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Strong job market hampers FEMA hiring in flood-hit states

News

June 9th, 2019 by Ric Hanson

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — The Federal Emergency Management Agency is facing an unexpected challenge in meeting the needs of the many people affected by this spring’s widespread flooding and violent storms: a strong economy.

Tasked with responding to natural disasters that seem ever more frequent and destructive, the agency finds itself further challenged by the robust job market and an inability to match what the private sector can offer, in many cases.

FEMA officials are turning for help to retirees, recent college graduates and those who lost their jobs to the disasters, though they’re finding few available workers in many of the rural communities that are in some of the hardest-hit areas.

In no place is that clearer than Nebraska and Iowa, which were ravaged by floods and have some of the nation’s lowest unemployment rates.

Creston woman arrested Sunday morning on drug charge in Adams County

News

June 9th, 2019 by Ric Hanson

The Adams County Sheriff’s Office reports a woman from Union County was arrested at around 12:11-a.m. today (Sunday), following a traffic stop near Highway’s 34 and 25. During an investigation, the K9 “Baxo” was deployed and alerted to the presence of narcotics in the vehicle.

A search resulted in the arrest of the driver, Jessica Shadley, of Creston, on a Possession of a Controlled Substance charge. She was also cited for not having insurance.

(Update) Clarinda Academy students located

News

June 9th, 2019 by Ric Hanson

(Update 2:14-a.m.) Both Clarinda Academy students who walked away from the facility earlier this morning have been apprehended & returned to the facility.

************** Original story follows:

Clarinda Police Chief Keith Brothers reported at around 1:17-a.m. Sunday, that “At approximately 12:00 a.m. Sunday, June 9th two students walked away from the Clarinda Academy. Both students are white males, no additional description. Law Enforcement personnel & Clarinda Academy staff are searching for the students now.”

2 Clarinda Academy students missing

News

June 9th, 2019 by Ric Hanson

Clarinda Police Chief Keith Brothers reported at around 1:17-a.m. Sunday, that “At approximately 12:00 a.m. Sunday, June 9th two students walked away from the Clarinda Academy. Both students are white males, no additional description. Law Enforcement personnel & Clarinda Academy staff are searching for the students now.”

Rollover accident east of Wiota

News

June 8th, 2019 by Ric Hanson

One person was said to have been injured and transported to the Cass County Memorial Hospital in Atlantic, Saturday, following a rollover accident one-quarter of a mile east of Wiota on Highway 83. The accident was reported at around 4:21-p.m.

According to dispatch reports, a pickup was apparently passing another vehicle..possibly a tractor…when the vehicle went out of control and rolled into the ditch and landed on its wheels.

The male driver was transported to CCMH after he extricated himself from the pickup. Anita Rescue and Wiota 1st Responders responded to the scene. No other details were immediately available.

Band together against Trump, Buttigieg tells LGBTQ ralliers

News

June 8th, 2019 by Ric Hanson

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Democrat Pete Buttigieg, who hopes to become the first openly gay presidential nominee from a major political party, said at an LGBTQ event in Des Moines, Saturdays that activists must band together to deny President Donald Trump a second term. “We’ve got a lot to worry about, a lot to fight for, but we have the means to do it,” he said. The mayor of South Bend, Indiana, stressed the need for people to vote and to become involved in politics.

Speaking before an audience gathered for LGBTQ pride festivities in front of the Iowa statehouse, Buttigieg accused the Trump administration of lacking a clear answer about whether people can be fired from their job for being gay.

In a 2017 Supreme Court case brought by a man who said he was fired from his job when he revealed he was gay, the Justice Department argued that federal protections did not cover sexual orientation. But the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission filed a brief supporting the plaintiff in the case.

Buttigieg also railed against policies by the department of State and Health and Human Services that he said prevent same-sex couples from adopting children internationally, and prevent transgender Americans from getting health care.

Seven other candidates planned to speak at the event in the capital. On Friday night, Buttigieg attended a dinner honoring Matthew Shepard, the young gay man whose brutal 1998 beating and murder heightened national awareness on the issue of gay rights, and New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand was behind the bar at a gay bar.

Iowa chicken processing plant to close, lay off about 500

Ag/Outdoor, News

June 8th, 2019 by Ric Hanson

CHARLES CITY, Iowa (AP) — Officials at a chicken processing plant in northeastern Iowa announced the plant will close in August, taking 500 jobs with it. The Mason City Globe Gazette reports that the Simply Essentials chicken processing plant in Charles City closes on Aug. 5.

Employees were told Thursday in a letter that 479 plant workers, 22 administrators and 12 field operations workers would be laid off. The letter says the layoffs are expected to be permanent.

Simply Essentials has been in business since 2013, with a primary focus on health and wellness foods. It bought the Charles City plant in 2016. The Iowa Economic Development Authority Board awarded the company $1 million in investment tax credits and $66,000 through a refund of sales and other taxes paid during construction.

Red Oak man arrested for OWI/2nd Saturday morning

News

June 8th, 2019 by Ric Hanson

Montgomery County Sheriff’s Deputies arrested 31-year old Casey Lee Tunnell, of Red Oak, Saturday. Following a traffic stop, Tunnell was arrested at around 7:45-a.m. for OWI/2nd offense. He was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on a $2,000 bond.

Rollover accident w/out injuries in Montgomery County

News

June 8th, 2019 by Ric Hanson

The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office says no injuries were reported following a rollover accident Saturday afternoon, near Red Oak. Deputies responded at around 12:56-p.m. to the scene west of Hawkeye Ford on Highway 34. Upon arrival, they found a 2000 Ford Expedition in the north ditch on its driver’s side.

An investigation revealed the SUV was traveling east on Highway 34 and had approached an eastbound vehicle from behind. A motorcycle ahead of the SUV completed a pass of the vehicle and while overtaking the eastbound vehicle, another vehicle traveling westbound came into view from the curve in the road.

The driver of the Expedition, 29-year old Leroy D. Gladden, of Omaha, avoided colliding with the westbound vehicle by steering onto the north shoulder of the road. The SUV went out of control and overturned before landing on the driver’s side, facing northwest.

Neither Gladden nor his juvenile passenger were injured as a result of the crash. Gladden was cited however, for Unsafe passing, and Driving Under Suspension. The SUV, owned by Amber N. Gladden, of Omaha, sustained $3,500 damage and is considered a total loss.

$1.6 Million in EPA cleanup grants awarded in Iowa

News

June 8th, 2019 by Ric Hanson

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The cities of Dubuque, Fort Dodge and Oskaloosa have been awarded federal grants to clean up and redevelop contaminated sites.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced this week that the cities had been selected to receive $1.6 million in brownfield grants. They’re among 149 communities nationwide selected to receive 151 grant awards totaling nearly $65 million.

Dubuque will receive $800,000 to revitalize areas across the community, including sites in the South Port, Washington Neighborhood and North End neighborhoods. Fort Dodge is getting $500,000 to clean up the Wahkonsa Annex contaminated with inorganic contaminants, and Oskaloosa will get $300,000 to promote investment in existing neighborhoods, encourage cleanup and reuse contaminated property.