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TUESDAY, OCTOBER 31

Ida County’s Official Newspaper

Courier Ida County

Vol. 42, No. 43 Ida Grove, Iowa

w ww.idacountycourier.com

Wednesday,, October 25, 2017 Wednesday

Army Corps of Engineers, News GLIMPSE IG council review flood control levee issues

Highway 20 construc on update Page 3

Aging Gracefully Special Sec on-inside

Upcoming Events IG Fire Department Halloween Dance Saturday, October 28 8:30 pm-12:30 am IG Country Club

KidZone Child Care Halloween Party Saturday, October 28 5-8 pm IG Community Hall

Arthur EMR & Library Board-Soup Supper Sunday, October 29 4-7 pm Arthur Community Center

Am. Legion Family Building Fundraiser Brunch Sunday, October 29 8 am-1 pm 124 S. Main St., Galva

IG Chamber Pumpkin Parade & Costume Contest Tuesday, October 31 5 pm Godbersen Park Downtown Ida Grove

3-Day Forecast Wed 10/25

68° | 45° Partly Cloudy

Thurs 10/26

53° | 26° Mostly Cloudy

Fri 10/27

42° | 27° Mostly Sunny

❚ by MIKE THORNHILL

Lowell Blankers and Tommy Aldmeyer of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers met with the Ida Grove City Council Oct. 16 to share concerns the Corps has with several drainage tubes on the Ida Grove lood control levee. The levee on the Odebolt Creek starts east of the golf course, runs through town and to the west of town onto a portion of the Maple River, west of the wastewater treatment plant. The levee also extends to the northeast of the Maple River bridge on Highway 59/175. The Corps inspects the levee every ive years. The most recent inspection came this past April. Blankers said the city has maintained the levee well. “The levee looks amazing and the city has done a fantastic job of maintaining the levee, but there are some drainage issues that need to be corrected.” The main issue is with a 54-inch drainage structure on the levee on the north side of Highway 59/175 across from the entrance to Cobb Park that is showing some separation in the joints. Another concern is with a tube that drains clean, treated water from the wastewater treatment plant to the Maple River. A third concern is the drain tube leading to the Maple River just west of where the old railroad handcar display is located on Pleasant Valley Trail. They indicated the 54-inch structure de initely needs to be repaired, while the other two tubes need to be checked with a video camera to determine if there is a problem. Blankers noted, if repairs are not made, it could result in the Corps listing the levee

as unacceptable. If an unacceptable rating is given, the federal government would not provide inancial assistance if the levee were to fail in a major lood event. As long as the levee is listed as acceptable, the federal government would pay to repair the levee at no cost to the city. Blankers added, if the levee is listed as unacceptable, but the city has a plan in place to make the repairs to bring the levee back to an acceptable level, the federal government would still pay the cost of repairing the levee in case of a failure. Blankers added the city has a two-year window to make repairs. He added, if the city has a plan in place by the end of 2018 to make repairs, it would be acceptable to the Corps. Blankers said the irst step the city needs to take is to draft a letter of intent to make the repairs. “If the city can come up with a plan to ix the culverts, that would be a big step.” City Administrator Marc Dennison said he would work with Blanker on a plan to ix the culverts. Dennison said a plan should be in place by the end of the year. Blankers noted some erosion issues have developed along the levee that runs along the Odebolt Creek, and the city needs to monitor the area. He said, if the erosion starts to reduce the amount of water that can move through the levee system, it will need to be corrected. Blankers said there are steps that can be taken to help the low of water through the system, including removal of islands that develop in the streambed. (continued on page 2)

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Photo by: Deb Loger | Ida County Courier

Patrol work: Ida County Sheriff Wade Harriman, Deputy Andrew Shillington and K-9 Anou presented programs at Galva-Holstein Elementary Schools Oct. 20. Sheriff Harriman shared information on cases where Anou has found drugs, during the program at GalvaHolstein Upper Elementary in Galva. Deputy Shillington and Anou gave a drug search demonstration, obedience demonstration and a patrol work demonstration. Here, Anou is given the command to stop Sheriff Harriman.

Trick or treat coming Oct. 31 Area communities have set times for trick or treating on Tuesday, Oct. 31. Ida Grove The Ida Grove Chamber of Commerce set Tuesday, Oct. 31, at 5 p.m. for its annual Halloween Parade. Trick or treating in Ida Grove will follow from 6 to 8 p.m. at housess with porch lights on. The Halloween Parade will start at 5 p.m. at Godbersen Park. Goodie bags will be handed out at the end of the parade. There will also be a costume or contest with three winners, one each for scariest, funniest and cutest. Each will receive $10 in Chamber Bucks.

Morningside Healthcare Community will have its Haunted Hallway for trick or treaters starting at 6 p.m. on Oct. 31. Trunk or Treat will take place in the parking lot of St. Paul Lutheran Church, Ida Grove, from 6 to 7:30 p.m. on Oct. 31. Holstein Holstein’s annual Pumpkin Parade, sp sponsored by the Chamber of Comm merce, is Tuesday, Oct. 31. A group p photo will be taken by Douglas Schoolhouse at 4:30 p.m. The parade, with trick or treating downtown, will follow from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. The (continued on page 2)

Judge Jacobson puts down gavel

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Judge Edward Jacobson of Ida Grove officially retired as a judge for District 3B of Iowa Oct. 9. Judge Jacobson was appointed to this position in October 2001. He received his bachelor’s degree from Morningside College in 1971 and his juris doctor from the University of South Dakota in 1974. Prior to being appointed a district court judge, Jacobson spent 26 years in private practice and served as Ida County Attorney. He was national trial counsel for major equipment manu-

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facturer/product liability defense for 15 years prior to being appointed a district court judge. Judge Jacobson said, “Shortly after I got out of law school, I was appointed as a law-trained magistrate in South Dakota, which is similar to an associate district judge in Iowa. I did that part-time for six years before I came to Ida Grove.” What led Jacobson to aspire to be a judge? “When I was in law school, law school was

extremely difficult. When we were about done, and the dean finally came off his high horse and actually talked one-to-one with us, he made a comment about judges. He said, ‘Good lawyers should aspire to be judges.’ It was only a year and a half later that the chief judge of our district (in South Dakota) called and offered me the job as a law-trained magistrate. I did that for six years and really loved it. “When I came to Iowa, I thought there were a lot of politics in law schools. (continued on page 3)

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