Hillview Park And Recreation Area To Celebrate 50 Years
(Hinton) — Back 50 years ago, a group of conservation-minded people started a
petition believing Plymouth County should have a county park with the focus on
wildlife and nature, and so, the Hillview Park and Recreation Area was created.
Jump ahead to today, and the Plymouth County Conservation Board is celebrating the
park’s golden anniversary with an open house scheduled for Sunday afternoon. Nick
Beeck (Beck) the executive director of the county Conservation Board says several
activities have been planned for the celebration, including time to discuss the
county’s elk herd.
Attendees of the park’s celebration will have the opportunity to tour the park’s
facilities. Beeck says most people may know of the sledding hill and the elk
herd, both located at Hillview, but he says the park offers so much more.
The Dennis Sohl Outdoor Learning Center has been utilized for four years. Beeck
says its primarily used as a meeting location.
The 50th anniversary celebration will be from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. on Sunday,
September 11th. Hillview Recreation and Park is located on County road C-60 about
a mile west of Hinton. Beeck says Sunday’s celebration offers a good opportunity
for those people who haven’t visited Hillview for a long time, or those people who
have never visited the county park.
12th Street SW Railroad Crossing Closed For Repairs
(Le Mars) — City officials are closing today the railroad crossing located at 12th Street southwest and Business Highway 75, near the Hy-Vee supermarket. The crossing is closed in order for the railroad company to make repairs, including the installation of cross arms.
Chamber Of Commerce Features Fairy-tale Land Murder Mystery
(Le Mars) — Thursday evening’s performance of “The Fairytale Land Murder
Mystery”, was a delight to the 400 plus attendees. This marks the seventh year
for the large-cast community comedy plays, and the event serves as a fund raiser
for the Le Mars Chamber of Commerce. The plot of the story was to figure out
which of the familiar story-book characters had killed Pinocchio. The play
featured a cast consisting of people familiar to the community portraying
characters from our childhood memories that included: The Wizard of Oz featuring
Dorthory, Glinda the Good Witch, as well as the Wicked Witch of the West. Peter
Pan, Wendy, Captain Hook and Tinkerbelle were featured, as was Snow White,
Cinderella, Prince Charming, and the The Evil Queen. Alice in Wonderland along
with the Mad Hatter and the Queen of Hearts were represented. Little Red Riding
Hood with the Big Bad Wolf, and Robin Hood with Friar Tuck and Maid Marion were
all part of the characters. The play was an original and written by Mary Reynolds, Rich Ziettlow and Dave Grossenheider, all of Le Mars, and it provided for several chuckles and laughs. Many local businesses and community people were referenced in the comedy
mystery. The two moments of the play that made the audience erupt into long
sessions of laughter was when Linda Mayrose, who was portraying the character
Little Red Riding Hood, shed her famous red hood to show she was a “motorcycle
Mama” and had belonged to a motorcycle club, complete with a leather clad outfit
and tattoos. The other moment was an improvised incident. Prior to the time when
Kris Rasmussen had momentarily forgotten her line, Dr. Andrew Geha who was the
character Peter Pan determined the Mad Hatter was suffering from micro-
deckitidous, or otherwise known as “playing without a full deck”. When Rasmussen,
stood before the crowd with what must have felt like an embarrassing moment of
silence, trying to recall her written lines, she quickly recovered when she
announced to the crowd that she, after-all, had only a half a brain. Soon after
the laughter from the crowd had died down, Rasmussen and the other cast members
continued with the play. In the end, Captain Hook as portrayed by Mark Strub,
determined the guilty party was Peter Pan.
Rhonda Beach Honored As School “Employee Of The Month”
(Le Mars) — The Le Mars Community School District has honored an English high
school teacher as this month’s “Employee of the Month”. Rhonda Beach has been
teaching at the Le Mars Community School District for nine years. According to
the nomination submitted by Barry Borchers, Rhonda Beach is a dedicated
employee…hard-working…and cares about the students. Student, Abby Whiddon says
this about her teacher: “if a student in Mrs. Beach’s class turns in all their
homework they pretty much can pass her class. If someone had missed a couple of
days of school, or has fallen behind she does so much to help them catch up. She
will come to school at about 7:00 a.m. with donuts for you and will help you catch
up. The student may be a month or more behind and may not come to school but Mrs.
Beach is always there to help them no matter what. During class if you have a
problem, or are confused she’s standing right next to you trying to help you
figure out the problem. She is so nice and takes so much time out of her day to
help anyone who is struggling. Mrs. Beach does not judge you no matter what
problems you have, or what you are going through. She just wants to be there to
help. You can talk to her about anything, and she will be there listening, and
trying to help you as much as she can. Mrs. Beach never gives up on any student,
even if she may know what the outcome may be. She’s still there trying her
hardest to get you back on track whether the problem may be about school work, or
just about things happening in your life, she is there. Our congratulations go to
Rhonda Beach for being named as the Le Mars Community School District’s employee
of the month.
Le Mars Community Announces Homecoming Royalty Candidates
(Le Mars) — Le Mars Community High School will celebrate it Homecoming 2016 with
the theme “There’s no place like home” adapted from the famous story, The Wizard
of Oz. Homecoming is scheduled for Friday, September 23rd. Six senior girls and
six senior boys have been announced as this year’s Homecoming Royalty candidates.
They include: Bryce Frentress, Zerick Campbell, Silas Buss, Colton Beitelspacher,
James Brownmiller and Trenton Hilbrands. The queen candidates include: Matilynn
Langel, Emma Madsen, Jessica Eisma, Makena Ma-su-en, Gretchen Dodge and Krista
Zenk.
Northwestern College Named As “One Of Midwest Best Colleges”
(ORANGE CITY) —- Northwestern College of Orange City has again been named among
the best colleges in the Midwest by the Princeton Review, a nationally known
education services company. Northwestern is one of 156 institutions recommended in
the Review’s 2017 “Best in the Midwest” section on its website, based on
institutional data and the opinions of current students.
Students quoted in the college’s profile spoke highly of Northwestern’s commitment
to integrate faith and learning. One student wrote, “The professors really make us
think outside the box and want us to relate what we are learning in the classroom
with our faith.” Another said students are “looking for ways to incorporate their
faith into everyday living.” A third described the college as being devoted to
“providing a safe space to dialogue and grow in knowledge along with people who
have different perspectives.”
Northwestern’s faculty members were also commended for their efforts to help
students.
Students cited in the profile described their peers as “very friendly” and the
campus as “a tightly knit community.” The website also includes positive student
comments about Northwestern’s commitment to diversity and small class sizes.
The profiles of all schools featured on the Princeton Review’s Best Regional
Colleges website include scores on a scale of 60 to 99 in several categories based
on data provided by the colleges and student surveys. Among the 15 Iowa colleges
listed as the “Best in the Midwest,” only one rated higher in quality of life than
Northwestern’s score of 94 and only one rated higher in financial aid than
Northwestern’s score of 89. Only two Iowa schools had better ratings than
Northwestern’s regarding the quality of teaching and professors’ accessibility
outside the classroom.
The Princeton Review’s 156 “Best in the Midwest” colleges are located in 12
states: Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska,
North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota and Wisconsin. The 649 colleges listed from
across the nation represent only 25 percent of the country’s four-year
institutions.
Iowa And Iowa State See Enrollment Increase – UNI Drops
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Iowa State University and the University of Iowa are
reporting record fall enrollment but the number of students at the University of
Northern Iowa dropped slightly.
The state’s three public universities reported their fall enrollment Thursday
and discussed the student numbers at a Board of Regents meeting in Iowa City.
Of the three schools, Iowa State had the largest enrollment, with 36,660
students. That’s a record for ISU, topping last year’s total of 36,001.
The University of Iowa reported a total enrollment of 33,334 students, up
from 32,150 in 2015.
Enrollment was down a little at the University of Northern Iowa, which
reported 11,905 students this fall compared to 11,981 last year.
Fish Kill Reported On Little Floyd River Near Sheldon
SHELDON, Iowa (AP) – Iowa Department of Natural Resources investigators are
investigating a fish kill along the Little Floyd River near Sheldon in northwest
Iowa.
The kill was reported Wednesday afternoon and initially appeared to involve a
small number of fish. But a news release Thursday from the department says further
investigation indicates the kill stretched at least three miles and involved
hundreds of fish – mostly small chubs, minnows and suckers.
Several water samples taken Wednesday showed no signs of elevated ammonia,
and there were no obvious signs or smell of manure. However, investigators said
the water was cloudy due to recent rains.
Environmental and fisheries officials are currently assessing the extent of
the fish kill. The investigation continued Thursday.
Three People Charged With Harvesting Of Ginseng
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Three Iowa men face charges after state conservation
officers say they unlawfully harvested ginseng root from state property.
Court records show Kyle Jones and Brent Jones, both of Slater, and Bart
Bollie of Madrid, were charged Tuesday with fifth-degree theft, unlawful
possession of wild ginseng root from state land and unlawful possession of young
wild ginseng.
They had valid permits to harvest from private property but it’s illegal to
take the root from state land. The Iowa Department of Natural Resources says they
harvested from state-managed land along the Des Moines River.
The men are scheduled to appear in court on Monday. Court records don’t list
their attorneys.
Ginseng is endangered in some states.
Iowa DNR manages the state’s ginseng harvest with oversight by the U.S. Fish
and Wildlife Service.
