Susie Plathe Named Chamber’s “Employee Of The Month”
(Le Mars) — The Le Mars Chamber of Commerce awarded its January “Employee ofthe Month” this morning at the Donegal Insurance Group. The staff of Donegal Insurance nominated Susie Plathe. Plathe is the Assistant Vice President at Donegal Insurance and is celebrating her 30th annual work anniversary with Le Mars Insurance and Donegal Insurance Group. Plathe provides excellent leadership in her roles as the Assistant Vice President in the Donegal Information Services and the Building and Grounds Manager for the Le Mars Region office. She was a key player in the automation conversion of the Le Mars Region business units to the Donegal corporate mainframe system. Plathe’s contributions have helped the Le Mars Region grow from $20 million in annual revenue in 2007 to $45 million in revenue in 2016. Our congratulations go to Susie Plathe for being named the Le Mars Area Chamber of Commerce January “Employee of the Month”.
Public Library Association Requests Funding From County Supervisors
(Le Mars) — During the Plymouth County Board of Supervisor meeting held on Tuesday, the Plymouth County Library Association submitted a letter requesting funds for the next fiscal year. The Public Libraries of Akron, Kingsley, Merrill, and Remsen thanked the county board of supervisors for the $85,000 that was appropriated in fiscal year 2016-2017, and have again requested $85,000 for the next fiscal year’s budget. The $85,000 contribution from last fiscal year was originally set with the intention it would have been used by all five libraries within Plymouth County. The Le Mars Public Library opted to remove themselves from the county library association, and also did not accept the county’s offer for their portion of the available funding. The money was then allocated to the remaining four county libraries.
Branstad Says Layoffs May Happen Due To Budget Cuts
(Des Moines) — Governor Terry Branstad will release the details of 100-million dollars in cuts to the CURRENT year’s state budget on Tuesday. Branstad will not propose furloughs for executive branch employees, but Branstad’s not ruling out the possibility of layoffs.
Branstad is scheduled to deliver the annual “Condition of the State” message to legislators on Tuesday. He plans to release details of his state spending plans at the same time. The governor last month indicated he will not propose cuts in state payments to schools or cuts in the Medicaid program. That means the budgets of state agencies are his likely targets for cutting.
Branstad says the cuts he’ll propose for the remaining six months of the current budgeting year will NOT be restored in the state budget plan he’s developed for the NEXT year. Branstad made his comments Wednesday during the Associated Press Legislative Seminar at the statehouse.
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Contractors Facing Work Force Shortage
(Des Moines) — Iowa is seeing a construction boom at the same time contractors are being challenged with a worker shortage. Chad Kleppe (CLEP-ee), president and C-E-O of the Master Builders of Iowa, says the situation will only worsen over the next five years as about one-third of the existing workforce retires. Kleppe says the worker shortage is changing the way Iowa builders go about their jobs.
Some contractors in central Iowa are putting pieces of buildings together on manufacturing floors before hauling them to construction sites as a way to save labor. Kleppe says his association is ramping up efforts to recruit students into considering construction industry careers.
Kleppe says they’re targeting Iowa kids as young as middle school.
