Roll-over Accident Happens On Highway 75
(Merrill) — First responders from Merrill and Hinton were called to the scene of a one vehicle roll-over accident on Highway 75, about three miles southwest of Merrill near the Jade Avenue intersection. The accident was reported at about 2:28 p.m. Wednesday afternoon. The vehicle was traveling southbound on the highway when it lost control and entered the median rolling
over on its side. Plymouth County Sheriff’s authorities are investigating the accident. They say the vehicle had four people inside, one adult, 28-year old Jessica Van Dorn of Orange City, and three juveniles. The extent of the injuries is not known at this time. All four victims were transported to Floyd Valley Healthcare in Le Mars. Northbound traffic on Highway 75 was
reduced to one lane while rescue workers were at the scene. Responding to the accident scene were the Merrill Fire Department, Merrill Ambulance, Hinton Fire Department and Hinton Ambulance, along with the Plymouth County
Sheriff’s Office.
School Officials Creating Personal Protective Equipment For Medical Personnel Using 3-D Printer
(Le Mars) — It was announced during the latest Le Mars Community Board of Education meeting that members of the school district’s faculty and staff are utilizing the school’s 3-D printers to create head gear used for face shields as part of the Personal Protective Equipment, or PPE’s used by health care
professionals. Tracy Wingert is the school district’s technology
instructional coach, and along with Industrial Arts instructor, Bill Dalton, together they have made the plastic face shield head bands. Wingert tells how the idea came about.
Wingert talks about the process to create a face shield component.
The Le Mars Community School official describes the finished product.
Wingert says he and Dalton have already made ten of the head gear components. Once the head gear component is made, Wingert says the Area Education Agency then picks them up as part of their daily scheduled run with school districts.
Wingert says normally the 3-D printers at the school are used for future engineering students, prospective architects, industrial arts, and even his robotic club members frequently use the three-dimensional printer to create parts. The school has two 3-D printers, and the technology instructor says they do come in handy.
Under normal situations, when you think of a printer, you think of ink and paper. But Wingert says the 3-D printer uses plastic as a continuous string on a spool that is being fed into the printer to make its creations.
Wingert says the school officials will continue to make the face shield hear gear components as long as there is a need by the medical community.
Gehlen Catholic Featuring “Virtual Ball” Fund Raiser
(Le Mars) — This coming Saturday was originally scheduled to be the “Friends of Gehlen Catholic” annual fund raiser ball. Due to the COVID-19 coronavirus, the event was cancelled. However, Gehlen Catholic officials are holding a “virtual ball” this week in order to serve as the substitute fund raising event. Amy Jungers serves as the Development Manager for Gehlen Catholic and says officials have created a new and fun way to help raise
money for the school.
Jungers says the process is easy to participate.
The Gehlen Development Manager says when people visit the Gehlen Catholic website they will have the opportunity to view all featured auction items.
Jungers says the auction will continue until 9:00 p.m. Saturday evening, April 18th. She says on Saturday evening, Gehlen officials will launch an on-line version of the program.
The Gehlen official says there is also a donation option available. She says Gehlen understands and realizes this has been an unusual year.
Jungers says the 2021 “Friends of the Gehlen Ball” will utilize the same theme, meal, and entertainment, that was scheduled for this year.
Health and Human Services Director Says Department Will Assist Iowans
(Des Moines) — The director of the Iowa Health and Human Services, Kelly Kennedy-Garcia, spoke at Wednesday’s daily COVID-19 briefing saying the coronavirus is impacting our behavior. Garcia says she expects more Iowans will be seeking additional medical, food, mental, social, and economic assistance.
Garcia says many Iowans were already facing daily challenges prior to the outbreak of the coronavirus, now adding to the stress level for many individuals and families.
The H-H-S director spelled out some of the ways the department has increased its efforts to assure Iowans are not neglected during this time of COVID-19 pandemic.
Garcia says all available resources through the Department of Health and Human Services can be accessed through the department’s website. Garcia continued to mention other ways the department is trying to meet the needs of Iowans.
Garcia says her department is reaching out to work with other agencies and organizations to help identify those people in need of some assistance as provided by the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services. She advises people to act. Garcia says “If you hear something, or see something…say something.”
Reynolds Says COVID-19 Isolation Has Some Consequences
(Des Moines) — During Governor Kim Reynolds’ daily COVID-19 briefing she indicated additional domestic assault and sexual assault cases, along with substance abuse and addiction cases have been on the rise since the start of the coronavirus. She says it is an unfortunate consequence of having to remain isolated in our homes to restrict the spread and exposure of the coronavirus.
KLEM news reached out to Le Mars Police Chief, Kevin Vande Vegte to inquire if Le Mars was seeing the same trends as is happening across the state.
Vande Vegte says he does anticipate an increase in incidents, the longer the COVID-19 virus ensues.
Some neighboring counties have seen an increase in the number of burglaries happening since many businesses are closed. Vande Vegte says that has not happened in Le Mars and Plymouth County, and he wants to keep it that way.
Snow Expected To Fall On Southwest Iowa
(Des Moines, IA) — The National Weather Service says a storm system which formed in the Rockies is bringing snow to southwestern Iowa this (Thursday morning). It will move slowly northeast to the I-80 corridor in the middle of the day and then continue in central and southern Iowa until about 9:00-
to-11:00 p-m. Meteorologists say the heaviest snowfall will be in southern Iowa where three-to-six inches will fall. People north of I-80 will see less than an inch. Milder temperatures Friday will melt it away.
Nearly 2000 Cases Of COVID-19 In Iowa
(Des Moines, IA) — There are now nearly two-thousand confirmed COVID-19 cases in Iowa. An additional 96 positive tests brings the state’s total to one-thousand-995. The Iowa Department of Public Health says the coronavirus
is now blamed for 53 deaths in the state. The four latest fatalities were in Allamakee, Johnson, Polk and Clayton counties. One-hundred-71 Iowans are hospitalized with the virus and nearly 18-thousand people have tested negative for COVID-19. The Wilton Retirement Community in Muscatine County
is the seventh long-term care facility with a virus outbreak.
Governor Reynolds To Send Coronavirus Tests Kits To Iowa’s Packing and Processing Plants
(Des Moines, IA) — Governor Kim Reynolds is asking federal officials to send more testing supplies to Iowa for use at the 18 meat packing and food processing facilities in the state. Reynolds told reporters she’s talking today with U-S Ag Secretary Sonny Perdue about the situation. She also has a call into the C-D-C to see if they can provide some assistance to the packing
plants. Reynolds said, “we’re doing all of the above to make sure that we can continue to protect our employees, but also to make sure that we really protect this critical, essential infrastructure as well.” A COVID-19 outbreak has been identified in Louisa County at the Tyson pork processing plant in Columbus Junction. That facility is shut down as is the beef processing plant in Tama where workers also have tested positive. The State
of Iowa is sending 900 test kits to Louisa County for testing related to the outbreak at the pork plant.
Des Moines Man To Be Sentenced For Holding Captive Woman In Basement
(Des Moines, IA) — A 39-year-old Des Moines man will be sentenced today (Thursday) for holding a woman captive in his father’s basement while beating her. Matthew Stiles has reached a plea agreement with prosecutors. He is accused of holding the victim captive for eight hours while assaulting her.
The woman was able to get free while Sites was out of the house. She told officers he beaten with a long metal flashlight, a rolling pin and his fists, then strangled her until she passed out.
Businesses Say They Have Lost Up To 80 Percent Sales Due To COVID19
(West Des Moines, IA) — Loyal customers are being given credit for keeping some West Des Moines businesses afloat during the coronavirus pandemic. The executive director of the Historic Valley Junction Foundation says, despite that, some of those businesses have lost up to 80 percent of their usual
sales. Matt Hauge says the pandemic has forced them to change. He says it could eventually be more devastating than the floods of 1993 were to Valley Junction. Hauge says the area has beaten the odds many times before and he thinks it can do it again.
CDC To Tour Sioux Falls Smithfield Pork Processing Plant
(Sioux Falls, SD) — The Centers for Disease Control will tour the Smithfield Foods plant in Sioux Falls today. On Wednesday, the state secretary of health said the CDC will look at all plant operations and determine how people can be protected. Governor Kristi Noem says she’d love to see the plant become a safe environment and reopen soon.
