Serving O'Brien & Clay Counties
Serving O'Brien & Clay Counties
• Traffic
Maxwell Kenneth Weinke, Woodbury, Minn., Speeding.
Lukas Robin Lane Johnson, Hospers, Seatbelt Violation.
Ashley Victoria Roberts, Coon Rapids, Minn., Speeding.
Olivia Abigail Kelly Evans, Cherokee, Registration Violation.
Robert Burdell Rolfes, Sibley, Seatbelt Violation.
Todd Matthew Helmers, Sheldon, Seatbelt Violation.
Gregory William Hatfield, Swea City, Seatbelt Violation.
Brandon James Postma, Sanborn, Registration Violation.
Jason Miles Evans, Sanborn, No Proof of Insurance.
Jose Alonso Flores, Jr., Primghar, No Valid Driver’s License.
Morgan Beth Keene, Hartley, Failure to Yield.
Katrina Maria Uhl, Iona, Minn., Speeding.
Randy Merle, Sheldon, Failure to Obey Traffic Control Device.
Ledger James Tordoff, Verona, Wis., Speeding.
Ahman Tesfaye Langton, Orange City, Speeding.
Thomas Roland Vega, Sioux City, Speeding.
Keaton Graves, Hartley, Manner of Conveyance-Loaded Handgun.
Michael Henry Kleinwolterink, Sheldon, Speeding.
Sandra Gomez, Sioux City, No Valid Driver’s License.
• OWI
Jamie Lee Wiersma, Merrill.
Jeffery Daniel Warner, Ashton.
Amy Rae Tuttle, Alta.
Shane Matthew Heinis, Sheldon.
• Non-traffic
Jamie Lee Wiersma, Merrill, Serious Crime.
Keaton Gene Otto, Spirit Lake, Aggravated Crime.
Kristin Ewing Baugous, Bradgate, Felony.
Everett James Engelkes, Montevideo, Minn., Felony.
Loni Lee Vaselaar, Ashton, Simple Misdemeanor.
Anna Regina Zarro, Paullina, Simple Misdemeanor.
Brian Andrew Bernal, Sheldon, Simple Misdemeanor.
Domingo Guevara Guevara, Sheldon, Serious Crime.
• Probates
William J. Woodall, Deceased; Gale Woodall Gustafson and Gwyn Leigh Woodall-Voss, Executors.
Kenneth B. Orthmann, Deceased; Lee Ann Bigler and David K. Orthmann, Executors.
• Dissolutions
Trisha Roe and Robert Ennest.
Troy Ackerman and Becky Ann Ackerman.
• Birth
Kyrie Kimanny Solomon.
• Marriages
Erika Jean Clubs and Dylan Dean Miller.
Matthew Robert Youngers and Caitlin Rose Moloney.
• Many agencies respond to threats of violence
The O’Brien County Communications Center received a call at 9:57 a.m. on July 18 from an individual claiming to have shot another person, and that they would commit further acts of violence against other individuals and responding law enforcement. Law enforcement responded to 4532 Redwood Avenue, rural Paullina, where the call was believed to have originated from.
According to the O’Brien County Sheriff’s Office, precautions were made for nearby homes and businesses, and Mill Creek campground was evacuated. The HEAT team was activated but the situation was resolved prior to the team arriving on scene.
Drone operators with O’Brien County EMA, Iowa State Patrol and Sioux County Sheriff’s Office made contact with the occupants of the residence at that location and they were secured without incident. Investigation into the incident is ongoing and there is no further danger to public safety. No one was injured as the original call claimed.
Agencies assisting on the scene were Sioux County Sheriff’s Office, Clay County Sheriff’s Office, Plymouth County Sheriff’s Office, Sheldon Police, Hartley Police Department, Paullina Police Department, Spencer Police Department, Iowa State Patrol, ATF, O’Brien County Conservation, O’Brien County EMA, HEAT Team, Paullina and Primghar Ambulance teams.
• Drainage failure kills fish in O’Brien County creek
Underground drainage tiling apparently failed and formed a sinkhole in a corn field in northwest Iowa that allowed manure to flow into a creek, where it killed small fish for miles, according to the Iowa Department of Natural Resources.
The manure came from Roorda Dairy west of Paullina, which has about 4,200 dairy cattle, DNR records show. The dairy was irrigating a field with manure and didn’t notice the damaged tile line because of standing corn, said Tom Roos, a senior environmental specialist for the department.
“With all these rain events, a tile line must have burst,” he said.
Paullina is in O’Brien County in far northwest Iowa, parts of which have suffered from severe flooding in recent weeks. The pressure from influxes of water into tile drains can cause weak areas to rupture, after which soil can flow into the tiling and create a sinkhole.
On Wednesday, someone noticed dead fish in nearby Mud Creek and reported it to state law enforcement. A DNR investigation found that the manure had been flowing into the creek through the drainage tiling and killed fish along about nine miles of the stream, until it met another creek.
It’s unclear how many gallons of manure might have spilled into the creek and how many fish it killed, Roos said. An investigation is ongoing.
The dairy promptly plugged a culvert to prevent more manure from reaching the creek, Roos said. He did not know how long the spill had occurred.
Roorda Dairy paid a $5,000 fine to the DNR in 2022 for starting construction on a manure digester without state approval. Digesters use bacteria to consume the manure and emit flammable gases such as methane that can be used to heat or power farm operations.
Editor’s note: This article was written by Jared Strong of the Iowa Capital Dispatch. More of his work can be found at http://www.IowaCapitalDispatch.com.
