Plymouth County Voters To Decide Upon Local Options Sales Tax
(Le Mars) — Voters in Plymouth County will have the opportunity to go to the polls on Tuesday and cast their vote on the Local Options Sales Tax issue. Originally, the local options sales tax was voted upon by Plymouth County voters in 2002 to help finance the Plymouth County Law Enforcement Center, but each Plymouth County community has been able to benefit from the funds generated from the one percent tax. The current local options sales tax is set to expire at the end of next year.
Moville Man Is Missing
(Sioux City) — Woodbury County sheriff’s office is searching for a Moville man who has gone missing. Dale Robinson, age 84, was last seen early Saturday afternoon in Moville. Robinson suffers from numerous medical conditions. He stands 5 foot six inches tall and weighs 90 pounds. Robinson was last seen at the four-way stop sign at Moville heading west on Highway 20. He was wearing a maroon colored plaid shirt. Robinson was seen driving his brown 2000 Ford F150 pick-up truck with the license plates, 870-ZCF. If you should happen to see either Robinson or his vehicle, you are asked to contact the Woodbury County
Sheriff’s office at (712) 279-6510.
Woman Found In Southwest Iowa Corn Field
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Authorities say a 31-year-old woman’s body was found a cornfield in southwest Iowa this weekend.
The woman’s body was found Saturday night in a field west of Lenox in Taylor County.
The woman’s identity and the cause of her death have not been released.
But the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation says preliminary information didn’t show any obvious sign of foul play.
An autopsy will be performed early this week.
The DCI is working with the Iowa State Patrol and local authorities on the case.
Two Men Killed By Train
OSCEOLA, Iowa (AP) – Iowa authorities have identified two men killed by a BNSF train in the southern part of the state this weekend.
Police say 24-year-old Zack Brown of Osceola and 22-year-old Justin Schumacher of
Indianola were struck and killed by a train around 5 a.m. Saturday.
The engineer of the BNSF train reported the accident to 911 because he knew the train
had hit someone.
Authorities are trying to determine why the two men were walking on the tracks in a
residential area of Osceola. There weren’t near a crossing.
Branstad Elected To Executive Committee Of National Governors Association
(Milwaukee) — Governor Terry Branstad has been elected by his fellow governors to serve on the Executive Committee of the National Governor’s Association. The nation’s governors are meeting in Milwaukee this week. Branstad, who served as the vice chair for the education and workforce committee where he focused on state-driven education reform and innovative programs, like the Science…Technology…Engineering and Mathematics or STEM initative. Branstad says he is honored to be selected by his colleagues from both parties. Branstad will help provide guidance to the National Governors Association’s efforts to share best practices across states and add a strong voice to Federal policy discussions that impact the states.
Fort Dodge Residents Complaint Of Odors
FORT DODGE, Iowa (AP) – Residents of a neighborhood near Fort Dodge blame landfill odors for a string of illnesses, but Iowa officials say they haven’t found proof the smell is invading homes.
The Fort Dodge Messenger reports (https://bit.ly/13FiKUK ) residents of the Coleman
District blame wastewater from a regional landfill that’s being carried through their
neighborhood’s sanitary sewers for a variety of problems.
Robert Pingel Jr. says he and his neighbors think their headaches, sore throats and occasional burning sensation in their eyes are linked to landfill wastewater being piped
through area sanitary sewers.
Cindy Turkle, interim director of the North Central Iowa Regional Solid Waste Agency, says many residents of the neighborhood have refused to allow officials into their homes.
Turkle says that makes it hard to determine what’s causing the problem.
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Governor Has Yet To Sign-off On Abortions
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Iowa’s new policy that the governor must sign off on reimbursement approval for Medicaid-funded abortions remains untested one month in.
Tim Albrecht, a spokesman for Gov. Terry Branstad, says no reimbursement claims for abortions have been submitted since the rule took effect July 1.
Branstad signed the law, which is thought to be unique to Iowa, in June.
Iowa’s Medicaid program covers a small number of abortions each year due to rape, incest, fetal deformity or to protect a mother’s life. Albrecht declined to answer questions about the criteria Branstad will use.
Jill June, president of Planned Parenthood of the Heartland, said she thought there
should be more clarity, arguing that “otherwise the public is left to wonder if the governor is in a good mood or not.”
Nursing Home Employees Fired After Posting Photo Of Resident On Internet
JOHNSTON, Iowa (AP) – Two employees at a Johnston nursing home have been fired for posting at least one inappropriate photo of a resident on a social media website.
Bishop Drumm Retirement Center issued a statement Friday confirming the firings. The center is subsidiary of Mercy Medical Center, a Des Moines hospital.
It was not clear whether more than one photo of the resident had been posted online.
Officials would not detail the nature of the photo, but Bishop Drumm President Brian Farrell says it was taken by “rogue employees” and publishing it violated “the human dignity of the resident.”
Officials say police have been notified, as has the family of the resident in the photos.
Authorities Look For Escaped Inmate
COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (AP) – Authorities are searching for a man who did not return to jail from a work release facility in Council Bluffs.
The U.S. Marshal’s Office and Iowa State Patrol say 52-year-old Michael Hannum was last seen at a work release facility around 5:40 a.m. Saturday. Authorities say they discovered he was missing during an inmate count at 7 a.m. Saturday.
The Council Bluffs Nonpareil reports that Hannum is believed to be driving a silver car with the Iowa license plate number SIS-613. Authorities believe he may be across the Missouri River in Omaha.
Con-Agra Contributes To Food Bank
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The Food Bank for the Heartland now has $110,000 more to work with to
help make sure families in rural parts of Nebraska and Iowa get enough to eat. The money will help feed about 2,000 families in the region over the next year.
A unit of ConAgra Foods sponsored a golf event last month that raised the money. Bill Stoufer, president of ConAgra Mills, says organizing the event gives his team a chance to give back to the community. ConAgra is based in Omaha and makes food brands such as Chef Boyardee, Orville Redenbacher Hunt’s, Wesson and Marie Callender’s. It is also the largest maker of store-brand products.
