Election Winners In Plymouth County Decided
(Le Mars) — It was Meis…Branstad…and Clovis as the winners in Plymouth County from Tuesday’s primary election. A total of 2,058 votes were cast in Plymouth County. John Meis was able to defeat Harold Hadden for the District One Supervisor race. Meis was able to win in each of the 13 precincts and the absentee ballots. Meis, a civil engineer, had a total of 1,172 votes against Hadden’s 483. John Meis will be the name listed on the ballot for the general election to be held in November. There were no Democratic contestants vying for the county supervisor position being vacated by Republican Jack Guenthner. Governor Terry Branstad easily defeated Republican challenger Tom Hoeffling in Plymouth County’s primary race. Branstad, who visited Le Mars as recently as last Thursday, accumulated 1641 votes in Plymouth County, and Hoeffling earned 271 votes. In the five-way race for the U.S. Senate, Sam Clovis, a resident of Plymouth County, was able to win his home county by a four to one margin over any other opponet. Clovis earned 1,416 votes with the next closest candidate was State Senator Joni Ernst with 375 votes, Mark Jacobs, a former utility company executive, gained 134 votes, Auto dealer Scott Schaben had 7 votes, and District Attorney Matt Whitaker received 26 votes.
Ernst Wins Republican Nomination
(Des Moines) — As for the rest of the state’s election results, State Senator Joni Ernst was able to defeat the rest of the field of candidates by receiving more than 55 percent of the votes for the Republican nomination for U-S Senator. Ernst’s margin of victory assures she will be the republican nominee, and the decision will not be made at the State Republican Convention. Ernst will now face Democratic Congressman Bruce Braley in the November general election for the U-S Senate seat being vacated by long-time Democratic Senator Tom Harkin.
Clovis Goes From Classroom To Second Place Finish
(Sioux city) — Morningside College professor Sam Clovis went from teaching civics in the classroom to running for the GOP nomination for the U.S. Senate in Iowa.
Clovis was making his first run for any type of political office and surprised many by running a tight race for second with businessman Mark Jacobs:
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The Hinton resident carried Plymouth and Woodbury and other conservative western Iowa counties, where he had name recognition as a radio talk show host.
Clovis says his campaign gave a voice to the conservative movement in the state:
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Clovis says he will now work to help unify Iowa republicans into winning both the statehouse and the U.S. senate seat plus holding on to the U.S. House:
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Clovis says his campaign didn’t waste one dollar and will finish in the black.
Branstad Easily Wins Nomination
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad has easily won the Republican nomination for governor as he seeks a record sixth term in office.
Branstad had no trouble in Tuesday’s primary election, in which he faced conservative political activist Tom Hoefling. Branstad now will run against Democratic state Sen. Jack Hatch of Des Moines in the November general election.
Branstad was first elected Iowa’s governor in 1982 and served four terms before opting not to run again in 1998. After a 12-year-break in which Democrats held the office, Branstad was re-elected in 2010, making him the nation’s longest-serving governor.
Polls indicate Branstad is the favorite to win re-election, but Democrats hope a series of issues dealing with secret settlements given to fired state employees and allegations of cronyism will tarnish his reputation.
3rd Congrssional District Nomination Heading To Convention
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – The Republican nomination in Iowa’s 3rd Congressional District will be decided by a convention after none of the six candidates reached the 35 percent threshold required to make the general election ballot.
The vote in Tuesday’s primary was split between state Sen. Brad Zaun, Secretary of State Matt Schultz, biofuels association director Monte Shaw, construction company owner Robert Cramer, physical education teacher Joe Grandanette and David Young, a former aide to Sen. Charles Grassley.
The winner will run in November against Democrat Staci Appel, a former state senator who didn’t have a primary opponent.
Party leaders will announce a convention date soon.
The crush of Republican candidates followed 10-term Republican Rep. Tom Latham’s decision to retire.
The southwest Iowa district stretches from Des Moines to Council Bluffs.
Egg Titan Pleads Guilty
SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) – An egg industry titan, his son and the Iowa company they ran have pleaded guilty to federal food safety violations stemming from a salmonella outbreak in 2010.
Austin “Jack” DeCoster and his son, Peter DeCoster, pleaded guilty Tuesday to misdemeanor charges of introducing adulterated food into interstate commerce.
A federal judge will decide later on their sentences. They could face up to a year in jail.
Their company, Quality Egg LLC, pleaded guilty to charges of bribing a U.S. Department of Agriculture inspector, selling misbranded food and introducing adulterated food into interstate commerce.
The company has agreed to pay a $6.8 million fine under a plea deal that the judge is considering.
The outbreak sickened thousands and ruined the egg production empire that DeCoster built from scratch.
County Approves Contracts
(Le Mars) — Plymouth County Board of Supervisors approved the contracts from contractors scheduled to make bridge and culvert repairs this summer. County engineer, Tom Rohe (Roy)
City Council Talks About Sewr Lines
(Le Mars) — The Le Mars City Council discussed sewer lines during its Tuesday session. Brett Brownmiller, an investor, was requesting the city council to consider approving a relocation of existing sanitary sewer and consideration of an industrial property tax exemption.
Boy Charged With Sexual Abuse
STORM LAKE, Iowa (AP) – A 12-year-old boy has been accused of sexually abusing a 3-year-old girl in northwest Iowa. The boy is charged with two felony counts of sexual abuse. Storm Lake police say the boy abused the girl several times last month at a residence in the city.
Body Identified In House Fire
COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (AP) – Authorities in western Iowa say the person killed in a weekend house fire was a 101-year-old woman. The Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Office says Vivian Swain died from carbon monoxide poisoning caused by smoke and soot inhalation. Two other people in the house escaped the blaze on Saturday night.
