Home News Tuesday News, March 21st

Tuesday News, March 21st

Fire Departments Respond To Gun Range Grass Fire

(Oyens) — Both the Oyens and the Le Mars Fire Departments responded to a grass fire Monday afternoon at the Oyens gun range located on K-64 about two miles north of Oyens. The fire was reported at about 2:20 p.m.  Oyens fire officials
believe the grass fire may have gotten started from a hot shell casing from a fired round of ammunition. An area of about 50 yards square had burnt before fire fighters were able to extinguish the flames. Fire officials were able to contain and control the grass fire within a half and hour. There were no
injuries associated with the grass fire.

 

City Water Department Flushing Hydrants

(Le Mars) — The city water department has announced it will begin its spring hydrant flushing on Tuesday in the northeast portion of town. City water crews will move to the northwest section of Le Mars at around 12:00 noon on Wednesday,
March 22nd and continue through Thursday. Water Department crews will conduct the water hydrant flushing between 8:00 a.m. and conclude around 3:00 p.m. From Monday, March 27th to Thursday, March 30th city crews will be working in the
southwest area of town. Water Department Superintendent Gayle Sitzmann says customers may experience discolored water during flushing times. If you do experience discolored water, Sitzmann suggests you run your outside hose bib for
a few minutes until clean water appears. He also says customers should refrain from using hot water when discolored water is detected. If residents or businesses have questions, they should contact city hall or the city water department.

 

Chamber Agriculture Committee Hosts Agri-Business Luncheon

(Le Mars) — This week marks National Agriculture Week with today slated as National Agriculture Day. The Le Mars Area Chamber of Commerce Agriculture Committee will again host its annual Agri-business luncheon at the Le Mars Convention Center on Tuesday. This year’s keynote luncheon speaker is Iowa
Deputy Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig. Naig was raised on a livestock and crops farm near Emmetsburg. He says his address will reflect and look ahead on Iowa agriculture.

Naig

Naig says Iowa agriculture depends heavily on trade. This coming week both he, and Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey will be traveling to two separate foreign nations with the focus on Iowa agricultural commodities.

Naig says everyone should appreciate agriculture since it has a far-reach on the state’s economy.

The deputy agriculture secretary points to the state’s latest revenue estimation numbers and ties it to agriculture.

The day’s activities will begin at 9:30 a.m. with a Chamber coffee hosted by the Plymouth County Farm Bureau organization. Plymouth Energy’s C-E-O, Eamon Bryne is scheduled to address the gathering at 10:00 a.m. Also scheduled for today’s
activities will be the naming of the Chamber of Commerce’s “Outstanding Service to Agriculture” award.

 

Supervisors To Hear SIMPCO Housing Report

(Le Mars) — Plymouth County Board of Supervisors will meet this morning and on their agenda will be a report from Amanda Harper, SIMPCO Housing specialist.
Harper will discuss with the county supervisors the housing trust fund and request matching funds from Plymouth County. The supervisors will hear from Attorney Barry Thompson as he will seek an extension approval for Southwest Urban Renewal area in Hinton. Surveyor David Wilberding will also address the
supervisors for approval of Schlichte’s Division in Grant Township. County Engineer Tom Rohe will appear before the county governing board to seek three permits for Southern Sioux Rural Water Association for work in Grant, Liberty,
and Westfield townships.

 

City Officials To Review New Emergency Disaster Plan

(Le Mars) — Le Mars city officials will be reviewing the updated city disaster plan following the city council meeting. City officials will discuss various scenarios which would call for an “emergency action” such as a tornado, flooding, train derailment, or other wide-spread disasters. The city did implement its emergency plan last June during “Ice Cream Days” when a strong storm had blown over hundreds of trees and knocking out power to several regions within the city.

 

City Council To Meet Today

(Le Mars) — The Le Mars city council will hold a second reading on the proposed increase for the mayor’s salary during its regularly scheduled meeting to be held today at the city council chambers. Other action items scheduled for today’s city council meeting include the Le Mars Public Library renovation
project, and re-zoning of the Dogwood Second Addition.

 

School Board To Hold Special Meeting

(Le Mars) — The Le Mars Community Board of Education will hold a special meeting scheduled for Wednesday, March 22nd beginning at 5:00 p.m. The school board will submit its initial bargaining proposal to the Le Mars Education Association for the 2017-2018 contract. Last evening, the Le Mars Education
Association submitted its proposal to the school board.