“All Saints Parish” Chosen As New Name For Unified Catholic Churches
(Le Mars) — The Le Mars Area Catholic Cluster has decided upon a new name for the parish. Last February, members of the area Catholic churches received a letter from their priests announcing the unification of St. James’ and St. Joseph’s parishes in Le Mars into one new parish as part of the Diocese of Sioux City Long Range Strategic Plan. This past month, adult parishioners from the two Catholic churches were given an opportunity to vote on a new name. The only requirement, the new name could not be used by any other Catholic church in the Sioux City Diocese. With twice as many votes as any other choice, the name “All Saints Parish” was presented to Bishop R. Walker Nickless of the Diocese of Sioux City. Father Kevin Richter, the pastor of the newly formed All Saints Parish, reminded parishioners that each site will retain its name to specify location for various activities, but he says he likes the new chosen name.
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Richter says the two parishes were already sharing many programs such as Gehlen school, Knights of Columbus, and Catholic Daughters Council. He says this was the next logical step.
Listen to
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Floyd Valley Hospital To Welcome New Doctor
(Le Mars) — Floyd Valley Hospital Administrator Mike Donlin announced that Dr. Donald Odens will be joining the medical staff at Floyd Valley Hospital’s Family Medicine Clinics in the summer of 2015. As a family physician, he will provide all facets of family healthcare services from pre-conception to end of life services. Dr. Odens, a native of Wakefield, Nebraska, brings a wealth of education and training experience with him. He earned his undergraduate at Wayne State College in Wayne, NE. Dr. Odens attended medical school at the American University of the Caribbean, Netherlands Antilles. He is currently in his second year of residency with the Iowa Lutheran Family Medicine Residency program in Des Moines. Dr. Odens is looking forward to starting his practice in a Le Mars. He enjoys being able to guide families, especially first time parents, through their pregnancy and following the newborn after. He will be able to offer a wide variety of procedures. Dr. Odens also finds helping patients with their chronic medical conditions, along with helping them reach their health goals and important part of his practice. He will be seeing patients in the clinic, hospital and at the nursing home.
Couple Files Lawsuit Over Stored Stover
NEVADA, Iowa (AP) – A central Iowa couple have filed a lawsuit over the fire threat they say is posed by thousands of corn stover bales stored across a road from their home.
Burdell and Barbara Clark have filed suit in Story County District Court in Nevada, not far from their 42-acre retirement dream.
The stover is being stored for a cellulosic ethanol plant that’s being built. The Clarks are trying to force DuPont to move the stover. They say a March blaze threatened to spread to their property. They fear another blaze could do so.
DuPont says it’s checking into whether additional safeguards “are required at our stover storage locations to further ensure the safety of our employees, emergency responders and the community.”
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EPA Makes Agreement With 12 Universities For Mississippi River Research
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – A task force established by the Environmental Protection Agency to curtail farmland pollution that flows into the Mississippi River has reached an agreement to work with 12 universities.
The EPA says states collaborate with universities on local water quality research and agricultural programs but to date there is no formal process for sharing university research and ideas across the 12 task force states.
The Mississippi River/Gulf of Mexico Watershed Task Force will work with Purdue University, University of Illinois, University of Arkansas, University of Kentucky, Mississippi State University and Ohio State University. Others include University of Tennessee, University of Missouri, University of Minnesota, University of Wisconsin, Iowa State University and Louisiana State University.
The EPA says the new agreement brings additional expertise to help develop farm runoff reduction strategies.
Federal Charges Filed Against Egg Producer
IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) – Federal prosecutors have filed charges against an Iowa egg company and two executives blamed in a 2010 salmonella outbreak that sickened thousands of people.
Disgraced egg industry titan Austin “Jack” DeCoster and his son Peter DeCoster were charged Wednesday with introducing adulterated food into interstate commerce, a misdemeanor. A charging document says the pair sold shell eggs that were poisonous for several months in 2010.
Their company, Quality Egg LLC, is charged with introducing misbranded food into interstate commerce, a felony. The document says Quality Egg sold products for years with labeling that “made the eggs appear to be not as old as they actually were.”
The company is also charged with bribing a U.S. Department of Agriculture Inspector.
The outbreak led to an unprecedented recall of 550 million eggs.
Fort Dodge Woman Pleads Not Guilty To Stabbing Brother
FORT DODGE, Iowa (AP) – A 24-year-old Fort Dodge woman has pleaded not guilty to a manslaughter charge in the stabbing death of her brother.
Vanita Daniels entered a written plea on Tuesday. She’s accused of killing her 19-year-brother, Marcquis Collier, on May 9.
Officers who were sent the scene that morning say they found Collier in a front yard, suffering from a chest wound. He was taken to Trinity Regional Medical Center, where was pronounced dead later.
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