Plymouth County Authorities Investigate Early Morning Highway 75 Traffic Accident
(Le Mars) — Early this (Monday) morning at about 3:00 a.m. Plymouth County Communications Center was notified of debris in the roadway of Highway 75 close to mile marker 120. A Plymouth County sheriff’s deputy while enroute to this call came upon a single vehicle accident. The accident occurred on Highway 75 near the same area. A single occupant of the vehicle was
seriously injured and was airlifted to Mercy One medical center in Sioux City. The accident is still under investigation. The Plymouth County Sheriff’s Office was assisted by Le Mars Police Department, Le Mars Fire and Rescue, W.I.N.G.S. (the medical helicopter service) and the Iowa Department of Transportation.
Le Mars RAGBRAI Committee Presents Checks To Local Schools and Organizations
(Le Mars) — Officials with the Le Mars RAGBRAI committee are calling the event a success. Thousands of bicycle riders participating on the annual cross-state bike ride started their journey from the “Ice Cream Capital of the World” by staying overnight on Saturday and leaving for Sac City on Sunday. On Saturday evening, prior to the headliner band “Flashback Heart
Attack” the executive members of the Le Mars RAGBRAI committee presented three different checks. The first check in the amount of $3,000 was given to the Plymouth County Cyclists organization.
The next two checks were in the amount of $6,000 each, and were presented to Le Mars Community School
District, and to the Gehlen Catholic school district.
Local law enforcement officials report very few problems during the time of RAGBRAI’s visit, and the issues that were reported involved local residents. The community’s Emergency Medical Services were quite busy between 9:00 a.m. Saturday morning
and 12:00 noon Sunday, answering at least 20 different calls. Many of the calls were people suffering from heat exhaustion. There were a couple of calls involving serious injuries from falls.
RAGBRAI Participants Have High Praise And Compliments For Le Mars
(Le Mars) — Many visitors to Le Mars for the start of RAGBRAI shared high praise and had several compliments for the hospitality exhibited by the residents. Thousands of RAGBRAI participants stood in line, for at times as long as an hour, to enjoy the sweet treat of ice cream at the Wells Visitor’s
Center and Ice Cream Parlor. At the start of the weekend, Shannon Rodenburg, the manager of the ice cream parlor projected the ice cream parlor would set a new record for the amount of ice cream served. KLEM news talked with Randy
Murphy of Kentucky outside the Wells Enterprises Visitors Center and Ice Cream Parlor to ask about his experience with RAGBRAI.
KLEM news also visited with riders from Delaware during a Remsen stop.
RAGBRAI Riders Endure Hot Temperatures During Their Ride
(Undated) — Today is day two for the RAGBRAI bicycle riders as they will depart Sac City and head to Fort Dodge. Thousands of bike riders headed out from Le Mars in extreme heat on the first day of RAGBRAI. They ended the first day of the trek across the state Sunday in Sac City. Riders will ride to Fort Doge today (Monday) on the second day of the ride — and temperatures are not expected to be any cooler.
New Union Leader For State Employees Selected
(Des Moines, IA) — A Newton native will take over the top job for the union that represents a majority of state employees. Rick Eilandar was elected as the next president of AFSCME (Affs-me) Council 61 at their weekend convention. Eilandar has been a union representative with the council since 2006, and most recently was an organizer working with locals and bargaining
units to expand the reach of the union in their workplaces. He replaces Danny Homan who had been president of the union for the past 16 years. Eilandar joined the union in 1994 as a jailer and then chief jailer with the Jasper County Sheriff’s Office before joining the Department of Corrections in 1996 at the Newton Correctional Facility.
Second Former Marshalltown Teacher Apparently Takes Own Life
(Ames, IA) –– A second former Marshalltown school teacher who was accused of sexual exploitation has apparently taken his own life. Marshalltown police say they were serving a search warrant in connection to their investigation at a home in Ames when officers heard a gunshot come from inside the home and
found a man in the basement dead from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound. Twenty-six-year-old Mark Esquivel was charged with sexual exploitation by a school employee and resigned. Police have not identified Esquivel as the victim of the Ames shooting — but the school district did release a statement on the former staff member’s death. Former teacher Adam
Edgington of Nevada was found dead in his car on July 8th after also being charged with having inappropriate contact with a 13-year-old student.
Windsor Heights Man Charged After Shooting
(Windsor Heights, IA) — A Windsor Heights man is facing numerous charges — including three counts of attempted murder of a police officer — after a domestic incident this weekend. Police say 37-year-old Brandon Davis fired shots into surrounding houses in the Des Moines suburb and two police
vehicles were also hit Saturday evening. Davis was arrested and is being held in the Polk County Jail.
