City Extends The Hours For The Grass, Twig and Branch Deposit Site
(Le Mars) — City officials have decided to extend the Saturday hours of the city’s grass, twig, and branch deposit site. From now through November, the new hours will be from 9:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m. Previously, the Saturday hours were from 10:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m. The city council approved extending the hours for Saturdays during its last city council meeting. The deposit site is located on the west side of town near the Riverview ball parks.
John Deere Dealerships Prepared For Strike By Building Up Parts Inventory
(Le Mars) — Union employees of Deere and Company, makers of John Deere farm and construction equipment voted to reject the latest contract offer and have decided to go on strike. With the workers now on strike, what will be the impact of local John Deere dealerships, and farmers needing parts? Curt Christoffel is the store manager for the Le Mars Agri-Vision farm equipment dealership. Christoffel says John Deere officials had an idea a worker’s strike may occur, and they got prepared by manufacturing additional parts, and dealers have stocked up on their inventory of parts.
Christoffel says because of COVID-19 virus, there have been previous challenges with suppliers getting the needed equipment.
The John Deere dealer says farmers should not encounter any problems with harvest equipment as most of those pieces are already at the various dealerships. He doesn’t anticipate this strike to last as long as the previous strike.
Christoffel says if they need to obtain a specific part, it may be the dealership will remove that part from a machine that is already sitting in an inventory lot. In terms of new equipment orders, Christoffel says John Deere will manufacture the sold equipment first, and produce stock equipment second.
The AgriVision official doesn’t see costs will increase much due to the strike. AgriVision has 16 locations throughout southern and western Iowa with northwestern Iowa locations at Onawa, Lawton, Sioux Center, Paullina, and Le Mars.
Iowa Latino Hall Of Fame Induction Ceremony Goes Virtual For First Time
(Des Moines, IA) — Concerns about COVID-19 have resulted in this weekend’s Iowa Latino Hall of Fame induction ceremony moving online for the first time. There are benefits of making the change. Office of Latino Affairs executive officer Sonia (SOHN-yuh) Reyes says she hopes easy access to the event will mean more viewers – so they can see how Latinos are making a positive impact in Iowa communities. The ceremony is scheduled for 6:00 p-m Saturday on the Iowa Department of Human Rights’ Facebook page. The three inductees and three award winners will be invited back to next year’s ceremony, which is expected to be in-person.
Democrat Makes Second Run For Party’s Nomination To US Senate
(Des Moines, IA) — Retired three-star Admiral Michael Franken says his career in the military and public service gives him an advantage over the five other Democrats running for U-S Senate. Franken says the country “is in a rather troubled state.” He points to the lack of leadership in our elected leaders suggesting “an individual of accomplishment can do some good.” Franken is a Sioux County native who lives in Woodbury County. He finished second to Theresa Greenfield in 2020 in a bid to challenge Republican U-S Senator Joni Ernst. He wants to unseat Republican Chuck Grassley this time.
Escapee From Federal Prison Facility In Cedar Rapids Costs Inmate Another 11 Months
(Cedar Rapids, IA) — A Cedar Rapids man who escaped from the Gerald R. Hinzman Residential Center last year is going to spend another 11 months behind bars. Twenty-eight-year-old Dante Glinn signed out of the facility to go to work September 30th, 2020, and didn’t return that evening. The U-S Marshals Service arrested him eight months later. Glinn was just about to wrap up a sentence for stealing a gun when he failed to return on time. He was sentenced Thursday after pleading guilty to one count of escape from federal custody in June.
Cedar Rapids Teen Arrested For Killing His Parents
(Cedar Rapids, IA) — A Cedar Rapids teen is accused of killing of his mother and father early this (Thursday) morning. Officers discovered the 17-year-old boy sitting outside the home covered in blood and he told police that he had killed his parents. Investigators say Ethan Orton used a knife and ax to kill 42-year-old Casey Orton and 41-eyar-old Misty Slade. He’s facing two counts of first-degree murder. The criminal complaint says Ethan told officers he killed his parents to “take charge of his life”.
Two Charged in Toddler’s Death in Ames
(Ames, IA) — Prosecutors in Ames are charging two people with the April death of a toddler. Police and paramedics found the injured child April 24th and the toddler was airlifted to a Des Moines where it died the next day. Ames Police say the results of an autopsy and their investigation led to the arrest of 26-year-old Danielle Olbrecht of Ames for child endangerment causing death. Twenty-five-year-old Trevin Nicholson was arrested in Centennial, Colorado on charges of first-degree murder and child endangerment causing death. Nicholson is awaiting extradition back to Iowa. Olbrecht is believed to be the child’s mother and Nicholson was the caregiver at the time of the incident.
‘Welcome Iowa’ Event in West Des Moines For Afghan Refugees
(West Des Moines, IA) — Iowa’s largest refugee resettlement agency is hosting a benefit today (Thursday 5 p-m) to raise funds for an expected 125 Afghan refugees coming to the state, along with more than 300 refugees from other countries. The Des Moines field office for the U-S Committee for Refugees and Immigrants has raised more than 43-thousand dollars of a 50-thousand-dollar goal. Office director Kerri True-Funk says she’s happy Iowa is upholding its history in welcoming refugees. She says the event is called “Welcoming Iowa” because we are really interested in making our newest Island neighbors feel welcome, feel part of the community. The funds will go toward legal services, health care, education and other living expenses.
Elk Sightings Reported in Northern Iowa’s Kossuth County
(Lu Verne, IA) — Conservation officials in Kossuth County are getting reports of a large elk being spotted in the area. The elk was caught on video last week near Lu Verne. Kossuth County Naturalist Billie Willie says the elk was first seen several months ago by many people. She says they are found northern Minnesota and Wisconsin, but these sightings of a wild elk don’t happen very often. Willie says the best thing to do if you spot the elk is to leave it alone. It is illegal to hunt the animal in the state of Iowa.
