MEMORIAL DAY CEREMONIES
There are Memorial Day observances throughout Plymouth County this morning. Ceremonies at the county courthouse in LE Mars include over 1450 flags on display. The names of the servicemen represented by each flag are read as part of the observance. Similar ceremonies are being held at cemeteries and community centers in Akron, Remsen, Oyens, Hinton, Kingsley, Brunsville, Craig, and Merrill.
PLYMOUTH COUNTY HISTORICAL MUSEUM
The Plymouth County Historical Museum is open this holiday weekend. They have expanded their military exhibits to a few more places in the Museum in honor of Memorial Day.
They also have a new exhibit called Note Makers and Note Takers This can be found on the 4th floor and is a portion of the collection of autographed photos they have.
BATTLE CREEK SHOOTING
The Ida County Sheriffs Office is investigating a shooting that occurred in Battle Creek, Iowa, Friday morning. At 11:14 a.m., the Ida County Communications Center received a 911 call of a shots fired incident in the 300 block of 5th Street in Battle Creek, Iowa.
The Sheriff’s Office responded to the scene. 53 year old Kevin Lee Blume, of Battle Creek, had suffered a single gunshot wound. He was flown to Mercy Medical Center in Sioux City, Iowa.
At this time, the investigation is ongoing and there is no danger to the public.
The Sheriff’s Office was assisted at the scene by the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation; the Iowa State Patrol; the Woodbury County Sheriff’s Office; the Monona County Sheriff’s Office; the Battle Creek Ambulance; Ida Grove ambulance and Ida County EMS.
IOWA LAW OFFICERS ARE ON THE ROADS IN FORCE FOR THE HOLIDAY
Memorial Day weekend is predicted to be one of the busiest travel holidays in many years, and law enforcement is already putting a stronger presence on Iowa’s roads. State trooper Paul Gardner, who’s based in Fort Dodge, says drivers need to keep their cool and use their heads.
The summer driving season is looming which means more traffic and the potential for more roadway deaths.
With kids out of school, those of driving age will be getting behind the wheel in greater numbers, which Gardner says can be a problem, since many aren’t very experienced drivers yet.
A report from the Governor’s Traffic Safety Bureau says 45% of traffic fatalities in Iowa last year were people who were unbuckled. That translates to 123 lives lost. A bureau survey of Iowans found 88% reported always buckling up in the front seat, while only 67% always buckle up in the back seat.
FEMA OPENS FOURTH OFFICE
The Federal Emergency Management Agency has opened a Disaster Recovery Center in Greenfield, where at least 150 homes were heavily damaged or destroyed in last week’s tornado. FEMA spokesman John Mills spoke with Radio Iowa from the center, which is located in Greenfield’s City Hall.
Mills visited with some of the people who were at the site Sunday.
Tuesday’s tornado cut a mile long path through Greenfield, plus a spin-off tornado struck other areas of Adair County. Mills says 14 FEMA staffers are going door to door, canvasing neighborhoods in Greenfield and going to other locations where storm victims are getting help.
Mills says FEMA is part of a large team of organizations working to provide help to Greenfield residents who need it. FEMA’s Disaster Recovery Center in Greenfield will be open every day of the week, from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. until further notice. That includes today — Memorial Day. FEMA opened two Disaster Recovery Centers in Minden and Harlan LAST week to help residents affected by the severe weather that struck April 26th. Those FEMA sites in Pottawattamie and Shelby Counties will be closed today (Monday) but will reopen tomorrow (Tuesday) morning.
IOWA VET ENCOURAGES THOSE STRUGGLING TO SEEK HELP
A decorated Vietnam Veteran from a small town in Iowa wrote a book about his experiences there and urges veterans to seek help in dealing with their issues. Keith Luchtel says one of the worst experiences was a bombing mission he opted out of so he could get married and nine of his friends were killed. Luchtel recently spoke at the 40th anniversary ceremony for the Iowa Vietnam Memorial Wall. He wrote the book “The Milford Male.” and started suffering from P-T-S-D. Luchtel says he was eventually talked into seeking help at the V-A Hospital after fighting it for a long time . Lucthel says there are good services available through the V-A and he encourages veterans to seek help.
