Sioux County Authorities Arrest Sibley Man For Theft
(Orange City) — Sioux County Sheriff’s Deputies arrested a Sibley man on Sunday afternoon for theft. 36-year old Ryan Jacobsen was taken into custody after an
investigation determined Jacobsen had conducted theft from his previous employer dating back to January. The business is located at Hawarden. Deputies discovered that Jacobsen had illegally used resources at the the business to pay his personal debts in the amount of approximately $1,900. He was charged with both second and fourth degree theft.
Two People From Sibley Killed In Auto Accident
SIBLEY, Iowa (AP) – Authorities say a 5-year-old boy and a man driving them have died after a collision in northwest Iowa.
The accident occurred around 10:50 a.m. Saturday on Iowa Highway 9 near Sibley. The Osceola County Sheriff’s Office says a westbound car collided with an eastbound sport utility vehicle.
The car driver was pronounced dead later at Osceola Community Hospital. He was identified as 48-year-old Travis Mier, who lived in Spirit Lake. The boy was pronounced dead later at a Sioux Falls, South Dakota, hospital. The Sheriff’s Office identified him as Elliot Mier.
The SUV driver was taken to Sanford Rock Rapids Medical Center in Rock Rapids for treatment of injuries not believed to be life-threatening. She was identified as 48-year-old Ann Vanderpool, who lives in Milford, Iowa.
Insurance Commissioner Proposes Plan To Keep Carriers
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Iowa’s insurance commissioner is proposing a plan he thinks could keep Iowa from becoming the first state to lose all of its health care insurance carriers offering policies on the Affordable Care Act exchange
next year.
Doug Ommenn says he traveled to Washington last week with officials from two major Iowa insurance carriers to pitch a proposal to federal officials that would save the Iowa market from collapsing.
Minnesota-based Medica is the only remaining statewide insurer on the exchange and has said it will drop out if changes aren’t made.
Ommenn’s plan reallocates federal subsidies currently used to lower costs for older participants to entice younger people into the insurance market and uses federal reinsurance dollars to help insurers absorb high-cost claims.
Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield has committed to selling insurance in all 99 Iowa counties next year if the plan is approved.
Without approval, Ommenn says Medica will drop out and 72,000 Iowans will be uninsured next year.
Wapello County Man Sentenced For Murder
OTTUMWA, Iowa (AP) – A 25-year-old Wapello County man has been convicted of second-degree murder in the slaying of his roommate.
A jury found Erik Davila guilty Friday. Prosecutors say he fatally shot 24 -year-old Hugo Hernandez on March 13 last year at their residence about 2 miles (3 kilometers) east of Ottumwa.
Davila faces 50 years in prison at sentencing.
Tractor Ride To Go By “Field of Dreams”
DYERSVILLE, Iowa (AP) – More than 500 people are expected to join for a series of slow drives through northeast Iowa in the 18th annual Great Eastern Iowa Tractorcade.
The Telegraph Herald (https://bit.ly/2rmVfSF ) reports that the four-day event is based in Dyersville and will feature daily countryside tours in Dubuque and Delaware counties through Wednesday.
The event is organized by Merschman Seeds and Cedar Rapids-based News Radio 600 WMT-AM, and rotates through different parts of eastern Iowa annually.
Jeanne Smith, one of the event’s organizers, says this year’s route location has likely contributed to an increase in participation. The route includes Earlville, Edgewood, Greeley, Petersburg, New Vienna and Bankston.
The tractors will roll out in two groups, with the 10-mph (16-kph) tractors in front and the 14-mph (22.5-kph) tractors in the back.
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Construction To Begin On Southwest Iowa Bicycle Trail
COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (AP) – Construction has begun on a 17-mile long bike trail that will link three southeast Iowa communities.
The Daily Nonpareil (https://bit.ly/2rmNwEu ) reports that work began on the first segment of the Railroad Highway Multi-Use Trail Saturday. The trail is expected to link Council Bluffs, Underwood and Neola.
Brian Shea, chairman of the Pottawattamie County Trails Association, says the nearly 2-mile long section is scheduled to be completed this year.
Underwood Deputy City Clerk Jan Ehrens says the trail is meant to provide bicyclists a safe place away from traffic.
Brian Leaders is with the National Park Service’s Rivers, Trails and Conservation Assistance Program. He says more than $4 million has been raised for the trail, which will be part of a larger network of trails that will cover about 100 miles.
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Former City Clerk Pleads Guilty To Stealing From City Funds
DELHI, Iowa (AP) – A former city clerk in eastern Iowa has pleaded guilty to a charge of stealing from a federal program receiving public funds.
Federal prosecutors say 42-year-old Angela Billings entered the plea Friday after making a plea deal. She admitted the theft of at least $93,000 from the city of Delhi between March 2007 and January 2015. Federal prosecutors say Billings stole from Delhi in 2011, when the city received more than $10,000 from
a federal program. She’s facing up to 10 years in a U.S. prison.
Billings has pleaded not guilty to three state counts of theft. Delaware County court records say Billings was scheduled for trial in July, but that’s been delayed. Her next state court hearing is set for Sept. 19.
