(LE MARS)–Le Mars newest industries are growing in both workforce and facilities.
The Le Mars City Council and Plymouth County Board of Supervisors successfully requested state incentives to help plastic container maker I-M-L.
I-M-L’s 11-million dollar investment will bring new jobs and expanded facilities for the food container manufacturer serving industries such as Wells.
Neal Adler is the executive director of the Le Mars Business Initiative Corporation which focuses on economic development.
Adler says the I-M-L expansion is moving forward.
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Newly opened North American Co-Pack on Prospect Street Southwest has received U-S-D-A approval. Their initial products include meat slicing and packaging.
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The need for land for existing and new industries may lead to platting of some undeveloped in the southwest Le Mars industrial area. Adler says the northern half of the Industrial Park addition was platted and consideration is being given to the remaining 30 acres.
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Adler is not hearing local industry indicate they’re struggling to attract workers and wages are toward the top in the state.
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Adler made his report to the Board of Supervisors as information this week.
Two charged after rural burglary in Plymouth County
(MERRILL)–Two people were charged after an investigation of a rural Merrill burglary.
The Plymouth County Sheriff’s office reports a residence in the 3300 block of Jade Avenue was burglarized on May 18th between 8:30 and 11:30 in the morning.
Working with Sioux City Police and the Woodbury County Sheriff’s office, a warrant was issued for a search of a Sioux City residence.
The sheriff’s office report states several items that were taken in the Jade Avenue burglary were recovered when the search was made.
Those arrested at the residence on Tuesday are 33-year-old Justin Short and 30-year-old Leya Lorenzen, both of Sioux City. The bail for their felony burglary charges was $5,000 each.
Romney version 2012 means smaller Iowa presence
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) Republican presidential front-runner Mitt Romney is heading to Iowa on Friday for the first time this year.
The early caucus state was key to his 2008 campaign strategy, and he invested a ton of money and manpower to do well. But he ended up losing the caucuses, on his way to losing the GOP nomination.
Now the former Massachusetts governor is preparing to run again, this time with far less emphasis on Iowa.
Advisers say he’s a national candidate who does not need the liftoff that caucus success can provide.
But social conservatives hold sway in Iowa, and by pulling back, Romney also may be able to avoid some of the criticism of his past positions on gay marriage and abortion, which stalled his 2008 campaign.
Ex-Iowa show choir aide accused of sex with teen
MUSCATINE, Iowa (AP) A former assistant show choir director at Muscatine High School has been charged with sex abuse, accused of having sex with a 15-year-old student.
Brandon Reimers was freed on bond Wednesday. His next hearing is scheduled for June 3.
Court records say Reimers faces felony counts of sexual abuse and sexual exploitation by a counselor or therapist and a misdemeanor count of supplying alcohol to an underage person. The records say Reimers performed a sex act on the student in December.
Reimers is listed in a parent-teacher handbook as the assistant director for the Encore Show Choir. The district superintendent told the Muscatine Journal that Reimers was fired on Monday.
A public phone listing for Reimers could not be found. Online court records don’t list his attorney’s name.
Fire destroys 3 buildings in Iowa town of Lawler
LAWLER, Iowa (AP) No injuries have been reported in a fire that destroyed three buildings in the northeast Iowa town of Lawler.
The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier is reporting that seven fire departments were called in to fight the flames on Wednesday night.
The city’s maintenance building, a plumbing company’s storage facility and another building were total losses.
Firefighters say fuel tanks in the city building exploded, making the blaze difficult to control.
The cause of the fire is being investigated.
Boy survives 3-story fall at Des Moines apartment
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) Authorities say a 4-year-old boy survived a three-story fall out a window at an apartment in southwest Des Moines.
Des Moines television station WHO is reporting that the child landed on the ground and was sitting up and talking when an ambulance arrived on Wednesday evening. No injuries were visible, but he was taken to a hospital as a precaution.
Authorities say the window was open and that the boy fell through the window screen.
Cedar Rapids won’t pursue downtown quiet zone
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) The cost of quiet is too high for Cedar Rapids.
According to The Gazette, City Manager Jeff Pomeranz said Wednesday that the city won’t be hiring a consultant to begin the process of implementing a quiet zone for train traffic through downtown. The consultant alone could have cost up to $370,000.
Last week, city officials estimated that putting crossing guards along the train corridor could have cost more than $10 million.
Pomeranz says “the overall package is way, way beyond what is reasonable and what had been contemplated.”
Doug Neumann is president/CEO of the Cedar Rapids Downtown District. He says a quiet zone free of train horns remains an important project that would help spur downtown development.
Danville tavern owners cited for racing mice
DANVILLE, Iowa (AP) The owners of a tavern near Danville have been cited for running what authorities say is an illegal mouse racing operation.
Scott Beach and Jan Beach were cited last week for knowingly permitting criminal activity on licensed premises.
The Hawk Eye newspaper in Burlington says undercover Des Moines County sheriff’s deputies went to the Bucktail Lodge on May 8 and discovered the mouse racing operation with people places bets.
Authorities say several mice were found in cages and bets were described as over any legal limit.
Scott Beach says the only information he has been able to get from officials is that he doesn’t have a gambling license. The 49-year-old Beach says there is nothing wrong with the races, which he has held for the past five years.
Sullivan brothers featured in new sign in Waterloo
WATERLOO, Iowa (AP) An image of Waterloo’s five Sullivan brothers killed during World War II is featured in an updated marquee at the city’s convention center that bears their name.
The new sign at the Five Sullivan Brothers Convention Center features George, Francis, Joseph, Madison and Albert Sullivan. They died after their ship, the USS Juneau, was torpedoed by a Japanese submarine and exploded on Nov. 13, 1942.
The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier says the artwork was created in 1992 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the deaths.
Signs Designs of Cedar Falls worked with Main Street Waterloo’s design council to pay tribute to the brothers. Main Street secured $5,250 for the sign as part of a larger downtown improvement grant from the Black Hawk Gaming Association.
Documentary looks at recovery from 2008 disasters
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) A documentary that focuses on the state’s recovery from the 2008 floods and severe storms will premier in Des Moines on June 1.
The documentary is the result of a joint effort between the Rebuild Iowa Office and Wartburg College, which produced the hour-long film. In a news release issued Wednesday, officials with the Rebuild Iowa Office say the documentary features interviews with leaders from nine communities affected by disaster in 2008, including Cedar Rapids, which experienced record flooding that year, and Parkersburg, which was struck by a tornado that leveled much of the city, killing eight people.
Officials who were interviewed will share memories of the disaster and of the response that followed.
The documentary will be presented at the State Historical Building in downtown Des Moines.
(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
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