Home News Saturday News, March 12th

Saturday News, March 12th

Plymouth County Republicans To Hold County Convention

(Le Mars) — Plymouth County Republicans will gather Saturday for their county convention.  The political party convention will be held at the Le Mars Community High School inside the Little Theater starting at 12:00 noon.  Karl Stodden serves as the chairman of the Plymouth County Republican party.  He says voting delegates will gather and decide who will represent Plymouth County at both the district and the state Republican conventions.

Stodden says more than 50 resolutions have been submitted by the county’s republican base, but many are similar and duplicated.

The Plymouth County Republican party chair talks about the submitted platform planks that his fellow republicans will discuss and ultimately will vote on and forward to the district and state conventions.

Stodden says he anticipates seeing several political candidates may drop by the convention to introduce themselves to the county voting delegates.

Stodden says anybody is welcomed to attend the county political party convention, and he encourages youth to attend the event to better understand the political system.

The Plymouth County Democratic political party convention is scheduled for March 26th.

 

 

 

Jeneary To Hold Final Legislative Town Hall Meetings Today

(Le Mars) — Iowa House Representative Dr. Tom Jeneary of Le Mars will hold his final legislative town hall meetings today.  Jeneary, a Republican, will be at the Hinton Community Center beginning at 10:00 a.m.  Following his Hinton town hall meeting, Jeneary will visit with constituents at the Kissinger Community Hall at Merrill starting at 12:00 noon.  Both town hall meetings are open to the public.  Jeneary says he enjoys visiting with constituents to have a better idea of their position regarding the issues that are discussed at the state capitol building.

 

 

 

Pork Producers To Hold Annual Banquet Saturday Evening

(Le Mars) — Plymouth County Pork Producers will hold their annual banquet Saturday evening at the Willow Creek Golf Club.  President Andy Schroeder tells of the meal that will be served.

Schroeder says the annual banquet will feature the crowning of the “Little Miss Pigtails contest” as well as the selection of the new Plymouth County Pork Queen.  In addition, the newly crowned “Iowa Pork Queen” Kiley Allan of Le Mars, is expected be on hand to make an appearance, and possibly share some comments.

Schroeder says Plymouth County was recognized for many different achievements during the recent Iowa Pork Congress including Kiley Allan being named as the Iowa Pork Queen, but also Matt and Angie Schnepf were honored as Iowa’s “All-American Pork Producer.”

Plymouth County Pork Producers Association was named as one of the top five county pork organizations within the state, and was the recipient of the “County Outreach Award.”  Schroeder says it was Plymouth County Pork Producers’ work with RAGBRAI that led to the state recognition.

The Plymouth County Pork Producers president says the county organization was also selected for the outreach award due to the education program directed at the students that participated in the “Adopt A Pig” program.

Schroeder says following the banquet meal, attendees will be entertained by a comedian and ventriloquist.  Schroeder explains the ticket rates for the pork producers banquet.

Schroeder says he wants to thank all the members and board directors for their hard work during this past year, saying the Plymouth County Pork Producers are an active and busy organization.

 

 

 

Polish native to speak about Ukraine

“Ukraine in Crisis” will be the topic of a program scheduled for the Plymouth County Historical Museum in Le Mars at 2 p.m., Sunday, March 13. Dr. Danuta Zamojska Hutchins, a native of Poland, will speak.

The resident of Storm Lake taught German and Russian at the former Westmar University in Le Mars.

Dr. Hutchins will speak in the Museum’s Music Room about the history of Ukraine and the invasion of the country by Russia. She describes the Ukrainian crisis as “this abominable attack on a free country!” She describes Putin as “like Hitler.”

The Power Point presentation at the Museum will trace early historical events, through the Tsarists’, then the Communist takeover of the Ukraine and its people.

Dr. Danuta’s husband, Jonathan, a retired chemistry professor from Buena Vista University, will add his perspective as a native of England.

Born in Warsaw, Poland, Dr. Hutchins became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 1976. Her father was born in Kiev, Ukraine, but both of his parents were natives of Poland.

She earned her Ph.D. at the University of Minnesota, where she taught Polish Language and Literature as a graduate student. After that, she taught college courses in Slavic Languages, Literatures and Cultures at Buena Vista College, Iowa State University, and was a Visiting Professor at Ohio State University.

 

 

 

Second Bird Flu Outbreak Confirmed

(Taylor County, IA) — The Iowa Department of Agriculture has confirmed a positive case of bird flu in Taylor County in a commercial flock of layer chickens. It is the second commercial flock to be confirmed with an outbreak — the other was in Buena Vista County. Some 50-thousand turkeys were destroyed in Buena Vista County, but the Ag Department did not say how many birds are involved in Taylor County. The governor has issued a disaster proclamation to allow state resources to be used in Taylor County for tracking and monitoring, rapid detection, containment, disposal, and disinfection of the infected site.

 

 

 

Ernst Leads Congressional Effort To Limit National Debt Owed To Foreign Entities

(Washington, DC)  —  U-S Senator Joni Ernst says adversarial ownership of America’s national debt not only hurts the economy – it is also a direct threat to national security.  The Iowa Republican’s office says she is leading a new effort to limit the total amount of U-S national debt owed to foreign governments, entities, and individuals.  Today, China owns more than a trillion dollars in U-S national debt.  Ernst says the Chinese Community Party uses the interest payments to fund forced labor camps, the militarization of the South China Seat, and the Made in China 2025 plan that the C-C-P is using as it tries to surpass this country in key industries.

 

 

 

Man Sentenced To 70 Years In Federal Prison For Exploiting Children

(Des Moines, IA)  —  A federal judge has sentenced a former central Iowa man to 70 years in federal prison for sexually exploiting children.  Thirty-three-year-old Andrew Scanlan pleaded guilty last November to two counts of production of child pornography and one count of committing the offense as a registered sex offender.  Prosecutors accused Scanlan of engaging in sexual activity with a nine-year-old child on multiple occasions between September 2020 and January 2021.  He was also accused of taking photographs of sexual activity involving a four-year-old victim on his cell phone.

 

 

 

Jeneary Journal

Greetings from the Statehouse,

Last week was filled with accomplishments that included the governor signing tax relief for all Iowans, protecting girls’ sports, the House passing child care relief, and the House passing a bill to forbid child care providers from mandating the COVID 19 vaccinations. This week, the House took the first steps in passing the State Budget. Several committees were able to were able to clear the first hurdle in passing their budget: Justice, Transportation, and Agriculture and Natural Resources. We are also continuing our efforts to provide transparency in education that balances the interests of parents and teachers. The Iowa economy remains strong. The Revenue Estimating Committee (REC), a three member panel that meets to estimate state revenue each fiscal year, is optimistic about the latest tax cuts. They believe revenue will increase $182 million dollars in fiscal year 2023. Despite everyone paying less, the state of Iowa will continue to be able to fully fund our government. Overall, our state budget is strong, and the REC believes that the surplus will only continue to increase.   House Republicans are continuing to utilize their conservative budgeting practices to encourage limited government. We are also continuing our commitment to ensure our men and women in law enforcement have the resources they need. The Department of Public Safety will get an additional $3.1 million in fiscal year 2023. The majority of those funds will go to the Iowa State Patrol. This budget proposal will also provide $2.5 million dollars for the Public Safety Equipment Fund. This permits the department to have the most up to date equipment and maintenance. Transparency and accountability to prevent teachers and administrators from indoctrinating your children with their political ideology is our goal. Iowa House Republicans believe that parents matter, and parents deserve to know what their children are being taught. We will continue to move forward with legislation with that vision in mind. We also passed a bill this week that will require radon gas testing in Iowa Schools. This legislation was inspired by Gail Orcutt, a retired Iowa teacher who lost her battle with radon-induced lung cancer. About 400 Iowans die annually due to radon-induced lung cancer. This bill takes a meaningful step to reduce that number. The University of Northern Iowa Student Government was honored this week at the Capitol. Sierra Ameen from Lawton, Iowa, is apart of the Digital Media Leadership team and was here to visit this week. It was a pleasure to see these future leaders and discuss their individual roles. Keep up the great work Sierra!   Townhalls are back this week, and this is your last chance to attend this session. I will be hosting a townhall meeting at the Hinton Community Center located at 205 W Main. I will be there from 10:00-11:00am on Saturday March 12. I will then be headed to Merrill at 12:00pm. That townhall will be located at 608 Main St on Saturday March 12. As always, do not hesitate to reach out to me with any questions or concerns. I can be reached at my email: tom.jeneary@legis.iowa.gov.

Representative Tom Jeneary