CARTER IN LE MARS
Jimmy Carter, the 39th President of the United States, passed away Sunday.
Carter was elected in 1976.
Carter’s Presidential campaign had roots right here in Le Mars in early 1975 when he spoke at a Plymouth County Democratic Party dinner honoring long-time County Recorder Maries Jahn.
In a 2023 interview, John Devereaux, who worked for Westmar College at the time, remembered sending out invitations for candidates who might speak at the dinner.
Carter was named as the KLEM Citizen of the Day and he stopped at KLEM for an interview with news director Larry Schmitz.
An overnight stay in Le Mars prompted the Amber Inn Motel to display a plaque outside that room which still remains today
The plaque states: “President Jimmer Carter Slept Here February 26 1975.”
Carter was the only candidate who responded, agreeing to speak at the dinner. Devereaux says the event ran smoothly, and Carter’s speech was well received.
Carter at the time was not held in high regard as a presidential candidate.
Deveraux later became the state coordinator for the Carter campaign in Iowa in 1976.
VILSACK’S 12 YEAR RUN AS U.S. SECRETARY OF AGRICULTURE WINDING DOWN
Former Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack will have served 12 years for two American presidents when he leaves his role as the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture in three weeks. Vilsack, who moved to his wife’s hometown of Mount Pleasant after finishining law school, says his legal work representing farmers during the Farm Crisis gave direction to his life — and it ultimately led to him serving as the country’s top ag official. Vilsack says one of the recent highlights at the U-S-D-A was an uptick in the number of farms in Iowa. The U-S-D-A conducts a census every five years. The last census in 2022 found the number of farm units in Iowa had increased by about one percent the number of farmers had increased seven percent from 2017. Vilsack turned 74 on December 13th. The only other person who has served longer than Vilsack as the nation’s secretary of agriculture is former Iowa Congressman James “Tama Jim” Wilson. He was ag secretary for 16 years and served three presidents.
TATAICHY TRIAL SET
Trial for a Le Mars resident charged in the death of her two year old boy has been scheduled for next month in Plymouth County District Court.
27 year old Sexlyn Tataichy is charged with second degree murder and two felony counts of child endangerment.
Last April, emergency services were called to a Le Mars residence, where a child was injured. The child later died at Floyd Valley Healthcare.
Tataichy, the child’s mother, was arrested and charged in September.
A jury trial has been scheduled for January 21.
She remains in the Plymouth County Jail since her arrest.
LYON COUNTY FATAL
An Inwood, Iowa man has died from injuries he sustained in a one vehicle accident Friday night in Lyon County.
The Iowa State Patrol says 21 year old Jenner Nicholas Johnson was driving west on a county road near Klondike when he lost control of his car as he approached the curve at the intersection with Ashley Avenue. The State Patrol accident report says the car went straight off of the curve into a ravine and struck a tree. Johnson was alone in the car and was wearing his seatbelt.
INJURY ACCIDENT IN HOSPERS
A Hull man was injured in an accident in Hospers Friday afternoon.
The Sioux County Sheriff’s Office investigated the accident, which occurred on 6th Avenue S, in Hospers. 88 year old Arnold Tiedemann of Hull was driving on Fir Street in Hospers when he reportedly fell asleep while driving. The vehicle went out of control, left the road and struck a parked vehicle.
Tiedeman was transported to Sioux Center Health for treatment of injuries.
The sheriff’s office was assisted by the Iowa State Patrol, Hospers Fire Department and the Hospers Ambulance.
Tiedemann was cited for failure to maintain control of a motor vehicle.
GOV. REYNOLDS STATEMENT ON THE DEATH OF PRESIDENT JIMMY CARTER
Former President Jimmy Carter died this past weekend. He was 100 years old, the longest-living U.S. president.
Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds said “President Carter lived a great life marked by service to his country. Volunteering his time to build homes for those in need well into his 90s, President Carter never stopped living his faith through service. His belief in putting God’s love into action has inspired generations of Americans.”
In the 1976 Iowa Caucuses, Carter stunned the political establishment by finishing ahead of four U-S Senators and the Democratic Party’s 1972 nominee for vice president.
GRASSLEY TO BE PRESIDENT PRO TEMPORE OF US SENATE
Senator Chuck Grassley is the longest serving Republican in congressional history. When the Senate convenes Friday, Grassley will again have the title of Senate President Pro Tem. The post goes to the longest-serving senator from the party that has a majority of seats in the Senate. He served in the same role in 2019 and 2020 and this is how Grassley described it then.
Grassley was first elected to the state legislature in 1958. He served 16 years in the Iowa House, then won election the U-S House in 1974, where he served for six years. He’s been a United States Senator since 1981.
Grassley, who turned 91 in September, has long argued his seniority gives him leverage to use on behalf of Iowa.
In 2022, Grassley won reelection to an eighth term in the U-S Senate with over 56 percent of the vote. During his first term as a U-S Senate, Grassley gained national attention for criticizing wasteful spending in the Pentagon. When he ran in 2016, Grassley stressed the importance of providing oversight of the executive branch.
That was Grassley early 2016. Later that year he won reelection with 60 percent of the vote.
MINDEN’S MAYOR SAYS IT MAY TAKE A DECADE TO RECOVER FROM APRIL’S MASSIVE TORNADO
The mayor of a small western Iowa town devastated by an E-F-3 tornado eight months ago says he’s pleased with the progress of rebuilding, but admits a full recovery could take up to a decade. Minden Mayor Kevin Zimmerman says the twister on April 26th destroyed 50 homes and 90 percent of the businesses. Zimmerman estimates the damage in Minden could easily exceed 12 MILLION dollars. He says some residents have struggled with insurance claims, which delayed some rebuilding.
GEOLOGISTS STUDY WHETHER CARBON CAN BE STORED UNDERGROUND IN IOWA
Geologists at the University of Iowa are leading a more than 11 MILLION dollar project to see if carbon can be successfully stored deep underground near a power plant in Council Bluffs. The study is financed by the U-S Department of Energy and is exploring whether liquified carbon could be injected into basalt (buh-SALT) rock a half mile underground. Ryan Clark, a geologist with the Iowa Geological Survey, is the principal investigator of the study. He says they’ll try to drill down, collect some of the basalt rock and do experiments in a lab to see if carbon can be injected and stored in this type of rock.
