Le Mars City Council To Begin Budget Meetings Next Week
(Le Mars) — The Le Mars City Council will convene for its first meeting of 2021 today at noon at the city council chambers. The city council only have a few items on their agenda. Under the consent items, the council is expected to approve the liquor license for Blue Tequila restaurant, and the city council will appoint a newspaper to be the official newspaper to post notices.
The Le Mars Daily Sentinel has written a letter to the council members asking to be considered as the official newspaper of the Le Mars City Council. There are just two action items. The council will decide whether to approve yield signs to be posted on 4th Street southeast between Central Avenue and 4th
Avenue Southeast. Both 1st Avenue and 2nd Avenue Southeast are uncontrolled, while 3rd Avenue is a four-way stop sign due to Franklin School. The public safety committee is recommending that yield signs be placed at 1st Avenue Southeast and 2nd Avenue Southeast to control the north-south bound traffic.
The city council will review the proposed fees and licenses changes for 2021.
The city council is scheduled to discuss the budget meetings with each department which will begin on Thursday, January 7th with the Utility Committee. Public Works committee will review the budget on January 8th.
Public Safety Committee will look at the police, ambulance and fire department’s budgets on Monday, January 11th. The Community Service Committee which oversees the municipal golf course, public library, Community Wellness Center and YMCA, Convention and Visitors Bureau, Chamber of Commerce-
Mainstreet and LBIC, and also the Cultural and Arts budgets will begin reviewing the new fiscal year budget on Tuesday, January 12th. Administration Budget meeting is scheduled for Friday, January 15th. Then on the next regularly scheduled city council meeting on Tuesday, January 19th the council will begin to discuss the budget.
Kass And Anderson Elected Again To Lead County Supervisors
(Le Mars) — Plymouth County Board of Supervisors re-elected Don Kass as the chairman of the board, and Craig Anderson was again elected to serve as the vice chairman of the Plymouth County Board of Supervisors.
Plymouth County Sheriff TeBrink Submits Budget Proposal
(Le Mars) — Plymouth County Sheriff Jeff TeBrink presented to the Plymouth County Board of Supervisors with his proposed fiscal year budget during the weekly supervisor meeting held Monday. TeBrink is asking for modest increases
for each division under the sheriff’s jurisdiction. With the Communications Center, TeBrink is proposing a budget of $525,517. The current budget is at $516,517 or an increase of 1.7 percent.
Next up, TeBrink discussed the proposed budget for the jail staff and facilities.
The current budget for the jail services is listed at $1,382,574 and the proposed budget would be listed at $1,435,130. Sheriff TeBrink shared the Sheriff’s Rural budget as a one-point-nine percent increase over last year’s allotment. TeBrink says he placed the salaries of four of his deputies within the Rural Division. Supervisor Craig Anderson says the Sheriff’s Rural
Divison has always encountered problems.
The new sheriff then proceeded to inform the county supervisors about his proposed budget for the Sheriff’s General Basic fund.
The combined total proposed budget for the Sheriff’s Office is listed at $3,683,222 dollars. The current budget is at $3,569,016. The increase represents a 3.19 percent increase.
Bomgaars Store Donates Sales Proceeds To Floyd Valley Healthcare Foundation
(Le Mars) — Back in late October, Bomgaars stores across the Midwest held a “Ladies Night” with proceeds of sales going to local cancer centers and hospitals to raise awareness of women’s health issues and passed along a 20 percent discount for ladies in attendance from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. A donation of the evening’s total sales was pledged back into the community to
help local agencies. The entire total donation from Bomgaars corporate was listed at $65,861.66. The Le Mars Bomgaars store chose Floyd Valley Healthcare Foundation as its recipient with their donation in the amount of $601.57. Le Mars Bomgaars store manager Tom Sauer presented a check to Floyd
Valley Healthcare Foundation Manager Amy Harnack on Monday.
(photo contributed.)
South Dakota Man Arrested On Felony Warrants In Sioux County
(Orange City) — A South Dakota man is behind bars in Orange City after he was arrested on New Year’s Day on eight felony warrants, one of which is from over two years ago. The Sioux County Jail reports that 41-year old Justin Hazen was apprehended in Sioux Falls on the Sioux County warrants. According to the criminal complaints Hazen is accused of taking a gold 2017 Ford Edge from Mouw Motors in Sioux Center on December 4, 2018. The vehicle was found in Sioux Falls. The records say it was valued at over $25,000 and the personal property in the vehicle was valued at $1,300. Hazen was charged with First Degree Theft, a class C felony; as well as a misdemeanor count of driving without owner’s consent. Hazen is also accused of multiple felony counts of fraud in connection with several incidents in early to mid-October of 2020. Criminal complaints accuse him of writing ten checks at Bomgaars, Sunshine Foods, and Casey’s, all in Hawarden. He was not an authorized user on either of the two victim’s accounts. Not all the checks were listed, but the seven checks that were listed were valued at a combined total of over $285 and averaged about $41. Hazen faces seven counts of forgery in connection with that case. All were class D felonies. Hazen faces a preliminary hearing on Tuesday, January 12th. At last report, he remained in the Sioux County Jail in lieu of a $15,500 bond.
(courtesy of KIWA radio.)
Creighton Survey Shows Some Decline In Iowa’s Economy
(Omaha, NE) — The latest Creighton University survey of business leaders shows the economies declining slightly in both Iowa and the nine-state Midwest region. Economist Ernie Goss says the overall number 69 in November to 64-point-one in December — with 50 being growth neutral. Iowa’s the overall
business conditions index took a big tumble during the closing month of the year, falling almost ten full points down to 64-point-seven in December. The index climbed above growth neutral for seven of the past eight months following the drop in April brought on by the pandemic.
Dual Lotto Jackpots Hit Level That Is Rare
(Undated) — Sales of the Powerball and MegaMillions lotto tickets have slowed considerably during the pandemic — but jackpots for both are now above 400 million dollars. Iowa Lottery spokesperson Mary Neubauer says it’s only the third time that’s happened. Neubauer says it is feasible that someone
could win both jackpots — but the odds of that are one in 88 quadrillion. She says the odds are the same for every ticket that is purchased, so you have the same chance if you buy one or ten tickets. The MegaMillons drawing is tonight (Tuesday) and it has an estimated prize of more than 410 million. The Powerball drawing is Wednesday — with an estimated jackpot of more than 432 million dollars.
Iowa Governor Breaks Tradition, Offers Condition Of State Address At Night
(Des Moines, IA) — When Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds offers her Condition of the State address next Tuesday, she will be breaking tradition. Iowa governors have usually delivered the address the Tuesday morning after the Legislature opens its session. The governor’s office says, this time, the
address will begin at 6:00 p-m January 12th in the House chambers. Governors use the annual speech to reveal their philosophical and budgetary vision for the state of Iowa.
Man Arrested After Shooting In Fort Dodge
(Fort Dodge, IA) — A man who was found with a gunshot wound Monday morning at a residence in Fort Dodge was able to identify one of the men involved. A deputy spotted the suspect vehicle and it took off and ended up crashing after a pursuit. Police then took 29-year-old Tyler S. Rosburg into custody. Rosburg is charged with first-degree robbery and firearm possession by a felon. The other two suspects had not been identified. The condition of the man who was shot is not known.
Name Release For Gunshot Victim in Cedar Rapids
(Cedar Rapids, IA) — Cedar Rapids Police have released the name of the man who died at the hospital this weekend after being shot. Police say 21-year-old Jayson Lee Jones was dropped off a the hospital about 2:15 a-m and died a short time later. Police say the shooting happened in a home near the hospital
— and are continuing to try and figure out what happened. The victim of another shooting in Cedar Rapids has also died. Police say 18-year-old Marisa Doolin of Cedar Rapids died Saturday. Doolin had been shot on December 22nd.
No arrests have been made in Doolin’s shooting.
One Dead In Des Moines County Fire
(Mediapolis, IA) — One person was found dead inside a house that burned in southeast Iowa on Sunday. The Des Moines County Sheriff’s Office reports the home in Mediapolis was fully engulfed in flames when deputies arrived shortly after 5 p-m Sunday. The body found in the home has not been identified. An
autopsy has been scheduled. Investigators say the fire does not appear suspicious, but the exact cause has not been determined.
High Levels Of Algae Kept Des Moines Waterworks From Tapping Des Moines River
(Des Moines, IA) — The state’s largest water utility could not use one of its main sources for drinking water for more than three months this past year because of large amount of blue-green algae known as microcistyns. The Des Moines Water Works taps into the Des Moines River to provide drinking water to more than half a million central Iowans. Des Moines Water Works C-E-O Ted Corrigan says the microcistyn concentrations in the Des Moines River were above the E-P-A health advisory level for drinking water for 110 days in a row. The utility had to use water from the Raccoon River to supply its customers.
