Home News Monday News, December 21st

Monday News, December 21st

Fatal Accident Reported Near Westfield Friday Evening

(Le Mars) — The Plymouth County Sheriff’s Office is investigating a one-vehicle fatal accident resulting in a fire. The accident occurred on Friday evening at about 11:16 p.m. when the Plymouth County Communications Center received a 911 call regarding a fire in the ditch near 25133 Highway 12 near
Westfield. A few minutes later, additional callers stated that there was also vehicle on fire. Akron Fire and Ambulance was paged and were in route along with Plymouth County Sheriff’s Deputies. Upon emergency responders arriving, it was determined that there was a person inside the vehicle.
Plymouth County Medical Director, Dr. Sheila Holcomb, was contacted along with a crash investigative team from the sheriff’s office and Le Mars Police Department. The subject was deceased.

Investigators learned that this crash was a one vehicle incident, with the vehicle traveling north on Highway 12. The driver lost control of the vehicle and entered the east ditch, eventually hitting a tree before coming to rest. The vehicle then became engulfed in flames along with the surrounding ditch area. It was determined that only one person was in the vehicle. Due to the intense fire and the vehicle being fully engulfed, the subject could not be identified. In addition, the vehicle license
information was not available. At the time of the news release,
investigators have not been able to identify the remains. The fatal victim has been transported to the Iowa State Medical Examiner’s Office in Ankeny.
Investigators were assisted by the Iowa State Patrol, Rexwinkel Funeral Home, and Stockton Towing.

 

 

 

Two People Arrested On Drug Charges

(Le Mars) — The Le Mars Police have made two arrests as a result of an on-going drug investigation. 28-year old Kendal Jacobsen of Merrill was arrested on December 5th, and 35-year old Ashlie Rosales of Le Mars was placed under arrest on December 12th. Both subjects were arrested on one count of delivery of a controlled substance, methamphetamine – a class C
felony. Both individuals were booked into the Plymouth County Jail.

 

 

 

Fareway Store To Donate Gift Cards To Small Businesses

(Le Mars) — Fareway grocery store is wanting to make the holiday season a little brighter for Le Mars small business operators. Revenue is down for many small businesses due to the COVID-19 virus. Fareway has donated $2,000 worth of gift cards to the Le Mars Chamber of Commerce. Each card has a
value of $50 and will be given to 40 selected Le Mars businesses. The cards will be distributed today.

 

 

 

Le Mars Legion Riders Receive $5,000 Grant

(Le Mars) — The Le Mars chapter of the Legion Riders motorcycle club received a grant on Sunday totaling $5,000. The grant was presented to the Legion Riders by T-C-C Verizon. Chapter president and commander, Doug Harms of Le Mars says the money will go to helping veterans in need. The Legion Riders have recently visited and assisted veterans at the Veterans Hospital in Sioux Falls.

 

 

 

Iowa Select Farms Donates Pork Loins

(Iowa Falls) — Iowa Falls-based Iowa Select Farms wrapped up its Operation Christmas Meal program this week, having passed out 17-thousand free pork loins to needy Iowans during a dozen events across the state. Jen Sorensen, at Iowa Select, says there were long lines of cars and trucks at every stop as the pandemic has made this such a difficult year for so many Iowans who’ve lost their jobs or lost income.

When the times get tougher, she says, it gets harder for Iowa families to make ends meet.

Iowa families that have never had to take items from a food pantry before are finding it difficult to cope financially this year, and those who’ve benefited from this program make the meat stretch as far as possible.

This is the fourth year for the program which made stops this month in: Marshalltown, Hampton, Osage, Carroll, Storm Lake, Rockwell City, Mount Ayr, Osceola, Humeston, Webster City, Fort Dodge and Iowa Falls.

 

 

 

COVID-19 Vaccines Arriving In Iowa

(Sioux City) — The Iowa Department of Public Health has updated its estimate on the number of doses of the COVID-19 vaccine it expects to get. I-D-P-H reported Thursday that it now expects 138-thousand-300 doses of Pfizer and Moderna vaccine to be delivered to Iowa by December 27th — or about a 20-percent decline from what it originally thought.. The Health Department first said it though there would be a 30-percent decline, before updating the numbers Thursday. The vaccine continues to be delivered across the state and Sioux City’s two main hospitals were able to start vaccinating employees Thursday. MercyOne nurse, Lisa Torres, was one of the first frontline workers to get vaccinated and says it was routine.

Torres says it is important to her and the staff who work with Covid-19 patients to be vaccinated.

MercyOne’s Chief Nursing Officer, Tracy Larson says the vaccine is a big positive after months of fighting the virus.

The first round of vaccinations includes team members with the highest COVID-19 exposure risk. The hospital staff have the option of not taking the vaccine, but most of them have signed up to receive it.

 

 

 

Details Released On Murder In Pisgah

(Pisgah, IA) — More details have been released in the death of a man in Pisgah Thursday. The complaint in the case says 28-year-old Kristofer Erlbacher of Woodbine struck 30-year-old Caleb Solberg of Moorhead multiple times with his pickup in front of “Dave’s Old Home Café” in Pisgah. It says Erlbacher continued to drive by the body of Caleb Solberg hindering anyone from providing aid to the Solberg after he was hit by the truck. The complaint against Erlbacher says the two men were involved in a fight in Moorhead before the action that led to Solberg’s death around 10:00 p-m Thursday in Pisgah. Erlbacher is charged with first-degree murder.

 

 

 

Urbandale Man Escapes Home Fire By Climbing Out Basement Window

(Urbandale, IA) — The Urbandale Fire Department says a man managed to escape a home fire by climbing out of a basement window. The fire broke out Sunday at about 3:00 p-m. The man’s name hasn’t been released. He told authorities he was in his basement when he heard the smoke detector go off. When he went upstairs, it was full of smoke. Investigators with the fire department haven’t speculated on what started the fire – or how extensive the damage to the home will be.

 

 

 

Audit Finds Deceased Employee Charged $28K To Library Credit Card

(Des Moines, IA) — An outside auditing firm has determined a former employee of the Des Moines Library improperly charged more than 28-thousand dollars to a library credit card. Bekki Kirkland died last April. The audit found she made 159 fraudulent transactions over a four-year period. About one-third of the charges involved the purchase of prepaid VISA gift cards. The audit was conducted after library staff members found several suspicious purchases on a credit card Kirkland was authorized to use shortly after she died. Library Director Sue Woody says new procedures have been put in place to make sure this can’t happen in the future.