Orange City Selects Tulip Royalty Court
Orange City, Iowa — The 2015 Orange City Tulip Court was elected on Wednesday.
Tulip Court members for the 75th annual Tulip Festival include : Jennifer Droog, daughter of Rick and Sue Droog; Sydney Huizenga, daughter of Darren and Dawn Huizenga; Micah Vande Vegte, daughter of Gary and Amy Vande Vegte; Cara Venema, daughter of Dan and Tonya Venema; and Emily Wielenga, daughter of Kevin and Dixie Wielenga.
A Queen’s Tea and Pageant will be held in November to crown the 2015 Tulip Queen. The Queen and Court will serve as ambassadors for Orange City’s 75th Annual Tulip Festival, slated for May 14-16, 2015.
Tulip Festival news, event information, volunteer opportunities and more can be found on the festival’s website at www.octulipfestival.com, as well as the festival’s Facebook and Twitter pages.
Native Le Mars Actor Strikes 2-Year Deal With Netflex On New Television Show
(Le Mars) — Le Mars native Paul Rust, now a resident of Southern California has recently struck a two-year deal with Netflex for a show he has helped create. Rust, who has pursued a career of acting and writing, tells KLEM news he is simultaneously working on two projects.
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Rust says given the choice, he prefers acting over writing.
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Rust says his new show “Love” features a man and a woman in a different type of relationship.
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The Le Mars actor/writer offers an explanation as to why the show’s theme may work better for television than for a big-screen movie.
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Rust says there is a better comfort zone of having a television series featured on Netflex as opposed to a traditional television network. He says viewers can decide for themselves the pace of which they want to watch the programs.
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The actor/writer says the show “Love” will be available for the public’s viewing beginning in 2016. We will continue our visit with Paul Rust later this week.
Medical Records Network Established With Iowa And Nebraska Hospitals
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Officials say Iowa and Nebraska medical records networks have been connected so records can be quickly shared over a secure link.
The link between the Iowa Health Information Network and the Nebraska Health Information Initiative lets health care providers send and receive messages.
A spokeswoman for the Iowa system, Polly Carver-Kimm, told The Daily Nonpareil newspaper in Council Bluffs that the link is “similar to email, only more secure and encrypted.”
Patient permission is required before private information can be shared between health systems.
Secretary Of State Matt Schultz Paid Political Appointees $110,000 To Not Work
IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) – Iowa Secretary of State Matt Schultz’s office spent more than $110,000 to pay political appointees who did little or no work in the months before they left the payroll, an audit report said Thursday.
State Auditor Mary Mosiman also received $2,500 in excess vacation pay when she was Schultz’s deputy and should refund the state, according to the report from Chief Deputy Auditor Warren Jenkins.
Sen. Liz Mathis requested the audit after The Associated Press reported in April that Schultz allowed his chief deputy, Jim Gibbons, to remain on the payroll for seven months after his position was eliminated.
Mosiman, a Republican, recused herself from the review since it covered her time as an appointee in the Secretary of State’s office.
Jenkins’ report said he could not determine what, if any, work Gibbons did after Schultz decided to eliminate his job in 2012. Gibbons nonetheless collected $90,738 in salary, vacation and benefits over the next six months.
Jenkins also questioned what “public benefit” came from Schultz’s decision to pay two other appointees a total of $21,317 during the weeks after they submitted their resignations. Three union employees whose jobs were eliminated were also paid for an extra two days beyond the 20 required under their contract, costing $1,706.
The review found Schultz’s deputies didn’t have to submit time sheets and leave slips covering their absences. That allowed Mosiman to accrue and be paid for a week of vacation that she should not have received, a $2,500 benefit, it found.
