Local Estate Leaves $6 Million To Local Entities
(Le Mars) — A long-time resident of Le Mars recently had his estate donate more than $6 million dollars to local entities including All Saints Parish Catholic Church, Floyd Valley Healthcare, Gehlen Catholic School and the Le Mars Public Library. Another benefactor was the Divine Word College of
Epworth. Dennis Groetken passed away in August of 2019, and according to Craig Bauerly who served as the attorney that supervised the estate, 40 percent, or $2.5 million dollars was donated to All Saints Parish Catholic Church of Le Mars. The other local entities, consisting of Floyd Valley Healthcare, Gehlen Catholic School, and the Le Mars Public Library each received $950,000 or 15 percent of the estate. Bauerly says the Divine
Word College also received a gift of $950,000.
Father Bruce Lawler with the All Saints Parish Catholic Churches says the gift was a surprise.
The catholic priest says the local parish will utilize the estate donation as part of an endowment program.
Father Lawler also serves as the president of Gehlen Catholic Schools, another benefactor from the Groetken estate. He says the more than nine-hundred thousand dollars given to Gehlen will be used in a similar manner as the parish.
Lawler says one of the surprises with the gifts is that Dennis Groetken lived a simple life, and very few people within Le Mars realized he had acquired such financial means. Floyd Valley Healthcare was another listed benefactor in the Groetken estate, Amy Harnack is the Foundation Manager for the local hospital and says the gift was a surprise and greatly appreciated.
Harnack says the estate did not specify how the funds are to be utilized.
She says Floyd Valley officials have decided to place the funds in an account for a future project, yet to be determined. Would Floyd Valley assign naming rights to the future project to Dennis Groetken because of the gift.
The Floyd Valley healthcare foundation manager says the donated $950,000 is not the largest gift received by the hospital, but never-the-less it is significant.
The other local entity to receive funding through the estate was the Le Mars Public Library.
Governor Reynolds Urging All Iowans To Take Assessment Test
(Des Moines) — Governor Kim Reynolds is urging all Iowans to take the assessment test for the COVID-19 virus. Reynolds says since last week when the “TestIowa.com” was launched test sites have been established in Des Moines and Waterloo, and within the next few days, other tests sites will get started across the state, including Woodbury County. Reynolds reviews the assessment tests statistics for Iowa.
The governor says 2,428 people have recovered after having been diagnosed with the coronavirus for a recovery rate of 35 percent. Reynolds says assessment tests plays a critical role in measuring the spread and mitigation of the COVID-19 virus.
Reynolds reiterated her position about the importance of assessment testing.
The Iowa governor says since “TestIowa.com” was started last week, already, 442,000 people have visited the website.
Reynolds says next week test sites will open in Woodbury (Sioux City) and Scott counties (Davenport).
Church Leaders Respond to Governor Reynolds Allowing Worship Services
(Des Moines, IA) — Churches are reacting to the decision by Governor Kim Reynolds to lift the coronavirus limit on public gatherings and allow churches to hold worship services. Churches in all 99 counties can begin holding services this Friday. The four Catholic bishops of Iowa announced
that public Masses will continue to be suspended for now “in light of the expectation that positive cases of COVID-19 will peak in Iowa in the next few weeks.” A group of denominational leaders issued a statement of recommendation urging all religions to refrain from in-person religious gatherings. Reverend Ian McMullen of the Presbyterian Church signed on to the statement, and says they also feel it is not yet time to bring people
together for services. Reynolds says she is confident the church leaders will do the right thing in deciding whether to restart worship services in their buildings.
First Iowan to Receive Plasma From Recoverd COVID Patient Recovering at Home
(Des Moines, IA) — The first Iowan to receive plasma from a recovered COVID-19 patient during treatment is now recovering at home. Lance Becker spent nearly a month at UnityPoint in Des Moines after testing positive for the coronavirus. Doctors say COVID-19 nearly suffocated Becker despite that he was age 41 with no underlying health conditions. He was on a ventilator
two weeks before getting convalescent plasma. X-rays showed Becker’s chest clearing up in three days. He says the plasma donor saved his life and he plans to pay the donation forward. Doctors at UnityPoint say they see more positive response when they give plasma early in the course of infection.
2 Children Killed, 3 Hurt in Dallas County Minivan Crash
(Jamaica, IA) — Two children are dead and several people hurt after a minivan crash Tuesday in central Iowa. The Iowa State Patrol says the minivan was being driven by a 16-year-old and it crashed near Jamaica in Dallas County. Those who died were five and eight years old, while the driver and three other young passengers were seriously hurt. Troopers says the vehicle slipped off the pavement to the left, the driver over-corrected
and went off road to the right and crashed. Only two of the six occupants were buckled up. No names have been released.
Auditor Investigation Finds $28K in Improper Spending by Postville Fire Department
(Postville, IA) — A special investigation by the State Auditor’s office found nearly 28-thousand dollars of improper spending in the Postville Volunteer Fire Department. City officials in Postville asked for the review due to concerns about how the fire department’s non-profit handled financial transactions. Auditors reviewed spending over a four-year period and were
unable to find receipts or documents to support 57-hundred dollars worth of spending. About 28-thousand more was classified as improper, including more than 11-thousand dollars worth of purchases at the local grocery store for things like ice cream, chocolate milk and alcohol. The non-profit also spent
nearly four-thousand dollars on monthly DirecTV. The president of the non-profit resigned in December 2018 after Postville’s city council announced plans to fire him.
