Iowa DNR Investigating Manure Spill Near Kingsley
KINGSLEY—Thursday afternoon, Iowa Department of Natural Resources responded to a manure spill at a sow facility about five miles northwest of Kingsley in Plymouth County. The producer at Kingsley Sow LLC reported about 2,000 gallons spilled when a pipe loosened between a shallow pit and an earthen basin. A DNR investigator found some of the manure reached a small tributary of John’s Creek which had very low flow. He collected samples along the tributary, noting manure pooled in the first half mile of stream where water was nearly stagnant. No fish kill is expected. Staff at the sow facility are exploring the feasibility of pumping manure from the tributary to prevent it from moving downstream. DNR will consider appropriate enforcement action.
Jeff Taylor Submits Nomination Petition Papers Seeking State Senate Seat
(Sioux Center) — Earlier this week, Jeff Taylor of Sioux Center submitted paperwork to the Iowa Secretary of State in order to file for the District 2 State Senate seat. On Thursday, he was notified that his affidavit and petitions have been reviewed and his name will appear on the June 2 Republican primary ballot.
The Iowa Senate position is being vacated by Randy Feenstra, who is running for U.S. House. The district includes Sioux County, O’Brien County, Cherokee County, and the eastern-most rural portions of Plymouth County.
Taylor is professor of political science at Dordt University. Born and raised in Northwest Iowa, he is a native of Spencer. He graduated from Northwestern College in Orange City and then earned a master’s degree at the University of Iowa and a PhD at the University of Missouri. Taylor returned to Sioux County nine years ago to teach at Dordt. He is married and has two children.
The candidate is a constitutional conservative and is consistently pro-life. He describes his six key political values as de-centralism, morality, freedom, community, grassroots, and common sense.
Museum To Close For Three Days In March To Work On Floors
(Le Mars) — Doors to the Plymouth County Historical Museum in Le Mars will be closed to the public on Friday, March 13; Saturday, March 14; and Sunday, March 15, due to maintenance.
Tile flooring on all five floors of the Museum will be sealed for
preservation purposes.
Staff will be on duty all three days. Anyone needing to reach the Museum may call 546-7002.
Administrator Judy Bowman said this project is a culmination of more than a year’s planning and is necessary for the preservation of the tile floors.
Last summer the Museum had its terrazzo floors refinished.
“It will be good to have the floor project behind us as we prepare to welcome the summer crowds, including RAGBRAI,” Bowman said.
The next program at the Museum will be “Luxembourg Day” at 2 p.m., Sunday, March 22, the third in a series of the Museum’s “Culture and Cuisine” programs. The final in the series is set for Sunday, April 26, when the Museum celebrates the local Asian culture with food and fun.
Burglars Steal Ash Remains of Dead Man
DIKE, Iowa (AP) – Family members have sent a message to whoever burglarized a rural home in eastern Iowa: Give us back the box holding the cremated remains of our father. The box was stolen Feb. 14 or 15 from the rural Dike home of Daniel Evanson. The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier reports that he was 65 when he died Feb. 6. His sister asked in a public Facebook
post that the box be returned to his farm. The box was decorated with a farm scene that showed a tractor and a barn.
Murder Trial For Man Accused Of Killing Wife To Be Delayed
IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) – A trial has been delayed for a man accused of killing his wife in Iowa City. Johnson County court records say 67-year-old Roy Browning Jr. has pleaded not guilty to a charge of first-degree murder in the April 5 stabbing death of JoEllen Browning. His trial had been scheduled to begin March 10, but on Thursday a judge granted Browning’s request for a
delay. The new starting date: Oct. 13. Prosecutors have said Roy Browning killed his wife just hours before she was set to learn about financial problems he had tried to hide from her. She was director of operating budgets at University of Iowa Health Care.
Good Samaritan Society To Celebrate Two Leap Year Birthdays
(Le Mars) — We all can recall the old saying as to how we remember which month has how many days. You know, 30 days has September, April, June and November. All the rest have 31 except for February which has 28 days. But, wait a minute. My calendar says February has an extra day this year.
Saturday is February 29th, and not March 1st. Every four years, we have what is known as Leap Day. What happens if you were fortunate, or unfortunate, depending on your viewpoint, to be born on February 29th? The Good Samaritan Society of Le Mars has two people that will celebrate their birthdays on Saturday. Certified Nurse Assistant Andrea Sitzmann turns 7
while resident Bob Lauman will turn 20. Both were born on February 29th. I asked both Leap Year babies when do they celebrate on those off years? February 28th or March 1st?
For Bob Lauman, he says his family, which consisted of ten children, didn’t do a lot of celebrating.
Sitzmann says her friends would often tease her, saying she would have to wait a half a lifetime in order to be of legal age.
Sitzmann and Lauman believe they are special since they share the February 29th birthday.
Lauman says he wants to celebrate, but he says his wife is a bit restrictive on how he celebrates his leap year birthday.
Sitzmann says she sometimes encountered questions from people when she had to present her identification.
Sitzmann says there was hope and reason to believe there may have been another leap year baby within her family.
On Saturday, Bob Lauman will technically turn only 20, still under the legal age. However, he says he only wants one thing for his birthday.
Happy Leap Year Birthday to both Bob Lauman and Andrea Sitzmann.
Iowa Man Charged With Murder For Missing Omaha Man
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) – An Iowa man has been charged with the Omaha slaying of a man who’d been reported missing. Nebraska court records say Dalton Dukes, of Council Bluffs, is charged with first-degree murder and two weapons crimes.
The records don’t yet list the name of his court-appointed attorney. Council Bluffs police took a missing person report on Joseph Hellman on Feb. 21 last year. He was last seen in Omaha, and the report was referred to Omaha police. Omaha investigators determined that Hellman had been killed Jan. 29.
Police say his death couldn’t be classified as a homicide until this past December.
Trial Scheduled For April For Teacher Accused Of Video Recording Female Students
DAVENPORT, Iowa (AP) – An April 6 trial start has been scheduled for a Davenport high school science teacher accused of secretly recording nude videos of two females who’d stayed at his Bettendorf home. Court records say Clinton Van Fossen pleaded not guilty Thursday to five counts of invasion of
privacy and to other crimes. He’s on leave from his job at Davenport West High School. The records say the allegations stem from actions committed between Dec. 26 and Jan. 4. The records say Bettendorf officers searched Van Fossen’s home on Jan. 7 and seized spy cameras. Van Fossen denied any
knowledge of the cameras.
