Hinton Fire Department Responds To Field Fire
(Hinton) — The Hinton Fire Department was dispatched to a field fire on Sunday afternoon at about 5:53 p.m. The fire was at 21784 308th Street. Fire officials were quickly able to bring that fire under control within 15 minutes.
Teenage Halloween Trick or Treater Hit By Car
(Le Mars) — An accident happened Friday evening at about 6:42 p.m. near the 1000 block of Central Avenue in Le Mars when a 14 year old boy was struck by a car. The boy, thought to be participating in the Halloween trick or treat activities, was on foot and crossing the street when a car had accidentially hit him. Le Mars Police say the teenage boy suffered only minor injuries as a result of the mishap. The teen age boy was taken to the Floyd Valley Hospital by the Le Mars ambulance.
Chamber Holiday Dollars Still Available
(Le Mars) — If you missed your opportunity to purchase Le Mars Chamber of Commerce Holiday dollars on Saturday morning, don’t fret, because Mary Reynolds with the Chamber of Commerce says there are still holiday dollars left over.
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Reynolds says initially, the Chamber placed a limit on the amount that could be purchased, but she says people have returned a second time to take advantage of the shopper’s savings.
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People can save 10 percent on the Hy-Vee, Fareway, and Wal-mat dollars, and a total of 15 percent can be saved with the retail and restaurant categories. People interested in purchasing the Chamber dollars, can stop by the Chamber office at 50 Central Avenue during normal business hours Monday through Friday.
Colonel Kuhn To Speak At Gehlen Veteran’s Day Program
(Le Mars) — Decorated and Retired United States Army Colonel Kimberly S. Kuhn, a 1985 Gehlen Catholic graduate, will be the featured speaker during Gehlen Catholic’s annual Veteran’s Day Prayer Service, on Tuesday, November 11th. The prayer service, which will begin at 8:45 a.m., will be held in the LeRoy Kellen Memorial Gym.
Colonel Kuhn received the Distinguished Alumna award from the College of St. Benedict and St. John’s University on June 28, 2014. This prestigious honor was bestowed upon Colonel Kuhn a month before her retirement from the Army, where she served in the Army’s Criminal Investigation Command (CID). The Distinguished Alumna Award honors an alumna who has distinguished herself for her outstanding achievements in her chosen profession, as well as has made a lasting contribution in her field as a role model or leader for alumnae.
Colonel Kuhn began her military career as a ROTC Student and Distinguished Military Graduate from the College of St. Benedict and St. John’s University. As a student, she was not only one of two non-nursing females in the ROTC program, she, was also in the elite competitive training group, the Raiders.
She continued to push down barriers by seeking and obtaining a commission into the Military Police. Cadet Kuhn was commissioned into the Regular Army in 1989 as a Second Lieutenant in the Military Police Corps, the first commissioned Military Police Office out of the St. John’s ROTC program. She continued to work hard, advancing in her military career at a commendable rate: from Platoon Leader in Germany and Panama, to Company Commander in Germany and Bosnia-Herzegovina, to CID Battalion Commander in Kansas, to the Deputy Brigade Commander in Iraq.
After being promoted to Colonel, she served as the Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations for the Criminal Investigation Command (CID) and led a Secretary of the Army appointed Fraud Task Force.
Colonel Kuhn ended her career with many honors, most notably the Legion of Merit, the Bronze Star Medal, and the Military Police Regimental Association’s Order of the Marechaussee in Silver #212.
Colonel Kuhn is now transitioning to civilian life in Des Moines after serving the United States Army for 25 years.
Colonel Kuhn is the proud daughter of Vincent and Alana Kuhn of LeMars.
Plymouth County Farmers Nearing Completion With Harvest
(Le Mars) — Plymouth County farmers are making great progress towards finishing this year’s harvest. Jerry Wendt who farms west of Le Mars was just one of many farmers harvesting corn this weekend. Wendt says the harvest has produced some decent yield returns.
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Earlier this year, many farmers had reported wetter than normal corn as a result of the late maturing crop. However, Wendt reports most of his corn moisture level is low enough that he can store his grain without any artificial drying methods.
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Wendt says he probably farms a bit different than most Plymouth County farmers in the fact that he harvests his wet corn first. He also says he has noticed more stalk diseases this year.
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Although yields appear to be doing well this year, farmers like Wendt, are facing commodity prices at nearly half the value from last year. Wendt admits it may be difficult to budget for next year’s expenses.
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Many farmers have indicated they believe they will finish with harvest within the next few days. Iowa State University Extension Crops Specialist Joel DeJong estimates the soybean harvest is more than 90 percent finished, and the county corn harvest is perhaps 75 percent complete.
Sioux City Restaurant Urges Customers To Set Aside Cell Phones
SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) – A Sioux City restaurant is offering its customers an incentive to put away their cell phones and talk to each other.
Sneaky’s Chicken promises a 10 percent discount to customers who give up their cell phones while eating dinner at the restaurant on Wednesdays.
Owner Dave Ferris and his daughter, general manager Christy Wright, came up with the idea after they noticed a decline in conversation among customers who seemed preoccupied with their cell phones.
Wright says nearly all their customers participate in the promotion by putting their phones in a box their server brings to the table.
Iowa DNR Investigates Fish Kill
STACEYVILLE, Iowa (AP) – Iowa authorities are investigating a fish kill that was caused by manure from a hog confinement farm spilling into the Little Cedar River near Stacyville.
The state Department of Natural Resources says about 5,000 gallons of manure flowed into the creek after a hose broke. The spill was reported around 11 p.m. Friday.
The hose was being used to apply manure from Pronet Farms to a field.
Authorities say beaver dams on the river helped slow the flow of the manure. More than 100,000 gallons had been pumped out of the stream by Saturday afternoon to contain the manure.
Dead fish were found along a half mile of the river. Biologists will follow up and assess the damage to the fish population.
Rural Iowa In Need Of Lawyers
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – The number of lawyers practicing in rural parts of Iowa is steadily declining because older lawyers are retiring but few young lawyers move to those areas.
The lack of lawyers is increasingly forcing people who live in rural areas to drive significant distances to get legal help.
A state database shows that 75 percent of Iowa’s attorneys work in 11 counties that all have sizeable cities.
At one extreme, Polk County – the state’s most populated county – has 2,517 attorneys. At the other end, Ringgold County in southern Iowa has only two attorneys.
One of those Ringgold County lawyers, James Pedersen, wants to retire but he hasn’t been able to find anyone to buy his successful law firm.
