HARMS TRIAL
Reese Harms of Le Mars will face a jury trial in September. Harms was originally charged with attempted murder and wilfull injury causing bodily injury, both class B felonies. Harms was arrested in march on the charges after his arrest for allegedly assaulting 44 year old Michael Gomez on January 19th at a Le Mars apartment. Gomez later died, and the wilful injury charge was upgraded to second degree murder. Harms has pled not guilty to the charges. Trial was scheduled to begin this week, but a continuance has been granted, pushing the trail back to September 17 in Plymouth County District Court.
NAIG SAYS USDA RESEARCH ON IOWA FARMS MAY YIELD BIRD FLU CLUES
Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig says U-S-D-A scientists have collected data from Iowa and are working to understand how bird flu has moved to infect dairy cows as well as other animals.
Iowa is testing of dairy operations within a 12 mile radius of any poultry flock that has to be euthanized after avian influenza is confirmed in the birds. Naig says wildlife in those zones are being screened for bird flu as well.
It’s been a couple of weeks since bird flu has been confirmed in cattle or poultry in an Iowa operation. Since March, six farm workers in Texas, Michigan and Colorado have tested positive for bird flu. Employees at Iowa facilities where the virus has been confirmed among birds or cattle have been tested, but Naig says there have been no human cases of bird flu in Iowa.
Naig made his comments this weekend during an appearance on “Iowa Press” on Iowa P-B-S.
IOWA POLITICAL LEADERS REACT AFTER TRUMP SHOT AT OUTDOOR RALLY
Iowa political leaders immediately began issuing statements on social media Saturday afternoon, calling for Iowans to pray for Trump, thanking the Secret Service for its response — and condemning the violence.
Governor Kim Reynolds issued the following statement regarding the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania earlier Saturday evening: “This assassination attempt on a former president, current nominee for president, and leader of the Republican Party marks a dark day in American history. Kevin and I are grateful that President Trump is safe and is doing well. We will continue to pray for him and his family, as well as those who were shot and the family of the individual who was killed.
The chairman of the Republican Party of Iowa says there’s no place for political violence in America. Iowa G-O-P chair Jeff Kaufmann spoke with Radio Iowa a few hours after former President Trump was shot in the ear and a person in the crowd at Trump’s rally in Pennsylvania was killed.
Kaufmann says he doesn’t know if plans for this week’s Republican National Convention will change, but he hopes not.
Iowa Democratic Party chairman Rita Hart said gun violence is never acceptable and violence of any sort should never be perpetrated against people who are trying to participate in our democratic process.
Fourth district Congressman Randy Feenstra (R-Hull) issued a written statement: “I join the American people in praying for President Trump and those in attendance at his rally. This violence is unacceptable and disgusting. I wish the President a speedy recovery.”
Ryan Melton of Nevada, the Democratic Party’s nominee in the fourth congressional district, on X: My thoughts and prayers are with Former President Trump, and I wish him the best in his recovery. I commend the Secret Service for their quick response, and wish the best for all rally attendees. There’s no place for any kind of violence in our political process.
Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley’s post on X: Thank u secret service agents for ur selflessness& bravery Iowa Senator Joni Ernst’s post on X: In the midst of chaos, Trump showed strength. Continuing to pray for him and our country. God bless America!
EXCITEMENT BUILDING FOR THE PLYMOUTH COUNTY FAIR
The Plymouth County Fair is gearing up for it’s run later this month. The fair board last week held its final meeting before the fair, which opens on July 24. Board Chairman John Ahlers says the excitement is building as the opening approaches.
Some finish-up projects remain before the fair opens.
There’s been more paving done on the fairgrounds in the past year.
There are several work night projects that need to be completed before the fair, including some painting and roofing, installing lights and trimming trees.
Board Chair John Ahlers says they were able to use a grant from the city’s hotel motel tax to do some infrastructure work on the round barn.
Round Barn – making use of grant fund for improvements there.
The Plymouth County Fair opens on July 24.
SIOUX COUNTY YOUTH FAIR
The Sioux County Youth Fair has opened in a new location. For years, the county fair was located at Open Space Park in Sioux Center. In the past year, the fairgrounds has been relocated to the former Sioux Center Airport, located two miles north of town. The Fair Board is holding a fundraising breakfast this morning. The board will use the proceeds for future fair facilities. For now, they are making use of former airplane hangars, tents, and temporary quarters to handle livestock shows, housing animals, and office space. The fair runs through Thursday.
RED CROSS CONTINUES WORK IN NORTHWEST IOWA
Three weeks out from devastating floods in Northwest Iowa, recovery continues. The Red Cross has been on the ground in affected areas since the beginning of the disaster and will continue to assist residents in finding some sort of relief in the face of horrible loss. American Red Cross Public Affairs Manager Kim Mailes (Males) says things have progressed beyond finding people a place to stay to continuing to help them recover.
Mailes says at the beginning of operations, 14 shelters were opened, they recorded four-thousand overnight stays, served 30-thousand meals and supported 11 emergency operation centers. He says the Red Cross now operates two emergency shelters but still serve more than 14-hundred meals each day. The Red Cross also records damage assessments in a database and shares it with FEMA.
That’s when The Red Cross contacts people that have been recorded in the database and meets with them individually to determine their needs. Quite often it’s assistance with replacing furniture, clothing, medicines, etc., and once the Red Cross completes 85% disaster assessment, they start providing financial assistance. Financial assistance is in addition to anything received from other organizations such as an insurance settlement or FEMA payout and is not based on income. Mailes says people who might have been missed during the assessment phase can call the Red Cross and an assessment crew will be dispatched to their location. That number is 1-800-Red-Cross (1-800-733-2767).
IOWA GOP CHAIR TO DELIVER NOMINATING SPEECH FOR TRUMP AT RNC
Later today the chairman of the Iowa G-O-P is scheduled to give the speech to formally nominate Donald Trump for a second term as president. Iowa Republican Party chairman Jeff Kaufmann says today’s speech was written last week — and he says it’s important NOT to change the message after Saturday’s assassination attempt. Kaufmann plans to tout Iowa’s first-in-the-nation Caucuses. He says he’ll also talk about why President Trump is the answer the country needs. Kaufmann and Iowa politicians from both political parties issued statements this weekend expressing shock and solidarity after Saturday’s tragic shooting that killed a man and critically wounded two others in the crowd at Trump’s rally.
30,000+ PRIVATE SCHOOL STUDENTS QUALIFY FOR STATE-FUNDED EDUCATION SAVINGS ACCOUNTS
State officials say over 30-thousand students have been approved for state funding to cover private school expenses for the next school year. In early 2023 Reynolds signed a law creating state-funded Education Savings Accounts. Last school year nearly 19-thousand students qualified for the program based on limited family income. This year, students from households with an annual income that’s 400 percent of the poverty level. The state will spend about 78-hundred dollars on each private school student who qualifies. Democrats say education is a major issue in legislative races this year. The Democratic leaders in the Iowa House and Senate say spending hundreds of millions of state tax dollars on private schools and the changes Reynolds pushed for in Iowa’s Area Education Agencies are unpopular with voters.
