Home News Thursday News, December 27

Thursday News, December 27

(Le Mars) — The Le Mars City Council will hold a special meeting slated for Thursday, December 27th.  The meeting will take place at the city council chambers and will begin at 12:00 noon.  The council will award the bids for the new wastewater treatment facility improvements.  The city council is also expected to introduce plans for whitetopping 4th Avenue SE.  A public hearing on the matter will be set for the next council meeting on January 8th.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Light snow is expected to hit most of
Iowa and parts of Nebraska as both states recover from a powerful
storm last week.
The National Weather Service says up to 3 inches of snow is
possible in Iowa between Thursday night and Friday morning. The
snow is expected especially along and north of Interstate 80.
Between 2 and 4 inches of snow could hit northeast Nebraska
between Wednesday evening and Thursday morning. The snow is
expected mainly along and north of Highway 30. Less than an inch of
snow is expected south of Lincoln and Plattsmouth.
Temperatures are expected to be in the 20s in both states on
Thursday.
A powerful snow storm last week dumped several inches of snow
across parts of Iowa and Nebraska.

(Undated) — With the New Year’s Holiday still yet to arrive, the number of fatal accidents from Iowa roadways is nearly the same as last year.  A year ago, there were 360 fatalities reported.  As of Wednesday, 357 people have lost their lives on IOwa roads.  The trend has been declining.  In 2010 there were 390 deaths reported on Iowa roadways, and the year before the number was 371 deaths.  Motorcycle fatalities were on the increase in 2012 over the numbers reported from a year ago.  There were 56 motorcycle related fatalities in 2012 while in 2011, Iowa had 34 fatalities.  Authorities believe the nice weather from this past spring allowed motorcyclists a jump on riding their bikes which may have led to the higher number of motorcycle accident fatalities.  The month of May had the highest number of automobile road fatalities with 48, and May and August tied with 12 motorcycle fatalities in 2012. 

(Sioux City) — What were the most popular names given to babies in 2012?  Mercy Medical Center of Sioux City says Charlotte and Mason topped the list of most popular names for new babies.  Among the list of other most chosen names for newborn boys were Cleb, Maxwell, Noah, and William.  Other favorite names for newborn girls were Angel, Isabella, Piper and Sophia.  Some of the more unique names for girls were Abrianna, Adilene, Brisa, Lorelei, Raylee and Sincerity.  Among the more original names for boys were Kade, Benedict, Cashton, Easton, Layton and Ryder. 

(Washington) — December 31st is the deadline for the pending automatic tax increases and budget cuts unless President Obama and Congress are able to make some type of agreement to avoid the so-called “fiscal cliff”. Iowa Republican Senator Chuck Grassley believes that some type of agreement may occur at the last hour, but he says if there isn’t any agreement, then Iowans will suffer particularly with medicare.
Listen to
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The new session will begin in mid-January and Grassley believes some sort of gun control legislation will again be introduced because of the tragic events in Connecticut.
Listen to
{audio} images/stories/mp3/December 2012/Grassley2.mp3{/audio}

The Iowa Republican Senator expands on his comments about what bills he anticipates will be in the next legislative session of Congress.

Listen to
{audio} images/stories/mp3/December 2012/Grassley3.mp3{/audio}

AMES, Iowa (AP) – A central Iowa woman has been accused of
working alongside her three juvenile children to shoplift from a
clothing store.
The Ames Tribune (https://bit.ly/UtP3VP ) reports Melissa Rose
Sego of Boone has been charged with aggravated theft and
contributing to the delinquency of a minor.
Sego was arrested over the weekend at a J.C. Penney after staff
reported she and her three daughters tried to leave the store with
merchandise hidden in purses. Court documents show Sego attempted
to physically force her way past staff.
Police say Sego and her three daughters, all juveniles, acted
together to steal the items. The girls have been charged with
fifth-degree theft and referred to juvenile court.
Sego posted bond after her arrest. She is scheduled to appear in
court on Jan. 7.

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (AP) – A Council Bluffs couple with a
limousine business says they want to offer services every year to
homeless people in the area.
The Council Bluffs Nonpareil (https://bit.ly/YhveyX ) reports Jim
Kelley and his wife, Christine, offered party buses to nearly 70
homeless people this month as part of a holiday present. Many of
the participants were children.
Other local businesses provided dinner and dessert before the
buses and a limousine took the participants to a train museum.
Guests were then taken on a city tour to view holiday lights.
The couple says it was their first time organizing the service,
and they plan to make it an annual event.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Federal authorities say the number of
cattle and calves in large Iowa feedlots is unchanged from last
year.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture says the number of cattle and
calves in Iowa feedlots with capacities of 1,000 or more head
totaled about 1.2 million on Dec. 1. That means inventory is
unchanged from the same period last year.
Cattle and calves for slaughter in the United States for
feedlots with capacity of 1,000 or more head totaled 11.3 million
on Dec. 1. That’s six percent below inventory from the same period
last year.
Another USDA report shows the number of cattle in Nebraska
feedlots with capacities of 1,000 or more head contained 2.53
million on Dec. 1.