Home News Wednesday Afternoon News, November 11th

Wednesday Afternoon News, November 11th

Authorities Release Name Of Fatal Rollover Accident

(Le Mars) — The Plymouth County Sheriff’s Office has released the name of the individual killed in the single vehicle roll-over accident Tuesday morning on Highway 75 near mile marker 119 between Highway 3 and Fedder’s R-V and Marine. Saul Medina Gonzaga, age 27, of Belleuvue, Nebraska, was pronounced dead at Floyd Valley Healthcare in Le Mars.  The investigation shows Gonzaga being ejected from the rolling vehicle. The investigation is continuing.  Authorities say snow and ice were a contributing factor in that fatal accident. The accident was reported at about 9:05 a.m. Two other people in the vehicle suffered only minor injuries.

(photo contributed.)

 

 

 

Amy Oetken To Leave Plymouth County Attorney’s Office For Position As Lyon County Attorney

(Le Mars) — For the past 23 years, Amy Oetken of Le Mars, has served the people of Plymouth County as the Assistant County Attorney. However, beginning December 1st, Oetken will leave Plymouth County to assume new duties as the Lyon County Attorney at Rock Rapids.

Oetken says she applied for the position after the Lyon County Attorney was appointed to become a District Court Judge.

Oetken says she is filling the two-year vacant term of the former Lyon County Attorney, and in two years will run as a candidate seeking the office of Lyon County Attorney. Oetken says she will be moving to Lyon County as the requirements do ask that she is a Lyon County resident. Oetken says she is looking forward to her new position, and has nothing but great admiration for her peers and colleague, Darren Raymond in the Plymouth County Attorney’s office.

When asked about which court cases she will long remember, Oetken replied by saying it is not necessarily the high profile cases that she will recall, but rather those court cases that made a difference in people’s lives.

She continues to recall some of her more memorable court cases.

The new Lyon County Attorney says since the Iowa Supreme Court Chief Justice has suspended all jury trials until at least February 1st, due to the rapid spread of COVID-19, it will give her a little more time to review pending cases and be better familiar with the Lyon County court system.

 

 

 

Reynolds Warns Hospital Patients May Be Turned Away If COVID Surge Continues

(Des Moines, IA) — More than three-thousand Iowa nursing home residents have COVID and there were a record one-thousand-190 patients in Iowa hospitals Tuesday night. Hospital officials say this surge threatens to overwhelm the system. Governor Kim Reynolds warns rationed care is on the horizon if coronavirus cases continue to spike here. The governor said,
“this situation has the potential to impact any Iowan who may need care for any reason, whether for Covid-19 or for any other serious medical condition, and we don’t want anyone to be turned away from our hospitals.” Reynolds added, “we can’t continue to see the number of individuals hospitalized.”
She is asking Iowans to spend as little time outside their homes as possible.

 

 

 

Miller-Meeks Now Has 40-Vote Lead in 2nd District Race For Congress

(Ottumwa, IA) — The latest vote count in Iowa’s Second Congressional District race shows Republican Mariannette Miller-Meeks leading Democrat Rita Hart by 40 votes. Boards of supervisors in the 24 counties in the district met on Monday and Tuesday to conduct what’s called the official canvass of
votes in each county. Miller-Meeks issued a written statement Tuesday night, declaring the election over and saying she had won. Half an hour later, Hart’s campaign manager issued a written statement, saying the race remains too close call. Secretary of State Paul Pate will certify election results
November 30th. He’s notified Lucas County officials they may amend the county’s results if recounts on Thursday and Friday come up with different vote totals.

 

 

 

Quad Cities Ends Veterans Homelessness

(Davenport, IA) — The Quad Cities area has ended veteran homelessness.
The designation doesn’t mean there are no homeless veterans. Karen Abendroth with the Veterans Administration says it means the Quad Cities has infrastructure in place that will anticipate when a veteran may be at risk of eviction or unemployment and connect them with the resources they need. She said, “we actually have more veterans going into permanent housing than we do coming into homelessness. When we have identified a veteran who’s homeless, we can get them housed within 90 days.” Abendroth says those are some of the federal benchmarks for the area to say it “effectively ended homelessness.”

 

 

 

White Supremacist Stickers Found on Dubuque Veterans Memorial

(Dubuque, IA) — City officials in Dubuque are investigating decals promoting a white supremacist group found on a veterans memorial. Staff discovered the stickers for a hate group Monday on six light poles at Veterans Memorial Plaza and the McAlleece Sports Complex on Chaplain Schmitt Island. Dubuque Mayor Roy Buol said, “to attempt to promote such an un-American concept near a veterans memorial is an affront to our veterans and
their sacrifices to protect our nation.” Anyone with tips about the decals is asked to contact the Dubuque Police Department.