Adair and Guthrie County Emergency Management Coordinator Bob Kempf held a press conference at the Stuart Rescue hall on Thursday night. To begin the press conference, Kempf explained to those in attendance the purpose of his department and later thanked the private sector sponsors of his department, including Raccoon Valley Radio. Additionally, a private announcement was made during the event, which will be announced publicly next Tuesday on Let’s Talk Guthrie County which airs on K107.9 and www.raccoonvalleyradio.com.
Private sector sponsors for Adair and Guthrie County Emergency Management in 2015 include:
-Raccoon Valley Radio
-Lake Panorama Association
-First National Bank of Fontanelle and Greenfield
-Guthrie County State Bank
-Union State Bank of Bridgewater & Greenfield
-Farmers State Bank of Yale
-Guthrie County Fair
-Peoples Trust & Savings Bank of Guthrie Center
(Below: Guthrie County Emergency Management Commission Chairman Jeremy Cooper presents a 2015 Emergency Management Gold Sponsorship to Raccoon Valley Radio’s Guthrie County News Director Andrew Zupkoff)
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An Adair County man convicted of three counts of third degree sexual abuse, will receive a new trial. Documents filed Wednesday in the State’s Court of Appeal rule that Stacy Pitsenberger was prejudiced against, after his counsel’s failure to object to expert testimony that vouched for a witness’s credibility. The ruling concludes that the result of the trial may have been different if proper objections had been made. No date for the new trial has been set yet. You can find the full court ruling here: http://www.iowacourts.gov/About_the_Courts/Court_of_Appeals/Court_of_Appeals_Opinions/Recent_Opinions/20150422/14-0060.pdf
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As previously reported, State Representative Clel Baudler’s proposed bill to raise penalties for those caught using and distributing synthetic drugs passed unanimously in the State House and a Senate subcommittee. Baudler hopes the bill passes unanimously in the full Senate but says he’s getting some resistance from an individual senator. “We’re still waiting for them to act on it. It seems like there’s one senator that wants to put his thumb print on it someplace. We keep getting different stories, he’s trying to throw things against the wall to see what sticks and then it dies down for a while. We’re still working on it and have not given up on it at all.”
Baudler says there has still been no date given as to when the piece of legislation will arrive on the Senate floor.
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An Iowa District Judge has moved to reinstate the first degree murder convictions of a Coon Rapids man found guilty of killing his estranged wife and another man in 2007. Judge Randy Hefner issued the decision after ruling that it could not be proven that Johnny Lee Johnson was prejudiced for wearing visible ankle shackles during his murder trial. Although Johnson had lost his previous 2009 appeal of the convictions, Guthrie County Attorney Mary Benton believes that Johnson will undoubtedly appeal this latest ruling.
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After dismantling the Stuart Rescue Board of Directors last month, the City Council has created an interim Advisory Rescue Board. The volunteer board currently consists of Tod Broman, Mike Renslow and Mike Johnson. The City Council says they’re hoping to find one or two more members for the board. If you’re interested, you can call City Hall at 515-523-1455.