School Board Presents Proposal To Teacher Association
(Le Mars) — The Le Mars Community Board of Education presented its proposal for the collective bargaining position to the Le Mars Teacher Association on Monday evening. You may recall the teacher association had requested an increase of $2000 for the salary base from $34,585 to $36,585. They also had proposed an increase of $100 per month for insurance coverage pushing the amount from $945 to $1045, and the teachers proposed having a third personal day off. Superintendent of schools Dr. Todd Wendt shared with KLEM news the school board’s initial counter proposal.
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Wendt says due to the uncertainty of school funding to be allocated from the state legislature, the board will hold off on submitting a specific proposal in terms of salary and insurance, but he says the school board will allow the schedule to age.
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Wendt says both sides have agreed to sustain any further negotiations until the legislature finalizes its school funding program.
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The school superintendent says the proposed school funding coming from Des Moines is still a wide range that hasn’t been settled.
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School Foundation And Alumni Association Seek Nominations For Teacher Of The Year
(Le Mars) — The Le Mars Community School District Foundation and Alumni Association will again jointly sponsor and select a “Teacher of the Year” to represent the many great teachers who exemplify our school district and its educational goals. The award is called the “Decades of Excellence Crystal Bell Award”. Its purpose is to recognize and honor teachers who demonstrate excellence in education by meeting the needs of the students. Anyone wishing to nominate a teacher for the “Decades of Excellence Crystal Bell Award” may stop by the Superintendent’s office, or any of the principal’s offices, or visit the school district’s website to obtain nomination materials. The application should be completed and submitted by Friday, March 27, 2015.
City Council To Act On Kellen Proposed Addition
(Le Mars) — The Le Mars City Council is expected to further discuss the proposed city budget during its meeting scheduled for today at the city hall chambers. The city council will again visit about the proposed Kellen addition and possibly take action on that addition to be located on the southeast area of Le Mars. The agenda also mentions the Community Betterment Project phase II, and the city council will discuss another access road into the Greenview Estates. The city council is also expected to award the construction bid for the downtown historic rennovation project as part of the CDBG grant.
Supervisors To Hear About Community Health
(Le Mars) — The Plymouth County Board of Supervisors are scheduled to meet today at the County Courthouse Board Room. Tara Geddes, Community Health Manager will offer the supervisors an update on the community health of Plymouth County. The supervisors will also hear from Jeff Wurth of the Pride Group as he discusses bids for a generator. Zoning Administrator, Alan Lucken, is scheduled to appear before the county supervisors. Lucken is expected to recommend a zoning change for Jason Wendt from agriculture to commercial. The supervisors are expected to take action on the proposal. Plymouth County engineer, Tom Rohe, will discuss the secondary road department and offer an update on various construction projects.
County Democrats Elect Officers
(Le Mars) — Plymouth County Democrats recently elected new officers for a two-year term. Serving as the chairman for the county Democrats will be Matthew Vonnahme of Hinton, Mark Sturgeon of Le Mars will be the vice chair, as well as the publicity director and interim treasurer. Kay Luckett will be the secretary for the county democratic party, and Dennis Wolf of Le Mars will be the treasurer.
Sioux City Mom Pleads Guilty To Child Endangerment
SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) – A Sioux City mom has pleaded guilty to leaving her 10-month-old son alone in a bathtub while she smoked marijuana in another room.
Twenty-one-year-old Maricela Vasquez submitted her plea deal Monday to charges of child endangerment resulting in bodily injury and possession of a controlled substance.
Authorities say Vasquez was arrested in August when they responded to a 911 call, found evidence of marijuana in the apartment and discovered the baby had nearly drowned.
The boy was taken to UnityPoint Health-St. Luke’s Regional Medical, where he was treated, released and removed from Vasquez’s custody.
A sentencing hearing has been set for Feb. 24. Vasquez faces up to five years in prison.
Atlantic Woman Dies From Cold Exposure
ATLANTIC, Iowa (AP) – Authorities suspect exposure to the bone-chilling cold killed a 67-year-old woman found a few dozen yards from her home in western Iowa.
Cass County Sheriff Darby McLaren said Monday that Judy Kay’s body was found around 9 p.m. Sunday, not far from her house in rural Atlantic. Her pickup had run off a road and into a ditch.
McLaren says Kay was trying to walk home from the ditch, but she got only halfway. A relative found her body about 50 yards from the house.
The sheriff says Kay was wearing a light jacket – not enough for the temperature of 11 degrees and wind chill of minus 9.
Branstad Appoints Worker’s Compensation Commissioner
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – A Des Moines lawyer has been appointed to head a division of state government that oversees worker’s compensation disputes in Iowa.
Joe Cortese, a contributor to the Republican Party and its candidates including Gov. Terry Branstad, will begin work as Workers’ Compensation Commissioner on Feb. 16.
Branstad says in the announcement of the appointment Monday he’s confident Cortese will be independent and fair.
The appointment is subject to Senate confirmation.
Cortese fills the position once occupied by Chris Godfrey, who left in August to take a job as chief judge of a federal employee compensation appeals board.
Godfrey is suing Branstad and several staff members alleging they violated his constitutional rights by cutting his salary and by trying to push him out of his job because he is gay.
Branstad Hoping To Reduce Domestic Abuse With Stronger Laws
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Gov. Terry Branstad is hoping to reduce domestic abuse in Iowa through proposed legislation that would toughen penalties and oversight.
Branstad said Monday he supports a bill that would increase prison time for people repeatedly convicted of domestic abuse assault. It would also increase oversight of domestic abuse offenders by permitting the use of electronic monitoring in some cases.
The bill has been drafted and will now be reviewed by lawmakers in the Legislature. Branstad said he hopes the bill will “end domestic violence in our state.
Sheila Lynch said that tougher laws would have helped protect her daughter, TereseAnn Lynch Moore, who was killed by her estranged husband in 2009. Randall Moore was convicted of murder, kidnapping and sexual abuse and was sentenced to three life sentences.
Students Create Home Using Discarded Hog Feeders
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Two students at a central Iowa college have built a tiny home for less than $500, using old hog feeders, grain bins and other items headed for the landfill.
Classmates Amy Andrews and Ethan Van Kooten built the 260-square-foot home after being inspired by a 2014 class trip to Costa Rica, where they were housed in small dwellings powered by solar panels.
After being unable to find available grants for their project, the two began searching around Van Kooten’s family farm for useable materials, discovering an old granary used to hold field corn. They also used items like cupboards and carpet from buildings set for demolition.
The students say it took about 500 hours of work to complete their project.
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Drake University Surpasses $200 Million Fundraiser Goal
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Drake University says it has surpassed a $200 million fundraising goal nearly six months ahead of its planned target date. The Des Moines-based privately held university says it has commitments from more than 22,000 donors. Contributions include more than 60 gifts of $1 million or more.
The university says $46 million will support scholarship programs and $36 million will enhance teaching and learning through endowed faculty positions and faculty development funds. More than $45 million will support new construction and renovation projects on campus. More than $110 million in gifts have been designated to the University’s endowment fund.
The drive was launched in October 2010 and had a goal of reaching $200 million by June 30.
Drake has more than 3,300 undergraduate and 1,700 graduate students.
