LE MARS MAN INVOLVED IN SUV-SEMI CRASH
A two vehicle crash in South Dakota Friday resulted in one fatality, and a Le Mars man was injured. The South Dakota Highway Patrol says 28-year old Darrian O’Neal Cline, of Smithville, Oklahoma, suffered fatal injuries when his eastbound Jeep Cherokee, for an unknown reason, crossed the center line, and collided head on with a westbound semi driven by 74 year old Michael Dennis Stinton of Le Mars. Cline, who was not wearing a seat belt, suffered fatal injuries. Stinton sustained minor injuries. The accident occurred Friday morning, around sunrise, on county highway 152, 4 miles northeast of Beresford, S.D., in Lincoln County.
BIDEN ENDS PRESIDENTIAL BID
President Biden Sunday has announced in a letter on his social media accounts that he is ending his re-election bid for a second term as president. Biden’s decision comes after mounting pressure from many Democrats, including around 40 members of congress, saying he should step down.
Iowa Democratic Party chair Rita Hart held a video news conference and thanked the president Sunday for his service:
Biden says it is in the best interests of the country for him to step aside, and he is putting his full support behind Vice President Kamala Harris to be the party’s nominee for president.
Republican nominee Donald Trump posted on his social media account that Biden was not fit to run for president, and is certainly not fit to serve – and never was.
Biden will become the first president in decades not to run for a full second term. He says he will address the country later this week to explain his decision.
ROUND BARN THEME AT THE FAIR
The Le Mars Chamber Ag Committee is ready to unveil their theme and display at the Round Barn on the Plymouth County Fair Ground. Ag Committee member Janelle Johnson says The theme this year is Technology.
The latest technologies have added another layer of innovation to farming.
The newest technologies are used as diagnostic tools in area fields.
Farmers embrace new technologies if it can help farmers become more efficient.
On display at the Round Barn this year are a tractor cab simulator, a drone display, and a self-propelled baler. Another staple of the round barn, a model farm implement display, will be on hand.
The Chamber will host an Ag Committee coffee tomorrow to preview the display. The Plymouth County Fair opens Wednesday.
NATIONAL PARTY RULES KEEP IOWA GOP CAUCUSES FIRST IN 2028
Iowa Republican Party leaders say there have been clear signals at their national convention last week that their Iowa Caucuses will be first-in-the-nation again in 2028.
Iowa G-O-P chairman Jeff Kaufmann was chosen to deliver the nominating speech for former President Trump and Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird was chosen to preside over the V-P’s nomination at the party’s national convention. Bobby Kaufmann, the son of the state party’s chairman, is a senior advisor to Trump’s reelection campaign.
Steve Scheffler — Iowa’s Republican National Committeeman — says national party rules approved two weeks ago keep the Iowa Caucuses first, followed by New Hampshire’s Primary. Nearly 30 percent of the Republican National Committee members are new this year, so Schefler says he and other Iowa G-O-P leaders will be meeting with them to tout the Caucuses.
Governor Kim Reynolds says having the Iowa Republican Party’s chairman AND Attorney General Brenna Bird in prominent speaking roles this week is a good indicator Iowa’s Caucuses will remain first.
The Democratic National Committee kicked the Iowa Democratic Party’s Caucuses out of the lead-off position in 2024. Some Iowa Democratic Party leaders have said they intend to try to get their Caucuses back in the first voting slot for the 2028 presidential campaign.
FEMA IS SPREADING OUT TO MORE COUNTIES
The Federal Emergency Management Agency is now spreading out to three more counties affected by floods. Dickinson, Humboldt, and Palo Alto counties have been added to the recent flooding declaration of June 16 and continuing. FEMA teams will begin visiting neighborhoods in the additional counties to help survivors of record flooding in northwest Iowa. FEMA Disaster Survivor Assistance teams work in coordination with state and county emergency management.
The teams help survivors apply with FEMA and address immediate and emerging needs. They also provide application status updates and referrals to community resources. FEMA staff can easily be identified by their federal photo identification and FEMA clothing. Residents are encouraged to ask for official photo ID before providing personal information.
STATE RULES LIMITING HEMP-INFUSED CONSUMABLES NOW IN EFFECT
New state rules regulating hemp products have gone into effect this week. According to the Iowa Hemp Alliance, up to 80 percent of the products at the businesses who’ve joined the group are prohibited under the new regulations. In mid-May Governor Reynolds signed the law to limit the amount of T-H-C — the ingredient that causes the high — that can be in consumable hemp products sold in Iowa. Hemp retailers say the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services rules have a per serving T-H-C limit that isn’t in the law and they’ve sued. Climbing Kites — a popular hemp-infused sparkling water — had been brewed in Iowa, but operations have been moved to Illinois and Ohio.
