Gehlen Catholic Announces Homecoming Royalty
(Le Mars) — Gehlen Catholic is getting prepared for its Homecoming celebration scheduled for the week of October 6-12th. The chosen theme for this homecoming is the “Jammin’ Jays.” Gehlen Catholic has announced the royalty court for this year. This year’s king candidates include : Aaron Britt, son of David Britt and Tamie Britt, both of Le Mars, Solomon Freking, son of Judy Freking of Le Mars, Alex Kellen, son of Bruce and Pam Kellen of Le Mars, Morgan Kellen, son of Mike and Denise Horkey of Granville, Ty Kurth, son of Marty and Jennifer Kurth of Le Mars, Ryan Stoll, son of Dan and Betsy Stoll of Granville, Andrew Wankum, son of Matt and Margaret Wankum of Merrill. The queen candidates include : Maggie DeRocher, daughter of Steve and Mary DeRocher of Le Mars, Trisha Langel, daughter of Keith and Leslie Langel of Le Mars, Emily Meyer, daughter of Stan and Bonnie Meyer of Ireton, Taylor Peters, daughter of John and Kim Peters of Le Mars, Brittany Schmit, daughter of Chris and Ruth Ann Schmit of Hospers, Melissa Schmit, daughter of Dennis and Deb Schmit of Alton, and Morgan Whitehead, daughter of Erv and Lisa Whitehead of Le Mars.
The emcee’s for this year’s Gehlen Homecoming celebration include : Carli Bollin, daughter of Dennis and Patti Bollin of Le Mars, Drew Dickman, son of Stu and Donna Dickman of Le Mars, and Brock Nohava, son of Bryan and Brenda Nohava of Hawarden.
Absentee Ballots Are Available Beginning Today
(Le Mars) — Today is the first day people can cast an absentee vote for candidates in the General Election. Ballots are available at the Auditor’s Office at the Plymouth County Courthouse during regular business hours of 8 am to 5 pm, Monday through Friday to vote in person.
Absentee ballots may be cast in the Auditor’s office until Monday, November 3rd until 5 pm.
Absentee ballots to be mailed to voters must be requested in writing. Forms are available at the Plymouth County Auditor’s Office or at www.co.plymouth.ia.us under Online Services and then County Forms. Absentee ballot request forms can be mailed to the Auditor’s office at 215 4th Ave. SE, Le Mars, IA 51031. Voter’s may contact the Auditor’s office and an absentee ballot request form can be mailed to a voter.
Voters requesting an absentee ballot to be mailed to them must have the request form to the Auditor’s office no later than 5 pm on Friday, October 31st, as that is the last day absentee ballots can be mailed out to voters. The Auditor’s office provides the postage for all absentee ballots returned by mail. Ballots must be postmarked prior to midnight, November 3, 2014 (the day prior to the election), or can be delivered to the Auditor’s office before the polls close at 9:00 pm on November 4, 2014 (Election Day).
Branstad Appoints Tott As District Judge
(DES MOINES) – Gov. Terry E. Branstad has appointed Patrick H. Tott District Court Judge in the Third Judicial District Tott, of Sioux City, earned his law degree from Creighton University School of Law and is currently working in private practice and as a judicial magistrate.
District 3 includes Buena Vista, Cherokee, Clay, Crawford, Dickinson, Emmet, Ida, Lyon, Kossuth, Monona, O’Brien, Osceola, Palo Alto, Plymouth, Sioux, and Woodbury counties.
Tott fills the vacancy left by Judge D. Scott.
Branstad Talks About Bullying Program At West High School
(Sioux City) — Bullying continues to be an issue in school districts around the region, but Sioux City has been at the forefront of taking prevention measures against that conduct. Iowa Governor Terry Branstad and Lt. Governor Kim Reynolds joined Sioux Ciity School Superintendent Dr. Paul Gausman and others for a public forum on the topic Wednesday afternoon at West High School. Branstad says programs at West High and other schools are setting a standard in stopping bullying.
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Karter Jones was one of the students participating in the forum. He says learning bullying is wrong and it starts in the home.
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Iowa’s House and Senate passed different anti-bullying bills last year, but the session ended before a compromise could be reached. Branstad says he thinks a bill will make it through this year.
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State Representative Ron Jorgensen of Sioux City heads the House Education Committee. He will push the measure again in the 2015 General Session.
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West High is one of three school in the state Branstad and Reynolds are visiting to learn what Iowa schools are doing to deal with bullying and what steps the state should take next.
Administrators Say Their Jobs Were Illegally Turned Into Political Appointments
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Four state government administrators responsible for regulating hospitals, nursing homes, and other health care facilities claim their jobs were illegally turned into political appointments last year by Governor Terry Branstad’s administration. And one of the administrators says they’re fighting back.
The top two administrators in the Health Facilities Division and the Investigations Division of the Department of Inspections and Appeals said in appeals documents filed with the Public Employment Relations Board the administration stripped their long-standing status as merit employees and reclassified them to at-will jobs. Merit workers can only be fired for job performance issues while at-will workers can be fired for almost any reason.
Wendy Dishman, head of the investigations division said she and three other top administrators are appealing for reinstatement of merit coverage saying a state law specifically includes DIA division administrators in the merit system. A two-day administrative law judge hearing is set to begin Thursday.
Templeton Rye Being Sued
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – A Chicago law firm is suing Templeton Rye, alleging that the Iowa company broke consumer protection laws and misled drinkers with stories of its whiskey’s origins.
The class-action lawsuit was filed in Cook County Circuit Court in Illinois on behalf of “all individuals in the United States who’ve purchased a bottle of Templeton Rye.” It comes after news in August that the whiskey is made using the stock recipe in an Indiana distillery, according to the Des Moines Register.
Since the company released its first bottles of whiskey in 2006, its marketing materials have said the founders were inspired by the Prohibition-era recipe of Alphonse Kerkhoff, handed down through his family on a scrap of paper.
But in an interview last month with the Register, company chairman Vern Underwood said federal regulations prevent the company from making the whiskey using the Kerkhoff recipe.
The company also announced plans to begin printing on its labels that the whiskey is distilled in Indiana.
Iowa D-O-T Tells Tesla Motors To Stop Offering “Test Drives”
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – The Iowa Transportation Department has told Tesla Motors to stop offering test drives.
The department said the test drives were illegal because Tesla isn’t a licensed auto dealer in Iowa and because Iowa law bars carmakers from retail sales.
A Tesla spokeswoman told the newspaper that the company doesn’t think the statutes apply because the company was offering only three-day test drives, not actually selling cars.
Tesla doesn’t sell its electric cars through franchise dealerships. People can buy the Model S online or at one of a handful of Tesla stores around the country.
Tesla is based in Palo Alto, California.
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