Le Mars Police Department To Offer Youth Citizens Academy
(Le Mars) — Le Mars Police Department will again be hosting the Youth Citizens Academy in which high school students spend a day at the local police station and learn more about the duties of the police department. Assistant Police Chief Justin Daale says there are still some openings for the all day program scheduled for Saturday, March 19th. Daale explains processing of a crime scene will be the focus of the Youth Academy program.
Daale says there is a great deal of cooperation between the Le Mars Police Department and the Plymouth County Sheriff’s Office, and a couple of deputies will be on hand assisting with the Youth Academy.
The Assistant Police Chief says he is extending the deadline for high school students to enroll in the one-day seminar.
Applications for the Police Youth Citizens Academy can be picked up at the police station, or the at the principal’s office at either Le Mars Community or at Gehlen Catholic. Daale says the seminar will involve a lot of “hands on” work for those students interested in participating in the program.
Daale says the Le Mars Police Department along with the Le Mars Community High School will team up next school year and offer a course on criminal justice. Daale says already, many students are showing interest in the new classroom course.
According to school officials, more than 30 students have shown interest in participating in the new course. The Youth Academy is free to join. Interested students need to register and have their parent’s permission.
(photos from 2021 event.)
Six Charged In Des Moines East High School Shooting
(Des Moines, IA) — Six teenagers are now charged in Monday’s shootings outside Des Moines East High School that left one boy dead and two young women hurt. Investigators say shots were fired by multiple shooters from multiple vehicles. Officers searched five homes and six vehicles, recovering six guns. The six suspects range in age from 14 to 17 and all six are charged with one count of first-degree murder and two counts of attempted murder. Police say all six are from Des Moines but it’s unclear if they attended East High. The name of the 15-year-old boy who was killed has not been released, A 16-year-old girl is hospitalized in serious condition, and the 18-year-old woman is in critical condition.
Missing Mason City Man Found Dead
(Mason City, IA) — A Mason City man who was reported missing late last month has been found dead. Police were looking for 38-year-old Travis Kummer after family members reported that he had last been seen in Mason City on February 11th. Police say that officers were called to a wooded area near in the southeastern part of town on Sunday after a citizen reported finding a body. Officers believed that the body is Kummer and the body has been sent to the State Medical Examiner’s Office for confirmation.
Delay Granted for New Rule Regarding Vaccines for Livestock
(Des Moines, IA) — A legislative committee has voted to temporarily delay implementing a new state rule governing the care of livestock after major Iowa farm groups objected. The rule was originally scheduled to go into effect April 1st and would have forced veterinarians to examine animals they’re prescribing drugs for or visit the site where the animals are being raised at least once in the past year. Eldon McAfee (MACK-uh-fee) is an attorney for the Iowa Pork Producers Association. He says a hard and fast deadline affects facilities quite a bit and believes “the best professional judgment should be respected on behalf of the veterinarians.” But Doctor Duane Ray, chairman of the Iowa Veterinary Medicine Board, disagrees, saying hog producers are “managing veterinarians — and it has to stop.” Ray also says the timing is critical with African Swine Fever detected in the Dominican Republican and Haiti.
Wages Recovered from Sioux City Plant
(Sioux City, IA) — The U-S Department of Labor says it has recovered unpaid wages for workers at a Sioux City meat processing plant. The Labor Department says their investigation found that Seaboard Triumph Foods pork processing failed to pay 413 employees for work completed before and after their shifts, such as set up, clean up, and knife sharpening. The Department says this violated the Fair Labor Standards Act by not paying the employees for all hours worked — and not paying overtime at time-and-a-half when workers exceeded 40 hours in a workweek. It says nearly 332-thousand dollars ($331,807) in back wages were recovered for the workers.
Kemp’s Dairy Donates Milk Product To Siouxland Food Bank
(Sioux City) — Kemp’s Dairy has donated a truckload of milk to the Food Bank of Siouxland. Kemp’s spokesperson, Matthew Rohrich says his company has partnered with Fareway Food Stores to donate 35,900 containers of shelf stable “Giving Cow” chocolate milk to the food bank.
Jacob Wanerscheid, the director of the Food Bank of Siouxland, says the 12-month shelf life of the single serve 8-ounce packs of ultra-high temperature pasteurized milk solves major storage issues with dairy products.
The food bank will distribute the milk across 11 counties in northwest Iowa and eastern Nebraska. It’s part of 800,000 “Giving Cow” milks to be distributed to food banks across Iowa, as well as Illinois, Minnesota, Nebraska, and Wisconsin. The “Giving Cow” milks are specifically designed for food shelves and kids backpack programs to fight hunger, and will not be sold in stores.
