Fire Marshall Investigates Apartment Fire
(Le Mars) — Investigators with the State Fire Marshall’s office are in town sifting through the debris of the apartment complex that was destroyed in yesterday’s fire. Officials are trying to identify the cause for the fire. Meanwhile, 12 people are now displaced because of the fire located at 335 3rd Avenue S.E. The three-story stucco structure is listed as a total loss with damage estimates exceeding $100,000. Fire officials were on the scene for four hours battling the blaze.
Supervisors Approve County Employees Bargaining
(Le Mars) — Plymouth County Board of Supervisors approved bargaining agreements secondary road employee bargaining agreement, as well as the Sheriff’s employee bargaining unit during today’s weekly scheduled meeting. Both agreements are for a three year term. County Supervisor Don Kass says the negotiations went well.
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Both the county secondary road employees and the county law enforcement employees were granted pay increases for the next three years. Kass explains the terms for the road employees.
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The terms for the law enforcement employees are as follows:
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Le Mars Community School Enters Agreement With USD For Student Teachers
(Le Mars) — During last evening’s Le Mars Community School Board meeting, the board approved an agreement with the University of South Dakota for a student teacher program. School superintendent Dr. Todd Wendt says the program is unique and different from traditional agreements with area colleges and universities involving student teachers.
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Wendt says the proposed plan has its advantages for the school district, but perhaps more importantly, it benefits that student teacher.
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Wendt says the new program will also assist him when the school district needs to fill teacher vacancies. He says the traditional method and the new program both offer schools the opportunity to view a potential teacher for future hiring, but he believes the new method may be better suited for schools.
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Some may wonder if the program would require the college student to attend an additional year of college, or whether the education minded student could complete the college curriculum, and the year of student teaching in a four-year college plan.
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The agreement will go from July 1, 2013 until June 30, 2017.
The school board also heard a follow up report from the school district’s activities directors as they reported to the board how effective the new administrative structure was performing. The activities directors were assigned new responsibilities three years ago due to budget cuts.
Bank Robber Suspect Pleads Not Guilty
SUMNER, Iowa (AP) – A second suspect has pleaded not guilty to 35 counts stemming from a northeast Iowa bank robbery and shot-filled police chase.
Nineteen-year-old William Clayton made his plea Monday in Bremer County. The charges include attempted murder, terrorism, assault and robbery.
The other suspect, 24-year-old Jeremiah Mumford, has already pleaded not guilty.
Authorities say the two robbed the Maynard Savings Bank in Maynard on Oct. 30 and then shot Sumner Police Chief Dennis Cain and Iowa State Trooper Mark Domino during the chase afterward.
Mumford and Clayton eventually were cornered and then arrested in a rock quarry outside Frederika, about 30 miles from Maynard.
Woman Pleads Guilty To Additional Theft Charge
MASON CITY, Iowa (AP) – A 42-year-old Plymouth woman already on probation for theft has pleaded guilty to a charge that she stole from another Mason City employer.
The Mason City Globe Gazette says (https://bit.ly/QIXoW1) Julie Fingalsen pleaded guilty on Monday to felony theft. Prosecutors say Fingalsen stole more than $40,000 from a Mason City optometrist
since February 2011.
Her sentencing is scheduled for Jan. 28, as is a hearing to examine whether her probation should be revoked.
Court records say that in February 2010, Fingalsen was given five years of probation and a suspended prison sentence of five years. She’d been convicted of stealing about $41,000 from a
chiropractor in Mason City.
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