Progress Being Made On New Fair Exhibit Building
Le Mars) –– Construction workers from the P-R Construction firm of Ireton, Iowa are making great progress on the new exhibit hall located on the Plymouth County Fairgrounds. The hall is scheduled to be completed by June 1st, and Plymouth County Fair Board president, Tony Schroeder says construction has been on pace to perhaps a bit ahead of pace.
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Schroeder says the new exhibit hall is wider and taller than the previous Hall of 76 building. He says the older structure was rotting, and had nothing holding it down.
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Schroeder says the new exhibit hall will be insulated. He says it will be more accommodating to fair vendors, and to anyone wishing to lease the building.
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As was the case with the Hall of 76, the fair board president says the new exhibit hall will be connected to Century Hall located just to the west of the new structure.
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As of today’s date, the fairboard has not given a name to the new exhibit hall.
Life Skills Training Center To Hold Annual Awards And Banquet On Monday
(Le Mars) — Life Skills Training Center of Le Mars, a facility that assists mentally challenged adults, will hold its annual banquet and awards program on Monday evening. Shelly Thomson, the Marketing and Development Director says at this year’s banquet, Life Skills will unveil its new website.
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Thomson says awards will be presented to retiring board member, Wayne Pick, and the organization’s outstanding client.
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Thomson explains the organization got its start in 1973, and since that time has expanded its client list from five to more than 70 today. She says with the growth of clients being served, it meant their services also expanded.
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The Life Skills Official says there have been a number of changes with the facility, especially with how the organization is being funded.
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The Life Skills Training Center awards program will be at the Presbyterian-United Church of Christ and will begin at 6:30 p.m.
Floyd Valley Hospital Hosts Mother’s Luncheon
(Le Mars) — Sunday is Mother’s Day, but the Floyd Valley Hospital honored local mothers of all ages with a luncheon that was held on Thursday. Mindy Sylvester was the guest speaker. She serves as a registered nurse with the Spencer Municipal Hospital at Spencer, Iowa. Sylvester focused on a “mother’s love is from the heart of the matter”
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The Spencer nurse says its important for women to understand the numbers associated with heart disease.
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Sylvester says many times a mother can be under a great deal of stress, but research studies don’t necessarily tie heart disease with stress.
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Women of all ages attended the noon luncheon, and Sylvester says she offered each of the women a challenge to go out and visit with their families, and to understand the importance of a mother’s job.
Sioux City Man Convicted Of Sexually Abusing Three Girls Given New Trial
SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) – A Sioux City man convicted in 2011 of sexually abusing three girls has been granted a retrial.
Woodbury County Assistant Attorney Drew Bockenstedt says 42-year-old Julius Turner filed for post-conviction relief in 2012, claiming his attorney inadequately defended him. His appeal was approved in April, and he returned to the Woodbury County Jail on Wednesday.
Following his July 2011 conviction of two counts of second-degree sexual abuse and one count of third-degree sexual abuse, Turner faced life in prison without parole. He was accused of sexually abusing three girls under the age of 13 from 2008 to 2009.
Previously, he had been convicted in 1992 of third-degree sexual abuse and lascivious acts with a child.
Turner’s new trial is scheduled for June 2.
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Murder Trial Of Man Continues While Lawyers Await Forensic Evidence
SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) – The murder trial of a Sioux City man accused in the shooting death of another Iowan has been continued as lawyers await forensic test results.
Attorneys on Wednesday filed a motion to delay the first-degree murder trial of Timothy Schroeder, arguing they needed more time to conduct depositions. They also said they’re waiting on ballistics and fingerprint reports from the Iowa Department of Criminal Investigation laboratory.
Schroeder was arrested in February in connection with the slaying of 29-year-old Dustin Wilder, of Sloan. Schroeder’s wife told investigators that he fired two or three shots inside of Wilder’s home. Wilder was later found unconscious and was pronounced dead at the scene.
The trial, which had been set to begin Tuesday, is rescheduled for Sept. 1.
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Two More Bird Flu Cases Detected
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Iowa agriculture officials say two additional commercial poultry farms show signs of the presence of bird flu.
A chicken farm in Osceola County with 100,000 birds and a turkey farm in Cherokee County are the latest additions to the list of farms testing positive for the H5N2 virus. The number of turkeys wasn’t immediately released by the Iowa Department of Agriculture.
Osceola County now has three cases and Cherokee County totals four.
They raise Iowa’s total number to 37 cases in 11 counties.
More than 21 million of Iowa’s chickens will be affected if the latest cases are confirmed. The number of turkeys to be lost is approaching 500,000.
More than 100 farms in the Midwest have the bird flu virus with more than 28 million birds affected.
Composting Of Dead Birds Causing Odors
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Millions of dead chickens and turkeys lie in stinking, fly-swarmed piles near dozens of large Iowa farms due to the H5N2 bird flu virus.
Neighbors say they understand the challenge in disposing of more than 20 million bird carcasses, but are eager for quick action, especially as temperatures rise and create more decomposition odor and flies.
Iowa Department of Natural Resources environmental supervisor Ken Hessenius says the state must look at “all methods of disposal” and called the virus a “crisis.”
Some of the birds are piled up and covered with dirt or other material, turkeys are often composted inside barns and at least one chicken farm is burying them in trenches. Portable incinerators have been set up and state officials are working with landfills.
Branstad Signs Bill To Keep Abuse Victims Addresses Private
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Governor Terry Branstad has signed a bill into law that will allow victims of domestic abuse and other crimes to keep their home address private through a mail-forwarding program.
Branstad signed the bill Thursday. It takes effect in January.
The law will allow victims of domestic abuse and other crimes to have their mail sent to an address managed by the Iowa Secretary of State’s Office. The mail will then be forwarded to the victim’s home address. The system allows victims to keep their home address confidential from an abuser or potential abuser.
Rep. Dean Fisher, a Republican from Garwin, sponsored the bill. He says it could help between 300 and 500 people in Iowa. More than 30 other states have similar laws.
