PARKS ORDINANCE AMENDED
The Le Mars city council has amended the city’s Park Regulations, to allow the city to maintain and repair part of the PlyWood Trail that is not within the city limits.
The city will take on maintenance and repair of that section of the trail which extends from C38 to the city of Merrill. A 28E agreement between the city and the PlyWood Trail Foundation allows the city to carry out work on the trail, and to be reimbursed for costs by the Foundation.
The council this week approved second reading, waived the third reading, and adopted the amended ordinance.
NEW WAGE STRUCTURE FOR LE MARS FIRE RESCUE
The city of Le Mars has adopted a new wage structure for Le Mars Fire Rescue Personnel.
Firefighters and paramedics were removed from the city employee collective bargaining agreement. Fire Chief Dave Schipper wanted the city to review all Fire/Rescue wages, in order to make them more competitive with state averages.
Fire/Rescue staff, city administration, and the Administration Committee arrived at a new wage scale that expands from three steps to eight. Starting pay under the old three step plan ranged from $20.74 cents per hour to $23.40 per hour. The new scale ranges from $21.80 to $27.82.
Schipper says this will place the department in a better position to recruit and retain personnel.
MARCH WETTER AND WARMER THAN NORMAL
State Climatologist Justin Glisan says March was warmer and wetter than normal, including one distinction for this year.
Glisan says the weather pattern for March sent us three big storm events.
Glisan says there was a big disparity in precipitation across the state.
Glisten says part of the March precipitation was above average snowfall in northern and western Iowa after an earlier lack of snow.
Glisan says there was some warm weather between the storms.
Glisan says February was about two inches below average for snowfall on top of December, January and February were combined about 13 inches below average.
In March, KLEM received 1.18 inches of rain, and 5 inches of snow.
IOWA BANS HANDLING A CELL PHONE WHILE DRIVING
Governor Kim Reynolds has signed the bill that will make it illegal to handle a smart phone while driving, starting July 1st.
Reynolds was surrounded by dozens of people for the bill signing ceremony, including the families of Iowans who have died in accidents caused by distracted drivers.
Roland Taylor of Terril was driving an antique tractor on Highway 71 in Clay County when his tractor was hit from behind and he was thrown into a ditch. Governor Reynolds called Taylor’s daughter, Angie Smith, last week when the bill finally passed the Iowa House.
Smith spoke with reporters after the bill signing ceremony.
Governor Kim Reynolds says the data from neighboring states shows making it illegal to handle a cell phone while driving will reduce accidents.
Reynolds cited a recent study indicating a 10 percent reduction in distracted driving in Iowa will prevent over 12-hundred crashes, 700 injuries and six deaths.
Starting July 1st, Iowa law enforcement officers may begin giving warnings to motorists caught illegally handling a phone while driving. Then, starting January 1st of next year, those who violate the law will be fined one-hundred dollars.
NUMBER OF CHILD ABUSE REPORTS IN IOWA HOLDS STEADY
April is Prevent Child Abuse Awareness Month and it’s focused on making Iowa a safer place where children can thrive. Prevent Child Abuse Iowa executive director Sharon Miller says they aim to encourage prevention and support parents and caregivers who might make choices they normally wouldn’t if they weren’t under stress. The newest figures for Iowa indicate the reported number of suspected child abuse cases held steady last year, compared to the year before. Miller says the top type of child abuse is actually neglect, and roughly 60 percent of all child abuse cases in Iowa are neglect, which is classified as denial of critical care. She says that could be lack of food, shelter, resources or housing.
SUKUP TO HAVE FIRST NON-FAMILY MEMBER AS LEADER
An Iowa ag business will have its first non-family member leading the organization later this year. Sukup Manufacturing announced that Chief Financial Officer Tom Mangan will become the company’s next president and C-E-O as part of their succession planning. The Shefield company started in 1963, and is known for its grain bins and other ag products. Steve Sukup has been president and C-E-O for the past five years and will start a transition to chairman of the board of directors in October. Mangan was the first non-family executive of the company when he joined as the C-F-O in 2020. Sukup says nine family members still remain actively involved in the business.
FORMER IOWA SUPREME COURT JUDGE DIES
Former Iowa Supreme Court Justice Mark McCormick died Sunday at the age of 91. McCormick was a Fort Dodge native who served on the Supreme Court from 1972 until returning to private practice in 1986. McCormick first entered private practice from 1961 to 1968 and was an assistant Webster County Attorney before being appointed a district court judge and later the Iowa Supreme Court. McCormick narrowly lost the Democratic primary for governor in 1998 to Tom Vilsack, who went on to win the general election. Chief Justice Susan Christensen says McCormick was a friend of her dad, who was also a judge, and says “His keen intellect, steady wisdom, and generous spirit left a lasting impression on all who had the privilege of knowing him.”
