Bimbo Bakeries To Close Sioux City Facility
SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) – More than five dozen people will be losing their jobs with the closure of a Sioux City bakery.
Bimbo Bakeries USA says it will close its Sioux City operation March 28. A company spokesman says 64 people and their union representatives have met with company personnel officials to discuss severance and other benefits.
Production will move to other Bimbo bakeries.
A regional vice president, Didier Moleres, says the company concluded that the aging Sioux City facility “could not compete in the marketplace.”
South Sioux City Manufacturing Plant To Close
SOUTH SIOUX CITY, Neb. (AP) – A northeast Nebraska plant that produces ice scrapers, snow brushes and other items will be closing next month, costing 33 workers their jobs.
Company officials for Mallory USA say the work at their South Sioux City plant will be moved to a plant in Emporia, Kan.
Brad Kraft is president and CEO of Mallory’s parent company, Hopkins Manufacturing Corp. He says the company had to eliminate excess capacity across the five different facilities in its system.
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South Dakota Man Accused Of Stealing Hogs
ROCK RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) – A 29-year-old South Dakota man has been accused of stealing and selling dozens of hogs stolen in northwest Iowa.
Joshua Nygaard, of Centerville, S.D., is charged with three counts of theft. The Lyon County Sheriff’s Office says Nygaard stole a total of more than 120 hogs on three different occasions.
Lyon County Jail records say Nygaard remained in custody on Monday, pending $10,000 bail. Online court records don’t list the name of his attorney.
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Environmental Commissioner Spills Manure On Roadway
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – An environmental group opposed to large-scale livestock farms says a member of the state’s Environmental Protection Commission who owns hog farms in northwest Iowa spilled manure onto a county road last year.
Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement says Gene Ver Steeg was one of 76 farmers to spill manure last year. The number of spills rose 65 percent from 46 in 2012.
Ver Steeg has been a member of the commission which oversees the state’s environmental protection policies since 2008. His farms near Inwood produce about 20,000 hogs a year.
State reports show Ver Steeg spilled about 1,500 gallons of manure on Nov. 13. The county scraped most of it away and a local fire department washed the remainder off.
Ver Steeg did not immediately respond to a message.
John Deere Completes Renovations To Foundry
WATERLOO, Iowa (AP) – John Deere has completed renovations on its foundry in Waterloo, a $150 million project that will allow the company to produce larger castings for it larger tractors.
Renovations on the foundry, built more than 40 years ago, were announced in 2010. It includes a new high-tech mold line and an integrated cooling system.
Officials say the foundry gives the company a competitive edge. They also applaud committed employees.
The latest renovations are part of more than $1 billion in investments over the past decade to the Waterloo operations. It employs 6,000 people and is the company’s largest manufacturing complex in the world.
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Felons Denied Opportunity To Vote
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Iowa Secretary of State Matt Schultz is defending his office against what he says is unfair criticism at an Iowa Senate State Government Committee meeting.
Schultz has been asked to appear at the meeting Monday afternoon to explain how three Cerro Gordo County voters had their ballots thrown out in the 2012 presidential election after their names appeared on a database of felons ineligible to vote.
An investigation later proved the votes should have been counted. The three voters were eligible to cast ballots because two had their rights restored and the third had never been convicted of a felony.
Schultz says the problem is systemic and is recommending a task force study the issue.
