HEARING ON PROPERTY SALE
The Le Mars city council has set a public hearing for the sale of city property.
Monday, the Floyd Valley Healthcare Board of Trustees held a Special Meeting to request the city offer for sale Park Place Estates, an assisted living facility they’ve operated since 1997.
CEO Dustin Wright was asked how the facility fits in with the continuum of care in Le Mars.
The Board of Trustees received a purchase offer form Accura Healthcare. The city council Tuesday set a public hearing for April 16, at which time the city council will take comment on the recommendation to sell the property. The goal is for the closing to be concluded and the new owner in place by June 1, 2024.
COMMUNITY CHAMPIONS CHOSEN FOR 2024
The 2024 KLEM-land Community Champion recipients have been announced. Five individuals have been selected from nominations received at KLEM Radio.
The Community Champions program is an effort to recognize young adults who are making a difference where we live! A vibrant part of that mix is the talented class of young professionals.
This year’s recipients include the following six champions:
Justin Freking- Perspective Insurance
Amy Jungers- Development Director, Gehlen Catholic School
Dustin Wright- CEO Floyd Valley Healthcare
TJ Britton- Scooters Natural Meats & Coach at Gehlen Catholic
Michaela Brown- Singer, Cookbook Author, Browns Century Theatre
Nominees were judged in categories including career or education success, mentorship/leadership, and civic/philanthropic activities. Over the next several weeks KLEM will highlight each recipient and the many contributions they have made to the community.
The winners will each receive a commemorative trophy from Plymouth Awards and Engraving. The Community Champions will each be showcased with an interview on KLEM Radio, along with a feature on the KLEM website and Facebook page.
Sponsors of the second annual Community Champions program include: Wells Enterprises, Hy-Vee, Floyd Valley Healthcare, Envision Floorings, Total Motors, and Primebank.
PLYMOUTH COUNTY AUTHORITIES MAKE ARREST IN SIOUX CITY
A Rock Valley man was arrested Saturday by Plymouth County authorities in Sioux City. The Sheriff’s Office conducted a traffic stop on a motor vehicle on Hamilton Boulevard in Sioux City, Iowa due to traffic violations. The driver of the vehicle was identified as Rusty Jay Klein, age 42 of Rock Valley, Iowa. Prior to the traffic stop, Klein had thrown illegal narcotics out of the driver’s side window. Klein also had a suspended driver’s license and an expired registration. A search of Klein’s person and vehicle yielded evidence of alcohol, marijuana and meth consumption. Klein was arrested, and charged with two counts of felony drug possession, possession of drug paraphernalia, motor vehicle violations, littering, and three counts of interfering with officers. Klein is currently held at the Plymouth County Jail on a $7,500 bond. The Plymouth County Sheriff’s Office was assisted by the Sioux City Police Department.
GOVERNOR SIGNS GENDER BALANCE REPEAL
Governor Kim Reynolds has signed a bill into law that repeals the gender balance requirement for government boards and commissions in Iowa. Reynolds says it lets anyone with a passion for service fill slots on boards and commissions at the state and local level.
A state law passed in 1987 had required all boards and commissions in state government to have an equal number of men and women. In 2009, Reynolds was a state senator who opposed the now-repealed law that extended the gender balance requirement to local government boards.
Reyonlds held a bill signing ceremony in her statehouse office. Guests included lawyers and a plaintiff who won a federal lawsuit over the gender balance requirement for a state commission that nominates judges.
Senator Chris Cournoyer, a Republican from LeClaire, says women don’t need an insulting system that uses gender quotas to fill board seats.
Democrats in the legislature who opposed the bill say having an equal number of men and women on a board improves discussions and decisions — and that local involvement is often a springboard to running for public office. According to the Center for Women and Politics at Iowa State University, women occupy about a third of the seats on local boards and commissions. The center’s director says the gender balance requirement also led to men being more involved in local cultural commissions, like library boards which had typically been filled with women.
HOUSE PASSES MENTAL HEALTH AND SUBSTANCE ABUSE TREATMENT REDESIGN
The governor’s plan to merge the 13 regional systems for mental health services and 19 substance use treatment regions has won bipartisan support in the Iowa House. The bill would establish seven behavioral health districts in Iowa. Iowa Department of Health and Human Services director Kelly Garcia says the plan does not call for additional state spending, but will free up 23 million dollars in state funds for mental health services that haven’t been spent. Supporters of the merged system say it will ensure Iowans have access to similar substance abuse and mental health services no matter where they live.
SCAMS INCREASE AS FEDERAL TAX DEADLINE APPROACHES
Federal tax returns are due in less than two weeks and Iowans are being warned that scammers are stepping up their attempts to trick us. I-R-S spokesman Christopher Miller says criminals will be trying to send you convincing-looking tax-related messages. Miller says their goal is trying to get you to click on a link or an attachment so they can steal your personal information or download malware to steal your passwords, which can lead to identity theft. With April 15th looming, Miller says people are anxious about their taxes — or their refunds — and crooks try to capitalize on that anxiety.
STREET CLOSING THURSDAY
Well’s North Ice Cream plant will be closing 2nd St. S.E. between 1st Ave. S.E. and 2nd Ave. S.E. starting this morning and will be reopened by 6 p.m. that day. They will have 1st St. S.E. on the north side of the plant reopened to traffic before they close the south side.
RAIL CROSSING REPAIRS
The Plymouth County Road Department has given notice that it will close a rail crossing at Hinton beginning Monday. The repairs to the crossing east of US 75 along C60 will require closing the crossing to vehicle traffic for two weeks. Traffic will be detoured along 75 south to C70, east to K42, and north to C60. The project will be completed by Monday, April 22.
SIOUX CITY POLICE SEEK DRIVER IN FATAL CRASH
Police are asking for the public’s assistance in locating a Sioux City man who is wanted on two counts of vehicular homicide.
30-year-old Wesley Louis Staten is wanted on charges stemming from a two vehicle crash last October that claimed the lives of two people at 6th and Wesley Parkway.
Authorities say Staten allegedly was driving a Ford Expedition westbound on 6th Street at a high rate of speed and ran a red light, striking a northbound Ford Fusion in the intersection of 6th and Wesley Parkway.
The occupants of the fusion, 51-year-old Terry Alan Frisbie of Sioux City and 50-year-old Judith Lee Jordan of Le Mars died from injuries suffered in the crash.
If anyone knows the whereabouts of Wesley Louis Staten they are asked to contact the Sioux City Police Department at 712-279-6960 or Crime Stoppers at 712-258-8477.
