SHERIFFS REPORT
Plymouth County Sheriff Jeff TeBrink gave a quarterly report to the Board of Supervisors yesterday. From April to June, the Sheriffs Office took in a total of 162-thousand dollars, all but 22=thousand from the U.S. Marshals Service, and the Bureau of Prisons. The county jail holds federal inmates. There were 23 inmates from those agencies held in the county jail for the quarter.
For the quarter, there were 241 inmates booked, and 250 released. There were 70 inmates transported, and 0ver 10-thousand, 5-hundred meals served. The Sheriffs office responded to 1558 E911 calls and 1359 complaints. There 567 ambulance calls and 156 fire calls for the quarter.
GRASSLEY: SECRET SERVICE BOSS QUITTING IS JUST THE START OF WHAT’S NEEDED
Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley is releasing new video and documents relating to the assassination attempt on former President Trump in Pennsylvania earlier this month. Bodycam footage from local law enforcement and the Secret Service shows the suspected shooter was spotted before he was on the roof, but then officers and agents lost track of him. Grassley says it was a “catastrophic security failure” and video from after the shooting shows that rooftop was solid.
Conspiracy theories will continue to circulate until the full story is revealed about what happened on July 13th, and Grassley says he’s hearing from plenty of Iowans in his town hall meetings.
Grassley is asking for a range of information from a variety of agencies about their roles at the rally.
The director of the Secret Service resigned on Tuesday. Grassley, a Republican, says he believes that director’s post should be subject to Senate confirmation..
AUDITOR SAYS CONTRACT COSTS DOUBLES FOR ADMNISTERING STATE-FUNDED ESAs
State Auditor Rob Sand is raising questions about changes in the state contract with Odyssey, the company managing taxpayer funded Education Savings Accounts for private school students in Iowa. Sand says the company will be paid double what was in the original contract and the annual audit of the Iowa Department of Education found the agency didn’t follow the rules for amending state government contracts.
Sand says state officials agreed to pay new fees, like a five cent fee for every transaction. A spokesperson for the Iowa Department of Education says the agency decided to cover the transaction fees rather than having those costs deducted from the students’ accounts. The state-funded E-S-A may be used to cover tuition and other private school expenses.
SIX WEEK ABORTION BAN GOES INTO EFFECT MONDAY
An Iowa law banning most abortions in Iowa will go into effect Monday at 8 a.m. A district court judge has filed the motion to dissolve the temporary injunction that has blocked the law for over a year. Last July, Governor Reynolds signed the law that forbids abortions in Iowa after fetal activity can be detected, which happens around the sixth week of a pregnancy. Attorneys for Planned Parenthood and the Emma Goldman Clinic in Iowa City immediately sued. A Polk County District Court judge issued the temporary order that kept the law from going into effect. On June 28th of this year, the Iowa Supreme Court ruled the law was constitutional, but court procedures required the district court to take the final step to have the law go into effect.
PLYMOUTH COUNTY FAIR OPENS
The five best days of summer have arrived! The Plymouth County Fair opens today at the fairgrounds in Le Mars. The Fair Ground opened at 7, and most of the morning is going to be spent on checking livestock, rabbits and poultry. The 4-H Exhibit Hall opens at 10 a.m. The Round Barn opens at noon, and commercial exhibits at 1-30. The midway opens at 5 p.m. Events this evening include motocross at the grandstand, and crowning of the fair king and queen at 7 p.m. One admission price gets you into all the events on the fairgrounds each day. KLEM will have live reports from our booth at the fair, today at 10:30 and 11:30 a.m. and at 1:30 p.m., instead of the usual 4:30, due to baseball coverage.
Listen to “At the Fair” with Deb VandenBerg from Primebank twice daily at 11:30 a.m. & 4:30 p.m. and a full half hour of interviews during “Around the Fair” with Colleen Westergard-Baker at 10:30 a.m. Wed-Sat and at 12:30 p.m. Sunday. Fair Photos will be posted on the KLEM website with pictures added daily.
The Plymouth County Fair continues through Sunday.
ROUND BARN DISPLAY UPDATE
The Le Mars Chamber Ag Committee says it’s time for a new look inside the Round Barn at the Plymouth County Fair Grounds. Ag Committee member Janelle Johnson says there are currently dozens of pictures of barns from around Plymouth County Displayed in the Round Barn. What the Chamber Ag Committee wants to do is show what farms look like now, along with the machinery now in use.
Johnson urges Plymouth County farmers to get creative in picturing their farms and equipment.
Pictures can be forwarded to the Le Mars Chamber of Commerce office.
SIOUX CENTER FARM COUPLE PRESENTED AWARD
A Sioux Center farm family is being honored this morning by the Iowa Department of Agriculture and the Coalition to Support Iowa Farmers. Bruce and Deb Dooyema will receive the Wergin Good Farm Neighbor Award at the Sioux Center Ambulance Garage. Their company, Center Fresh Egg, includes more than four million laying hens. Bruce began raising chickens in 1978 with his brothers while a seventh grade student. Soon after, Dooyema and Sons was established, and a 60-thousand head chicken coop was constructed. In the 1990s, Center Fresh Egg Farm was established, with one million birds and eight partners. Today, Center Fresh is made up of 15 owners. All of them were small producers who combined their resources and expertise. Today, Bruce and Deb are active throughout their community and church as well as the egg industry. Iowa Agriculture Secretary Mike Naig will present the award this morning.
WELLS ENTERPRISES CELEBRATES EXPANSION PLANS FOR DUNKIRK, NEW YORK MANUFACTURING PLANT
Wells Enterprises held a celebration at their New York manufacturing plant Tuesday. They shared plans for the expansion of the Dunkirk, New York manufacturing facility. The project was slated for a $250M investment, but the company announced that it increased to $425M and will create 270 new jobs in the Dunkirk community.
The Dunkirk plant plays an important role in the company’s expansion plans for its national manufacturing network of its Blue Bunny, Halo Top, Bomb Pop and Blue Ribbon Classics brands.The expansion is anticipated to more than quadruple the facility’s current production output. and help support the company’s continued plans for growth in novelty and packaged ice cream, while enabling future innovation.
New York Empire State Development and the State of New York – especially the Governor; Chautauqua County Industrial Development Agency: and the City of Dunkirk have all lended their support to the project.
Construction is in progress. Ice cream products should begin rolling off new lines in August of 2025. Well’s initial expansion announcement was made in August, 2023.
ROCK RAPIDS SEEKS FEDERAL AID FOR FLOOD DAMAGED STREETS
Officials in a Lyon County community struck by Rock River flooding last month are seeking federal disaster aid to permanently fix heavily damaged streets. Rock Rapids Mayor Jason Chase says the city has done some temporary road repairs.
Rock Rapids has gotten FEMA assistance to cover debris removal and the city’s emergency response to the flooding, but Chase says they’re hoping to get FEMA funds for permanent repairs to roads and parks.
Rock Rapids has about 26-hundred residents and the mayor says they’re still assessing damage to private structures, but 20 to 30 homes had water on the main floor and water reached the main level of up to 30 businesses in Rock Rapids.
Rock Rapids is in Lyon County, about 20 miles upstream from Rock Valley, which was hit hard by Rock River flooding last month.
