DELL RAPIDS, S.D. – A 35-year-old Jasper, MN woman has died from injuries sustained in a two-vehicle crash that occurred Thursday morning near Dell Rapids, SD.

The names of the persons involved have not been released pending notification of family members.

The preliminary crash report shows that the driver of a 2009 Mazda CX-7 was westbound on Jasper Street, while the driver of a 2023 Ram 4500 was traveling southbound on 482nd Avenue. The Ram 4500 failed to stop at the stop sign at the intersection of those roads and struck the Mazda CX-7. Both vehicles left the 4-way intersection and came to rest in the southwest ditch. The driver of the Ram 4500 sustained serious, non-life-threatening injuries and was transported to a Sioux Falls Hospital. The driver of the Mazda CX-7 was pronounced deceased at the scene. Charges are pending.

The South Dakota Highway Patrol is investigating the crash. All information released so far is only preliminary.

 

DES MOINES, IA – An interesting story out of Iowa that we will be watching comes from a recent report released by the Sierra Club Iowa Chapter and impacted landowners.

The report says there may be a water crisis facing Iowans based on whether Iowa’s aquifers sustain the amount of water being withdrawn across the state.

Based on data from similar facilities and current ethanol usage the report alleges that Summit Carbon Solutions carbon capture facilities across Iowa will require 3.36 billion gallons of water from Iowa’s aquifers annually.  That would be the equivalent of 10-11 new ethanol plants in Iowa.  Much of this water comes from areas already struggling to meet demands for surrounding ethanol plants, industry and municipal use.

The report goes on to state that the Iowa Department of Natural Resources is not adequately reviewing water withdrawal permits to ensure they meet the definition of Beneficial Use as defined by Iowa law.  In addition it states that the state has never done a comprehensive study to determine aquifer levels and whether Iowa can sustain the high water demand from industries like ethanol and Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS).

Iowa has two types of aquifers, alluvial and bedrock aquifers.  Alluvial aquifers are near the surface and recharge relatively quickly with regular precipitation.  Confined bedrock aquifers take many lifetimes to recharge.

The report calls for the Iowa DNR to deny any water withdrawal permits for Carbon Capture and for DNR to do a comprehensive study on Iowa’s aquifers, among other things.  The state has not responded to these allegations at this time.

 

LINN COUNTY, IA – A Marion, Iowa man is facing three charges of First Degree Murder in connection to the deaths of three people in Rural Linn County.

34-year-old Luke Truesdell of Marion is also being charged with one count of Attempted Murder in addition to the three capitol crime charges.

The incident happened just before 4 p.m. on Wednesday in the 3600 block of East Otter Road. That’s north of the town of Robins and southwest of Alburnett.

First responders said they found four people with severe injuries. Three of those people died at the scene.

Those victims have been identified as:

Romondus Lamar Cooper, 44, of Cedar Rapids

Keonna Victoria Ryan, 26, of Cedar Rapids; and

Amanda Sue Parker, 33, of Vinton

A fourth person was flown to a hospital with what the sheriff’s office describes as life-threatening injuries.

Investigators said the victims appeared to have blunt force trauma to the head from being hit by a metal pipe.

The sheriff said one of the possible motives for the murders was a chance that the crime could be made into a movie.

The three people that died are being taken to the State Medical Examiner’s Office in Ankeny for autopsy.

The investigation remains ongoing. No additional arrests are expected at this time.

 

SIOUX CITY, IA – We told you a while back about 31-year-old Wesley Louis Staten, who was extradited from Alabama back to Sioux City in connection with a fatal vehicular accident that occurred in Sioux City last October.

Authorities have now scheduled an arraignment on June 17 in Woodbury County District Court for Staten.

He is charged with 2 counts of vehicular homicide, a count of operating a vehicle while intoxicated, and a count of leaving the scene of a fatal accident.

The incident that all this comes from happened on October 13 of 2023.  Staten was allegedly driving a Ford Expedition on 6th street and ran a red light at a high rate of speed.  He collided with a Ford Fusion, killing the driver of that vehicle, 51-year-old Terry Frisbie of Sioux City, and the passenger, 50-year-old Judith Jordan of LeMars at that intersection.

Staten fled the scene of the accident and turned himself in to authorities the next day.  He was not taken into custody at that time.  In April of this year law enforcement did inform the public that they were looking for Staten who was later found in Alabama and subsequently extradited back to Iowa.

Staten is being held on a $100,000 bond.

 

BADLANDS NATIONAL PARK, S.D. – The plague has been confirmed in prairie dogs in the Badlands National Park, Buffalo Gap National Grassland, and the greater Conata-Badlands ecosystem, according to the National Park Service and U.S. Forest Service, that is following the results of tests conducted on the varmint population on May 31.

Plague is a non-native bacterial disease that occurs in rodents and their fleas throughout the western U.S. according to the National Park Service.

Eric Veach, the superintendent of Badlands National Park, has taken action action to inform the public to reduce future risk to park visitors and posted signs for park visitors for awareness, safety and risk reduction.

Humans can get the plague but the risk is low, the NPS said.

The area is known for a population of the endangered black-footed ferrets which along, with the prairie dog, may be at the greatest risk from plague.

According to a news release from the Park Service the ferrets are one of the most endangered mammals in the world. When the disease infected mammals in the Conata Basin in 2009, it killed more than 80% of the black-footed ferret population.

The NPS, U.S. Fish and Wildlife and U.S. Forest Service are working to determine how many prairied dogs may have died from the plague.  In addition the Park Service and the U.S. Forest Service and conservation partners are applying emergency flea control agents to stop the spread, according to the release. They are also monitoring for plague activity in the Conata-Badlands area.

 

SOUTH DAKOTA Undated – Voters in Gregory, Haakon, and Tripp counties voted down measures to hand count ballots in future elections during the June 4 primary this past Tuesday.

The auditors in those counties are breathing a bit easier based on that outcome.

Gregory County Auditor Julie Bartling reported that voter turnout in her county was just about 40%, much higher than the 17% average across the state.  In a statement made to KELO News she said she is comfortable with the current ballot tabulation system, and that she trusts the machines that are in use.

She went on to say that she is always willing to show residents how the machines work and to answer questions about their usage.

Opponents to the hand counting proposal have always cited the potential of human error that comes along with attempting to do it by hand and the cost as being reasons not to go that route. But even though the measure failed there are many who expect the issue will not go away.

In Tripp County where the measure also failed, County Auditor Barb Desersa pointed out that in the last general election her county did hand count ballots.  She said they were on the job until almost 6 am the following morning, whereas in this election using the tabulating machines for counting they were completed with the task by 10 pm the same night.