Le Mars Police Caution People About Counterfeit Currency
(Le Mars) — The Le Mars Police Department wants people to be aware of the possibility of counterfeit $20 bills that are circulating the Midwest.
Police Chief Kevin Vande Vegte says his department was recently made aware of the problem. Vande Vegte says there hasn’t been any report of the phony money showing up in Le Mars, but he wants people to be on the alert.
Vande Vegte says the feel and texture of the counterfeit bills will be different than what you are used too.
The Le Mars Police Chief says there are also some other more obvious signs showing the money is fake.
If you suspect having received a fake currency bill, you are asked to either take it to the police, or to your bank. Both entities have procedures they follow of notifying federal authorities.
Governor Reynolds Selects McDonald As Supreme Court Judge
DES MOINES – Gov. Kim Reynolds announced Judge Christopher McDonald as her Iowa Supreme Court justice selection Wednesday morning at the Iowa State
Capitol in Des Moines.
McDonald, of Des Moines, received his law degree from the University of Iowa College of Law and his undergraduate degree from Grand View University. He has been serving on the Iowa Court of Appeals since September 2013. Judge McDonald also served as a district judge in the Fifth Judicial District.
Gov. Reynolds received three nominees from the state judicial nominating commission. Over the past several weeks, she personally interviewed each nominee, received extensive written materials from the nominees, and heard input from dozens of Iowans around the state.
McDonald is the governor’s second appointment to the Iowa Supreme Court.
(photo contributed.)
Commission Rejects Stricter Codes From Environmental Groups
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – An Iowa commission has rejected a proposal from two environmental groups to adopt stricter standards for the state’s nearly 160 recreational lakes, saying the effort would be too expensive.
The Des Moines Register reports that the Iowa Environmental Protection Commission rejected the proposal Tuesday because of the $205 million estimated cost.
Jon Tack is the water quality bureau chief for the state Department of Natural Resources. He says the cost “per capita would be astronomical.”
The Environmental Law & Policy Center and Iowa Environmental Council filed the proposal in November.
A state analysis found that 93 percent of the state’s lakes would be declared impaired with the new standards.
Josh Mandelbaum is an attorney for the Environmental Law & Policy Center. He says that percentage is troubling because many lakes are also a source of drinking water.
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Woman Found To Be Incompetent For Trial
DAVENPORT, Iowa (AP) – A woman accused in the beating death of her 5-year-old son in eastern Iowa has been found not competent for trial.
Scott County District Court records say a judge filed a written order Monday that said 25-year-old Jacqueline Rambert suffers from a mental disorder that keeps her from understanding the proceedings or helping her defense counsel. The judge ordered her sent to an Iowa prison facility in
Coralville to receive restoration treatment. She’s pleaded not guilty charges of first-degree murder and related crimes.
Rambert and 27-year-old Tre Henderson, also from Chicago, are charged with first-degree murder and related crimes in the slaying of Ja’Shawn Bussell in Davenport. Authorities say he died May 1 last year, 10 days after he was assaulted.
Henderson has pleaded not guilty and is scheduled to go on trial Aug. 12.
Waterloo City Council Lifts Fireworks Ban
WATERLOO, Iowa (AP) – The Waterloo City Council has poked a small hole in the city’s fireworks ban.
The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier reports that the council voted 4-3 on Monday to allow consumer fireworks to be set off July 3-July 5 each year. The three-day window is far below the 53 days that Iowa law allows but replaces a complete city ban.
Council member Steve Schmitt says the total ban wasn’t effective in stopping people from shooting off fireworks.
Council member Sharon Juon says she thinks “there is more potential harm with expanding the fireworks than there are benefits.”
Matt Reisetter co-owns Crossroads Fireworks and he says the three-day period approved is “a very reasonable compromise.”
Waterloo will allow fireworks use between noon to 11 p.m. July 4 and from noon to 10 p.m. on July 3 and July 5 each year. The fine for using fireworks outside of those times was boosted to $375 or more from $250.
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