City Council Approves Police Department Phase 2 Project
(Le Mars) — During the city council meeting held earlier this week, council members gave approval for the Phase 2 construction project of the Le Mars Police Station. Phase 2 will construct a classroom and fitness training area, and include an area for lockers. The project is estimated to cost $1,216,661. The timetable for the project includes a pre-bid conference scheduled for November 16th with bids due on November 30th and the council to award the winning bids on December 7th. The project will be funded through the Local Options Sales Tax. Construction will occur during the winter months, with completion of the project scheduled for spring of 2022. Councilman Clark Goodchild inquired about the costs of the project and wanted to know if the construction costs are set. Mayor Dick Kirchoff followed up with Goodchild’s inquiry, and wanted to make certain there would not be any surprises with the project.
Floyd Valley Teams Up With Musketeers Hockey With “Hot Shots”
(Le Mars) — Floyd Valley Healthcare will send its first “Hot Shot” of the new ice hockey season to watch the Sioux City Musketeers on Saturday evening. Ann Cole-Nelson, Communications and Marketing Manager with Floyd Valley Healthcare, talks about the “Hot Shots” program and the first pediatric patient for this year’s hockey season.
John Deere Uses Media To Get Public On Their Side During Strike
(Iowa City) — John Deere could be setting the stage for claiming an impasse in negotiations with the United Auto Workers after a company official called the latest tentative agreement Deere’s “best and final offer.” The proposal included an immediate 10-percent raise and kept the pension program available to new workers. It was rejected by union members in Iowa, Illinois and Kansas this week with just 45 percent voting in favor. Paul Iversen, at the University of Iowa Labor Center, says Deere’s statement shows the company shifting toward a more public negotiating strategy.
The rejected agreement would have increased wages by six to nine-dollars per hour over time and offered greater retirement payments. Iversen says it was a stronger deal, but he says workers are pushing for more to restore previous cuts and take advantage of Deere’s record profits.
Iversen says Deere may be pressuring the union to call another vote, which is uncommon. If John Deere claims an impasse in negotiations, he says the company can offer the proposed contract terms to replacement workers. He says the union could dispute that claim with the National Labor Relations Board.
Backup in Supply Chain Logistics May Mean Few Christmas Gifts
(Iowa City) — Some listeners might have thought she was crying wolf, when they heard a logistics and supply chain expert from the University of Iowa say to buy their Christmas gifts back in July. The predictions were correct from Jen Blackhurst, a U-I professor of business analytics, and we’re now seeing products ranging from video games to sirloin steaks have vanished from store shelves.
Many retailers still haven’t recovered from the complications of the pandemic and she says the perfect storm she warned us about four months ago is hitting us now, and hard. Plus, it’s not just products we wanted to put under the tree that are hard to find.
If you ignored the warnings and still haven’t completed — or even started — your Christmas shopping, never fear, there’s still plenty of products out there to buy, however…
She implores shoppers -not- to resort to panic buying, like happened in recent months with essentials from cleaning products to hand sanitizer.
So just when will things be “back to normal” for us? Blackhurst predicts it will be “at least well into 2022” before the supply chain again has its many links aligned.
Man Shooting At Squirrel Linked To Accident
(Iowa City, IA) — An Iowa City man who was trying to shoot a squirrel in his yard with an air rifle and hit a man in a car is now facing charges. Iowa City police found a man involved in a single-car traffic accident on Highway 6 on October 17th had been shot. Sixty-nine-year-old Philip Olson heard about the accident and turned himself in –telling police he was trying to shoot a squirrel from his home along Highway 6 with a .22 caliber air rifle. City code prohibits shooting an air rifle, toy pistol, toy gun, or slingshot within city limits — and Olson faces a code violation. He also is facing D-N-R charges of hunting without a license or habitat fee, unlawful attempt to take a squirrel, and shooting a rifle over a highway. The man who was shot remains in the hospital.
October Rains Push Out Severe Drought
(Johnston, IA) — This week’s drought monitor shows that for the first time since July 7th, no part of Iowa is considered to be in severe drought. State Climatologist Justin Glisan says Iowa has been in a structural drought since May of 2020. Rainfall was 10 inches below normal in some areas of the state until the steady rainfall in October. October ended up three to four-inch above average in some areas.
Hinson Slams Democrat Spending Plan
(Washington) — Iowa Congresswoman Ashley Hinson, a Republican from Marion, is slamming the latest Democrat spending bill. She says it is more than 21-hundred pages, and was delivered late last night.
She says there’s no way to even know what they are voting on as they don’t have the most basic information, and there’s no official cost estimate from the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office. Hinson says the Democrats’ loss in the Virginia governor’s race is a signal that people are tired of this type of action by Democrats.
Man Escapes From Train Crash With Minor Injuries
(Polk County, IA) — The Polk County Sheriff’s office says a man was involved in an accident early Friday morning that left his car on the railroad tracks. The report says a train came through just as a deputy arrived on the scene and struck the car. The man was taken out of the car and to the hospital with minor injuries. No one on the train was hurt. The driver’s name has not been released.
AAA Motor Club Warns That Daylight Savings Can Make Drivers Feel Drowsy During Driving
Burnsville, MN — Americans “falling back” by setting their clocks back an hour this weekend may think they are gaining an extra hour of sleep, but they need to remember to monitor their sleep schedule to prevent drowsiness on the road.
“While initially daylight savings seems like a good thing, you gain an extra hour of sleep, it might have a negative impact on energy levels and driving abilities in the following weeks,” says Meredith Mitts, spokesperson for AAA Minnesota-Iowa. “The sudden time shift can throw off circadian rhythms, making it hard to fall asleep at your normal bed time, and therefore making drivers more drowsy than they were before the time shift.”
According to AAA Foundation research:
- Ninety-five percent of motorists view drowsy driving as very or extremely dangerous, but 17% admitted to driving when they were so tired that they had a hard time keeping their eyes open, at least once in the 30 days before the survey (2020 Traffic Safety Culture Index).
- Drivers who have slept for less than 5 hours have a crash risk comparable to someone driving drunk.
- Drivers who miss one to two hours of sleep can nearly double their risk for a crash.
Common symptoms of drowsy driving:
- Trouble keeping eyes open.
- Trouble keeping your head up.
- Drifting from your lane.
- Can’t recall last few miles driven.
- Feeling restless or irritable.
- Daydreaming or wandering thoughts.
To combat drowsiness on the roadways, AAA recommends that drivers:
- Should not rely on their bodies to provide warning signs for drowsiness and should instead prioritize getting at least seven hours of sleep before hitting the road.
- Travel at times of the day when they are normally awake.
- Avoid heavy foods.
- Avoid medications that cause drowsiness or other impairment.
“While daylight savings might help with getting up for work in the morning, it also brings an earlier sunset, leading to darker commutes home and for evening activities, which could lead to unsafe driving conditions for more roadway users,” Mitts continues.
Dark conditions make it harder to see when driving, and with 50% of crashes occurring at night, drivers should check their headlights for signs of deterioration and invest in new headlights or, at a minimum, a low-cost headlight cleaning and restoration. Since headlights deterioration can show starting at year 3, but most commonly by 5 years after installation, changing them out or cleaning them can greatly boost the safety of driving after dark.
When looking at headlights, AAA suggests drivers check for changes in appearance such as yellowing or clouding. If the bulb is difficult to see, it is time to have the lens replaced or restored as soon as possible.
In the meantime, drivers can compensate for reduced visibility by:
- Decreasing speed and increasing following distance to four or more seconds behind the car in front of them.
- Keeping their eyes moving. Do not focus on the middle of the area illuminated by the headlights. Watch for sudden flashes of light at hilltops, around curves, or at intersections, because these may indicate the presence of oncoming vehicles.
- Look at the sides of objects. In the dim light, it’s imperative to focus on the edges or outlines of objects. Eyes can pick up images more sharply this way than by looking directly at the object.
