Fire Department Issues October Monthly Report
(Le Mars) — Averaging nearly two calls per day, the Le Mars Fire and Rescue Department with its October monthly report says it had responded to a total of 59 calls during October. The local fire department were called to 18 fires, seven rescue calls, eight investigations, four mutual aid calls with two with Oyens and one each with Merrill and Hinton. The Le Mars Fire
and Rescue Department had 22 requests for services. Fire Chief Dave Schipper says the annual fire prevention breakfast had served over 540 people. The fire department conducted 16 different fire prevention presentations to 309 students and adults.
Trump’s Daughter To Travel To Iowa To Campaign For Republicans
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Gov. Kim Reynolds says presidential adviser and daughter Ivanka Trump is coming to Iowa on Friday to support the Republican governor in the final days of the campaign.
Reynolds is running against Democrat Fred Hubbell in a tight race for governor.
Hubbell appeared on stage with former Vice President Joe Biden on Tuesday. Last month, Reynolds stood with President Donald Trump at an event in Council Bluffs, and Reynolds hosted White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders for a fundraising event.
Friday’s invitation-only round-table event with Ivanka Trump will be held at a West Des Moines restaurant and will focus on what Reynolds calls pro-growth policies. The event will not be open to the public.
Iowa Sailor Remains From Pearl Harbor Are Returned Home
TRAER, Iowa (AP) – Officials say the remains of an Iowa sailor killed in the Pearl Harbor attack are being returned to his family for burial with full military honors.
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency says the remains of 22-year-old William Kvidera, of Traer, will be buried Nov. 16. He was a carpenter’s mate 3rd class assigned to the USS Oklahoma. The battleship capsized on Dec. 7, 1941, after being struck by Japanese torpedoes. His remains were among those not identified after their recovery. They were interred at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu.
The agency says the remains were removed from the cemetery in April 2015 and identified through DNA and dental analysis and other evidence. He was listed as accounted for on July 3.
Midwest Economy Expands
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) – A monthly survey report suggests that the economy expanded in nine Midwest and Plains states last month amid mounting concerns about tariffs and trade skirmishes.
The report issued Thursday says the Mid-America Business Conditions Index slumped to 54.9 in October from 57.5 in September . The October reading is the lowest since January 2017.
Creighton University economist Ernie Goss oversees the survey, and he says he expects a slowdown in the regional economic expansion in the months ahead.
The survey results are compiled into a collection of indexes ranging from zero to 100. Survey organizers say any score above 50 suggests growth. A score below that suggests decline.
The survey covers Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma and South Dakota.
Former Power Plant Is Dismantled
DUBUQUE, Iowa (AP) – Crews have been spending months slowly deconstructing a former power plant in Dubuque but their efforts only recently became noticeable after taking down a pair of towering stacks.
The Telegraph Herald reports that Alliant Energy’s Dubuque Generating Station stopped creating power more than a year ago. The facility primarily used coal until it transitioned to natural gas in 2011.
Jill Stevens is Alliant’s manager of environmental and decommissioning services. She says the building will be deconstructed “carefully and meticulously.” Crews recently began focusing on the building’s exterior.
Alliant spokesman Mike Wagner says the decommissioning symbolizes the company’s shift toward a cleaner-energy future. He says the deconstruction work will be complete by March.
Wagner says the company is unsure what they’ll do with the site.
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Mason City Woman Accused Of Falsifying Health Records
MASON CITY, Iowa (AP) – A Mason City woman has been accused of filing false health insurance claims for her family.
Cerro Gordo County court records say 34-year-old Amber Griffin is charged with four counts of insurance fraud-presenting false information and one of theft. The records don’t list the name of an attorney who could comment for her.
Criminal complaints say Griffin submitted two fraudulent claims in October 2016 and one each in November and December that year. Each said a family member had been treated at a local medical facility. The complaints also said she submitted false medical records with the claims.
