Storm Lake Nursing Care Home Fined
STORM LAKE, Iowa (AP) – A Storm Lake nursing home has been fined more than $31,000 after an incident in which a woman fell on her head while being transferred onto a bed and later died from the injury.
North Lake Manor was cited in June by the Iowa Department of Inspections and Appeals for failing to protect residents from harm and failing to provide adequate care.
Reports said 87-year-old Darlene Carbaugh died a day after she fell from the mechanical lift used to transfer her to bed on May 17.
The home is owned by two companies controlled by Sioux City accountant Joseph P. DeWitt.
He did not immediately return a message. His attorney also did not immediately respond to a message.
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Lottery Sales Have Declined
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Iowa Lottery sales have fallen 7.4 percent over the past year, a drop lottery officials attribute to a rough winter that altered customers’ buying habits and fewer extremely high jackpots that drive up sales.
Overall lottery sales dipped to $314 million in fiscal year 2014, which ended in June from $339.3 million the year before.
Scratch tickets, the biggest income generator, fell 6.7 percent to nearly $189 million. Powerball sales fell nearly 25 percent to $61 million. The Mega Millions lottery game sales climbed nearly 64 percent to $21.8 million.
Lottery officials say Powerball sales dropped because jackpots rose above $300 million three times during the year. It had climbed above that threshold four times the year before including the game’s largest jackpot of $590.5 million reached in May 2013.
Crop Conditions Maturing Ahead Of Schedule
(Des Moines) — The latest corn and soybean condition report shows both crops with the majority rated as good to excellent condition. The state’s corn crop is listed as 78 percent good to excellent, while the soybean crop is rated as 74 percent in good to excellent condition. Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey says the moderate temperature has reduced stress for the crops and the livestock.
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Northey says the state does have adequate amounts of soil moisture, and he says normally at this time of year, farmers are seeing dry conditions.
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85 percent of the state’s corn crop was at or beyond the silking stage, just over two weeks ahead of the previous year and almost a week ahead of the five-year average. 14 percent of the corn crop has reached the dough stage, seven points ahead of normal. Soybean progress advanced to 82 percent blooming or beyond, ten days ahead of last year, and just ahead of average. 41 percent of the state’s soybean crop was setting pods, well ahead of last year’s 12 percent.
Prohibitionist Preacher Marker Now At Sioux City Museum
SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) – A memorial marker honoring a prohibitionist preacher shot to death in 1886 has a permanent home at a Sioux City museum, and volunteers are raising money for a new one.
The marker for George Haddock is currently on display at the Sioux City Public Museum. The piece was excavated during construction of the new Hard Rock casino in the downtown area.
The circular, metal artifact was set in 1936. It includes the date Haddock died.
Cornerstone World Outreach, a Sioux City church, has raised $20,000 to help pay for a new memorial marker. The monument has not been constructed and it’s unclear where it would be placed.
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Council Bluffs Bar Featured On Reality Show Still Trying To Get Liquour License
COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (AP) – The owner of a Council Bluffs bar that appeared on a reality television show has argued against the City Council’s decision to deny its liquor license.
Matt Overmyer of the O Face Bar appeared before an administrative judge Monday as part of the appeal process to the Iowa Alcoholic Beverages Division.
Overmyer’s business was recently featured on a Spike TV show about reinventing struggling bars. The City Council cited actions seen on the March episode in denying the bar’s liquor license renewal in May. Those actions include multiple fights and the use of profanity.
The bar can continue serving alcohol while the appeal is being processed.
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Homeless Shelter Installs Greenhouse
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – A homeless shelter in downtown Des Moines has installed a greenhouse that will enable the organization to grow vegetables year-round.
Residents at Central Iowa Shelter & Services will be able to learn about harvesting and selling the produce grown at the greenhouse. The hope is that they will be able to use those skills to help find work.
The construction of the dome-shaped greenhouse was finished over the weekend. It has been named Mulberry Farms and Food.
Inside of the greenhouse is a 3,000-gallon water pool which shelter officials say lettuce will likely grow in.
The shelter’s executive director says he hopes vegetables can be planted by the end of the summer.
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Man Arrested For Selling Machine Gun
DAVENPORT, Iowa (AP) – An eastern Iowa gun store owner has been given 14 months in prison for selling a machine gun.
Larry Brauer was sentenced on Monday. He owns Lone Wolf Outdoor Supplies in Calamus.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives says a customer of Brauer’s worked with the bureau on a sting operation and bought a machine gun from Brauer for $750 in October 2013.
The bureau says Brauer’s federal firearms license doesn’t allow him to sell machine guns regulated under the National Firearms Act.
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Company Agrees To Settlement Into Improper Lending To Military Personnel
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) – New York and 12 other states have settled an investigation into improper lending with a court agreement to shut down the company and expected to provide $92 million in debt relief for 17,800 U.S. military personnel.
New York’s Attorney General Eric Schneiderman says deceptive practices by Rome Finance Co. based in California and Georgia included failing to accurately disclose charges and interest rates and helping retailers inflate prices, with repayments taken from soldiers’ paychecks.
Authorities say military personnel will keep financed merchandise like computers and gaming systems with debt forgiven, including $2.2 million for more than 550 New York residents.
Rome Finance did business recently as Colfax Capital Corp. and Culver Capital LLC.
Other states are Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Indiana, Iowa, Massachusetts, Michigan, North Carolina, Tennessee and Vermont.
