Home News Thursday News, August 17th

Thursday News, August 17th

Ply-wood Trail Information Meeting Scheduled For Merrill This Evening

(Merrill) — An informational meeting regarding the proposed Ply-wood recreational trail is scheduled for this evening. Ply-wood stands for Plymouth and Woodbury Counties. The public is invited to learn more about the proposed trail that would go from Le Mars to Sioux City and connect the towns of Merrill and Hinton.
Tonight’s meeting begins at 6:00 p.m. and will continue until 7:30 p.m. It will be held at the Merrill city hall. Last evening, organizers held a similar informational meeting at the Hinton Community Center.

 

 

Municipal Park To Add More Camper Spaces

(Le Mars) — The Le Mars city council approved a plan to improve and expand the Municipal Park facilities.  Jerry Ripley is a Project Coordinator with the JEO Consulting Group.  He appeared before the city council on Tuesday to discuss the
expansion plans.

Ripley says the 30 new designated camper parking areas will be able to accommodate the larger and longer recreational vehicles.  Ripley says with the additional camper parking spaces, the Le Mars Municipal Park will be able to hold more than 60 campers.    As part of the community betterment project, city officials filled
in the south pond to make the Municipal Park larger to accommodate more campers.
Ripley says other renovations that was approved by the city council include a better water and sewer system.

Ripley says the expansion and upgrades to the Municipal Park may begin within the next few weeks.

 

 

Dine On The County Line

(Le Mars) — Siouxland’s Agriculture in the Classroom along with the Iowa State University Extension and Outreach of Plymouth County will be holding an event next Thursday entitled
“Dine on the County Line.”  The purpose according to Melissa Nelson is to encourage communication between local farmers and area residents that no longer have a connection to the farm.


This is the first time for this event and Nelson explains how the idea got started.

Nelson says several farm and commodity organizations are assisting with this event.

The Dine on the County Line event will take place at the Lowell Vos farm of rural Kingsley, located just a quarter of a mile west of county road K-49 on the Plymouth side of the county line between Plymouth County and Woodbury County. The
Siouxland Ag in the Classroom official explains the targeted audience they hope to attract at this outdoor dining event.

Nelson explains there is a registration of $20 per person, or you can reserve a table for six people for $100.  Every table will have a farmer host and additional agricultural professionals will also be available for further discussion and to answer questions. Nelson says the meal will consist of a
several courses.

The Dine at the County Line will begin at 5:30 next Thursday, August 24th and people can register either online with the Plymouth County Extension and Outreach office in Le Mars, or with the Siouxland Ag in the Classroom.

 

 

Medica To Increase Its Health Insurance Rates

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – The last health care insurance company to sell policies to individuals in Iowa through the Affordable Care Act says proposed increases to premium rates may be higher than once expected. Minnesota-based Medica announced Wednesday the average rate increase for some insurance plans in 2018 could be up to 56.7 percent. The company said in May it would seek rates with an average 43.5 percent increase next year. But people in so-called silver plans may be charged at even higher rates. The Iowa Insurance Division must approve the request. The company cites continued uncertainty from the federal government. Medica insured about 12,500 Iowans this year through the ACA, which offers subsidies. That figure is expected to go up. Iowa is also seeking a federal waiver aimed at stabilizing the market.

 

 

People Heading to Hamburg To Witness The Eclipse

HAMBURG, Iowa (AP) – Big crowds are expected in parts of Nebraska and other states that will experience a total solar eclipse next week, but officials are making plans for smaller numbers who will head to a tiny slice of southwest Iowa
that also will go dark. The Iowa Department of Natural Resource’s Parks Bureau says that for 32 seconds starting at 1:05 p.m. Monday, a 582-acre area of Fremont County will be
in the total eclipse path. The bureau’s Matt Moles says that area includes part of Waubonsie State Park, where the department will mow an area and distribute 150 solar glasses and
hotdogs to viewers. Shuttles will take people from Marnie Simons Elementary School in Hamburg and the Fremont County Historical Museum in Sidney to the site. The rest of Iowa will experience a partial eclipse.

 

 

Authorities Say Heroin Overdoses Causing More Auto Accidents

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) – Police and rescue crews say drivers overdosing on heroin and other drugs are driving up the number of car crashes. Authorities say people with addictions don’t like to wait to get high, so they often shoot up in the car as soon as they get their hands on drugs. Often they’re back on the road before the overdose takes hold and they lose consciousness, creating potential disasters. Overdose crashes have become so common that some rescue crews immediately administer the opioid antidote naloxone to any unresponsive driver they find at
an accident scene. Kennard Skaggs is a national representative of the International Association of EMTs and Paramedics. He says that the depth of the epidemic is horrifying, and that overdose crashes aren’t abating.

 

 

Parents Suing Over Adopted Baby’s Death

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – An Iowa couple whose adopted baby was killed after his birth parents regained custody in 2014 has won a $3.25 million judgment in a lawsuit against their adoption lawyer.
The Des Moines Register reports that Rachel and Heidi McFarland were awarded the judgment Tuesday in a lawsuit against their attorney, Jason Rieper. The couple alleged in their lawsuit that Rieper allowed them to believe he’d gotten
the baby’s birth mother to sign a critical release-of-custody document when he had not done so.
The 3-month-old baby, Gabriel McFarland, died on April 22, 2014, about five weeks after his birth mother got him back from the McFarlands. The child’s father, 17-year-old Drew James Weehler-Smith, was sentenced to 50 years in prison
after pleading guilty to second-degree murder in 2015.

 

 

Butter Cow Sculpture Still A Highlight At The Iowa State Fair

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – More than 1 million people typically visit the Iowa State Fair annually, and sometimes it seems like all of them are clustered around the Butter Cow . The creamy creation has been among the state fair’s top attraction since
1911. The sculpture isn’t solid butter. Its core is a wood, wire and steel mesh frame and that structure is layered with about 600 pounds (270 kilograms) of Iowa butter. It’s kept in a glass enclosure chilled to 40 degrees (4.4 Celsius). Sculptor Sarah Pratt usually sculpts other butter creations to be displayed alongside the cow. This year, she’s sculpted Laura Ingalls Wilder in honor of the author’s 150th birthday, and a replica of a golf tournament trophy. Previous sculptures have included Elvis Presley, John Wayne and Leonardo DaVinci’s “The Last Supper.”