Merrill And Le Mars Fire Departments Respond To Accident
(Merrill) — Both the Merrill and Le Mars Fire Departments, along with the Le Mars Ambulance responded to an auto accident late yesterday afternoon on county road K-42 near the Plymouth Energy ethanol plant. Apparently, a pickup truck being driven by 24 year old Brady Bordner of Waterloo pulled out from the Plymouth Energy driveway and was going to park on the west shoulder of County Road K-42, just south of 220th Street. 52 year old Raymond Delfs of Le Mars was going northbound on K-42, just south of the Plymouth Energy driveway. Bordner failed to see the Delfs pickup truck and pulled into his path. Delfs says he tried to avoid the accident, but contact was made. The Bordner vehicle came to a rest at the intersection of 220th Street, while the Delfs vehicle ended in the west ditch, just north of the intersection. Both Delfs and a passenger with Bordner, 33 year old Lawrence Campbell sustained some injuries and were transported to the Floyd Valley Hospital. The Plymouth County Sheriff’s Office is investigating that accident.
Le Mars Man Sentenced To 11 Years In Prison For Methamphetamine Charges
(Sioux City) — A Le Mars man who conspired to distribute methamphetamine was sentenced to more than eleven years in federal prison.
Jason Moore, 30, received the prison term after an April 25th guilty plea to conspiring to distribute methamphetamine.
Moore admitted his involvement in a conspiracy from about June of 2012 through March 2013, that distributed more than 500 grams of actual(pure) methamphetamine. During the time period of the conspiracy, Moore lived in Northwest Iowa and sold methamphetamine to various customers in Northwest and Central Iowa. Moore traveled to Des Moines, one or two times a week to obtain methamphetamine for resale in Central and Northwest Iowa.
Moore was sentenced in Sioux City by United States District Court Judge
Donald E. O’Brien. Moore was sentenced to 162 months with credit for 19 months previously served for a current sentence of 143 months’ imprisonment.
Water Color Paintings On Display At Le Mars Art Center
(Le Mars) — For the next month, the Le Mars Art Center will be home to a traveling watercolor painting art exhibit from the National Watercolor Society. Jeannie Wiener says Le Mars art officials worked for nearly a year to obtain the exhibit.
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Wiener says the exhibit was previously in Wyoming and will next be in Illinois following Le Mars. She says obtaining the exhibit was part good timing, and a part of having the necessary qualifications.
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The 29 watercolor paintings will be on display at the Le Mars Arts Center through October 25th, and Wiener says the represented paintings are about a third of the total paintings from the society’s international show. She says viewers of the art paintings will see both realism and abstract displays from artists from across the world.
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Wiener says more than 2000 artists compete for the 90 pieces to be showcased at the National Watercolor Society exhibit. Wiener, herself is an artist that uses watercolors, and she says she’s greatly impressed with the detail of work exhibited.
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Of the 29 paintings on display at the Le Mars Art Center, Wiener describes her favorite.
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Argosy Casino May Have To Stay Until Missouri River Recedes
SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) – Owners of the closed Argosy riverboat casino on the Missouri River said high water may delay the structure’s removal from the Sioux City waterfront.
The Argosy riverboat casino closed in July after the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission ordered it to cease operations, saying it wasn’t partnered with a state-licensed local nonprofit group as required by Iowa law. Its parent company, Penn National Gaming, fought the order, but the state’s supreme court ruled that it needed to close.
Mayor Bob Scott said Monday at a city council meeting that the casino’s owners say they’re prepared to pay the city if high waters prevent it from meeting the Sept. 28 removal deadline. “The rivers are way up, so the boat won’t go under the bridges,” Scott said.
If the waters don’t recede, the owners are required to pay $7,500 in rent each month for its berth at Larsen Park Road.
City officials will have to decide what will take its place on the riverfront once it’s gone.
Councilwoman Rhonda Capron said she’d like to see a walking trail, while some residents have suggested a fishing pier at the site. She said the final decision would be based on what the community supports.
“Some of these people are really coming up with some original ideas,” she said. “I’m looking for more input from our people, because we only get one shot to do this and it’s going to be there for a long time.”
Study Confirms Branstad Outspending Hatch
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – A new study confirms what anyone watching Iowa television probably knows already – Gov. Terry Branstad is massively outspending his Democratic opponent Jack Hatch in the Republican incumbent’s drive for re-election.
The data compiled by the non-partisan Center for Public Integrity shows that $2.9 million has been spent on television advertising in Iowa state level races – such as governor or the state legislature – through Sept. 8.
Nearly all the money has been spent on the governor’s race, with $2.2 million coming from Branstad’s campaign, and just $129,200 from the Hatch campaign.
State Democrats Believe They Will Take Over Iowa House
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Republicans hold a narrow majority in the Iowa House, but Democrats said Tuesday they are hoping they can flip some seats in November and take control.
Iowa House Democratic Leader Mark Smith, of Marshalltown, said he is optimistic about the party’s chances for regaining a majority in the chamber, which has been Republican-controlled for about four years. The state House currently has 53 Republicans and 47 Democrats, so Democrats would need four additional seats for a majority.
“We believe the kind of effort we’re putting forth in the campaign, the quality of candidates that we have, the mainstream agenda versus the tea party extreme, is what will work well for us in the November election,” Smith said.
He also noted that the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee has listed Iowa as a top chamber for the party to flip in 2014.
But Republican House Speaker Kraig Paulsen, of Hiawatha, said he was confident that the GOP will keep control and could even increase its majority in the chamber.
“If the Iowa House is one of the DLCC’s best opportunities, they don’t have very good opportunities,” Paulsen said.
Iowa is one of a handful of states with a politically divided legislature – Republicans control the House and Democrats the Senate – and the majorities are slim in both chambers. Most credit that to a non-partisan redistricting process that means many seats are competitive.