Home News Wednesday News, February 7th

Wednesday News, February 7th

Plywood Trail Informational Meeting Scheduled For Tonight At Hinton

(Le Mars) — An informational meeting is scheduled for this evening regarding the proposed Plywood Recreational Trail. The first meeting was last evening, and was held at the Willow Creek Banquet Hall. Tonight’s meeting is scheduled to begin at 6:00 p.m. and will be held at the Hinton Community Center in Hinton.
Organizers will visit with the public about the latest developments regarding the proposed bicycle trail that would connect Le Mars to Sioux City, via way of Merrill and Hinton.

 

 

Three Le Mars Police Officers Given Promotions

(Le Mars) — Prior to the city council meeting on Tuesday, Le Mars Police Chief Kevin Vande Vegte formally acknowledged and promoted three officers. Jay King was officially promoted to the rank of Assistant Police Chief, and officers Lenny Flack and Dan Plueger were promoted to the rank of Sergeant.

Vande Vegte says the promotions within the Le Mars Police Department will take effect, immediately.

The police chief says he wanted a supervisor on each shift, in order to match experienced officers with the younger officers.

 

 

 

Police Department To Hold “Active Shooter” Training Seminar

(Le Mars) — The Le Mars Police Department will hold a community active shooter training seminar scheduled for Monday, February 12th at the Le Mars Convention Center. Police Chief Kevin Vande Vegte says with so many shooting incidents
occurring through out the nation, he believes it is necessary to at least talk about the possibility.

Chief Vande Vegte says far too many times, people are uncertain as to how to respond, or what they should do during an active shooter situation.

Vande Vegte says people need to be active and not passive if ever confronted by an active shooter. He says do whatever is needed to survive, and possibly throw anything at the shooter.

Vande Vegte explains what will be discussed during Monday evening’s seminar.

Chief Vande Vegte says the active shooting training seminar is open to everyone.
He suggests businesses, churches, schools, and the general public should consider attending. He says the seminar is free. Vande Vegte asks people to contact the Le Mars Police Department at (712) 546-4113 if they plan on attending. The seminar will take place at the Le Mars Convention Center and it
will begin at 6:00 p.m.

 

 

City Council Hears Update On New Police Station

(Le Mars) — The Le Mars city council heard an update regarding the new police station on Tuesday. Construction project manager Ryan Wiltgen informed the city council the estimated cost to convert the former Motor Inn/Total Motors building located on the north end of Business Highway 75 to a renovated police
headquarters will be around one-point-three million dollars.

Brent Koch is the architect from Cannon, Moss, and Brugger and Associates overseeing the project. He talks about what is involved to turn a former auto dealership and service building into a police station.

Wiltgen says several area contractors placed bids on the project, and he anticipates construction may start as early as March.

Koch talks about what will be involved with the second phase of construction that so far, will be delayed.

Wiltgen says the police department may be able to move into their new headquarters by October or November.

 

 

10 Year Old Girl Dies From George House Fire

GEORGE, Iowa (AP) – Authorities have identified a person killed in a northwestern Iowa house fire as a 10-year-old girl.
Riley Meyer, a third grader at Central Lyon Elementary School, died when her family’s house in George burned early
Sunday.
Central Lyon Principal Steve Harmon says counselors, religious leaders and others have been to the school to help students deal with grief.
Firefighters reported that the blaze took several hours to extinguish and that the effort was complicated by cold temperatures that caused water from the trucks to repeatedly freeze.
George is a village of about 1,000 people, located about 40 miles north of Le Mars.

 

 

Briar Cliff Still Searching For Next President

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) – The person offered the job as president of Briar Cliff University in Sioux City has declined the position.
The university planned to announce the new president this week but instead learned the person had withdrawn from considerations due to family obligations.
In response, college trustees announced Tuesday they had named Rachelle Karstens as interim president. Karstens, the executive vice president, has overseen the college’s operations since last summer following the resignation of president Hamid Shirvani. He quit after 14 months on the job.
Karstens was among three finalists who interviewed for the job. It wasn’t clear if she or the other finalist remained in consideration for the position.
Briar Cliff is a private, Franciscan, Roman Catholic university that has an enrollment of about 1,200 students.