Dave Schipper Honored At Fire Chiefs Annual Meeting
(Le Mars) — The Iowa Fire Chiefs Association presented their highest honor, the
Roger Mooty Award, to Le Mars Fire Chief, Dave Schipper. Schipper received the
award during the association’s annual meeting held over the weekend at Okoboji.
The Roger W Mooty Award is given in recognition of an individual who has made
exceptional contributions to the advancement of the fire service, and who
exemplifies the same ideals as the award’s namesake. Mooty, a former fire chief
of the Grundy Center Fire Department and past recipient of the Governor’s Award,
was dedicated to the fire service for over 30 years and was a strong advocate of
fire fighter training. What made the award even more special for Dave Schipper is
his father, Wayne Schipper, a past fire chief of the Le Mars Fire Department and
a Lifetime Honorary past board member and past president of the Iowa Fire Chiefs Association, as well as a 1997 recipient of the Roger Mooty award, was the individual that announced the criteria and presented the fire chief’s honor to his son, Dave. The Roger W. Mooty award is a state-wide award given to only one individual each year. Dave Schipper has been the fire chief for the Le Mars Fire and Rescue Department for the past six years, but has over 25 years experience in fire services. Prior to being named the Le Mars Fire Chief, Dave Schipper was a State Fire Marshal. The award recognized Schipper’s work training other fire fighters, law enforcement officials, emergency medical technicians and paramedics, and local, county, and state transportation officials. He also spends many hours during October educating school children about fire safety.
Fire Chief Family Affair. Former Le Mars Fire Chief Wayne Schipper (left) presented the Iowa Fire Chief Association’s Top Award, the Roger W. Mooty Award to his son and present Le Mars Fire Chief, Dave Schipper (right) during the annual meeting of the Iowa Fire Chiefs Association held at Okoboji. photo contributed.
Three Fire Departments Battle Hog Confinement Barn Fire
(Sioux Center) — Three fire departments responded to a fire located at 402
Goldfinch that totally destroyed a hog confinement building near Sioux Center.
David Van Holland is the fire chief for the Sioux Center Fire Department. He says
the alarm came in at around 8:07 a.m. this Monday morning. Both the Maurice and
Ireton fire departments assisted with battling the blaze.
Van Holland says fire fighters were on the scene for more than two hours. The
fire remains under investigation, and at this time Van Holland isn’t certain as to
what was the cause for that fire. He says the building was a total loss, but
fortunately, the barn was empty at the time of the fire, so there were no loss of
animals.
Chamber To Sell “Holiday Dollars” On November 5th.
(Le Mars) — The Le Mars Area Chamber of Commerce, along with many retail stores
and restaurants will once again offer “Holiday Dollars” for purchases to be made
in Le Mars. The “Holiday Dollars” will be sold Saturday morning, November 5th
beginning at 9:00 a.m.from the Chamber of Commerce offices. This year, $30,000
will be available for shoppers. There are only two categories being offered this
year. Gone are the holiday dollars for grocery shopping at Hy-Vee, Fareway, and
Wal-mart. However, the two remaining categories are for restaurants and retail.
All Holiday Dollars will be sold at a 20 percent discount, meaning shoppers can
purchase $100 worth of Holiday Dollars for $80. Shoppers will be limited to $200
maxium per category. Mary Reynolds with the Le Mars Main Street organization and
Chamber of Commerce encourages people to purchase the holiday dollars and to shop
locally. The participating businesses include in the restaurant catergoy: 4
Brothers, Archies Waeside, Habitue Coffeehouse and Bakery, La Fiesta Charra, P’s
Pizza House, Pizza Ranch, Subway, and Taco John’s. Retail and service businesses
include: Bomgaars, Claussens, Cork-It, Emily’s Home Furnishings, Hardware Hank,
Hotopp’s Jewelry and Gifts, Joba’s, Premier Communications, Rust’s Western Shop,
Sunshine Foods, and The Education Station – Toy Depot.
Farmers Try To Catch Up On Harvest
(Sioux Center) — Farmers took full advantage of the weekend’s nice weather to
continue with this season’s harvest. Although many grain officials are saying the
moisture levels on soybeans are still a bit high, and some grain storage country
elevators have had to reject the delivery of soybeans. Many farmers switched from
harvesting soybeans, and instead began harvesting their corn. Calvin Diehl is the
grain manager with the Farmers Cooperative Society in Sioux Center. He estimates
nearly 70 percent of the region’s soybeans have been harvested, but he admits the
last 30 percent may be awhile before farmers can finish with the soybean harvest.
Diehl says despite the higher moisture content, soybean yields have been running
nearly five to ten percent better this year than last year.
Diehl comments that the quality of soybeans have been excellent, with better test
weights. The grain manager says farmers have witnessed a small price rally with
soybeans during the last few weeks, and he contributes the rally to conditions in
Brazil.
As noted earlier, many farmers switched from harvesting soybeans to starting on
their corn. Diehl believes the corn harvest is perhaps 15 to 20 percent
completed, and he believes the corn harvest may prove to be better than last year.
Diehl says many farmers still have corn stored from last year, and are waiting for
higher prices before they market the golden commodity. Several local grain
elevators are having to store this year’s corn in outside storage facilities.
Callender Grain Elevator Burns To The Ground
CALLENDER, Iowa (AP) – A century-old grain elevator has burned to the ground in
a spectacular blaze that served as a training exercise for local fire crews.
Crews burned the 60-foot-tall elevator in the small Webster County city of Callender on Sunday morning.
The elevator was abandoned more than 15 years ago and officials in the 350-
person city have been working for years to remove the structure, which was deemed
a safety hazard.
Residents made the fire into a community event, picnicking and taking cell-
phone videos as giant flames climbed up the wooden structure.
Jamie Urban, of Callender, called it “the most exciting thing to happen in
town for a while.”
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Northeast Iowa Man Pleads Guilty To Possessing Explosives
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) – A northeast Iowa man accused of possessing explosives, a flamethrower, a napalm mix, guns and other weapons devices has pleaded guilty.
The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier reports (https://bit.ly/2exQraM ) that Trevor Satrom, of Oran, entered the plea Monday to a charge of possession of an unregistered destructive device. He’ll be sentenced later in U.S. District Court in Cedar Rapids.
Authorities say that among the explosives and other materials seized at Satrom’s home Feb. 10 were the makings of three pipe bombs and one pressure cooker bomb. The Fayette County Sheriff’s Office says Satrom’s computers and electronic devices were seized as well.
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