Authorities Arrest Craig Man For Sexual Exploitation And Invasion Of Privacy
(Le Mars) — Plymouth County Sheriff’s Office has made an arrest of a Craig man for six counts of sexual exploitation of a minor, and five counts of invasion of privacy following an investigation that started in March. Back on March 25th, the Plymouth County Sheriff’s Office received a complaint from a Plymouth County resident regarding some suspicious activity that had occurred at a residence in Craig. The complainant reported that she felt she was being spied on by a male subject. On March 31st, the Plymouth County Sheriff’s Office executed a search warrant at the James Grasz residence, the address being 840 Main Street in Craig. Items were seized and taken as evidence. It was determined by investigators that individuals had been videotaped in various states of nudity without their consent of knowledge. These individuals were both adults and juveniles at the time of the incidents, which had taken place over the course of ten years or more. On Tuesday, Plymouth County Sheriff’s deputies arrested 66 year old James Grasz of Craig. Grasz was booked into the Plymouth County Jail where bond was set at $63,000. Plymouth County authorities are continuing with the investigation.
Wells’ South Ice Cream Plant Has Electrical Fire
(Le Mars) — Shortly after 3:00 p.m. Tuesday afternoon, the Le Mars Fire Department responded to an alarm at the Wells Enterprises south ice cream plant, for what turned out to be an electrical fire. Fire Chief Dave Schipper explains what happened.
Schipper says the abundance of rain and moisture that happened earlier Tuesday afternoon may have contributed to the small fire.
Schipper says there were no injuries associated with the Wells south plant electrical fire.
Supervisors Discuss Requested Paving Project
(Le Mars) — The Plymouth County Board of Supervisors approved to suspend the taxes of Jim Hofman. Plymouth County Treasurer Shelly Sitzmann appeared before the county governing board to advise them of the status. It was mentioned during the supervisor meeting that Hofman owes the county $493 in taxes, which was still collecting interest and penalties. Hofman is a member of the military and has been deployed. Supervisor John Meis questioned whether there is verification of Hofman belonging to the military. The supervisors also approved the contract with Midwest Contractors to conduct a paving project on three and a quarter miles on county road C-60 beginning at C-66 and moving west. The supervisors also gave approval to Frontier Communications to install both fiber optic and copper cable along county road C-16 from Struble to Craig. The supervisors discussed, but took no action, on a request to pave Lake Avenue from county road C-38 heading south for a distance of nearly 470 feet. The request has been made by Neal Anthony of Anthony’s Trucking. County engineer Tom Rohe informed the supervisors that the cost to pave the road would be estimated at $102,440. Supervisor Craig Anderson said that if the county agrees to pave Lake Avenue then the landowner requesting the paving project would have to have “a lot of skin in the game”. Supervisor Mark Loutsch indicated he would oppose such a project. The supervisors discussed having Anthony finance at least two-thirds the cost. The supervisors instructed County engineer Tom Rohe to speak with Anthony to learn more about his willingness to help finance any paving project. During Tuesday’s meeting, the county supervisors also certified the election results from last week’s primary race.
Ice Cream Days Begins Today (Wednesday)
(Le Mars) — Today begins the four-day celebration of Ice Cream Days. Peggy Sitzmann serves as the Le Mars Chamber of Commerce vice president of Events and Marketing. She highlights today’s various activities and events associated with the annual Le Mars festival. Sitzmann says Ice Cream Days gets kicked off at 5:00 p.m. with the annual Tri-State Drive In Cruisers at Bob’s Drive-In.
Gehlen Gym To Be Named For Jason Puetz
(Le Mars) — Officials with Gehlen Catholic have announced the new name of the Gehlen gymnasium effective July 1st. The gym will be known as the Jason Puetz (Pitts) Memorial Gym. Jason was the son of Bob and Lisa Puetz. He was killed during a tragic vehicle accident on July 17th, 2004. Last year, the Peutz family donated new lockers to Gehlen High School. The Friends of Gehlen Catholic Ball auctioned the 2016-2017 naming rights during the Gehlen Ball which was held in April.
Milwaukee Wiener House To Pay
SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) – A judge has ordered an iconic downtown Sioux City hot dog joint to pay more than $72,000 to a partial owner who said he’d never received his share of the business’ profits.
District Judge Steven Andreasen ruled Friday that Milwaukee Wiener House owners Mike and John Eliades never paid Gus Demetroulis, who has owned 10 percent of the restaurant since 2004.
The Eliades said during a December trial in Woodbury County District Court that they’d made annual cash distributions to Demetroulis from 2004 to 2009.
Andreasen found that the Demetroulis received no cash distributions since the men signed the operating agreement in 2004, but that the Eliades paid themselves their share of the income instead.
The Eliades’ attorney, Scott Rhinehard, says he has no comment on the ruling.
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Corn and Soybean Prices Show Late Spring Price Rally
(Le Mars) — Farmers have witnessed a price rally with corn and soybeans in recent weeks, and Iowa State University Agriculture Economist Dr. Chad Hart believes farmers should take advantage of the opportunity. Hart says the price rally is due to a combination of hot and dry weather concerns in the United States, a poor South American crop, and a weaker U-S dollar allowing for foreign nations to purchase commodities at a cheaper price.
Hart says July 4th is typically a time when farmers can see what the markets will do for the remaining crop season. However, he believes that time frame may have been pushed up a little. He says this year’s price trends resemble last year at this time.
The Iowa State University Agriculture Economist says farmers may want to look at selling some of their stored grain during this rally. He also says farmers may want to look at ways at protecting themselves from any price decline as it relates to their new crop that is still in the fields.
As to if this price rally will turn into a long-term increase, Hart says that depends on Mother Nature and how quickly the El Nino weather pattern turns into a La Nina weather pattern. He says typically the midwest sees hot and dry weather conditions during La Nina.
Old Ammunition Plant Now Development Site
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Gov. Terry Branstad says the state has certified a portion of Iowa Army Ammunition Plant near Burlington as a project-ready industrial development site.
A 153-acre plot of land within the 19,000-acre federally owned military installation has been certified by the Iowa Economic Development Authority through its Iowa Certified Site Program.
It’s the 12th site in Iowa to be certified as project-ready.
Branstad says certifying sites is fast growing trend in the site selection business. To get certified developers work with local officials, utility companies and consultants to ensure the site has no problems and is ready for development.
Congress passed legislation allowing leases on the land for up to 50 years.
On the ammunition plant portion of the property workers assemble and pack tank and artillery ammunition and missile warheads.
