limit. The candy will be collected on Thursday, November 1st from 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. at the Remsen Family Dentistry in Remsen. The candy will be sent to Support Siouxland Soldiers in Sioux City. There, they will make holiday care packages to send to our Siouxland soldiers stationed overseas.
KLEM Pumpkin Found
(Le Mars) — The KLEM Great Pumpkin Hunt has now concluded. Tuesday afternoon, at about 4:30 p.m. Cliff and Linda Schwartz of Le Mars were able to locate the KLEM pumpkin and brought it to the KLEM offices to receive $200 in gift certificates. If you are wondering where the pumpkin was hidden, it was located next to the KLEM booth at the Plymouth County Fair grounds.
Bank Robbery Suspects In Custody after Shooting Officers
IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) – Two suspects in a bank robbery who officials say shot and wounded two officers during a high-speed chase are in custody.
Iowa State Patrol spokesman Sgt. Scott Bright says the two men were “cornered and gave up” Tuesday evening, about seven hours after the Maynard Savings Bank in Maynard was robbed.
Police set up a perimeter around a two-mile radius of a wooded area by a rock quarry near Frederika.
Trooper Bob Conrad says the two suspects were trying to crawl out of the area when they were captured. Their names were not immediately released.
Trooper Mark Domino was shot in the upper right arm. He was treated and released. Sumner Police Chief Dennis Cain was shot in the neck, the hand area and the thumb. He was in critical condition
and undergoing surgery.
Consultant’s Report Shows Salaries For State Employees Higher Than Workers In Marketplace
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – A consultant’s report says base pay for 18,500 state of Iowa workers is nearly 18 percent higher than comparable workers in the marketplace.
The report from Aon Hewitt says pay ranges for 11 Iowa positions were higher than the market, while ranges for seven positions were below market. The report released Tuesday also says pay ranges for Iowa’s employees are significantly higher than those in other
states.
Administrative Services Department director Mike Carroll says the study was commissioned primarily because state officials have never done a comprehensive examination of state employee pay and
benefits.
Danny Homan is president of the largest state employees’ bargaining unit, and he says the study lacked credibility and was designed to convince the public that state workers are overpaid.
