Sioux City Man Charged With Dependent Adult Abuse
SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) – A Sioux City man accused of looting the checking account of a nursing home resident has pleaded guilty. 53-year-old Ronald Taylor entered the plea last week to a charge of dependent adult abuse. His sentencing is scheduled for April 21.
Woodbury County District Court records say Taylor held a power of attorney for the man, who has dementia and can’t handle his finances. The records say Taylor spent nearly $23,000 of the man’s money since July 28, 2017, wiping out the man’s account.
Powerball Ticket Sold At Correctionville Worth $1 Million
CORRECTIONVILLE, Iowa (AP) – A Powerball ticket sold in northwest Iowa is worth $1 million. Iowa Lottery officials say the ticket sold in Correctionville, Iowa, matched five of the six winning numbers in Saturday’s drawing. The ticket was sold at a Brew convenience store. The store will receive a $1,000 bonus from the Iowa lottery for selling the winning ticket.
No one matched all six numbers to win the jackpot in Saturday’s drawing. So the prize will grow to $90 million for Wednesday’s drawing.
Plymouth County Pork Royalty
(Le Mars) — Plymouth County Pork Producers selected their new pork royalty during the annual banquet held Saturday evening at the Willow Creek Golf Course banquet hall. Two girls were picked to represent the county’s pork producers as “Little Miss Pigtails.” They are Savannah Hitchler, the daughter of Jim and Kara Hitchler and Hadley Ellensohn the daughter of Todd
and Lori Ellensohn. This year’s title of county pork princess was given to Jecenta Sargisson and the crown for the 2020 Pork Queen was presented to Kiley Allen.
Artist Mitch Zenk, a native of Le Mars, now residing in California, provided the evening’s entertainment. Zenk had black colored canvass placed on a spindle. He began painting a scene with the audience trying to guess what he was creating. Zenk would paint the scene upside down, then when finished, he would spin the canvass to its right side up showing the creative work. Zenk painted an eagle in front of a flag, a portrait of a cowboy, presumably, John Wayne, and even a portrait of Disney’s Mickey Mouse with a ice cream float.
Iowa Democratic Party Certifies Caucus Results
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – The Iowa Democratic Party State Central Committee has certified the results of the 2020 presidential caucuses, nearly a month after a faulty mobile app and other problems delayed counting and prompted calls for Iowa to lose its first-in-the-nation status. Iowa awards 41
national delegates in its caucuses. Following Saturday’s certification of the Feb. 3 caucuses, Buttigieg had 14 delegates and Sanders had 12. Elizabeth Warren won eight, Joe Biden won six and Amy Klobuchar won one. The Associated Press opted not to call a winner, given remaining concerns about whether the results as reported by the party were fully accurate.
Home Sales Up In January
(Des Moines) — The number of homes sold in Iowa last month bounded more than ten-percent compared to January of 2019, according to a report from the Iowa Association of Realtors. Association president Scott Wendl, a realtor in Clive, credits the warmer weather for the healthy jump.
The report says home sales prices across Iowa remained steady compared to January of 2019.
More than 21-hundred homes sold statewide last month, compared to about 19-hundred a year ago. Wendl says homes sold relatively fast compared to last year, too, as January saw an average of 70 days on market compared to 74 days in January of 2019.
He’s expecting home sales to continue rising with the temperatures as warmer weather approaches.
Compared to last January, the report says new listings were up 4.4-percent and pending sales were up 7.5-percent, which Wendl says bodes well for February.
Sioux City Museum To Showcase Photos From Nazi Concentration Camp
(Sioux City) — A selection of historic photos from 75 years ago are on display at the downtown museum in Sioux City. Vernon Tott of Sioux City was serving in the U-S Army’s 84th Infantry Division that was moving through Nazi Germany near the end of World War Two rounding up German prisoners when
they discovered the Ahlem concentration camp near Hanover. Museum Curator Matt Anderson says Tott, was able to capture some photos of the starving Jewish prisoners found in the Holocaust Camp 75 years ago.
Tott came home and put the photos he had taken in a wooden box and did not look at them until 1997. That’s when he read a notice in his army unit’s newsletter from Benjamin Sieradzki, (seer’-ahd-ski) an Ahlem survivor seeking the G-I who had taken those photos during the camp’s liberation.
Tott contacted Sieradzki and that led to them finding 15 other camp survivors before Tott’s death on March 1st, 2005 at the age of 80. Vernon Tott was honored by the Holocaust Museum for his efforts and has his name inscribed on a wall there as a Liberator. Selections from the Vernon Tott Collection will be exhibited through April 19, 2020, at the Public Museum in
downtown Sioux City.
Eastern Iowa Hospitals Close Doors To Visitors Due To Influenza
DUBUQUE, Iowa (AP) – A spike in influenza and other respiratory illnesses in eastern Iowa have led hospitals in Dubuque and Dyersville to limit patient visitation. The Telegraph Herald reports that children under 14 – including siblings of babies in the birth center – are being asked not to visit the
hospitals. Those with respiratory or flu symptoms, such as coughing, fever, aches and nausea, are also asked not to visit. Dr. Honorio Caceres is chairman of the bi-hospital infection control committee. He directed that the restrictions be put in place at MercyOne Dubuque Medical Center and UnityPoint Health-Finley Hospital in Dubuque and at MercyOne Dyersville
Medical Center.
Corona Virus Affecting Business Outlook
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) – Worries about a new virus that’s infected tens of thousands of people globally are making a mark on the economy of a nine-state region in the Midwest and Plains. A new survey report says the Mid-American Business Conditions Index sank in February to 52.8 from 57.2 in January. Creighton University economist Ernie Goss oversees the survey, and he says the softer reading and the economic harm from the virus should concern policymakers. Survey organizers say any score above 50 suggests growth. A score below suggests decline. The survey covers Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma and South Dakota.
