SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) – The City Council has scheduled a vote on whether to pay nearly $479,000 to a man who filed a lawsuit over a sledding accident in Sioux City.  The Sioux City Journal reports the council is set to vote Monday on its part of the nearly $2.75 million going to 38-year-old David Rosalez, his wife and their two children.
 
Rosalez sued after injuring his spinal cord in January 2008 while sledding at Sertoma Park. He slid backward into a parking sign.  The city’s insurance carrier will pay $1.97 million. A third party will pay $300,000.  The Rosalez family filed the lawsuit in January 2010.
 
The city has filed third-party petitions against Aqua Leisure Industries, the maker of the snow tube Rosalez was riding, and Wal-Mart, which sold the tube.

A judge in Hall County, NE has ordered a western Iowa woman to appear in Grand Island by no later than 5-p.m. next Wednesday, to serve 120 days in jail for violating the terms of her probation after having been convicted on felony charges of animal neglect. 49-year old Denise Withee, of Mapleton (IA), was convicted in July 2009 for her role in the dumping of 20 dead and three dying dogs in a cornfield near Grand Island during the summer of 2008.

During her trial, Withee claimed she was taking the dogs to someone in Nebraska, when she became sick. She said she pulled over and passed out. When she awoke, Withee says most of the dogs were dead from the heat.

After her conviction in 2009, Withee was sentenced to four-years of probation and ordered not to possess or reside with any animal for five-years. But last week, Sheriff’s deputies in Monona County (IA) who were checking-up on Withee, found 13 dogs at the home she shares with her mother. Both women were cited for suspicion of animal cruelty. The presence of those animals in her home violated the terms of Withee’s Nebraska probation.

Some residents in western and southwest Iowa and parts of Nebraska will be able to indulge in donuts and coffee offered by a popular national chain, in the coming years. According to a development corporation headed-up by three former Huskers football players, Dunkin’ Donuts will open restaurants in Council Bluffs, Red Oak, Sioux City and Shenandoah. The chain will also offer stores in Omaha, Columbus, Norfolk and South Sioux City, NE. The first restaurant will open in 2013, with the remaining stores set to open by 2020.

Dunkin’ Donuts serves coffee, frozen and iced beverages, an assortment of pastries, breakfast sandwiches, and an all-day menu. The company has more than 10,000 restaurants in 32 countries worldwide, and racked-up more than $6-billion in global sales in 2010.

Officials with the Iowa Lottery say a review of their records for the past year shows there were winners of large lottery prizes in every Iowa county. In Cass County, ThelmaJean Venteicher, of Massena, was the latest big instant/scratch game winner during calendar year 2011, winning$30,000 in the “Crossword” game, with a ticket purchased at the 21st Century Co-Op C-Store, in Massena.

Players in Iowa have up to 365 days from the date of the drawing to claim prizes in Powerball, Mega Millions and Hot Lotto. Players have up to 90 days from the date of the drawing to claim prizes in Iowa’s $100,000 Cash Game and the Iowa Lottery’s Pick 3 and Pick 4 games. If the expiration date falls on a weekend or holiday when the lottery’s offices are closed, the winner has until the close of business on the next business day to turn in the ticket.

Prizes in instant-scratch and pull-tab games must be claimed within 90 days of the end of the game. Scratch-game prizes can be claimed at any Iowa Lottery retailer where the games are sold, while prizes in pull-tab games must be claimed at the location where the tickets were purchased.

Prize money left unclaimed after redemption deadlines is invested in future prize pools. Players may visit an Iowa Lottery retailer or go to one of the lottery’s offices in Des Moines, Council Bluffs, Storm Lake, Mason City or Cedar Rapids to claim prizes. Winning lotto numbers may be checked by visiting the lottery Web site at www.ialottery.com or calling the winning numbers hotline at (515) 323-4633. They may also be checked by visiting a lottery retail outlet or calling the lottery at (515) 725-7900 from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.