81 Year Old Man Charged With Domestic Abuse Assault With Weapon In Fatal Shooting
(Le Mars) — Plymouth County Sheriff’s Office has released the identities of Monday’s shooting incident that happen west of Merrill.
The autopsy for the deceased victim is scheduled for today, Wednesday, May 13th at the Iowa State Medical Examiner’s Office in Ankeny, Iowa. The deceased has been identified as 51 year old Kevin LeRoy Juzek of 20139 Echo Road, Merrill, Iowa. The individual placed under arrest is 81-year old Thomas Jordan Knapp also of 20139 Echo Road, of Merrill, Iowa. Knapp has been charged with Domestic Abuse Assault while Displaying of Use of a Weapon, first offense.
Knapp is being held on a $5,000 bond at the Plymouth County Jail. Additional charges are anticipated as the investigation continues.
Thomas Knapp 81-years of age
School Officials Are Concerned Future Funding May See Cuts
(Le Mars) — School officials are deeply concerned when the state legislature re-convenes and begins to examine the budget, school funding may be cut, if not for this coming school year, than most certainly for the next school year of 2021-2022. The reason is many people fear the COVID-19 pandemic will cost
the state billions upon billions of dollars, and the state lawmakers will be faced with the harsh reality of making some deep budget cuts. Dr. Steve Webner serves as the school superintendent for the Le Mars Community School District. He says he has visited with other school officials, and they all
share the same concern.
Webner says school districts may set up different priorities with the legislature, perhaps programs that wouldn’t cost money.
The Le Mars Community school superintendent says the COVID-19 pandemic has created a scenario in which schools need to look at other imaginative ways to teach students. He says the Iowa Department of Education is asking school districts to have a plan ready that shows how students will be educated, if
they are not attending classes in person. Webner says it is a concern with school officials since so many students don’t have access to the internet and on-line education opportunities.
Webner says school districts may find themselves aligning with utility and communication companies and cooperatives in asking legislators for funding for state-wide broadband.
Webner is predicting the state legislature will need to look at the
traditional ways of teaching, and perhaps will need to make changes so schools can adapt to unusual situations, like what has been seen during this year with the COVID-19 virus.
Reynolds Delays Announcing Of Additional Businesses To Open
(Des Moines) — During her daily briefing, Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds said she is still looking at the COVID-19 data, and will probably decide today as to whether or not to allow additional businesses to open. However, she did say getting businesses operating is important. The governor recited statistics about how devastating the coronavirus has impacted Iowa’s small businesses and farming communities.
The governor introduced Iowa’s Homeland Security Director, Joyce Flynn who announced the state has qualified for FEMA funds for mental health counseling.
Flynn says the crisis assistance and training program consist of services focused on curtailing or mitigating the adverse circumstances of a disaster.
Flynn says the goal of the program is to achieve a public approach.
The Homeland Security Director says the program will meet the needs of immediate needs as well as regular services.
519 Additional COVID-19 Cases in Iowa, 18 Deaths
(Des Moines, IA) — State health officials are reporting another 539 COVID-19 cases in Iowa, increasing the statewide total to 12-thousand-912 cases. Three-hundred-19 of the new cases are connected to a meatpacking plant in Dakota City, Nebraska. The COVID-19 death toll rose to 289 after 18 more patients died from coronavirus. The Iowa Department of Public Health
says 385 Iowans are hospitalized, 143 patients are in intensive care and 101 are on ventilators. More than 56-hundred patients are no longer in isolation. There are now coronavirus outbreaks in 21 long-term care facilities in Iowa.
Storm Lake To Be Next Test Iowa Site
(Des Moines) –– A new “Test Iowa” site for drive-through COVID-19 tests will start operating Saturday in Storm Lake, which is home to two Tyson facilities. About 800 work at the turkey processing facility and 24-hundred work at the pork plant.
When Tyson’s pork plants in Columbus Junction and Waterloo were temporarily closed this spring due to coronavirus outbreaks among workers, production was shifted to the plant in Storm Lake. In mid-April, Governor Kim Reynolds asked federal officials for more testing supplies so workers at all 18 meat packing
and food processing plants in Iowa could be tested. Reynolds says the drive-through Test Iowa sites are being used in many of those locations.
The first “Test Iowa” site began operating April 25th in Des Moines and there are now six other “Test Iowa” sites running in the state today. However, the Test Iowa machines at the State Hygienic Lab haven’t gotten federal approval for processing samples. Governor Reynolds says that approval is expected
soon.
Iowa DOT: Vehicles Returning To Roads
(Des Moines, IA) — An Iowa Department of Transportation planner says the drop in traffic on the state’s roadways brought on by the coronavirus is starting to ease up. The D-O-T’s Stuart Anderson says peak drop in travel in the state of Iowa came last week when traffic was down 44 percent. Anderson says the number of motorists out there then started increasing. Last week
traffic was down by one-third. Anderson talked about the traffic during the Transportation Commission meeting Tuesday. The drop in traffic leads to a drop in gas and diesel purchases — and means less gas tax money to pay for highway repairs.
King Calls For FEMA Reimbursements for Livestock Euthanasia, Disposal
(Washington, DC) — Iowa Congressman Steve King signed a letter to the Trump Administration requesting that producers be reimbursed for livestock euthanasia and disposal expenses. COVID-19 has closed processing plants and resulted in producers having to euthanize market-ready healthy hogs. King said, “FEMA has often stepped in to help producers deal with animal losses in the wake of a natural disaster, and the unprecedented nature of the COVID-19 virus deserves a similarly proactive response.” The Iowa Republican joined a letter circulated by House Ag Committee Chairman Collin Peterson of Minnesota.
Grassley Bill Provides Benefits to First Responders Who Die From COVID
(Washington, DC) — U-S Senator Chuck Grassley says the pandemic is putting law officers, paramedics and other first responders at even greater risk as their routine interactions with the public could leave them with a potentially deadly case of COVID-19. The Iowa Republican is introducing a bill that would guarantee federal survivor and disability benefits for first
responders who are felled by the coronavirus. Grassley said, “It’s nearly impossible to prove that an officer contracted the virus while at work, so this bill clarifies that families of officers who die of COVID-19 will be eligible for benefits if the officer was diagnosed within 45 days of his last shift.” He says the Safeguarding America’s First Responders Act could go to
a vote this week – which is National Police Week.
Deadline To Update Direct Deposit Info For Stimulus Check Is Today
(Des Moines, IA) — Time is running out for people who need to update their direct deposit information so they can receive a federal stimulus check. The I-R-S says you need to use the “Get My Payment” link before noon today (Wednesday). This mostly affects people who haven’t filed their 2018 or 2019 federal tax returns. You will need to have a social security number, your
date of birth, current address and banking information. Even if you’re waiting to pay your 2019 taxes until July, you can still get the stimulus check. The Internal Revenue Service says you shouldn’t call it directly to make this happen.
Davenport Police: Shooting Suspect Caught On Video Surveillance Camera
(Davenport, IA) — Davenport police say a 35-year-old shooting suspect faces a first-degree murder charge because his actions were caught on video surveillance. Princesun Murphy was arrested and charged last week.
Prosecutors say the footage showed him shooting 40-year-old Jabari Scurlock of Racine, Wisconsin. First responders found Scurlock lying on the sidewalk and he died before he could be taken to a hospital. The victim had driven to Davenport to visit a woman. Investigators recovered a shotgun and it is
being tested to determine if it was the murder weapon.
