Sioux County Authorities Investigate Shooting Death
(Orange City) — Sioux County law enforcement authorities have arrested a Spirit Lake man following the shooting death of an Ireton man. The incident was reported on Saturday evening at about 10:03 p.m. Early reports indicated a disturbance inside a residence on Dove Avenue, about three miles northwest
of Ireton. When deputies arrived, they discovered a 58-year old male inside the residence dead of an apparent gunshot wound. As a result of the investigation, the Sioux County Sheriff’s office arrested Gregg Winterfeld, age 70 of Spirit Lake for 2nd degree murder. One other person was inside the home at the time of the shooting, but was unharmed. The victim has been transported to the Iowa State Crime Lab in Ankeny, Iowa where a full autopsy
will be performed. The victim’s name is being withheld by the Sioux County Sheriff’s Office pending notice of next of kin. The Sioux County Sheriff’s Office was assisted by the Hawarden Police, Sioux Center Police, Orange City Police, Sioux County Conservation, Rock Valley Police, Ireton Ambulance and
the Ireton Fire and Rescue. The incident remains under investigation by the Sioux County Sheriff’s Office.
COVID-19 Cases Continues To Rise In Plymouth County, Iowa, And Nationwide
(Le Mars) — As of Sunday, the number of COVID-19 positive cases in Plymouth County has reached 59. Throughout the state of Iowa, — Officials with the Iowa Department of Public Health report another 287 people have tested positive for COVID-19 bringing the number just shy of 12,000 positive cases with 11,959 and another 13 deaths reported, with 265 deaths associated with the coronavirus. Iowa Department of Public Health officials report 5,154 people have recovered after having tested positive of the virus. Nationwide, 1.3 million have contracted the virus, while the deaths have passed the bench mark of 80,500 people.
Civil Service Commission To Hold Public Hearing
(Le Mars) — The Plymouth County Civil Service Commission will hold a public hearing scheduled for Tuesday, at 1:00 p.m. Public notice is hereby given that a deputy sheriff appeal hearing will be held by conference call.
Le Mars Community Board Of Education To Hold Meeting
(Le Mars) — The Le Mars Community Board of Education will convene this evening for its monthly meeting. One of the items on the agenda will be to discuss an upcoming vacancy on the school board. School superintendent, Dr. Steve Webner will provide the school board information regarding an upcoming
vacancy on the Le Mars Community School Board of Education. May is School Board Recognition Month, and Dr. Webner will present board members with certificates of appreciation for their service to the students of the school district. The school board will begin the process of identifying legislative priorities for the 2020 legislative session. In terms of action items, the
school board will review several requests for resignations including: four people with the food-services department. Other resignations include Donna Rohe is retiring from her position as a teacher associate at Franklin Elementary School effective at the conclusion of the school year. Katie Driggs is resigning from her position as a teacher associate at the high school effective at the end of the school year. Joel Jentz is resigning his high school science teacher position effective June 30th. Another science teacher is also resigning, that being Adam Moss, who intends to resign his position effective June 30th. Cheryl Plueger is retiring from her position as Administrative Assistant from the Franklin Elementary School. Judy Zeka is retiring from her position in the high school success center, effective at the conclusion of the school year.
The school board will also approve several contracts including: Shahin
Pluegger-Eilts with the foodservices. Jennifer Orban with foodservices,
Angelia Campbell with foodservices, Lindsey Van Voorst also with
foodservices, and Shannon Zenk will work with the foodservices department.
Richard Lalk and Warren Bates have been offered contracts for driving a
school bus, and Nicole Decker, Jessica Pottebaum, and Haley DeWitt have all
been extended contracts as a teacher associate.
Dr. Webner will present the 2020-2021 Teacher Leadership and Compensation
leadership positions for the board consideration. The school board will
consider recommended changes to the Le Mars Community School 600 Policy
series. The school board will consider approval of the updated Teacher
Leadership System Memorandum of Understanding with the Le Mars Education
Association for 2020-2021.
High school principal, Dr. Mark Iverson, will present the anticipated
graduation list of seniors for the board’s approval.
School superintendent, Dr. Webner will present recommended fees for the
upcoming school year for the board’s consideration.
The board of education will consider approving an agreement with Western Iowa
Tech Community College for continuing the concurrent enrollment
opportunities and online learning opportunities at the high school during the
2020-21 school year.
The Board will consider approval of the publication of the budget
amendment hearing notice in the Le Mars Daily Sentinel on May 13, 2020
with the hearing to be held on May 27, 2020 at 12:00 noon.
The Board of Education will also consider proposed changes to the high school
handbook for the 2020-2021 school year.
Government To Purchase Commodity/Food Products For Food Banks
(Des Moines) — The U.S. government is going to start buying three BILLION dollars of meat, dairy and produce from farmers, to supply food banks. The announcement came after Vice President Mike Pence heard sobering assessments of the farm economy during a forum in West Des Moines on Friday. Senator
Chuck Grassley says farmers are losing a lot of money.
Senator Joni Ernst says farmers from corner to corner of the state are impacted.
American Farm Bureau Zippy Duvall says farmers are experiencing a perfect storm with a pandemic in the middle of a trade war with China.
Duvall and both of Iowa’s U.S. senators also called for an investigation of allegations that meat packers are engaged in price fixing.
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Army Corps Of Engineers Say Chances For Missouri River Flooding Have Been Reduced
(Omaha) — After record flooding in western Iowa much of last year, runoff into the Missouri River system is expected to be above-normal again this year, but the experts say the runoff will be well-contained in the reservoir system. Kevin Grode, with the U-S Army Corps of Engineers in Omaha, says we’ve already had a couple of relatively dry months and that’s
been a big help.
Grode says the runoff forecast has been dramatically reduced. It originally called for three-point-two million acre feet of runoff during April but they recorded about one-point-three
million acre feet less.
Grode says the Corps of Engineers is still expecting above-normal runoff each month this year.
He says above-normal river releases all winter allowed the Corps to add more flood storage capacity in the upstream reservoirs.
Des Moines Police Investigate Sunday Shooting In Drake Neighborhood
(Des Moines, IA) — When a Des Moines police officer conducted a traffic stop on a speeding vehicle Sunday, inside was a person suffering from a gunshot wound to the head. That 18-year-old man was rushed to a nearby hospital and is reported to be in critical condition. His name hasn’t been released. Police say the suspect vehicle was seen fleeing the location at about 5:00 p-m nearly Evelyn Davis Park. No report of what led up to the violent encounter has been made.
Third Suspect In Iowa Shooting Incident Arrested In Texas
(Lubbock, TX) — A third suspect in an Iowa City shooting incident has been taken into custody in Lubbock, Texas. Reginald Little was arrested Friday and he is awaiting extradition to Johnson County. He’s being held on charges of first-degree murder in the death of Kejuan Winters. Iowa City police
officers found Winters wounded inside a home April 20th. He died before he could be taken to a hospital for treatment.
Man Accused Of Breaking Into Home, Assaulting Woman, Kidnapping Her And Child
(Fort Dodge, IA) — Authorities say 33-year-old Fort Dodge man forced his way into a woman’s home Saturday morning and began assaulting her while he was holding a knife. They say Leon Drayton then forced the woman and her child into his vehicle and drove away – while still assaulting her. A Webster County deputy stopped Drayton’s vehicle less than 15 minutes later
and took him into custody. The suspect is being held in the Webster County Jail. Drayton is charged with burglary, kidnapping, domestic assault and child endangerment.
