Highway 18 Detour Near Spencer

Highway 18 east of Spencer will be closed beginning next week due to a bridge construction project.

The Department of Transportation’s Cherokee construction office says highway 18 will be detoured on M-50, B-24, and M-54… beginning next Monday, weather permitting. The project is scheduled for completion during the first part of December.

The Iowa DOT reminds motorists to drive with caution, obey posted speed limit and other signs in the work area, and be aware that traffic fines for moving violations are at least double in work zones. As in all work zones, drivers should stay alert, allow ample space between vehicles, and wear seat belts.

Mertz To Retire From Legislature

After 22 years in the Iowa House, State Representative Dolores Mertz of Ottosen announced Tuesday she will not seek another term in the Iowa House this fall.

Mertz currently serves House District eight… which includes Kossuth, Humboldt, Pocahontas, and part of Webster County. Mertz said after eleven terms in the Iowa House, it’s time to retire and spend more time with her children and grandchildren. Mertz says it’s been a rewarding experience serving the people of Iowa and she’s proud of her record growing Iowa’s agricultural economy and helping families in rural Iowa.

Mertz was the first woman to chair the House Agriculture Committee.

Meth Lab Found In Laurens

A Laurens man faces several drug and child endangerment charges after a meth lab was discovered in his house.

Pocahontas County Sheriff Bob Lampe says 32-year-old Earl Stone as arrested on Monday morning. The arrest stemmed from an investigation by Storm Lake police into Stone’s purchase of more than the legal limit of pseudophedrine. During a search of Stone’s residence, components of a meth lab were discovered in a bedroom. The bedroom with the meth lab was adjacent to the bedrooms of Stone’s four children.

Stone was charged with manufacturing meth, possession of drug precursors, and four counts of child endangerment. All of the charges are class “D” felonies. Stone is being held in the Pocahontas County jail on a 55-thousand dollar bond. He also faces charges filed by Storm Lake police for possession of drug precursors and a violation of pseudophedine restrictions.

The Pocahontas County Sheriff’s department was assisted by two technicians from the Storm Lake police and fire departments in the collection and neutralizing of dangerous chemicals associated with a meth lab. Also assisting were the Laurens police department, Laurens fire department, and Laurens ambulance.

SL Ice Rinks Closed

The City of Storm Lake and Buena Vista University have closed two ice skating rinks

City manager Jim Patrick says as the weather warms up and the ice on the lake begins to melt, conditions on the ice skating rinks is no longer safe for skaters. Effective immediately, city staff and Buena Vista University staff will stop maintaining the ice rinks for public use. One ice rink was located in the new beach area being created by Buena Vista University in Scout Park and the other ice rink was located in front of King’s Pointe Resort.

Signs will be posted at both ice rinks notifying skaters of the closure. Patrick says the city has been very pleased with use of the rinks this year and the partnership between Buena Vista University and the City has worked wonderfully. He says the city looks forward to working with the University again next winter to provide this recreational opportunity for the students at BVU and the community.

The two ice rinks were created on the lake this winter for the use of the public.

SL School Custodians Seek Raise

Custodians in the Storm Lake school district have asked for a pay raise of over seven percent.

The custodians… represented by the United Electrical, Radio, and Machine Workers of America… propose a one-dollar per hour increase for all current employees… two additional paid holidays… a five-percent pay differential for employees working a majority of their hours after three p.m… and no additional cost to the employee for insurance coverage if rates increase.

Superintendent Paul Tedesco says the district calculates the one-dollar an hour raise as a seven-point 22 percent increase. He says they didn’t calculate the increase from the other union proposals.

The district’s proposal calls for a 22-hundredths of a percent increase to cover IPERS increases, with no other increase to the current wages. Tedesco says the current costs for wages and benefits for the custodians is 574-thousand dollars, with the 22-hundredths increase costing an additional 13-hundred dollars.