(MERRILL)–By the end of the year, the city of Merrill is expected to own what will be known as the Kissinger Community Center.
The transfer of the Kissinger Elementary School property was approved by the Le Mars Community Board of Education Monday night. There weren’t any comments from the public during a hearing. The attendance center was closed as a cost savings measure at the end of the last school year.
School staff members have gone through the building to check for surplus equipment and furniture. Superintendent Dr. Todd Wendt told the board lMonday night the district will retain the bus garage in Merrill.
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Board member Mark Stelzer viewed the transfer favorably.
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The transfer to the city of Merrill for one dollar is paperwork to be prepared by the school’s attorney.
Board member Dan Smith of Merrill made the motion to approve the disposal of the school property to be transferred to the city.
A Merrill group responded to the board action.
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Board President Patrick Murphy is legal counsel for the city of Merrill and abstained from the vote.
Floyd Valley Hospital care is tops in the nation
(LE MARS)–Patients at Floyd Valley Hospital give high marks to the health care provider.
The praise is being repeated by Press Ganey which partners with more than half of the U-S hospitals to measure quality of care.
Press Ganey named Floyd Valley a 2010 “Summit Award” winner. The award recognizes top performers that have the highest level of customer satisfaction for three or more consecutive years.
Only 80 of the more than 10-thousand health care facilities partnering with Press Ganey received the honor this year.
Administrator Mike Donlin said this is the fourth year in a row the Floyd Valley hospital has been chosen as a “Summit Award” winner.
The hospital had an overall rank above 95 percent in the Emergency Room data base for the past seven years. According to Donlin, this accomplishment makes the “Summit Award” Press Ganey’s most prestigious honor.
Manure runoff checked near Sioux Center
(SIOUX CENTER)–A manure runoff into a creek three miles northwest of Sioux Center is being checked by the Iowa Department of Natural Resources.
According to Ken Hessenius of the D-N-R, the manure release occurred after manure was applied from an open feedlot owned by Farmer’s Cooperative Society of Sioux Center.
The manure was injected into freezing ground by Triple A Pumping of Richmond, Minnesota.
The state agency staffer says an unknown amount of excess manure ran off the field, into a ditch and into a tributary of Six Mile Creek.
The coop dammed the ditch and stopped more manure from reaching the creek.
The D-N-R’s written information stated the manure from the open feedlot is pretty diluted and contains low concentrations of nutrients.
Cherokee County native dies in Nebraska crash
STANTON, Neb. (AP) Stanton County authorities have released the names of two men killed in the crash of a single-engine airplane near Stanton in northeast Nebraska.
The sheriff’s office identified them Tuesday as 63-year-old Steven Schmillen of Omaha, and 44-year-old David Radke of Charlotte, North Carolina.
The sheriff’s office says the Piper Comanche was headed to Millard Airport on the west side of Omaha after leaving Chamberlain airport in South Dakota around 5 p.m. Sunday.
Officials suspect the crash may have occurred during a landing attempt after the plane encountered poor weather. It’s believed Schmillen was at the controls.
The wreckage was found Monday afternoon eight miles northeast of Stanton during an aerial search by the Civil Air Patrol.
Federal authorities are investigating.
(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved)
Superintendent resigns as district faces deficit
ROYAL, Iowa (AP) A school superintendent in northwestern Iowa has resigned as the district tries to dig out of financial problems.
Monte Montgomery, superintendent of the Clay Central-Everly school district, resigned before a community meeting on Monday to discuss the district’s finances.
School Board President Sue Brugman says the problem can be tracked back to 2008, when the district exceeded its spending authority but filed a report showing a positive balance.
The Spencer Daily Reporter reports the district is considering a restructuring plan that would cut about 17 staff positions.
(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved)
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**In South Dakota
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Source: Vince Kurtz, Iowa State Patrol
J-E-L-L-Uh-Oh: Gelatin, pudding cups spill in Iowa
RUDD, Iowa (AP) Northern Iowa authorities say they’ve cleaned up a slippery mess after a tipped semitrailer spilled Jell-O and pudding cups across a county road.
The Floyd County sheriff’s office says 52 pallets of gelatin and pudding fell from the trailer when its top ripped open near Rudd early Tuesday. It took crews three hours to clean up the debris.
The sheriff’s office says 39-year-old semitrailer driver Eric Young of Charleston, S.C., wasn’t able to make a turn and went into the ditch where the rig rolled onto its side. Young and 32-year-old passenger Martin Brandon, of Bridgeport, Conn., suffered minor injuries.
The Globe-Gazette in Mason City Damage reports damage to the semitrailer is estimated at $50,000.
Warrant issued for suspect in Des Moines slaying
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) A warrant has been issued for a suspect in the slaying of a man who was shot outside a Des Moines business last month.
Police say 27-year-old Lester Richardson of Des Moines is being sought on first-degree murder charges in the Oct. 14 death of 29-year-old Martin Turks of Des Moines. Police responded to a report of gunshots in the area and found Turks dead at the scene.
Police said Tuesday they are following leads that Richardson was seen in the Des Moines area last week. He remains at large and police say he should be considered armed and dangerous.
Body of missing woman found in crashed truck
ATLANTIC, Iowa (AP) Authorities say they have found the body of a missing Griswold woman in a pickup truck that had overturned in a ditch along a rural road in Cass County in western Iowa.
The Cass County sheriff’s office had issued a release Tuesday morning asking for the public’s help in finding 47-year-old Denise Casey, who was last seen Saturday at a Walmart store in Atlantic.
KJAN reports the pickup driven by Casey was found on its top a short time later.
The sheriff’s office says it appears the accident happened Saturday. The crash is being investigated.
Worker injured in accident at Iowa steel company
DUBUQUE, Iowa (AP) A worker at the Namasco steel company in Dubuque has been injured after he was pinned between two bundles of steel.
The Telegraph Herald in Dubuque reports that the worker was unloading the steel Tuesday morning from two flatbed trucks near the corporation’s offices when he was injured. The Dubuque County sheriff’s office says the worker was taken to a local hospital.
The man’s name wasn’t immediately released, and his condition wasn’t immediately known.
Council Bluffs residents oppose proposed clinic
COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (AP) Council Bluffs residents are making it loud and clear they do not want an abortion clinic in their southwest Iowa city.
The Daily NonPareil says about 300 residents crowded into City Hall on Monday night. Council members were voting on the use of a vacant piece of land, and residents voiced their opposition to a Nebraska doctor’s plan to build the abortion clinic.
LeRoy Carhart, of Bellevue, Neb., once performed late-stage abortions in Nebraska. He has said he wants to open a clinic in Council Bluffs.
The City Council voted to dispose of the vacant land with the stipulation that an abortion clinic not be built there.
Medal of Honor winner Giunta receives welcome home
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) Top state officials and family members welcomed home Medal of Honor winner Staff Sgt. Salvatore Giunta.
The Hiawatha native was presented the award last week by President Barack Obama.
Tuesday’s homecoming at the Iowa Capitol rotunda was the latest in a string of ceremonies for Giunta. He says he’s been to many places since he received the medal, but that the most important place he’s visited is Iowa.
Gov. Chet Culver says Giunta serves as a role model for both young and old people.
Giunta was serving in Afghanistan when his platoon came under attack in 2007. He exposed himself to enemy fire to pull a soldier back to cover. He also shot two insurgents who were trying to carry off another U.S. soldier.
(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
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