Firefighters Called To Vehicle Fire
(Le Mars) — Le Mars Firefighters responded to a vehicle that had caught on fire this morning. The incident happened at about 9:30 a.m. at County Road C-38 and Marble Avenue. Fire officials indicate the vehicle was totally destroyed from the fire. Chief Dave Schipper says the fire was listed as an accidental fire. He blames electrical equipment malfunction in the engine compartment as the cause and where the fire started. Firefighters were on the scene for about 20 minutes.
(photo contributed.)
Wanda Wichers Running As A Candidate For School Board
(Le Mars) — We continue our profiles of candidates seeking positions with the Le Mars Community Board of Education. Wanda Wichers is a candidate seeking the director representing District 4 of the school district. Wichers is an employee at Bellissimo’s Coffee Works, and she and her husband have resided in Le Mars for the past 27 years. Wichers says an issue she wants to address while serving on the local school board is improving the infrastructure of the school, mainly to look at the elementary building.
Wichers says she wants to help out our community and actually thought about running for the school board in the past. She says she is running this time around since she has more time to commit to school-related concerns.
Wichers says as a director on the Board of Education, she wants voters to know she will always listen to the concerns of parents, and other people with an interest in the local school.
The school board candidate says she is proud of the Le Mars Community School District for all of its accomplishments, and strong dedication to education, and she would like to see the track record continue.
Wichers expanded on her interest of improving the elementary schools. She says she would favor the construction of one large elementary school building and would like to see Clark, Franklin, and Kluckholn all join together. Wichers says the new combined elementary school building could be located on ground across the street to the west from the present high school and middle school and ball park facilities. She says the ground is already owned by the school district. Wichers shares her goal in terms of a timetable to have a new elementary school building.
Wichers offers voters some final thoughts as they ponder their decision for elected school board directors.
Iowa National Guard Airmen to Help Afghan Resettlement in US
(Sioux City, IA) — Sixty-five airmen with the Iowa National Guard will be mobilized next month to help Afghan refugees settle in the U-S. Thirty members are from the 185th Air Refueling Wing in Sioux City and 35 are with the 132nd Wing in Des Moines. Captain Kevin Waldron says the airmen will doing a variety of tasks from logistics to medical support and security. They could be deployed anywhere in the country to help Afghans resettle and support people coming back from Afghanistan. The Biden administration proposes bringing 97-thousand Afghans into the U-S.
Iowa Democratic Party Chair Wilburn Gets Threats After Trump Editorial
(Ames, IA) — Police in Ames are investigating threats against Iowa Democratic Party chair Ross Wilburn after he wrote a Des Moines Register editorial criticizing former President Trump. Wilburn told the Register he received two threatening voice mail messages and an email that made a direct statement about lynching. Wilburn, who is black, told the paper the messages were very explicit and every other word was the N-word. Wilburn said he’s concerned by the escalation of violent threats against public officials, including school board members. Wilburn told the Register the threat of lynching a black man is the kind of hate that should be reported to authorities.
Authorities ID 2 Killed in Northeast Iowa Crash on Highway 150
(Hazelton, IA) — Two people are dead following a three-vehicle crash Monday afternoon in northeast Iowa’s Buchanan County. The Iowa State Patrol says 40-year-old Nicolas Johnson of Oelwein and 70-year-old John Friend of Davenport died in the head-on crash on Highway 150 near Hazleton. Troopers say Johnson’s vehicle crossed the centerline and collided with Friend’s vehicle, killing both drivers. A passenger in Friend’s S-U-V was injured and airlifted to University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics. The third vehicle involved was hit by flying debris.
Tama County Sheriff Offering $17K Reward in Fatal Traer Shooting Investigation
(Traer, IA) — Authorities in Tama County are offering a 17-thousand-dollar reward for information that leads to an arrest in an unsolved murder. Forty-two-year-old Ryan Cooper of Traer was fatally shot in his home in June. The Iowa State Medical Examiner’s Office ruled that Cooper’s death was a homicide. Anyone with tips is asked to call the Tama County Sheriff’s Office or Crime Stoppers.
