Plymouth County Dive Team Helps Rescue Stranded Boaters
(Le Mars) — The Plymouth County Sheriff’s Office and Dive Team responded to a call at about 9:34 p.m. last night at the Big Sioux River near Westfield.
A stranded boater was about one mile south of the Big Sioux landing on Highway 3. Deputies on scene were able to reach the stranded boaters by foot at about 10:30 p.m. However, due to the location of the boat they were unable to make contact with them. The Sheriff’s Office Rescue and Recovery team was sent down river with their boat and was able to tow the stranded
boaters back to the landing. All subjects were out of the river by about 11:30 p.m.
Tillage Disk Snags Powerline
(Le Mars) — The Le Mars Fire and Rescue Department responded to a call at about 9:45 p.m. near 14th Avenue Southeast and First Street Southeast involving a farm tractor pulling a tillage disk that had snagged an electrical powerline, pulling the wire down from the utility pole.
Apparently, the tillage disk had been folded ready for being transported when the wing of the tillage disk caught the utility powerline. The fire department was on the scene until such time when MidAmerican work crews were able to arrive on scene and render the area safe. The farmer in the tractor was able to leave his tractor without being electrocuted. One home lost
power as a result of the accident.
Ambulance Volunteers Often Times Work Long Shifts For Several Days
(Le Mars) — We continue our series of reports focusing on local ambulance services during this National EMT Week. We identified in our first report the need for volunteers to sufficiently staff a local ambulance service.
Bill Rosacker, the director of the Le Mars Ambulance Service says due to the shortage of volunteers, those who have decided to volunteer for a community ambulance service finds themselves on-call for long hours and for several
days.
Rosacker says for many communities, including Le Mars, the number of emergency calls have been steadily on the rise, adding to the stress level of EMT’s and paramedics and other ambulance service volunteers.
Another challenge for people wanting to volunteer for an ambulance service is the expense and time commitment for adequate training. Rosacker says sometimes the training time and expense, unfortunately becomes a deterrent for
volunteers.
In our next part of our continued series, we will look at how many community ambulance services are losing money due to Medicaid and Medicare.
Bob’s Drive-In Selected As Best Hot Dog In Iowa
(Le Mars) — If you are searching for the best hot dog in Iowa, you don’t have to go far. According to a recent survey conducted by People Magazine, Bob’s Drive-In of Le Mars features the best frankfurter. Nate Kass is the owner of Bob’s Drive-In. He says the hot dogs are made by Wimmer’s and are specially made for Bob’s Drive-In, and the buns originate from Casey’s Bakery
in Sioux Center.
Kass says between their hot dogs and their loose meat tavern sandwiches, Bob’s Drive-In has been fortunate to be featured in several different regional and national food rankings.
Kass says Bob’s Drive-In reputation goes back to when his grandfather first started the business, and the quality has been handed down from generation to generation.
The Drive-In owner says Le Mars is becoming nationally known as a place to eat good food. He says people will travel for miles to enjoy Well’s Blue Bunny ice cream, steaks from either his family’s restaurant, Four Brothers, or Archie’s Wayside, and hot dogs and loose meat taverns at Bob’s Drive-In.
Democrats Drop Lawsuit Against Governor Reynolds On Budget
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – A group of Democratic lawmakers has dropped a lawsuit against Gov. Kim Reynolds that challenged her use last year of emergency funds to balance Iowa’s state budget.
Gary Dickey, an attorney for the legislators, announced the decision Wednesday, days before a hearing was scheduled to review a state motion to dismiss the case.
Rep. Chris Hall of Sioux City filed the lawsuit in January against
Reynolds and Department of Management Director David Roederer. Six other lawmakers later joined the suit as plaintiffs.
The lawsuit claimed Reynolds’ administration acted illegally last fall when it used $13 million from an economic emergency fund to balance a year- end budget shortfall. The suit said specific economic conditions weren’t met.
Reynolds called the lawsuit political and said aspects of the law were outdated. The Republican-controlled Legislature changed the law retroactively last session, which Democrats argued showed guilt.
Dickey said the legislative change complicated the lawsuit’s future.
Democratic Gubernatorial Candidate Under Fire For Sexual Harassment
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – A newspaper reports three women have accused a Democratic state senator running for Iowa governor of sexual misconduct that includes inappropriate touching.
The women told The Des Moines Register in a story published online Wednesday that Sen. Nate Boulton of Des Moines touched them inappropriately during separate incidents.
One woman told the newspaper Boulton grabbed her buttocks at a bar in 2015. Two other women told the Register he rubbed himself against them more than a decade ago.
Boulton released a statement apologizing to the women and adding he would not “disqualify what these women felt at the time or in hindsight.” He indicated he had no plans to drop out of the race.
Boulton is in a six-way race for the Democratic nomination for governor. Early voting for the June 5 primary began May 7.
Mother Charged With Child Endangerment Is Appealing Case
JOHNSTON, Iowa (AP) – A Johnston mother who was sentenced to two years’ probation for leaving her children home alone to travel to Europe is appealing.
The Des Moines Register reports that 31-year-old Erin Lee Macke filed an appeal on May 14. She could have faced eight years in prison after pleading to four counts of child endangerment.
Police were called to Macke’s home in September and found her kids – two 12-year-olds, a 7-year-old and a 6-year-old – had been left alone the day before. Police say Macke failed to make proper child care arrangements before leaving Sept. 20 for a 10-day vacation in Germany.
Last month, the father of Macke’s two youngest children was awarded custody of them. A court case over custody of Macke’s other children is pending.
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Dubuque Man Pleas Guilty To Child Endangerment
DUBUQUE, Iowa (AP) – A Dubuque man has pleaded guilty to child endangerment for letting seven children live amid what police say was garbage, rotted food and feces on their home’s floor.
Court records say 34-year-old Jermaine Watson also pleaded guilty to four drug counts. He’s scheduled to be sentenced July 18.
The mother of the seven, 34-year-old Tiesha Martin, has pleaded not guilty to the same seven counts of child endangerment. Her trial is set to begin June 11. Authorities say Watson is the father of the youngest child.
The records say police and a social worker checking on the children at Martin’s residence Jan. 2 found the squalid conditions and say the children were sharing just one bedroom and bed.
Martin has said officers lied about the conditions.
New Arson Charge Filed Against Teen On Probation For Madison County Bridge Fire
WINTERSET, Iowa (AP) – An arson charge has been filed in a new case against an 18-year-old who pleaded guilty in a fire at the Madison County covered bridge featured on the cover of the novel “The Bridges of Madison County.”
Authorities have not released information about the Polk County case against Alexander Hoff. His attorney in the Madison County case didn’t immediately return a call Thursday from The Associated Press.
Hoff is scheduled to be sentenced June 1 for the April 2017 bridge fire.
He’s pleaded guilty to arson and criminal mischief.
Two other people involved already have been sentenced to five years of probation. They are Joel Davis and Alivia Bergmann.
The bridge near Winterset also was featured in the 1995 movie adaptation of “The Bridges of Madison County.”
Postal Service Intercepts Five Pound Package Of Marijuana
DAVENPORT, Iowa (AP) – A suburban Davenport man has been arrested after police and the U.S. Postal Service say they intercepted a package containing nearly five pounds of marijuana intended for him.
The Quad-City Times reports that 25-year-old Jermaine Lewis Carter Jr., of Blue Grass, was arrested Monday. He faces charges of possession with intent to deliver and failure to affix drug tax stamp. The felonies are punishable by up to five years in prison for each count. Carter is already serving probation for another drug-related offense.
Officials say a drug-sniffing dog alerted them to the package Monday, and police received a warrant to open it. Officials say a controlled delivery of it to Carter’s home led to his arrest and that Carter acknowledged the package was for him.
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