Nor-Am Has Small Fire
(Le Mars) — Le Mars and Merrill Fire Departments along with the Le Mars Ambulance responded to Nor-Am cold storage facilities on the west side of town Thursday afternoon shortly before 3:30 p.m. for a reported fire. Upon arrival, fire fighters encountered a room full of smoke. Nor-Am employees had evacuated the premises. The cause of the small fire was a battery that is used to power and operate many of the conveyor belts had ignited causing not only the smoke, but also a foul odor. Fire officials and Nor-Am employees were able to remove the battery by placing it in a metal cabinet and hauling it outside. Fire officials then began ventilating the plant. Within a few minutes, the employees were allowed to return to their work stations.
Estherville Man Found Guilty Of Murder
ESTHERVILLE, Iowa (AP) – A northwest Iowa man has been given 50 years in prison for what his attorneys say was a crime committed in the heat of passion.
Nineteen-year-old Lee Christensen was sentenced Wednesday. Christensen was found guilty of second-degree murder in the June 2015 shooting death of 19-year-old Thomas Bortvit at the Christensen farm in the Estherville area.
Defense attorneys acknowledged that Christensen killed Bortvit but argued that it was a killing in the heat of passion over Bortvit’s girlfriend, whom Christensen had once dated. Prosecutors said Christensen planned the killing and tried to cover up his crime.
Iowa Man Being Charged In Wisconsin For Lottery Scam
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – A former lottery computer administrator from Iowa and a friend from Texas have been charged in Wisconsin with racketeering and theft by fraud.
Eddie Tipton of Iowa and Robert Rhodes of Texas were charged by the state’s attorney general in documents filed Thursday. Tipton also faces four counts of computer crime.
The documents allege Tipton, who worked for the Multi-State Lottery Association in Iowa, modified computer data so he could pick a winning number for the Dec. 29, 2007, Wisconsin Megabucks game.
A state investigator says Rhodes confessed the scheme, explaining that Tipton recruited him to help win jackpots and gave him a series of numbers to play, one of which won the $783,257 jackpot that Rhodes said they split.
Tipton and Rhodes also face charges in Iowa for conspiring to fix lottery games in five states including Wisconsin.
Former Judge Found Guilty Of Fraud
IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) – An Iowa judge who was accused of insurance fraud and fired after helping expose improper influence in Gov. Terry Branstad’s administration now faces a felony charge, two years later.
Susan Ackerman, former administrative law judge for Iowa Workforce Development, surrendered Wednesday on a warrant charging her with making fraudulent submissions.
A complaint unsealed Thursday alleges the 56-year-old falsely certified that her married daughter was single so that she could receive state health insurance in 2013 and 2014. Ackerman was fired over the same allegation two years ago.
Ackerman has denied any fraudulent intent, noting she asked an agency human resources employee for permission to add the daughter. Her supporters argue that her firing and the prosecution are retribution for her legislative testimony critical of Branstad and his aides in 2014.
Chinese Man Ordered To Pay Seed Companies
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – A federal judge has ordered a naturalized U.S. citizen from China who pleaded guilty to participating in a conspiracy to steal seed corn to pay the U.S. companies that made the seed $425,000.
Mo Hailong entered a plea agreement with federal prosecutors in January. In it, he admitted to the plan that would send stolen Monsanto and DuPont Pioneer seed corn to China, where scientists planned to reproduce its genetic traits.
Monday’s judgment in U.S. District Court in Des Moines ordered Mo to pay each company $212,500 in restitution, as well as forfeit two farms.
He also must report to prison in 90 days to serve his three-year sentence, after which he must report to immigration officials.
