Home News Wednesday News, March 22nd

Wednesday News, March 22nd

Chamber Agriculture Committee Hosts Agri-Business Luncheon – Chuck Holz Honored With “Outstanding Service to Agriculture” Award

(Le Mars) — Tuesday was recognized as National Agriculture Day and the Le Mars Chamber of Commerce Agriculture Committee hosted its Agri-Business Luncheon.
Ethanol was the topic of discussion during the early portion of the program as Eamon Bryne the C-E-O of Plymouth Energy of Merrill spoke to the gathering.
Byrne informed the group that there is a bright future for the corn-based ethanol industry.

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Bryne says that the challenge for the ethanol industry is to locate additional new markets.

Bryne says that nearly 80 percent of the ethanol produced in the Merrill plant is targeted for export purposes.

With last week’s train derailment that occurred near Graettinger spilling ethanol into a creek, some people wonder if it would be possible to transport the ethanol fuel by an underground pipeline. Byrne says ethanol attracts moisture, and by transporting the corn-based fuel by pipeline could create
problems with the fuel standards.

 

During the luncheon, Cole Sitzmann, Vice President of the Le Mars Chamber of Commerce Agriculture Committee presented the Chamber’s “Outstanding Service To Agriculture” award to past Le Mars veterinarian and now state representative,
Chuck Holz. Holz serves as the vice-chairman of the Agriculture Committee for the Iowa House of Representatives.

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The key-note luncheon speaker was Iowa Deputy of Agriculture Mike Naig. In his address, Naig recalled some statistics relating to Iowa agriculture. He then talked about how resilient Iowans are, and especially those involved with Iowa agriculture.

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Naig focused much of his speech on the initiative to clean up Iowa’s water. He mentioned that it is not just agriculture’s problem, but everyone has a stake in having clean water. Naig commented on that it was good news when a federal
judge ruled last week to dismiss the lawsuit filed by the Des Moines Water Works utility.

Naig says there are thousands of farmers and businesses getting involved with the efforts to clean our waters.

The Deputy Secretary of Agriculture says a lot of money was spent because of the pending lawsuit, but, in terms of actually taking steps to improve the water quality, none of the money actually helped with those efforts.

An Akron-Westfield FFA member was the recipient of the Le Mars Area Chamber of Commerce Agriculture Committee Scholarship. Danika Tindall received the honor from Chamber Agriculture member Kevin Eekhoff.

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City Water Department To Flush Hydrants 

(Le Mars) — The city water department has announced it has begun its spring hydrant flushing. 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.

 

City To Open Grass, Twig, and Leaf Disposal Site

(Le Mars) — The City of Le Mars will open up the Grass , Twig and Leaf site starting April 1st and the hours are Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. and Wednesday from 2:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. The only things allowed to be dumped out at the site is trees , twigs , yard waste, grass and leaves , NO PLASTIC BAGS OR BOXES .

 

School Board To Hold Special Meeting

(Le Mars) — The Le Mars Community Board of Education will hold a special meeting scheduled this evening 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.

 

Iowa Senate Discusses Fireworks Bill

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – The Iowa Senate has begun debate on a bill that would allow the sale of fireworks in the state beyond novelties like sparklers.
The Republican-controlled chamber began debate Tuesday afternoon. The bill is expected to pass and head to the House, where it also has support.
The legislation would legalize the retail sale and use of consumer
fireworks such as firecrackers and roman candles, which are currently prohibited in Iowa. It would allow the use of such fireworks between certain days in June, July, December and January. Cities and counties could restrict use of the
fireworks, but not their sale.
The ban on consumer fireworks has long been a sticking point at the Capitol, though previous attempts to legalize them always fizzled out amid debate over safety.