Judge Dismisses Several Sexual Harassment Charges Against Former Sioux City Manager
SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) – A judge has trimmed the sexual harassment lawsuit filed against the Sioux City and former city manager Paul Eckert.
U.S. District Judge Mark Bennett said in a ruling filed Monday that several claims Brittany Scott used fell outside the statute of limitations. Bennett is allowing the case to proceed on Scott’s claim that she was denied a full-time administrative assistant position in 2012 in retaliation for her complaints about Eckert. The trial is scheduled to begin on March 30.
Scott has said Eckert made sexual overtures starting in 2000 that stopped after she talked to council members about him. Scott says he retaliated by demoting her. Eckert has said the allegations are baseless.
Eckert resigned in August 2013 to take a city manager’s position in Mt. Shasta, California.
Salvation Army Volunteer Has Home Burn Down
KEOKUK, Iowa (AP) – An Iowa man who dresses as Santa Claus for charity has lost his home and all of his belongings in a Christmas Eve fire.
Firefighters were called to a Keokuk home around 10:20 a.m. Wednesday. By the time they arrived, the house was engulfed in flames.
The home belonged to Robert Tripp, who portrays Santa for the Salvation Army in Keokuk. Officials suspect electrical wiring caused the blaze.
Tripp’s sister-in-law, Thelma Jefferson, who rents a room in the house, says she and her two nieces were watching television when the fire started. They escaped unharmed.
Tripp says he lost his wife three weeks ago. The Salvation Army is planning to house Tripp and Jefferson in a hotel for the holiday season.
Des Moines Home Destroyed By Christmas Fire
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – An overnight fire has destroyed a Des Moines home, but firefighters managed to save the family’s Christmas presents.
Flames were shooting through the home’s roof when firefighters arrived shortly after 3 a.m. on Thursday.
Firefighters say the home is a total loss, with damages estimated at more than $130,000.
No one was injured. Family members had left the home hours earlier to visit relatives in Atlantic. Firefighters say they were able to save the family’s Christmas tree and their presents.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation.
Mother Jumps Through Fire To Save Teenage Daughter
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Des Moines police say a mother jumped through fire to rescue her teenage daughter on Christmas Day.
Firefighters were sent to the home about 1:30 p.m. Thursday. Outside the house they found the woman and her five children.
They reported that the flames erupted while the 15-year-old girl was cleaning the basement. She had knocked over a gas can that wasn’t far from a water heater.
Police say the girl’s mother jumped through the fire to save her daughter. The girl was treated later for smoke inhalation, but no other injuries were reported.
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Car Accident Near Logan Kills One
LOGAN, Iowa (AP) – A western Iowa man is dead and two others were seriously injured after a two-vehicle crash.
58-year-old Richard Tiffey Jr. of Logan was killed in the crash around 6 p.m. Tuesday.
Authorities say Tiffey was driving a 2003 Ford Crown Victoria when he was struck by a 2012 Chevrolet Impala driven by 74-year-old Linda Hack, of Logan.
Authorities say Hack crossed the center line of Highway 30 for an unknown reason and struck Tiffey’s vehicle head-on. Tiffey was traveling westbound on the highway about two miles west of Logan.
Hack and Tiffey’s wife, 58-year-old Debbie Tiffey, were taken to a Missouri Valley, Iowa hospital, and then transported to a hospital in Omaha. Their conditions weren’t known.
Judge Orders Evaluations Of Teen
Mayor Kirchoff Reflects On 2014
(Le Mars) — In the coming days, you will hear various reports on KLEM as we examine the stories that made headlines in the Year in Review. KLEM news recently spoke with Mayor Dick Kirchoff regarding his thoughts on the year 2014. Kirchoff started a new term in office in early January. Kirchoff says the city had a successful year. The mayor says Le Mars was able to implement what he calls the “three P’s”… the public, the private, and the partnership, with many projects including the new waste water treatment facility located two miles west of town.
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Kirchoff says he will also recall the cooperation and partnership between the city, and private business owners in obtaining the $500,000 Community Development Block Grant which will allow downtown businesses to have a historical facade rennovation.
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The Le Mars mayor says he is proud of the people of Le Mars and the way the people step up to offer assistance.
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Kirchoff says his favorite area involves economic development.
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University Of Iowa Mistakingly Sends Recruitment Letters To Children
IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) – A clerical error is being blamed for the University of Iowa’s apparent effort to recruit more than a thousand elementary students.
The Iowa City Press-Citizen reports that some confused parents have called the university over the past few days to ask why their preteen children had been sent recruitment packets. Included was a letter from university admissions director Emil Rinderspacher that began by saying, “I’m so glad you’re considering the University of Iowa.”
University spokesman Tom Moore says the clerical error led to the packets being sent to nearly 1,050 participants in the university’s Wildlife Camp. The university offers the outdoor camps for first- through sixth-graders during summer, spring and winter breaks.
Moore says the mailing was intended for high school seniors in the university’s prospect file.
LOGAN, Iowa (AP) – An Iowa judge has ordered more evaluations of an 18-year-old found not guilty of killing his foster brother.
Iin her order earlier this month, Judge Kathleen Kilnoski said Cody Metzker-Madsen remains “dangerous to himself and others.” In November Metzker-Madsen was found not guilty by reason of insanity in the death of 5-year-old Dominic Elkins. The boy was attacked in August 2013 while the two played on their foster parents’ rural property in western Iowa.
Kilnoski says Metzker-Madsen must remain for now at the Iowa Medical and Classification Center in Coralville. After the trial, a psychiatrist there diagnosed him as having an unspecified psychotic disorder and with oppositional defiant disorder and intermittent explosive disorder. Experts say the disorders can cause violent tantrums and aggression.
