School Board Election Results
(Le Mars) — In Tuesday’s school board election, Angela Catton and Patrick Murphy were victorious and will be placed on the Le Mars Community School Board at At-Large directors. Catton received the most votes with 293, and Patrick Murphy was able to retain his position on the local school board with 272 votes. Mark Hemmingson was unsuccessful in trying to get back on the school board. Hemmingson received 196 votes. District 3 did not have any candidate seeking the position. However, outgoing school board member Chris Collins did receive 12 write-in votes. Matthew Macek received seven write in votes and Kim Clay was able to pick up three write in votes from District 3. Fred Zenk was running unopposed in District 5. He was re-elected and received 347 votes.
Akron-Westfield voters turned thumbs down on the proposed bond levy. The measure, which was asking for voters to approve a $2.50 per $1000 of assessed property value failed on a 58 to 42 percent. The measure needed to win at least 60 percent support in order for it to be approved. The levy was designated to finance upgrades with the facilities.
Hinton approved their PPEL levy of 65 cents per $1000 of assessed tax property value. The measure won with a 66 percentage points in favor, and 34 percent opposed.
Kingsley voters overwhelmingly approved their bond issue with 78 percent in favor, and 22 percent against.
Area school board election results:
Remsen-Union:
Winning school board positions include : Sara Krier with 107 votes, and Jim Miller with 92 votes. Talon Penning received 75 votes and Travis Tentinger was a write-in candidate and received 54 votes.
Kingsley election results include the winners of Phillip Herbold with 198 votes, Matt Bubke with 184 votes, and Angela Haggin with 171 votes. Bobbi Hirschman had 113 votes, and Becky Wenzel received 74 votes.
Hinton election results include : Kyle Hoefling with 169 votes, Brett Stanley with 122 votes, and Ed Vondrak with 118 votes. Others included Tracy Bader with 111 votes, Robert Held with 116 votes, and Sara Vaydich with 102 votes.
Akron-Westfield school board election did not have any contested races, so, Jodi Thompson, Debra Jordt, and Nick Mathistad all were elected to the Akron-Westfield school board.
At the Marcus-Merriden-Cleghorn school board elections they had three positions that were uncontested. Winning school board seats include : Michelle Rupp for District 4, Karla
Prunty for District 5, and Vernon Letsche is the school board director for District 6
Again, the Le Mars Community School Board election had newcomer Angela Catton and incumbent Patrick Murphy winning the two contested seats.
University Of Iowa Faculty Give A No-Confidence Vote To Board of Regents
IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) – University of Iowa faculty leaders have issued a vote of no-confidence in the school’s governing board over the selection the school’s next president.
The Faculty Senate voted to rebuke the Iowa Board of Regents during a meeting Tuesday evening, saying the regents failed the university and the state’s citizens by hiring former IBM executive Bruce Harreld.
The measure says the board also failed to live up to its own standards for ethics, communication, transparency and others articulated in its strategic plan.
Hundreds of professors packed into the Old Capitol for the meeting. They erupted in cheers after the motion carried.
During nearly two hours of speeches, professors said the regents ignored overwhelming faculty input that Harreld was unqualified.
Faculty Senate President Christina Bohannan said the regents “betrayed” the university.
President Obama To Visit Iowa To Discuss Colleges Affordability
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – President Barack Obama will visit a Des Moines high school on Monday to discuss college affordability.
Obama announced his plans Tuesday in a message sent to the White House’s email list. In the note Obama says he’ll be with Secretary of Education Arne Duncan and they’ll have a conversation with high school students and their parents.
Obama notes his efforts to increase funding for college scholarships and provide more affordable student loans.
Obama says that every student “deserves a quality education,” no matter where they grew up or how much money they have.
Northwestern College Ranks 5th As Best Colleges
ORANGE CITY, Iowa—Northwestern College has moved up to a tie for fifth place among 96 Midwestern regional colleges in U.S. News & World Report’s 2016 Best Colleges guidebook and is the highest ranked Iowa college in its category. This is the ninth year in a row for Northwestern to be in the top 10 of its category. The rankings, which include 1,376 schools nationwide, are available at www.usnews.com/colleges
Competency Report Finished For Neunaber
(Le Mars) — A competency report on Jonathon Neunaber has been filed in Plymouth County. Neunaber is being held at the Plymouth County jail under suspicion that he killed his mother back in July of 2014. Both Donald and Ester Neunaber’s bodies were found dead at their rural Akron residence. An autopsy report indicated Donald died of natural causes, but Ester died as a result of blunt trauma to the head. Judge Andreasen has ruled the contents of the competency report are to be confidential at this time. No further hearings have been scheduled at this time.
Deputies Arrest Man For Domestic Assault
(Le Mars) — On Saturday, the Plymouth County Sheriff’s Department received a report of a Domestic Assault that occurred at a residence in the southern part of Plymouth County. A deputy sheriff spoke with the female victim and an investigation into the incident took place. Then on Sunday, the deputy sheriff arrested Jeremiah Shortenhaus, age 22 of rural Sioux City, in reference to the Domestic Assault. Shortenhaus was charged with Aggravated Domestic Assault, an aggravated misdemeanor. Shortenhaus was held with no bond until seeing the judge.
Property Taxes Now Due
(Le Mars) — Plymouth County Treasurer, Shelly Sitzmann, reminds property owners that the first-half real estate and mobile home taxes are due now and can be paid in the office, online, or through the mail. The delinquent date is Thursday, October 1, 2015. Mail must be postmarked on or before September 30, 2015 to avoid delinquent interest. Send your payment before the last day, as mailing your payment on September 30 does not guarantee a September 30 postmark. Delinquent interest of 1.5% per month rounded to the nearest dollar attaches to all unpaid taxes on October 1, 2015, and an additional 1.5% penalty on the first of each succeeding month thereafter. There is a minimum $1.00 penalty on all taxes.
NIPCO Selects Washburn For Next General Manager
LE MARS, IOWA – The Northwest Iowa Power Cooperative Board of Directors is pleased to announce the selection of its current Chief Operating Officer Matt Washburn as the individual that will succeed current General Manager Kent Pauling following his anticipated retirement at the end of this year. Mr. Washburn has been employed at NIPCO since 2001. He has served as the Vice President of Management Services & Chief Financial Officer. Since 2014 has held the position of Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer. Matt also served as the Chief Operating Officer of NIPCO Development Corporation, a subsidiary of the Cooperative, from 2006 until its operations were merged into the Cooperative in 2011. NIPCO is pleased to have the opportunity to select an individual that is familiar with NIPCO and its member systems and is also very familiar with the issues surrounding NIPCO’s recent decision to join the Southwest Power Pool, an RTO. Prior to joining NIPCO, Mr. Washburn was an auditor with Williams & Company PC, a CPA firm in Le Mars, Iowa. Mr. Washburn is a graduate of the University of Northern Iowa with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Accounting. He is a Non-Public Licensed Certified Public Accountant and a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.
Crops Starting To Mature
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Iowa’s corn and soybean crops endured the hottest week of the year so far last week but largely remain in good shape.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture in its weekly crop report released Tuesday says 10 percent of Iowa’s corn crop is mature. That’s three days ahead of last year but nine days behind the five-year average. Seventy-nine percent of the crop is in good to excellent condition
Farmers report some fields are showing signs of disease stress.
Soybean development is three days ahead of last year but a day behind average with 76 percent of the crop in good to excellent condition
State Climatologist Harry Hillaker says the first week of September was the hottest week of the year. Temperatures as a whole averaged 10 degrees above normal.
