A man from rural Pella died Wednesday afternoon (10/31) in a farm tractor fire. The Mahaska County Sheriff’s Office says it was called to a farm on Eaton Avenue around 3:15 pm. When paramedics arrived, they found 33-year-old Joshua Kyle Wooldridge dead. Preliminary signs show that Wooldridge died from a farming accident and foul play is not suspected. Wooldridge’s body was taken to the State Medical Examiner’s Office3 in Ankeny for an autopsy. The investigation into this incident is continuing.
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Mahaska County Board held a special meeting today
Today’s special board meeting started at 9am at the Mahaska County Courthouse in Oskaloosa. At this special Mahaska County Board meeting, the Board opened bids for a new radio communications system. The bids came from Raycom and Motorola. County Board Chairman Willy Van Weelden says the bids will be taken to a consultant the Board hired and a recommendation should come within two to three weeks. They also considered a Painting with Lights contract for the County Courthouse.
Pittsburgh synagogue shooting pleads not guilty
Wearing a red jumpsuit and a bandage on his left arm, the suspect in the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting rampage that left 11 people dead made a brief appearance in federal court Thursday for arraignment on a 44-count indictment, including hate crimes. Unlike his first court appearance, 46-year-old Robert Bowers walked into court and was not using a wheelchair. Bowers, unshackled, shook hands with his attorney and appeared to be looking at the indictment. He glanced around the room while walking to the table, but said nothing. He leaned forward to listen as U.S. Attorney Rivetti
Authorities say a heavily armed Bowers walked into the Tree of Life Synagogue in the city’s affluent Squirrel Hill neighborhood Saturday morning as services were beginning. He shouted anti-Semitic epithets and started shooting. In addition to those killed, two in the synagogue were wounded. Police arrived, and four officers and Bowers were wounded in a gunbattle.
Funerals were planned Thursday for Bernice and Sylvan Simon, husband and wife, and Dr. Richard Gottfried, a dentist who worked part-time at a clinic treating refugees and immigrants. The oldest victim, 97-year-old Rose Mallinger, will be honored at a service Friday. Her daughter was injured in the attack. Bowers, a 46-year-old truck driver, was released from the hospital hours before his first court appearance Monday. He appeared in court in a wheelchair and was being held without bail for the deadliest attack against the Jewish community in U.S. history.
Brady has said he is seeking the approval of Attorney General Jeff Sessions to pursue a death penalty case against Bowers. On Tuesday, President Donald Trump visited the city and was greeted by hundreds of protesters. The president honored a Jewish custom by placing stones on memorials outside the synagogue. Inside, the president and the first lady, Melania Trump, lit candles in honor of each of the dead, the White House said.
November 1st : On this day
Born on this day in 1957 in Houston, Texas, was Lyle Lovett, singer-songwriter and actor. Lovett has won four Grammy Awards, including Best Male Country Vocal Performance and Best Country Album. It’s Not Big It’s Large was released in 2007, where it debuted and peaked at #2 on the Top Country Albums chart.
Oskaloosa Indian football players earn Academic all-region honors
Thirteen Oskaloosa High School football players have earned Academic All-Region honors: Aaron Blom, Reed Brown, Colton Butler, Nik Dykstra, Cole Henry, Gavin Higgins, Casey Hill, Wyatt Krier, Zaiyan Mamun, Kenny Settimi, Cade Snakenberg, Cole Snakenberg and Sullivan Tighe.
Governor Reynolds and Senator Grassley were in Oskaloosa yesterday
The last time US Senator Chuck Grassley was in Oskaloosa, it was before the confirmation hearings for Judge Brett Kavanaugh to be on the US Supreme Court. Grassley chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee, which held those hearings. Speaking in Oskaloosa Wednesday (10/31) he says the way Senate Democrats behaved toward Kavanaugh is motivating Republicans to vote next week. Grassley says the reaction to the Kavanaugh hearings is also boosting the chances of Governor Kim Reynolds to win re-election in next week’s election.
Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds campaigned in Oskaloosa Wednesday afternoon (10/31) and she brought a few friends: Joni Ernst, Lieutenant Governor Adam Gregg, State Auditor Mary Mosiman, US House candidate Christopher Peters and State Treasurer candidate Jeremy Davis. Reynolds spoke about the importance of keeping Iowa out of debt…as it was when she and former Governor Terry Branstad took office in 2011.
“We were facing a $900 million deficit when we took office. They had after spending all the money, they pulled out the credit cards, they bonded for…it’s called the I-JOBS initiative, it created no jobs. They borrowed $700 to $800 million and we’re still paying for that every year. $55 million that taxpayers are on the hook for annually for the next 20 years and we can’t retire those bonds early. Iowans don’t like debt, they don’t believe in bonding. We believe in being fiscally responsible, we’re cutting taxes.”
Reynolds is running against Democratic challenger Fred Hubbell in next week’s election.
Absentee ballot concerns
If you just received your absentee ballot in the mail and you’re worried your ballot won’t arrive in time for Election Day on Tuesday (11/6), the Mahaska County Auditor’s Office has some ideas. First, mail your ballot. As long as it’s postmarked no later than Monday the 5th and arrives by noon November 13th, your ballot will be counted. You can also hand deliver your absentee ballot to your County Auditor’s Office. Finally, on Election Day, vote in person. Just take your unused absentee ballot and turn it over to the election officials.
Meet Midge the yellow tabby kitten
Midge, the yellow tabby kitten, is our KBOE/KMZN Pet of the Week. Midge, estimated to be 8 weeks old, is a very playful, frisky little kitten who loves to run and be loved on. She is looking for her forever home. She was found by the Stephen Memorial Shelter and recently underwent hernia surgery. She has been spayed also. Midge is ready for adoption now so submit an application to give her a loving home. Call Stephen Memorial Animal Shelter at (641) 673-3991 for more information about Midge or a wide variety of other loving and adoptable pets!
Lady Antebellum announces 15 shows in Las Vegas
Everyone in Lady Antebellum lives in Nashville. But they are about to take on a second home: Las Vegas. Early on Wednesday morning (Oct. 24), Lady Antebellum announced their first-ever residency. Beginning in early February, the band will headline a series of 15 shows at the Palms Casino Resort’s Pearl Concert Theater. The venue holds 2,500 guests, giving fans an intimate way to appreciate the band’s 13 years of music with a stripped-down performance. “Las Vegas has always been a special place for us both personally and as a band,” Lady Antebellum’s Hillary Scott said in a press release. “I’ve celebrated my birthday in Vegas and we won our first award ever as Lady A at the ACM Awards.
“So we are looking forward to making it our second home, bringing along some of our friends from Nashville and creating a show unlike we’ve ever put together before.” Those friends will likely include some of the hit songwriters the band has collaborated with over the years.
Tickets for the Our Kind of Vegas residency go on sale this Friday (Nov. 2) at www.ticketmaster.com/LadyA.
Our Kind of Vegas dates:
• Feb. 8, 9, 13, 15, 16
• May 10, 11, 15, 17, 18
• Aug. 23, 24, 28, 30, 31
James ‘Whitey’ Bulger, notorious Boston gangster, found dead in prison; homicide suspected
James “Whitey’’ Bulger, the ruthless Boston gangster who eluded authorities for 16 years before being captured and then convicted in 2013 of participating in 11 murders, has died at a prison in West Virginia. Bulger, 89, was found dead Tuesday, the Federal Bureau of Prisons confirmed. It said Bulger had arrived at the Hazelton Penitentiary in Bruceton Mills, West Virginia, on Monday.
Authorities did not immediately release a cause of death, but Justin Tarovisky, a prison union official, told The Associated Press the death was being investigated as a homicide. The FBI has opened an inquiry. Another prison union official who was not authorized to comment publicly said Bulger was beaten to death and wrapped in blankets to appear as if he were sleeping. Video surveillance showed at least two inmates going in and later exiting the cell before the body was discovered by two officers. The officers initially checked Bulger’s cell because he had not appeared for breakfast, the official said. When covers were removed from the unresponsive Bulger, officers reported he appeared bloodied and severely beaten.
His life of crime inspired several movies, including “Black Mass” and “The Departed,’’ which won an Oscar for best picture of 2006. Adding intrigue to his story was the FBI’s contention that Bulger was a longtime informant – which he denied – and the fact his younger brother, William “Billy” Bulger, became one of Massachusetts’ most powerful politicians as president of the state Senate for 18 years. Bulger was seen as a Robin Hood by some: helping old ladies across the street and giving turkey dinners to neighbors at Thanksgiving. But authorities said he was diabolical and would kill anyone who would cross him.
Among the slayings linked to Bulger was the shooting death of Oklahoma entrepreneur Roger Wheeler, who was gunned down outside his country club in Tulsa in 1981. Bulger was also convicted for his role in murders in several states and for racketeering, extortion, drug dealing, money laundering and weapons possession. Patricia Donahue’s husband, Michael, was killed in 1982 when he offered a ride home to a man allegedly targeted for death by Bulger because he was talking to the FBI. “I’d like to open up a champagne bottle and celebrate,” Donahue told WBZ-TV in Boston on Tuesday. Tom Duffy, a retired state police detective who hunted Bulger and was a consultant on “The Departed,” called word of the gangster’s death “celebratory news.”
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