Court Orders Salvage Collectors To Clean Up Property
(Le Mars) — Plymouth County has sought court action against a family that has been determined to be in violation with county zoning laws regarding the collection of salvage. Judge Dan Vakulskas has ordered Justin Harms of 18083 Iris Avenue to remove his collection of salvage. Plymouth County Board
of Supervisors chairman Don Kass says the issue has been a problem for several years.
Kass says, in past years, the county had agreements with the Harms and allowed for a generous timeline for the family to sell their salvage collection, and to begin cleaning the property. However, Kass says Harms did not follow up, and ignored the previous agreements, and has since added more salvage items.
According to the court order, the Harms have until December 31, 2020 to remove all salvage material. If they fail to comply with the order, the judgement says Plymouth County can enter the premises without further court order and remove all items that can be classified as “junk.” Harms will be responsible for all costs of the cleanup, even if the county performs the cleanup process.
County To Sell Property
(Le Mars) — Plymouth County is looking to sell the property located at 1240 Lincoln Street NE, along Highway 3 on the eastern edge of Le Mars.
The property serves as a housing facility and is currently being leased by Pride Group for its clients. Don Kass, the chairman of the Plymouth County Board of Supervisors explains why the county wishes to sale the property.
Kass says selling the building will allow for a better living conditions for clients, should Pride Group becomes the next owner.
Kass says anyone can bid on the property, and he tells of some of the interested parties that have shown interest.
The county board of supervisors chairman says the county has not yet established a timeline for the transaction of property.
Iowa Supply of Convalescent Plasma Could Run Out by December
(Des Moines, IA) — Officials say Iowa may soon run out of convalescent plasma — an experimental treatment for Covid and they’re urging Iowans who’ve recovered from the virus to donate. LifeServe Blood Center chief operating officer Christine Hayes says in the past two weeks, more than 900 units of
convalescent plasma have been transfused to patients here locally in Iowa.
She says “the downside of that is that amount is more than the first four months of the pandemic, so the need for convalescent plasma is certainly outpacing the demand.” Hayes said, “right now we are anticipating at the current rate of transfusions across the state of Iowa that our supply of convalescent plasma will be depleted by December 1st.” According to the Mayo
Clinic, convalescent plasma therapy may help people recover from Covid-19 by reducing the severity or shortening the duration of the disease.
COVID Outbreaks Slowing at 3 Iowa Prisons
(Des Moines, IA) — The state Department of Corrections says coronavirus outbreaks at three of Iowa’s prisons appear to be subsiding. A week ago, more than 11-hundred inmates at state prisons in Anamosa, Clarinda and Rockwell City had tested positive for the virus. Two inmates — one from Clarinda, the other from Anamosa — died of complications related to Covid.
The Iowa Department of Corrections’ website currently shows just under 500 inmates at the three prisons still have the virus. At one point, 60 percent of the inmates in Anamosa tested positive for Covid.
Hart Gains 3 Votes on First Day of Recount in 2nd Congressional District
(Davenport, IA) — A three-vote change in Iowa’s undecided Second Congressional District race after ballot recounting started Tuesday in Scott County. All 24 counties in the district will be recounting the nearly 400-thousand ballots cast over the next ten days. Republican Mariannette Miller-Meeks now leads Democrat Rita Hart by 50 votes. The recount in Johnson County started this (Wednesday) morning. The secretary of state will
certify statewide election results on November 30th. The re-checked results are due the weekend after Thanksgiving.
Cedar Rapids Police Investigate Armed Robbery of Subway Restaurant
(Cedar Rapids, IA) — Authorities in Cedar Rapids are investigating an armed robbery of a Subway restaurant. Officers say employees at the Subway on Gateway Place Southwest reported they were robbed at gunpoint around 8 p-m
Tuesday. They told police that a Black man in late 30s with a handgun fled the store on foot with an undisclosed amount of cash. Officers and a Linn County police dog were unable to locate the suspect. No one was hurt during the robbery.
