Home News Thursday News, September 22nd

Thursday News, September 22nd

Ahlers Named Commended National Merit Scholarship Student

(Le Mars) — A Le Mars High School student has recently been named as a Commended
student in the 2017 National Merit Scholarship Program. Jeff Ahlers, the son of
Matt and Gayle Ahlers has been given the honor. A letter of Commendation from the
Le Mars High School and the National Merit Scholarship Corporation, which conducts
the program, will be presented by Dr. Mark Iverson to Jeff at the Senior Awards
Banquet. About 34000 Commended Students throughout the nation are being
recognized for their exceptional academic promise. Although they will not
continue in the 2017 competition for National Merit Scholarship awards, Commended
Students placed among the top five percent of more than 1.6 million students who
entered the 2017 competition by taking the 2015 Preliminary SAT/National Merit
Scholarship Qualifying Test.

 

National Farm Safety Week Being Recognized

(Le Mars) — This week marks National Farm Safety Week, a time when awareness is
devoted to the many types of accidents that occur on farms and in rural areas.
Iowa State University Extension Agriculture and Bio-systems engineer and safety
specialist Chuck Schwab says farming ranks as one of the most dangerous
occupations.

Schwab says this time of year, when harvest season begins, is a time when we see
an increase of farm-related accidents. Schwab says roadway collisions are
especially common.

The Iowa State University Extension Safety Specialist says failure to notice left
hand turns by farm equipment is another common type of roadway collision.

Schwab says Iowa ranks high for the number of farm-related accidents and deaths.
He says farm accidents occur to all age groups, and agriculture is one of the few
occupations that have workers below the age of 16 and above retirement age.

In addition to roadway collisions, Schwab says the most common type of farm-
related accidents include roll-overs, machine entanglement, grain suffocation,
electrocution, and slips and falls.

 

NIPCO Donates To American Red Cross

(LE MARS) — Northwest Iowa Power Cooperative recently hosted approximately
fifty Le Mars citizens and members of the business community at a Chamber of
Commerce Coffee held to recognize the efforts of the American Red Cross. September
is “Disaster Preparedness Month” and, oftentimes, NIPCO works alongside American
Red Cross volunteers to restore normalcy to communities in western Iowa, impacted
by weather and other emergencies.

nipco-red-cross

American Red Cross volunteers were on-hand to showcase their Emergency Response
Vehicle (ERV) along with local historical memorabilia which represents the
American Red Cross’ century of service. Executive Director of the North and
Western Iowa Chapter of the American Red Cross Tammy Lee spoke of the
organization’s history and services offered to Americans.

This is the second Chamber Coffee NIPCO has hosted in honor of the American Red
Cross in order to bring awareness to the positive impact they make to the
communities served by NIPCO and its member rural electric distribution
cooperatives in western Iowa. Angela Catton, Manager of Member Relations and
Development for NIPCO, presented a donation to the American Red Cross in the
amount of $1,000 from NIPCO and NIPCO’s primary power provider, Basin Electric
Power Cooperative.

Catton says, “As a Touchstone Energy® Cooperative, one of NIPCO’s foundations of
service is our commitment to community, and NIPCO’s ‘community’ includes ten
counties in northwest Iowa. We couldn’t think of a better way to showcase this
commitment than through making a donation and highlighting the contributions made
by the American Red Cross.”

 

Sac County Officials Say Woman Shot Was An University Of Iowa Student

LAKE VIEW, Iowa (AP) – The Sac County Sheriff’s Office has identified a woman
shot while driving in northwest Iowa as a University of Iowa graduate student.
The sheriff’s office said in a news release Wednesday that 24-year-old Megan
Quinn Sloss, of Guthrie Center, was traveling Sunday with her 26-year-old brother
to a family event when she was shot. Investigators say the brother was showing
Sloss how to break down a 9 mm handgun to clean it when it fired, hitting Sloss.
A doctor driving by stopped to render medical aid until Sloss was taken to a
Sac City hospital. She was then flown to a Des Moines hospital, where she died.
Officials say the brother has a valid permit to carry the handgun. No charges
have been brought, and the shooting remains under investigation.

 

Northeast Iowa Receives Heavy Rains  Causing Flash Flooding

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Authorities say flash flooding is occurring across
several counties in northeast Iowa, thanks to heavy rains.
The National Weather Service said Thursday that 1 to 2 inches an hour have
fallen in spots, and more thunderstorms are expected to produce another 1 to 2
inches. The same storms also may also be capable of producing hail and strong
winds.
The service says water is covering some streets in Hawkeye and says there’s
water over the pavement on U.S. Highway 18 west of Hawkeye.
The service also says at least three tornadoes were reported Wednesday
evening in parts of southern Floyd County and northern Butler County. Two machine
sheds were destroyed southeast of Marble Rock, and trees were knocked down in
several areas.
It’s unclear whether the storms caused any injuries.

 

Branstad Calls For Special Election

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – A special election has been scheduled to fill the
District 45 seat left open by the recent death of Iowa Democratic Sen. Joe Seng.
Gov. Terry Branstad says Wednesday a special election will be held Dec. 27 to
select a senator to represent the eastern Iowa district that includes Davenport.
Branstad says he wanted to hold the special election on Nov. 8 to save money
and ensure high voter turnout. Roxanna Moritz, the county auditor who will oversee
the special election, says in a letter that the move would have complicated ballot
printing and delayed delivery of absentee ballots and ballots to overseas veterans
by more than a week.
Moritz cited state law in declining Branstad’s suggestion.
Seng died Sept. 16. He was diagnosed with a brain tumor in 2014.