School Board To Review Parking Lot Expansion Project
(Le Mars) — The Le Mars Community Board of Education will open tonight’s meeting with a budget amendment hearing for the 2018-2019 fiscal year budget.
The school board will consider adopting the budget amendment. Rob Bixeman will appear before the school board to present renewal information for the 2019-2020 property and casualty insurance policies. The school board will begin the process of identifying legislative priorities as requested by the
Iowa Association of School Boards. Pat Bickett of Schlotfeldt Engineering will present to the school board the high school parking lot expansion project plans, specifications, form of contract and estimated total cost for the project. The board of education will act on two resignations — Adam Moss had requested to resign his position as assistant track coach for the
2019-2020 season, and Yulie Christina is requesting to resign her position as a teacher associate at Clark Elementary School. The school board is prepared to act on nine different contract agreements for the upcoming school year.
The school board will consider an agreement with Mid Sioux Opportunities regarding transportation of Head Start students for the 2019-2020 school year. The school board will also consider the request from two students for open enrollment.
Officials Haven’t Yet Released Names Of Victims and Suspect From Sunday’s Hy Vee Shooting Incident
(Le Mars) — Officials have not yet released the name of the victims, or of the suspect from Sunday’s Hy Vee shooting incident. Tina Potthoff, Vice President of Communications with Hy Vee says the grocery supermarket chain will defer to the Le Mars Police as to the release of additional information, including the names of the victims. Potthoff did say it was her understanding that both the female clerks that were shot are expected to
recover from their wounds. Potthoff says Sunday’s shooting and attempted robbery was the first shooting incident involving Hy Vee employees through out their more than 250 stores located in eight different states.
Northwest Iowa Rivers May See Additional Flooding
(Le Mars) — Flood watches have been posted for many of the northwest Iowa rivers. Mike Gillispie, meteorologist with the National Weather Services of Sioux Falls says the Rock River between Rock Rapids and Rock Valley is likely to exceed its banks.
Gillispie says the Floyd River is expected to rise, but hopefully it will not cause any localized flooding issues.
The National Weather Services official says the Big Sioux River between Hawarden and Akron is likely to encounter some flooding.
Many people are wondering when will the rainy pattern come to an end? Gillispie says predictions are calling for a break in the weather system in mid-June with more sunny and warmer days.
Many Exit Ramps Along I-29 Between Council Bluffs and Missouri Border Are Closed Again Due To Flooding
NEBRASKA CITY, Neb. (AP) – Only weeks after reopening in the wake of historic flooding along the Missouri River in March, Interstate 29 on and off ramps for Highway 2 in southwest Iowa have again closed due to flooding.
Highway 2 connects southwest Iowa to Nebraska City, Nebraska, over the Missouri River. The Omaha World-Herald reports that as of Saturday morning, floodwater was covering the ramps to the highway from I-29.
Flooding has also closed numerous other I-29 ramps from Council Bluffs south for nearly 70 miles. Officials warn that means southbound I-29 travelers will have no gas station access from Council Bluffs until reaching Rock Port, Missouri.
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Tornadoes Hit Eastern Iowa Communities
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Authorities say several tornadoes were reported throughout eastern Iowa Monday afternoon, damaging homes, barns and trees but leaving no injuries.
The Des Moines Register reports that at least six tornadoes were
reported in the region, including one confirmed by the National Weather Service at Charles City that destroyed several buildings on the Floyd County Fairground.
The weather service also confirmed a tornado near Elma and another near Lime Springs, both occurring early Monday afternoon. Local officials said the Lime Springs twister caused home and tree damage.
In southeast Iowa, an emergency manager in Houghton reported a tornado destroyed two barns. In Cantril, a trained spotter said a tornado damaged two houses. Another trained spotter reported a tornado in eastern Des Moines County.
The weather service is surveying those sites.
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Former Teacher Convicted Of Sexual Abuse With Student
GLENWOOD, Iowa (AP) – A former western Iowa art teacher and track coach accused of groping and having other sexual contact with a female student has been convicted of two counts.
Prosecutors in Mills County say a jury convicted 40-year-old
Christopher Lee Irvin, of Pacific Junction, on Friday of third-degree sexual abuse and sexual exploitation by a school employee. Irvin is being held without bond until his sentencing at a later date, when he faces up to 12 years in prison.
A girl reported that Irvin groped her earlier last summer and had
other sexual contact with her earlier in the year. The criminal complaints say the incidents did not occur on school property.
Irvin had worked for the East Mills School District in western Iowa.
Mountain Lion Spotted Again At Des Moines
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Iowa police and the state’s Department of Natural Resources are investigating another alleged sighting of a mountain lion in Des Moines.
The Des Moines Register reports an animal was spotted Sunday. Des Moines police Sgt. Paul Parizek told the newspaper that Animal Control is reviewing a photo of the creature but hasn’t located it.
Department of Natural Resources spokesman Alex Murphy says an agency biologist is analyzing the photo and does not believe it’s a mountain lion.
Murphy says characteristic dark marks around mountain lions’ eyes are not visible in the photo, but Murphy says it’s difficult to tell because the image is blurry.
The last confirmed sighting of a mountain lion in the city was May 10. Murphy previously said agency officials believed that mountain lion likely left town.
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Norwalk Man Charged With Murder
WINTERSET, Iowa (AP) – Authorities in south-central Iowa have charged a man with murder in the shooting death of a Winterset woman.
The Iowa Department of Public Safety says in a news release Tuesday that police were called to home late Monday night for a report of an unresponsive woman. Arriving officers found 23-year-old Rosanna Otto dead from a gunshot wound.
Police quickly identified 25-year-old Jerry Moyer, of Norwalk, as a suspect, and Moyer was later arrested by the Dubuque County Sheriff’s Office following a traffic stop.
Moyer was booked Tuesday into the Dubuque County Jail on a first-degree murder charge and will be taken to the Madison County Jail at a later date.
