Langel Wants To Change The Hotel/Motel Tax For Convention and Visitors Bureau
(Le Mars) — Le Mars City Administrator Scott Langel announced to the city council during its last meeting that he would like to see some changes with the money that is be allocated to various organizations and projects that are derived from the hotel/motel sales tax. The city council was presented with a list of
suggested projects to be funded as recommended by the Le Mars Convention and Visitors Bureau Advisory Board. The CVB Advisory Board received 13 applications totaling $49,763.19. Three applications for projects were turned down by the CVB
Advisory Board, while three other applications were approved, but with partial funding. It is estimated the local hotel/motel tax will generate approximately $130,000 for the upcoming fiscal year. The Le Mars Convention and Visitors Bureau Advisory Board recommends funding $31,951 in project grants, and to allocate $82,500 toward the operation of the Le Mars Convention and Visitors Bureau and Visitors Center which will oversee
a community marketing cooperative initiative. Langel says he is suggesting the council not to fund the requested projects from the hotel/motel tax.
Langel further explains his reasoning for his suggestion.
The city council will decide at its next meeting whether to fund the requested projects, or to follow Langel’s suggestions. Some of the projects that had requested funding and approved by the CVB Advisory Board include: 2018 Ice Cream Days events, Color Me Sweet Fun Run, 2017 Pioneer Village Christmas, YMCA’s
Sprint Triathon, 2018 Bicycle Tour de Plymouth, 2017 Frosty Cross, the city of Le Mars for the printing of a brochure to assist group tours, and Plymouth County Fair Board for money to help with renovations to a commercial exhibit building.
Happy Siesta Retirement Community To Host Chili Cook-off
(Remsen) — What better way to tackle the cold days of winter, but to consume a bowl of hot chili? Remsen’s Happy Siesta Retirement Community is hosting its first annual Chili Cook-off contest scheduled for Saturday. Lisa Loring serves as the administrator for Happy Siesta and says the chili cook-off will be held at the Remsen V-F-W hall and will begin at 4:00 p.m.
In addition to the chili cook-off contest, Happy Siesta will be having a drawing for a 50-inch smart television set. Loring says the proceeds from both the chili contest and the drawing for the television set will go to help fund Happy Siesta’s Dream Program.
Loring says she is proud to claim there are no limitations to satisfying the residents’ dreams. However, she admits there are challenges as to prioritizing the residents’ dreams.
With regards to the chili cook-off, Loring says the competition is open to all ages. She asks that cooks bring their chili to the Remsen V-F-W hall before 4:00 p.m. and have at least a crock pot filled quantity. Loring says it is not too late to enter.
Museum To Host Native American Seminar
(Le Mars) — Kimball Village Site, an American Indian village that was active some 800 years ago near the city of Westfield, will be the topic at the Plymouth County Historical Museum in Le Mars during a program at 2 p.m., Sunday, Feb. 19.
This site, located along the Big Sioux River near Westfield, was named a National Historic Landmark in January by the U.S. Department of the Interior. Native Americans inhabited the area about 800 years ago.
A sample of artifacts from the site has been on loan for many years from the Iowa Archaeological office in Iowa City to the Sioux City Public Museum. Matt Anderson, curator of history, is working on bringing some of the artifacts with him to the
Feb. 19 program.
The artifacts were excavated during a 1939 dig at the village and burial mound site in Plymouth County. The 1.9-acre site is located in the Loess Hills and is well-preserved, according to historians. They estimate that between 1,100 and
1,250 Prairie-Plains tribes lived in the area.
Although the site was discovered in the late 1930s, historians say about 97 percent has not been excavated.
Headlining the Kimball Village program at the Museum will be speaker Megan H. Stroh, who serves as president of the Iowa Archeological Society. She has been archaeologist for the Sanford Museum and Planetarium of Cherokee for the past
three years. She has worked with Mill Creek villages similar to the Kimball site.
Gehlen Catholic To Host Town Hall Meeting
(Le Mars) — Gehlen Catholic invites community leaders, parishioners, alumni, staff, past and present parents to attend the Town Hall, which will be held Thursday, March 2nd, beginning at 6:30pm in the Jason Puetz Memorial Gym.
President, Rev. Kevin Richter, stated the Town Hall is part of the school’s Long Range Strategic Plan. “Throughout the past year, Gehlen Catholic, as part of a diocesan-wide endeavor, has been gathering data and input from the various stakeholders. The Long Range Strategic Planning Committee will share the
findings and ask the stakeholders for their input as Gehlen Catholic enhances our strategies to advance the school’s mission in the next five years.”
Five areas for growth have been identified based upon the Diocese of Sioux City Office of Education’s Long Range Strategic Plan, entitled “Building the Future.”
These areas include Catholic Identity, Academic Excellence, Building and Grounds, Enrollment Management, and Finances.
Stakeholders will provide feedback on the five areas. Afterwards, the Long Range Strategic Planning Committee will finish preparing the action plans to guide and direct the school’s efforts in the next five years.
Regents President Will Not Seek A Second Term
IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) – The powerful and controversial leader of the board that governs Iowa’s public universities says he will not seek a second six-year term.
Iowa Board of Regents President Bruce Rastetter said in a statement issued by a public relations firm on Friday that it was a tough call but he won’t ask Gov. Terry Branstad to reappoint him.
He thanked Branstad for giving him the opportunity to serve and says he is leaving satisfied with accomplishments, including efforts to freeze tuition for undergraduate students. Rastetter has been on the board since 2011 and its president since 2013.
Had he been reappointed, Rastetter would have faced an uncertain confirmation in the Iowa Senate, where many Democrats had vowed to oppose him.
Rastetter had angered many on the University of Iowa campus through the way in which he managed the search for a new president in 2015.
University of Iowa Has Problems With Drinking Water
IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) – University of Iowa officials have told campus residents about a problem with the campus water system.
The university said in an email Thursday that the water exceeded the maximum contaminant level for a byproduct of the treatment process. The byproduct forms when chlorine reacts with naturally occurring organic matter. The levels of organic matter are higher in winter.
The university says disease prevention specialists with the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics say special precautions are not necessary and that the situation doesn’t pose “an immediate risk.” But the university says prolonged
exposure to elevated levels of the byproduct could have long-term consequences.
The university will flush fire hydrants to lower the time water sits in the distribution system, reducing the amount of time available for the byproduct to form.
