City To Clear Sewer Lines
(Le Mars) — The Le Mars Waste Water Treatment facility is announcing that several of the city’s sewer lines will be cleaned during the next few weeks.
Ron Kayser, the waste water superintendent says beginning today, the area south of 1st Street southwest to 20th Street Southwest and Southeast and from 4th Avenue southwest to 7th Avenue southeast will be cleaned. Kayser says the process could take up to six weeks to complete. Residents and businesses may
encounter some minor sewer problems and traffic congestion in the mentioned areas. Kayser suggests residents follow a few simple steps to help alleviate any problems within your home. They include: pour water down your floor drains, have your sewer vent checked for blockages, such as birds nests, leaves, twigs, and other debris, and close your toilet lid. If you have any questions, you are encouraged to contact the city Waste Water Treatment Facility at 546-5003 during normal office hours.
Law Enforcement To “STEP” Up Patrol For St. Patrick’s Day Weekend
(Le Mars) — Saturday is St. Patrick’s Day, and law enforcement agencies plan to “step up” their presence on Iowa roads and highways. STEP stands for Special Traffic Enforcement Project. Iowa State Patrol trooper John Farley says St. Patrick’s Day is a common day to see an increase of intoxicated drivers on the
highways. But Farley says it doesn’t need to be.
Farley says drivers, today, have many different options available so they don’t have to be driving after celebrating.
The Iowa Highway Patrol trooper says the “STEP” program allows for additional law enforcement officers to patrol the roads.
Farley says motorists need to be aware of distracted drivers, and he reminds drivers to put away the cell phone and not to text while driving.
County Supervisors Approve Road Construction Plan
(Le Mars) — The Plymouth County Board of Supervisors approved the road construction plan as presented by Plymouth County Engineer Tom Rohe during their meeting held on Tuesday. With spring soon to arrive, Rohe says the county still
has a few construction projects left over from last year.
Rohe says another project scheduled for this spring will be a bridge replacement near Kingsley.
The Plymouth County Engineer says a third project scheduled for this spring is a grading project on 150th Street near the county landfill. Rohe says bids will be accepted in the near future with construction to occur during the summer months.
The new fiscal year begins on July 1st, and Rohe says there are several projects scheduled involving bridge repairs, and culvert installations. Rohe says one of the major road construction projects for the 2019 fiscal year will be the asphalt overlay of county road K-49.
Rohe says the cost to install a new bridge can vary depending upon the materials used and the length, but he says the price tag for a bridge can be a bit costly.
Rohe says the increase in the fuel sales tax that was adopted two years ago has enabled the county to work on additional road construction projects, or bridge repairs, that otherwise the county would not have been able to afford, and would
have needed to wait for another year.
Deadline Approaches For Cost-share Conservation Programs
(Le Mars) — Farmers have until Friday to sign up for financial assistance for applying conservation practices on their farms. The Natural Resources and Conservation Services offers a variety of programs eligible for cost-share purposes including terraces, water ways, cover crops, sediment control basins,
and no-till. The N-R-C-S also offers two new edge of field practices: saturated buffers and denitrifying bioreactors. Payments are also available for producers who want to do work to improve their pasture or convert cropland to pasture.
Some of the conservation practices that EQIP can provide payments on include brush management, fencing, pasture planting, livestock pipeline, livestock watering systems, and prescribed grazing incentive payments. For additional
information, you can contact your local county N-R-C-S office.
State Senate Legislative Aide Resigns
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – A legislative aide to the former Republican majority leader of the Iowa Senate is leaving his job, one day after his boss resigned for kissing a statehouse lobbyist.
Senior Senate Aide Ed Failor, who reported to Senate Majority Leader Bill Dix, announced his resignation late Tuesday afternoon. Failor’s exit is effective immediately.
Failor tells The Associated Press he didn’t want to be a “distraction” as Senate Republicans elect a new leader Wednesday to replace Dix.
Failor’s departure is the latest shakeup in the chamber, after Dix resigned Monday. A video released on the website Iowa Starting Line showed Dix kissing a statehouse lobbyist at a Des Moines bar.
Dix has not addressed the circumstances of his departure. The lobbyist, who works for Iowa League of Cities, has not commented.
Judge Rules Army Corps Of Engineers Are Responsible For Flooding
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) – A federal judge has ruled that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is responsible for causing recurring flooding that damaged farms and property in four Midwest states along the Missouri River.
The ruling Tuesday in Washington says the government must compensate farmers, landowners and business owners for the flood damage in Missouri, Kansas, Iowa and Nebraska. The damage has been estimated to exceed $300 million.
More than 300 farmers, landowners and business owners argued in the lawsuit filed in 2014 in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims that the Corps has altered its practices regarding the river’s water storage, release and flow management. The suit contended the Corps unconstitutionally deprived plaintiffs of their land, essentially taking it without compensation.
On Tuesday, Judge Nancy B. Firestone found in favor of the plaintiffs in five of the six years that the flooding was claimed dating back to 2007, disallowing the flood claims in 2011.
Sioux City Man Has Illegal Drugs and Child Pornography
SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) – A Sioux City man has been imprisoned for possessing illegal drugs and child pornography.
Federal prosecutors say 23-year-old Jose Ortega-Ramirez was sentenced Monday in U.S. District Court in Sioux City to 7 1/2 years. He also must serve five years of supervised release after he leaves prison. He’d pleaded guilty on Nov. 1.
Police say they intercepted a package from Mexico containing nearly 291 grams (10.26 ounces) of cocaine addressed to Ortega-Ramirez’s apartment. Police executed a controlled delivery, then searched Ortega-Ramirez’s home and found the package. He also admitted to having images of a nude minor.
