Supervisors To Hear About Sexual Assault And Domestic Violence
(Le Mars) — The Plymouth County Board of Supervisors will meet today at the County Courthouse Boardroom. The supervisors will hear from Cathy Van Maanen with the Council of Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence. Rob Bixenman with Bixenman Insurance will offer the supervisors an update of the county’s insurance policies and renewal information. Plymouth County Recorder JoLynn Goodchild will present her quarterly report and Plymouth County Engineer Tom Rohe will address the supervisors and discuss the road construction projects.
City Council To Hold Hearing On Extension Services Lease Agreement
(Le Mars) — The Le Mars City Council is scheduled to convene today at noon at the city hall council chambers. First on the agenda will be a public hearing to solicit comments regarding renewing a lease agreement with the Iowa State University Extension and Outreach for Plymouth County. The Extension Service rents office space in the lower level of the Le Mars Convention Center. Wells Enterprises will appear before the city council to ask if 1st Street Southeast from 1st Avenue East to 2nd Avenue East can be closed for two months in order for the ice cream maker to construct RTS supports at its North Ice Cream Plant. The city council has only one action item on today’s agenda, and that is to discuss the city energy management program agreement.
Well Aware Community Health Fair Scheduled For Wednesday
(Le Mars) — Wednesday afternoon will be Floyd Valley Hospital’s annual “Well Aware Community Health Fair” to be held at the Le Mars Convention Center upper level. The health fair is free of charge to the public, and Floyd Valley’s Educational Coordinator, Kari Daale, offers a glimpse as to what is expected.
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Daale says the 50 venders exhibiting at the Community Health Fair will cover many aspects of health related topics.
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The Floyd Valley Hospital spokesperson says the Le Mars Police Department is working with the Community Health Fair as a drop off point for old and expired prescription medications.
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Daale says if the weather is nice, and if there are no emergency calls, visitors to the Well Aware Community Health Fair will have the opportunity to see up close the Mercy Air Care helicopter.
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The Well Aware Community Health Fair will be held at the Le Mars Convention Center and will begin at 2:00 p.m. and will continue until 6:00 p.m. and it is free to the public.
University Of Iowa To Increase Funding For Combating Sexual Assault
IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) – The University of Iowa plans to increase its funding for positions aimed at combating sexual assault.
President Sally Mason announced Monday that a new, full-time prevention specialist will be added at the Women’s Resource and Action Center. Another position within the center will be increased from part-time to full-time. A third full-time job will be part of the Rape Victim Advocacy Program.
The Iowa City Press-Citizen reports each full-time position will cost an estimated $50,000 to $55,000.
The announcement comes several days after the university released information about its sixth case of a reported sexual assault since the new school year. The university also recently enacted new guidelines on punishment for students who commit sexual misconduct.
Bar Association Says All Judges Should Be Retained
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – The Iowa State Bar Association says all 72 judges on the November ballot should be retained.
The association Monday released the results of a member survey that found all 72 were well qualified, receiving high marks for their professionalism and demeanor.
More than 1,100 lawyers statewide answered questions about judges. They ranked them from very poor to excellent on questions such as their knowledge of the law and the promptness of their rulings.
A vast majority of respondents said all 70 district judges and two appeals court judges should stay in office.
More than 70 percent of the 40 lawyers who ranked Judge Emily Dean said she should be retained. The Iowa Supreme Court last month suspended her for 30 days showing up drunk to the job in 2012.
Lender’s License Revoked
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Officials have revoked an online lender’s Iowa license over allegations of exorbitant interest rates.
The Iowa Superintendent of Banking said Monday that CashCall Inc. must pay $1.5 million in restitution costs and stop lending money to Iowa residents.
The state’s Division of Banking says the settlement offers restitution for more than 3,400 illegal loans by the company.
The California-based CashCall was accused of charging borrowers illegally high interest rates. Officials say that violated state lending laws.
As part of the agreement, CashCall neither admits nor denies wrongdoing. The company has tried to argue that its lending activity is beyond Iowa’s jurisdictional reach because it originated through another company that offered loans on an Indian reservation in South Dakota.
Regents Consultant Won’t Give Specifics About Possible Jobs Cuts
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa (AP) – Consultants advising Iowa’s three public universities on how to save money say they can’t be more specific about possible job cuts because of a lack of data.
Representatives of Deloitte Consulting LLC told University of Northern Iowa employees during a forum Monday that the universities do not collect data on how employees spend their time.
Deloitte director Rick Ferraro says it’s therefore impossible to say how its proposals to restructure human resources, finance and information technology staffs would affect specific departments and jobs.
He says it would be “too costly” to gather the information before the Iowa Board of Regents decides whether to move forward with those plans next month. He says he’s sure that answer may be frustrating, but that more specifics would become clear during the implementation phase.
