Retirement open house for outgoing Fire Chief Schipper this Friday
An open house and retirement celebration for outgoing Le Mars Fire-Rescue Chief Dave Schipper will be held later this week, celebrating Schipper’s 38 years of public service, including 21 years in the Le Mars Fire-Rescue Department and 16 years as Fire Chief. All community members are invited to stop by and share their appreciation, with refreshments served.
Schipper will be succeeded in his role by current Assistant Fire Chief Steve Schwarz, who is scheduled to officially be sworn in before the Le Mars city council meeting next Tuesday. Friday’s open house will be held from noon to 3pm at the Garage at 800 in Le Mars.
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Arrest made after train vs car collision in Plymouth County
A Oyens man has been taken into custody after being involved in a train vs car collision just north of Le Mars last week. The Plymouth County Sheriff’s Office says 25-year-old Joshua Kelly was arrested and charged with one count each of operating under the influence, first offense, possession of a controlled substance, second offense, possession of drug paraphernalia, and failure to properly stop at a railroad crossing.
The Sheriff’s Office received a call about the collision around 7:43pm last Tuesday, with the site of the accident located on 150th Street between Lake and Key Avenues. First responders found a 2012 Dodge Ram 2500 upside down north of 150th Street with severe damage, with a stationary BNSF train found nearby. Kelly was transported to Floyd Valley Hospital with severe injuries, while the BNSF crew was unharmed.
An investigation determined that Kelly, while traveling eastbound on 150th Street, collided with the BNSF train going northbound at the railroad crossing and was ejected from the vehicle, which entered a ditch and rolled an unknown number of times. Kelly was not wearing a seatbelt at the time of the collision. The Dodge Ram was deemed totaled with a replacement cost of $12,000, while the BNSF train engine suffered approximately $4,500 in damage.
Kelly was booked into the Plymouth County Jail on $2,600 bond.
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Jury selection starts today in Sioux City cold case murder
Jury selection started yesterday for a man accused of killing a Native American woman in Sioux City more than 40 years ago. Police arrested 63-year-old Thomas Popp in Washington state in January of 2025 and charged him with first-degree murder in the 1983 death of 18-year-old Terri McCauley. McCauley’s nephew Josh Taylor says he wants people to remember his aunt as more than a crime victim.
18-year-old Terri McCauley disappeared in 1983 after a night out with friends and her body was found in a wooded area ten days later. Taylor says the family has waited a long time for this day.
A social media campaign helped give attention to McCauley’s case. Her family also started Red Sky Nation to highlight the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Relatives (MMIR) crisis.
The organization has helped others locally and in other states across the region. The trial is expected to take around two weeks.
(Story via Radio Iowa / Iowa Public Radio)
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