Le Mars Community School Board To Meet With Remsen-Union School Board
(Le Mars) — The Le Mars Community Board of Education and the Remsen-Union Board of Education will hold a joint meeting this evening. The Remsen-Union school board requested to hold the joint meeting. The Remsen-Union school board is taking the opportunity to visit with all school districts that neighbor the R-U school district as they decide the future of the school district. Following the joint meeting, the Le Mars Community School Board will hold its regularly scheduled meeting. The school board will hear an update regarding the early literacy program. The school board will also discuss the upcoming annual Foundation Banquet which is scheduled for Wednesday, April 29th at the Le Mars Convention Center. Kaye Schipper intends to retire as a kindergarten teacher at Clark elementary school effective at the end of the 2014-2015 school year. High School principal Mark Iverson will present to the school board the list of anticipated seniors to graduate. Senior awards night is scheduled for Wednesday, May 13th and Commencement is scheduled for Sunday, May 17th.
Bullying Bill Struggling To Get Pass In House
(Des Moines) — With only one week left in the scheduled legislative session, there are many people who doubt if there will be a bullying bill that will emerge and pass the legislature. Governor Branstad has placed the bullying bill as one of his priorities. State Representative Chuck Soderberg says he is uncertain whether the House will pass an anti-bullying bill.
Listen to
{audio} images/stories/mp3/April 2015/Soderberg bully1.MP3{/audio}
Soderberg says the House is trying to work through the issues, in order to salvage the bill.
Listen to
{audio} images/stories/mp3/April 2015/Soderberg bully2.MP3{/audio}
Soderberg says the bullying bill is still an “iffy” issue.
Listen to
{audio} images/stories/mp3/April 2015/Soderberg bully3.MP3{/audio}
Lower Farm Income Means Fewer Farm Equipment Sales
(Le Mars) –– Farm income has dropped over the past year with commodity prices falling and land values making a bit of decline, so it is only natural to think farm equipment sales have seen a drop. Adam Timmerman, general manager of ICON Ag and Turf with five different dealerships through out northwest Iowa, including one in Le Mars, says equipment sales are lower, but farmers attitudes remain positive.
Listen to
{audio} images/stories/mp3/April 2015/Timmerman sales1.MP3{/audio}
Timmerman believes when commodity prices make a turn and show signs of improving, farmers will return to make purchases of new and used farm equipment.
Listen to
{audio} images/stories/mp3/April 2015/Timmerman sales2.MP3{/audio}
Timmerman says surprisingly, short-line equipment has been selling.
Listen to
{audio} images/stories/mp3/April 2015/Timmerman sales3.MP3{/audio}
Farmers Market Sales On The Decline
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – With farmers markets set to begin in dozens of cities across Iowa, vendors and market managers alike are pulling out all the stops to keep consumers coming back for more.
National data suggest the tremendous growth in farmers markets has begun to ebb, with a slight decline in sales adjusted for inflation, but officials say customer and vendor retention efforts in Iowa have helped the state’s markets so far evade such a fate.
Kelly Foss, director of the Downtown Des Moines Farmers Market, says finding ways to ensure incremental growth each year is crucial to success as the market enters its 40th season.
Todd Mills sells gourmet mushrooms, and he says his latest venture in Des Moines fills a niche currently unserved at the downtown market.
Sioux City Police Hand Out Trading Cards To Children
SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) – Sioux City Police are using officer trading cards as a way to connect with children in the community.
The collectible cards, similar to baseball cards, offer a photo of a police officer on the front, and some statistics and personal information on the back. Sioux City police have been handing out the cards for nearly 20 years, and in that time, the cards’ popularity among children has only grown stronger.
Sioux City officers usually stuff a handful of cards in their shirt pockets or hand them out to children when their squad cars are waved down in residential neighborhoods.
Officer Valerie Rose says the cards are so popular with neighborhood children, “It’s almost like the ice cream truck.”
Woodbury County Parks To Open May 1st
(Sioux City) — Woodbury County park facilities will open for the 2015 season on Friday, May 1st. Campgrounds, restrooms, and shelters will all be available for pubic use beginning on that date. County parks opening on May 1st include Snyder Bend, Brown’s Lake, Bigelow Park near Salix, Southwood Conservation Area and Fowler Forest Preserve near Smithland, and Little Sioux Park near Correctionville. Cabin facilities at Synder Bend and Little Sioux Park will also be available for rental beginning May 1st. Swimming beaches at Brown’s Lake, and Little Sioux Park will open for the 2015 season on Saturday, May 23rd. The public is reminded the beaches are “swim at your own risk” as lifeguards are not provided.
Future Of Des Moines Civil Rights Office Is Unclear
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – The future of the Des Moines agency that handles civil rights issues is unclear after losing two of its three employees.
City officials are considering closing the office and asking other departments or a state agency to handle the concerns.
Des Moines has been spending between $322,000 and $374,000 a year to run the office.
Des Moines City Manager Scott Sanders said the city still wants to protect its citizens’ rights, but officials are trying to decide whether to maintain a separate office for that purpose.
Even if the vacancies are filled, the Des Moines civil rights three-person office will still be smaller than similar ones in several other Iowa cities.
—
Cedar Rapids Man Arrested For Grocery Store Shooting
MARION, Iowa (AP) – Police arrested the 32-year-old man suspected of killing a woman in a grocery store parking lot in eastern Iowa.
Marion Police said Sunday that Nicholas Luerkens, of Cedar Rapids, was arrested on a warrant for first-degree murder after he was released from the hospital.
Luerkens was treated for self-inflicted stab wounds after Tuesday’s stabbing death of 29-year-old Lynnsey Donald of Marion.
Police have said Donald and Luerkens had previously lived together but Donald moved several months before her death.
