Home News Wednesday News, August 19 -afternoon

Wednesday News, August 19 -afternoon

A Hawarden man is in custody facing burglary and assault charges.

The Plymouth County Sheriff says 18 year old Heriberto Armenta-Robles was arrested Monday on a warrant for first degree burglary, a class B felony, and assault while participating in a felony, which is a Class D Felony.

Armenta-Robles was being held on $25,000 bond in the Plymouth County Jail..

——-

There’s going to be a workshop held in Le Mars Thursday to develop a safety plan to make Plymouth County’s roads safer.

The county is partnering with the Iowa Department of Transportation to develop a local road safety plan.

It’s a followup to a similar workshop held back on July 2nd and ideas from that meeting will be reviewed to develop the final safety plan.

The goal is to have zero fatalities on Plymouth County roadways.

The workshop runs from 9am until noon Thursday at the conference room of the Plymouth County Law Enforcement Center.

———

There’s a road closure in the county to tell you about.

Polk Avenue is closed between 200th to 190th streets for replacement of a bridge with a culvert.

The closure began this morning (Weds) and is expected to last through September 3rd.

 

—–

A school board member in Sioux City accused of sexually harassing a district employee says he will not resign from his post.

 

Paul Speidel (spy-dell) said during a special board meeting Tuesday that he sent inappropriate text messages to the employee over an undisclosed period of time. He says the communication has stopped.

 

The district confirmed this month that it had received a sexual harassment complaint about a board member.

 

Speidel says he will not step down from his position. His term expires in 2017.

 

Mike Krysl,(kree-sull) school board president, says it’s up to an elected official to resign. He added the public will be able to offer feedback in the coming days.

—————-

 

A long time federal judge from Sioux City has passed away.

The honorable Donald O’Brien died  tuesday at the age of 91.

O’Brien was appointed to the federal bench back in 1978.

He never retired, remaining active up until the time of his death.

O’Brien also served as Woodbury County Attorney in the late 1950’s and twice ran for Congress in 1958 and 1960, losing each time to Republican Charles Hoeven.

He participated in Democratic politics in northwest Iowa for sveral years after that, until being appointed to the federal bench.

Funeral services for Judge Donald O’Brien are being handled through Meyer Brothers Colonial Chapel in Sioux City.

————–

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Officials have confirmed emerald ash borer in a southwest Iowa county, and they say it’s the furthest west the invasive insect has been spotted in the state.

 

The Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship did not release additional information Tuesday about the discovery. To date, there have been confirmed cases of the beetle in 27 Iowa counties.

 

Experts say emerald ash borer gradually kills ash trees. A statewide quarantine has restricted the movement of firewood out of Iowa.

 

Mike Kintner, a coordinator for the department who focuses on emerald ash borer, says the latest find marks the furthest west the pest has been confirmed in Iowa.

 

The metallic green insect is native to Asia. It has spread to 25 states since first being identified in Michigan in 2002.

—–