Plymouth County Secondary Roads Department Closes 200th Street For Culvert Installation
(Le Mars) — Plymouth County Secondary Roads Department has announced 200th Street from county road K-18 going east one mile to Evergreen Avenue will be closed beginning today, Wednesday, due to the replacement of a wooden bridge
with a culvert pipe. The road is expected to remain closed until Friday, September 4th.
City Work Crews Close 4th Avenue SW For Repairs
(Le Mars) –The city of Le Mars has closed 4th Avenue S.W.
between 12th Street SW and 15th Street SW in order to repair a sewer culvert that goes under the road. City crews will be tearing out the street to fix the undermining that is causing the street to settle. Also, city crews are saying the 15th Street SW closure between 2nd Avenue SW and 3rd Avenue SW will be back open on Friday, August 21st at noon.
Floyd Valley Healthcare Welcomes New Physical Therapist
(Le Mars) — Floyd Valley Healthcare announces the addition of Megan Nelson, PT, DPT to the Floyd Valley Therapies staff.
Megan Nelson received her Bachelor’s Degrees in Biology and Chemistry from Central College in Pella, IA. She went on to receive her Doctor of Physical Therapy from Des Moines University. Megan brings with her 11 years of hospital experience with her including working in skilled care, long-term
care centers, outpatient, aquatic therapy and home health. In addition, Nelson also enjoys vestibular rehabilitation and women’s health.
Northwestern College To Waive ACT/SAT Tests Scores For Admission
ORANGE CITY, Iowa—Northwestern College of Orange City is waiving the ACT/SAT score requirement for this year’s high school seniors who apply to the college.
Jackie Davis, Northwestern’s dean of admissions says “We know it’s been and will continue to be a difficult year for all students. Some high school seniors haven’t had the chance to take the ACT or SAT, so we’ve removed that as a requirement. Any high school senior can apply, and their acceptance will be based on their high school GPA. We’re revising our academic scholarship
model to do the same GPA-only calculation.”
Northwestern College’s academic honors scholarships, which range from $8,000 to $18,000, have historically been based on students’ GPA plus their standardized test scores. This year, students will have the option of basing their academic scholarship on their GPA only or on a combination of their GPA
and test scores if they’ve been able to take the ACT or SAT. (Test scores may still be required for some extracurricular eligibility, such as participation in intercollegiate athletics, as currently required by the NAIA.)
“Reporting scores, even if you have them, will be optional,” says Davis.
“We’ll consider your GPA only or your GPA plus your test score and use whichever measurement gives you the best academic scholarship.
“We just want to remove even one worry for our incoming class if we can,” Davis says.
Crops Hit Hard By Last Week’s Wind Storm Probably Will Not Recover
(Nevada) — The corn and soybeans growing in central and eastern Iowa have gone from being listed as good to excellent condition prior to last week’s derecho storm, to now being listed as poor to fair condition. But is there any chance some of those crops may show signs of some recovery? Megan Anderson serves as the Iowa State University Extension and Outreach crops
specialist for central Iowa and says many of the damaged crops look worse today than it did a week ago immediately following the wind storm.
Anderson seems to believe the damaged soybeans in central Iowa may have a chance for some recovery.
Although Anderson says the farmers in her region most likely will not have a crop to harvest this fall, they will be given some compensation because most of the farmers have crop insurance. Anderson says perhaps a more immediate concern are the storage facilities that have been destroyed.
(photos courtesy of Meaghan Anderson, ISU Extension and Outreach)
Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig today commented on the Iowa Crop Progress and Condition report released by the USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service. The report is released weekly from April through November.
“It’s been one week since the catastrophic derecho hit Iowa. There were 57 counties in the path of the storm, with 36 counties experiencing severe crop damage. There was also significant structural damage to grain storage facilities,” said Secretary Naig. “Clean-up continues and farmers are working
with their crop insurance adjusters and agronomists to gain a better insight into the yield impact of the storm.”
Corn was 81% in the dough stage or beyond, almost 2 weeks ahead of the previous year and 5 days ahead of the 5-year average. Just over one-quarter of the corn crop is in or beyond dent stage, 11 days ahead of the previous year and 3 days ahead of average. Corn condition rated 59% good to excellent,
a drop of 10 percentage points from the previous week and the lowest level this crop season. Soybeans were 97% blooming or beyond, 3 days ahead of average. Soybeans setting pods were over 2 weeks ahead of last year and 1 week ahead of average at 90%. Soybean condition fell again this week, and the
crop is now rated 62% good to excellent, the lowest level so far this season.
Iowa Fire Training Facility Has A New Home
(Des Moines) — The organization which trains Iowa firefighters has moved from Ames to new facilities at Camp Dodge in Johnston. Fire Service Training Bureau Chief John Kraemer, says the new facility is 95-hundred square feet and houses their offices, equipment and has classrooms.
The National Guard has an area known as “container city” where they can train.
He says the Fire Service Institute outgrew its facility in Ames as the types of training required expanded from basic firefighting techniques.
He says they hold an annual fire school that got started through a need for more training.
Kraemer says it’s particularly important for a state where the majority of firefighters are volunteers.
Kraemer says the new site also allows them space to store the various trailers and displays that are used for firefighter education. The new facility was celebrated with a ribbon cutting last week.
President Trump Vows to Act Soon on Individual Assistance For Iowa
(Cedar Rapids, IA) — President Donald Trump says his administration will soon act on a request for federal aid to help Iowans in 27 counties cover uninsured property damage from last week’s devastating storm. During a stop
at the Cedar Rapids Airport Tuesday, Trump said, “We’ll get it taken care of… All of you, we’ll get it done very quickly.” Mayor Brad Hart told the president private insurance will not pay for removing trees unless the tree hits a house and it will cost many thousands of dollars to get the storm debris off their property. He said, “every one of our almost 60-thousand homes and businesses had some kind of damage.” President Trump said, “we’re going to help you recover from the storm and we’ll get it done and we’ll all get it done together.” Only a few dozen people — supporters and protesters — gathered outside the airport for the president’s visit.
State Ag Officials Survey Millions in Crop Damages
(Des Moines, IA) — There are more than eight-million acres of corn and more than five-million acres of soybeans that may have been impacted by the last week’s derecho storm. Officials say 36 counties in Iowa were hardest hit, and damage to stored grain and bins is expected to be in the hundreds-of-millions-of-dollars. Iowa Agriculture Secretary Mike Naig is asking the U-S Department of Agriculture for a no-harvest crop insurance option for farmers who suffered severe crop damage. Naig says in some cases harvest will not be possible.
Governor Blocks Attorney General Miller’s Request To Join Post Office Lawsuit
(Des Moines, IA) — Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller says he wanted to join 20 states who are suing to stop budget cuts and operational changes at the U-S Postal Service. The other attorneys general say those moves are disrupting mail deliveries and are aimed at interrupting mail-in voting. In response, Postmaster General Louis DeJoy put the changes on hold until after the November 3rd General Election. Miller says Governor Kim Reynolds blocked his request to join the suit. Record numbers of American voters are expected to vote by mail in the next election so they can avoid the threat of being
infected by the coronavirus at polling places.
Axne Calls For Resignation of Postmaster General DeJoy
(Des Moines, IA) — Iowa Congresswoman Cindy Axne is calling for the the resignation of U-S Postmaster General Louis DeJoy. There have been delays and concerns about operational and service changes, but DeJoy announced today that he will wait to make the proposed changes until after the November
election. Axne said she’s heard from Iowans about post office changes that could jeopardize their health, financial well-being and democratic rights.
She has written to Postmaster General DeJoy twice in the past two weeks expressing concerns over the reported operational changes and the impacts delays could have on her constituents. DeJoy is scheduled to testify Friday before a virtual Senate committee hearing.
307 New COVID Cases in Iowa, 9 Additional Deaths
(Des Moines, IA) — The Iowa Department of Public Health is reporting 307 more positive COVID-19 tests for a total of 52-thousand-924 cases. Nine more Iowans have died from virus complications which increases the death toll to 987. State health officials say 287 people are hospitalized, 86 patients are
in intensive care and 35 are ventilators. More than 41-thousand-500 patients are considered recovered. Three-thousand-218 tests were done between 10 a-m Monday and Tuesday. A reporting glitch has led to fewer new infections and a
smaller number of positive tests than the actual number.
10-Year-Old Boys Falls From Cliff Along Popular Trail In Wapello County
(Ottumwa, IA) — Emergency responders had to rescue a 10-year-old boy who had fallen almost 16 feet from a popular trail near Ottumwa Tuesday afternoon. The boy’s name hasn’t been released. He was hiking with a group of people at Garrison Rock. The group was reportedly exploring a cave along the trail when he fell. After being stabilized at the scene of the accident,
he was taken to Ottumwa Regional Health Center to have leg and wrist injuries treated. A dog walking with the group also fell but wasn’t injured.
Omaha Man Charged In Fatal Hit-And-Run Accident In Council Bluffs
(Council Bluffs, IA) — An Omaha man is charged with leaving the scene of an accident after a fatal hit-and-run four months ago. An eight-year-old boy was killed in Council Bluffs. Police say 37-year-old Troy A. Pokorny was a suspect from the start, but they needed to complete the investigation before charges could be filed. Council Bluffs police officers found Quinten Brownfield lying in the street when they were called April 15th. Witnesses
told them the boy was riding a scooter when he hit the side of Pokorny’s vehicle, then rolled under it while the vehicle was still moving. Pokorny has a preliminary hearing set for September 15th in Pottawattamie County Court.
