Akron-Westfield Won’t Repair Wind Turbine
AKRON, Iowa (AP) — The Akron-Westfield Community School District is selling its broken-down wind turbine.
The turbine was erected in February 1999, and its power sold to the city of Akron and
utility companies.
School officials say that the turbine first went down two years ago. It was repaired, but broke down again about 18 months ago.
District superintendent Randy Collins says that, “when you look at big picture, it’s cost
us more than it’s earned us.”
He says the district doesn’t want to spend the money needed for repairs.
Collins says district officials are talking to a potential buyer.
Two Sioux City People Arrested For Robbery And Willful Injury
SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) — Two Sioux City residents have been accused of robbing and torturing a man at their apartment.
Police say 33-year-old Melissa Lowe and 32-year-old Brandon Keleher were arrested Saturday morning. Online court records say they’re both charged with two felonies: willful injury
and robbery.
Officers were sent to the apartment after a neighbor complained about a disturbance there.
The officers say they found a man who’d been stabbed and burned with a kitchen utensil that
had been heated.
The man said he’d met the couple Friday night. He was taken to a hospital for treatment, and he was released later.
Lowe and Keleher remained in Woodbury County custody on Monday. Online court records don’t
list the names of their attorneys.
Iowa Juvenile Home Cited For 15 Violations
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The Iowa Juvenile Home has been given 15 citations for violations in its substance-abuse treatment program.
The violations found in a new inspection included a lack of oversight and failure to track whether some children were making progress in their treatment.
The state-run home in Toledo provides housing, treatment and schooling to youths with
serious behavioral problems. The federally funded group Disability Rights Iowa has been
investigating allegations about the home’s treatment of children, including small,
isolation rooms where some children have been held for weeks or even months.
Last year a near-perfect score resulted from an inspection of the home’s substance-abuse
program.
Public health officials say the most recent inspection occurred July 29, after the home had
been given advance notice.
Electric Cars Are Not Popular In Iowa
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Electric vehicle charging stations have been installed at dozens of sites throughout Iowa, but so far their use is limited.
Iowa has about 40 stations, where electric vehicles can get a charge much more powerful than available from a regular home electrical outlet.
Three special chargers were installed at the Franklin Avenue Public Library in Des Moines. Since becoming fully operational in spring 2012, they’ve only been used for electric cars 13 times.
Library Director Greg Heid says he’s not discouraged. He thinks the stations will be used more as electric car sales increase.
Businesses such as Hy-Vee grocery stores also are installing more of chargers.
Some, like Iowa tea party leader Ryan Rhodes, says it’s wrong for governments to subsidize such efforts.
Kemin Industries Expands
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa biotechnology firm Kemin Industries is dedicating a new research center that is part of a major expansion in Des Moines.
Gov. Terry Branstad attended the ribbon cutting for the new $16.7 million facility Monday. This new center is the first of several new research and manufacturing centers the company plans to add to its Des Moines operation.
The company, which develops food and feed ingredients, has added 137 jobs in the region as part of the expansion. In all, the company employs about 2,000 people, 450 of them in Iowa.
Branstad praised Kemin, saying the company has “become a world player.”
