Supervisors Approve 83 Property Tax Credits Applications
(Le Mars) — Plymouth County Board of Supervisors approved 83 property tax credit applications during their weekly meeting held at the county courthouse Tuesday morning. In other action, the county governing board approved the first reading of an ordinance vacating certain platted lots, streets and alleys. The area in question rests on the southern edge of Plymouth County where the county borders with the city of Sioux City. The Board of Supervisors also signed the contracts with Richards Construction of Sac City. Richards Construction was awarded three bids on three separate culvert projects.
Wellmark Blue Cross – Blue Shied Chooses Not To Carry Insurance Coverage For Iowa
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Wellmark Blue Cross & Blue Shield has opted for the third straight year to not sell health insurance to Iowa residents on the federal online marketplace.
Another large insurer, UnitedHealthcare, has announced it will begin offering plans to residents on the Healthcare.gov website.
Coventry Health Care said residents can continue to shop for its policies on the exchange. Insurance Commissioner Nick Gerhart said he expects a third, unidentified company to file an application this week to sell health coverage to Iowa residents.
Wellmark disclosed Monday that it wouldn’t offer policies to Iowa residents next year on the federal website. The company’s vice president said, “It’s not a matter of if we will participate, it is really a matter of when.”
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Sioux City Man Pleas Not Guilty To Trash Bin Arson Fires
SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) – A 24-year-old man has pleaded not guilty to several arson charges stemming from several trash bin fires and other blazes.
Darin Morey entered written pleas last week in Woodbury County District Court. He faces six counts of arson and one of criminal mischief.
Authorities say the fires damaged trash bins, two garages, two commercial buildings and a fence. The damage total is estimated at more than $10,000. No injuries were reported.
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Chapman Attempts To Escape Crawford County Jail
DENISON, Iowa (AP) – Authorities say a 20-year-old man convicted last week of killing two elderly people in Deloit has tried to escape the Crawford County Jail.
The Crawford County Sheriff’s Office says Jayden Chapman assaulted a jailer on Monday while trying to flee.
Chapman faces two life terms for the slayings of 80-year-old Marvin Huesling and 81-year-old Alice Huisenga in Deloit. Authorities say Chapman and Michael Schenk shot the pair in March 2014 at a trailer home and then set it on fire. Schenk was sentenced in March to two life terms for his role in the slayings.
Landfill Rejects Dead Poultry
JACKSON, Neb. (AP) – A northeast Nebraska landfill has declined to accept poultry from northwest Iowa killed due to the bird flu virus.
The landfill’s owner told the Sioux City Journal that he considered disposing some of the carcasses at the site, but decided against it after Nebraska officials raised objections.
Spokesman Brian McManus with the Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality said officials worried that transporting the birds could expose poultry farms along or near the route to the landfill to the virus. He said that’s why the department strongly recommends on-site burial of such carcasses.
Iowa officials announced on Friday that two more farms holding a total of 4 million chickens tested positive for the virus. If confirmed, the birds will be euthanized and Iowa’s chicken loss will approach 25 million.
Football Injury Lawsuit
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – A jury has awarded a former Bedford High School football player almost $1 million in a case involving the school’s response to head injuries.
18-year-old Kacey Strough had a pre-existing medical condition known as a “cavernous malformation,” or abnormally formed blood vessels, in his brain.
Strough’s attorney argued a head injury aggravated his condition, but he was allowed to continue playing.
Jurors Monday found the school district and a school nurse were negligent for failing to notify coaches of Strough’s potential injury and consult with Strough’s grandmother to ensure treatment.
The lawsuit originally accused teammates of throwing footballs at his head, but the claim was ultimately dropped.
Strough had a blood clot removed in November 2012. He has permanent injuries and uses a wheelchair.
