In Le Mars, the annual Memorial Day Program will take place this morning in the Le Mars Community Middle School Auditorium. The Memorial Day program will be at 10 a.m. in Le Mars with a lunch at the American Legion Hall to follow for a free will donation. Flags will be taken down beginning at 4 p.m.
Other observances this morning are at the Brunsville American Legion Post; In Remsen and Oyens, with a mass at the Remsen Cemetery at 9 a.m., and the ceremony at Remsen City Hall. This will be followed by a ceremony at the Oyens cemetery. St. Catherine’s church in Oyens is the rain location.
In Hinton, a program will be held at the Hinton Community Hall at 10 a.m.
Merrill’s program will be at the Kissinger Ballroom.
In Akron, there will be a program at Akron City Park at 10:30 a.m. The rain location will be the Akron-Westfield Elementary School.
A ceremony will take place at the Kingsley Community Center at 9 a.m.
Feenstra Picnic Next Week
Next Friday, May 30th, 4th District Congressman Randy Feenstra will hold his 4th Feenstra Family Picnic in Sioux Center.
This year’s event will be headlined by Ohio Congressman and Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee Jim Jordan.
The picnic will begin at 10 am at 2856 St. Andrews Way in Sioux Center, just off of U.S. Highway 75.
The event runs until 1 pm.
Tataichy Sentencing Date
A sentencing date has been set for a Le Mars, Iowa woman who pled guilty to charges in the April 2024 death of her two year old son.
27 year old Sexlyn Tataichy (tah- tay-chee) was charged with second degree murder and two felony counts of child endangerment.
In the plea deal filed May 5th in Plymouth County District Court, Tataichy agreed to plead guilty to child endangerment resulting in death, a Class B felony.
She is scheduled to be sentenced at 9 a.m. on June 16th in the Plymouth County Courthouse.
The second degree murder count and the other child endangerment count will be dismissed in the plea agreement.
Tataichy will be sentenced to serve not more than 50 years in prison and pay $150,000 in victim’s restitution.
Governor Urged to Veto New 911 Fee
Law enforcement groups and first responders are urging the governor to veto another bill that would have local 9-1-1 systems pay a new fee to the Iowa Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management. Reynolds says 9-1-1 systems have 66 MILLION dollars in reserves.
Local boards oversee the 110 public safety answering points in Iowa that answer 9-1-1 calls and those local boards say they need that reserve money to cover the cost of replace expensive equipment and software needed to run the 9-1-1 systems. The bill requiring the systems pay a fee to the state does not say how much the fee is to be or whether it would be a one-time fee or more frequently collected by the state. The legislation does say once 9-1-1 systems are notified by state officials of the amount, it must be paid within 30 days.
Camper Fire Near Alton
The Alton Fire Department responded to a call in a early afternoon Friday May 23. The received a report of camper fire that occurred at 4010 430th Street, two miles north of Alton. Additional information from the dispatch indicated the camper was close to an outbuilding located on the property.
Upon arrival at the scene, fire crews discovered a 5th wheel camper fully engulfed in flames and the camper was past the point of being saved. Firefighters put water to the camper and also directed water toward the nearby building to prevent fire extending to the building.
Firefighters were on scene for an hour.
The exact cause of the fire is unknown, but it is suspected the origin of the fire was in the battery compartment and electrical in nature.
No injuries were reported.
The camper was a total loss; the outbuilding sustained minimal damage with melted vinyl siding.
Alton Fire was assisted by the Orange City Fire Department, Alton Ambulance, Orange City/Alton Police Department and the Sioux County Sherriff’s Office.
Emmet County Ordinance Would Stop Wind Farm Project
A representative of the company planning to build a wind farm in northwest Iowa says a proposed ordinance in Emmet County would likely block Steelhead Wind Energy’s project near the Estherville airport.
Tyler Raniszewski, the company’s development manager, said Steelhead’s plan is to erect 45 wind turbines in the area and over 30 landowners have signed contracts to allow the turbines on their property.
Raniszewski said his company hopes to work with county supervisors and provide studies or whatever input might be needed to reach a compromise.
Opponents of the project say there are safety concerns about having the wind turbines located near the Estherville Municipal Airport and it could be dangerous for students in the Iowa Lakes Community College aviation program who use that airport for flight training.
Last fall, the Emmet County Board of Supervisors approved a temporary moratorium on new wind energy projects in the county. The board plans to adopt a new wind energy ordinance this summer.
