PROPERTY TAX REFORM
The Iowa House is working toward passage of a property tax reform bill. Iowa District 3 State Representative
Tom Jeneary of Le Mars says they are told that they are close to an agreement on a reform bill.
Rep Jeneary does not know what the final bill will look like.
The bill is being drafted in response to higher home valuations in a time of inflation, to soften the blow of increased property taxes that will be decided next year.
FATAL ACCIDENT
A two-vehicle crash claimed the lives of two people in Plymouth County Thursday. The Sheriffs Office says the accident occurred around 5:41 pm on K18 north of Butcher Road in southwest Plymouth County, about 6 miles southeast of Westfield in Sioux Township. Officers confirmed two people died as the result of the crash. No other details of the crash are being made public. Names of the victims have not been released, pending notification of family members. Akron Fire and Ambulance, Iowa State Patrol, the Plymouth County Medical Examiner, adn Mercy Air responded. The Plymouth County Sheriffs office and the Le Mars Police Department accident team are investigating .
NATIONAL PUBLIC SAFETY TELECOMMUNICATORS WEEK
This is National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week. It recognizes the men and women who staff our 9-1-1 emergency lines.
Kirk Hatting is Communications Supervisor at the Plymouth County Communications Center. He’s seen huge growth in their operation over time.
The operation became more sophisticated as communication devices became more widespread.
The dispatchers responsibilities have multiplied as well
Hatting describes what qualities are necessary to thrive in this job
The right personality is essential for the job, as it quickly swings from highs to lows.
Hatting says comm staff have to act under pressure as they respond to emergency calls. Staff has been stable, but it is the kind of job where burnout can occur.
Hatting and the dispatch staff know that they have to work together.
Dispatchers do much more than answer the phones. They guide callers through steps to ensure they’re safe before help arrives. They provide lifesaving instructions during heart attacks and other critical E-M-S calls.
RURAL HOSPERS FIRE
Four crews responded Thursday afternoon to a hay fire west of Hospers. One injury was reported. Hospers Fire and Ambulance were dispatched to a report of a large number of hay bales on fire at 3956 Kennedy Avenue, four miles west of Hospers, IA; the Sioux County Sheriff’s Office also responded to assist the Hospers Fire Department. Fire departments of Orange City, Alton, Boyden and Granville. Alton Ambulance and Orange City Ambulance also responded. As departments were arriving, a propane tank exploded in the fire. One person, Eduardo Sanchez-Hidalgo, age 35 of Sheldon, IA, suffered minor injury he was taken to Orange City Area Health for treatment. A machine shed containing approximately 80 hay bales were lost due to the fire.In addition, a concrete truck, two flatbed trailers and a mini excavator, all owned by S&S Concrete & Grading, of Sioux Center, IA, were also damaged in the fire. The cause of the fire remains under investigation by the Hospers Fire Chief.
BIRD VISITS LE MARS
Iowa’s Attorney General will be in Le Mars this morning to meet with the public. Brenna Bird will be at Bellissimo Coffeeworks at 11:30 this morning. Bird won election last November, her first term at Attorney General. She defeated the nation’s longest-serving state Attorney General, Tom Miller.
COUNTY RECORDER
The Plymouth County Recorder made a quarterly report to the county Board of Supervisors this week. Jolynn Goodchild reported that her office realized some 187-thousand dollars in fees in the first three months of the year. This includes transfer fees, sales and use taxes, and mortgage fees. The state’s share of fees was 130-thousand dollars, and the county 55-thousand dollars. The county fees are transferred to the general fund.
SPENCER FIRE
A fire Wednesday in Iowa’s Dickinson County consumed 200 acres before it was contained. State and local officials have opened an investigation into a fire between Spencer and Dickens that led to a stretch of Highway 18 being closed for some time Monday. Fire fighters from four northwest Iowa fire departments along with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service fought the fire for about eight hours before it was knocked down. A total of 200 acres were burned, including 14 acres in the Hawk Valley Wildlife Area. The DNR says there was no controlled burn scheduled in the area and anyone with information that could help find the cause of the fire is asked to contact authorities.
CUT OPIOID USE
The Iowa Attorney General’s Office is granting one-point-two million dollars to Goldfinch Health to help cut the distribution of opioids in Iowa hospitals. A program called the Billion Pill Pledge will work with up to 25 medical facilities statewide to reduce the number of opioids prescribed for medical procedures. Iowa is set to receive millions of dollars from drug manufacturers in the coming years. Attorney General Brenna Bird says about half will be given to local governments and half will be placed in a state opioid settlement fund. Bird says a staggering number of Iowans’ first exposure to opioids is after surgery. A state report shows 470 lives were lost to drug overdoses in Iowa in 2022, while among Iowans age 25 and younger, overdose deaths surged 120-percent in recent years.
HOUSE GUN BILL PASSED
A gun related bill that’s been proposed for the past several years has cleared the Iowa House and it would make gun safety courses developed by the National Rifle Association widely available through Iowa schools. The bill would let anyone who may legally carry a weapon leave a gun in a locked vehicle in the parking lot of any public K-through-12 school, community college or state university. The gun would have to be out of sight inside the vehicle. Democrats say it’s wrong to allow more guns to be closer to students and is a reckless step after escalating school shootings. The bill’s Republican floor manager says the bill upholds the Second Amendment rights of Iowans and he doubts parents or staff members who are legal gun owners pose a danger to students. Business groups objected to having the policy apply to the private sector and the bill was changed so it does not apply to businesses.
