Semi Truck And Trailer Responsible For Power Outage On West Side Of Town
(Le Mars) — A semi-truck and trailer cut a corner too short and as a result caught a utility pole which snapped off causing the All Saints Parish – St. James Catholic Church and the immediate neighborhood to lose power for a while Tuesday afternoon. The accident occurred on the 10 block of 6th Avenue Southwest at approximately 12:30 p.m. The semi truck was a food distribution truck that was heading south on 6th Avenue southwest, then made a right-hand turn heading west from traveling through the church’s parking lot. Le Mars Fire and Rescue was summoned to the scene, as was MidAmerican Energy Company. The charged, but detached, power lines were wrapped underneath the truck and trailer. When emergency rescue had arrived at the scene, the truck driver needed to jump from his truck’s cab so to not come into contact with the active power lines. The driver did not sustain any injuries. Le Mars Police also responded to the scene, and are conducting an accident investigation. MidAmerican had to replace the broken utility pole and security lamp, and reconnect the downed wires. Power was restored to the area within a couple of hours.
Road Repairs Scheduled For Business Highway 75 – Hawkeye Avenue To Begin On Wednesday
(Le Mars) — The Le Mars Street Dept. has a contractor hired to patch some bad joints on Bus 75 from 18th St. S.W. going south to the Floyd bridge starting Wednesday, Nov. 24th 2021. We have Dakota Traffic setting up barricades Wednesday morning and they will divert traffic going north and south out to the outside lanes so the contractor can start on the two inside lanes . They will cut out the bad spots , pin it, and then use an M4 mix which cures in 24 hours . Once they have the inside lanes done Dakota Traffic will then divert the traffic into those two lanes and the contractor will work on the two outside lanes. We will also close 24th St. S.W. between Lincoln Ave. S.W. and Bus 75 to all traffic during this construction.
Law Enforcement Officials Want Motorists To Remember Their “ABC’s” During The Thanksgiving Weekend
(Le Mars) — Law enforcement officials want motorists to remember their ABC’s while driving during the upcoming long Thanksgiving weekend. Trooper Karie Yaneff with the Iowa State Patrol says there will be an increase of patrol units watching the holiday traffic. Yaneff says the Governor’s Traffic Safety Bureau, along with the Iowa Department of Public Safety have initiated the slogan, “Safe Driving is as simple as ABC” with ABC meaning “Always Be Careful.”
Yaneff says the four-day Thanksgiving weekend has traditionally been a deadly holiday on Iowa’s highways and roadways.
The Governor’s Traffic Safety Bureau reports in Iowa last year, between November 15th and November 28th, 13 people lost their lives on Iowa’s roadways. Yaneff says there will be an increase of vehicles on the highways, because of the holiday, and she suggests people to have a designated driver if consumption of alcohol is likely during the holidays. She says people need to buckle up, not have any distractions when driving, and watch their speed, and be patient.
Excessive speeding by motorists has been a concern for law enforcement officials. Brett Tjepkes (jep-KEES), chief of the Governor’s Traffic Safety Bureau, says too many motorists are giving in to the temptation to speed, and some are risking their own lives and those of everyone around them by doubling the speed limit, and worse. Tjepkes (jep-Kees) says it is becoming all too common to see motorists drive “One-hundred-ten, 120, even speeds in the 130s and 140s miles per hour. In 2020 in Iowa so far, there have been 669 reported crashes and 30 deaths in which exceeding the speed limit was the cause. Officials say speed is something we can all control.
Rejoice Community Church To Again Offer Community Thanksgiving Banquet
(Le Mars) — For the past 16 years, the Rejoice Community Church of Le Mars has prepared a traditional Thanksgiving meal to be served to the general community, and this year is no different. Mike Metten serves as the pastor of the Rejoice Community Church, and says as many as 70 different volunteers help with the large feast. Pastor Metten says the Community Thanksgiving meal was for many years organized by Gene and Adri Riesch.
Metten says for this year’s Thanksgiving banquet meal, other volunteers have stepped forward to assume the duties of organizing the event.
Metten says the Thanksgiving banquet meal is open to anyone, but it was originally intended for those people who were too far away from their families, or have no family members to share a Thanksgiving meal.
The Rejoice Community Church pastor recites the statistics when preparing a Thanksgiving meal for the general community.
Metten says the Community Thanksgiving meal will consist of many of the traditional foods associated with Thanksgiving.
Metten says each year approximately 600 people are fed the traditional meal. Nearly half the number either have the delivery option, or carry-out. He says the community Thanksgiving meal wouldn’t be possible if not for the volunteers and businesses that donate their time, money, and products.
Delivery of meals will begin at about 10:30 a.m. Thursday morning, and the doors at the Rejoice Community Church will open at 11:00 a.m. for those wanting to sit down to enjoy their meal. The Thanksgiving banquet will be served until 1:00 p.m. For additional information, you can contact the Rejoice Community Church at (712) 548-4430.
Iowa Crop Progress and Condition Report
DES MOINES, Iowa (Nov. 22, 2021) – Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig commented today on the Iowa Crop Progress and Condition report released by the USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service. The report is released weekly from April through November.“A dry weather pattern and seasonal temperatures allowed farmers to wrap up nearly all of soybean harvest last week,” said Secretary Naig. “With a lack of rainfall in the forecast, farmers should make good progress on finishing corn as we head into Thanksgiving.”The weekly report is also available on the USDA’s website at nass.usda.gov.Crop ReportDry weather with only spotty light showers allowed Iowa’s farmers 6.1 days suitable for fieldwork during the week ending November 21, 2021, according to the USDA, National Agricultural Statistics Service. Field activities included harvesting, baling corn stalks, applying fertilizer and anhydrous, and fall tillage. Cover crops are up and green in many areas.Topsoil moisture levels rated 2 percent very short, 14 percent short, 79 percent adequate and 5 percent surplus. Subsoil moisture levels rated 6 percent very short, 27 percent short, 65 percent adequate and 2 percent surplus.
Ninety-five percent of Iowa’s corn for grain has been harvested, 3 days ahead of the five-year average. Moisture content of field corn being harvested for grain was 16 percent. Harvest progress for farmers in south central Iowa continues to lag behind the rest of the State as over 10 percent of their corn for grain remains to be harvested.
Authorities ID Suspect Fatally Shot by Police in Centerville
(Centerville, IA) — Authorities are identifying the man fatally shot by police officers Sunday near Centerville. The Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation says two Centerville officers and an Appanoose County deputy responded to a domestic assault and became engaged in a shootout. The D-C-I says 45-year-old Kevin Arbogast of Centerville was killed in the shooting. No officers were hurt. No other information has been released by investigators.
Bond Hearing For Students Charged in Killing of Fairfield Teacher
(Fairfield, IA) — The two students accused of killing a Fairfield Spanish teacher have bond hearings today (Tuesday) in Jefferson County. Sixteen-year-olds Jeremy Goodale and Willard Miller are charged with the first-degree murder of 66-year-old Nohema Graber. Her remains were found in Chautauqua Park November 3rd. Court documents indicated Graber suffered inflicted trauma to the head. Both suspects have asked the judge to reduce their one-million-dollar bonds. A GoFundMe campaign has raised more than 45-thousand dollars for Graber’s family.
Deadline Looms For Cattle Price Legislation in Congress
(Washington, DC) — All six members of Iowa’s congressional delegation are sponsoring legislation to give independent cattle producers more information about cattle prices, but they have just ten days to convince colleagues it should be included in a must-do bill. The Livestock Mandatory Reporting Act must be reauthorized by December 3rd and Senator Chuck Grassley is lead sponsor of a plan to also force disclosure of the prices paid in private sales of cattle being raised and sold under contracts with a meatpacker. On Monday, Grassley said, “So when a person gets on the phone or the Internet to negotiate a price with a packer, they’ve got some database, knowing that today, I ought to be able to get within this range of price for my cattle.” The plan Senators Grassley and Joni Ernst along with Representatives Cindy Axne, Randy Feenstra, Ashley Hinson and Mariannette Miller-Meeks are co-sponsoring in the U-S House would force meatpackers to disclose how many cattle they plan to slaughter each day for at least the next two weeks.
Former Gowrie Teacher Accused of Sexual Exploitation By School Employee
(Fort Dodge, IA) — A former teacher from Webster County is jailed on a charge of sexual exploitation by a school employee. Twenty-nine-year-old Brandon Louis was the former choir director at Southeast Valley High School in Gowrie. The arrest of Louis comes after a yearlong investigation involving search warrants and the interviews of current and former students. Louis resigned in October of last year after allegations of sending inappropriate messages to students. A conviction for sexual exploitation by a school employee carries a five-year prison sentence.
