Central Avenue Open To Traffic
(Le Mars) — Central Avenue is now again open again for traffic. The newly paved Central Avenue is painted, marked, and striped allowing for the phase 3 and 4 portion of the new paving construction project to be completed and open to traffic.
The Le Mars Street Dept. has announced they have reopened 1st St. S.W. between 6th Ave. S.W. and Bus 75 just North of Casey’s General Store for traffic. But they still have 6th Ave. S.W. between 1st St. S.W. and Plymouth St. S.W. still closed and are hoping to have that opened back up for traffic by June 8th. Harris Construction, the contractor for the Central Avenue
paving overlay project has phase 2 left to do and their plan is to close that on Monday June 4th. Phase 2 starts at Plymouth St. and goes south on Central Ave. down to 2nd St. S.E./S.W. near the Le Mars Beauty College.
City To Hold Open House For Campgrounds Club House
(Le Mars) — The city of Le Mars is holding an open house today at the newly renovated club house and shower facilities for the Le Mars Municipal Park Campgrounds. The open house is scheduled to begin at 12:00 noon and will continue until 1:30 p.m. Mayor Dick Kirchoff and other city officials are
scheduled to speak at 12:45 p.m. The renovation project is part of the overall upgrade and improvements for the Municipal Park as part of the Community Betterment 2 project.
Le Mars Community To Dismiss Classes For Summer – Recognition Coffee Scheduled For Retiring Faculty and Staff
(Le Mars) — Today, marks the last day of school for the 2017-2018 school year for Le Mars Community students. Classes will dismiss early. An appreciation and recognition coffee will be held at the Le Mars Community High School Cafeteria for those faculty and staff members who will not be returning to Le Mars Community next year. Gehlen Catholic students were dismissed for the summer last week on Friday.
Plymouth County Historical Museum To Host “Woofstock” On Saturday
(Le Mars) — Pet lovers will want to attend the tenth annual “Woofstock” scheduled for Saturday, June 2nd at the Plymouth County Historical Museum.
“Woofstock” is a celebration of pets and animals. The event kicks off at 10:00 a.m. with the Poochi Parade. Pet owners have the option to enter their pets in costume if the wish. Vendors will be inside the Old Central gymnasium selling items of interest for pets. The Siouxland Humane Society and Noah’s Hope will have some dogs on hand, ready for adoption. “Woofstock” will hold a silent auction, flea market, a photo booth, and pet fashions.
Included as part of the ceremonies will be the annual doggie dash, and the blessing of the dogs, along with the crowning of the canine king and queen.
The facility is air conditioned, so the weekend heat should not be a problem for the festivities. “Woofstock” serves as a major fund raiser for the Plymouth County Historical Museum.
Governor Reynolds Signs Into Law Tax Reform Bill
HIAWATHA, Iowa (AP) – Iowa income taxes will begin to fall under a tax bill signed into law by Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds.
Reynolds signed the bill Wednesday in Hiawatha. Under the law, the state will cut $2.8 billion in corporate and personal income taxes over six years if it meets certain revenue targets. If not, some cuts would be delayed.
Middle-class families are expected to save an average of $86 to $257 next year. A typical family of four would save about $7 every two weeks.
The legislation also expands sales tax to digital goods like e-books, subscription services such as Netflix, ride-sharing apps such as Uber and physical goods purchased online. Sales taxes are forecast to grow by $867 million over six years, but a forthcoming U.S. Supreme Court decision may affect Iowa’s ability to collect the taxes.
State Senators To Hold Press Conference Showing Support For Tax Reform Law
(Sioux City) — Republican State Senators Jim Carlin, Randy Feenstra and Sarah Newswander will be holding a press conference today at 10:00 a.m. to show their support of the tax reform package that Governor Kim Reynolds
signed into law yesterday. The gathering will be held at the Ashley Acres located at 3376 170th Street near Correctionville.
Woman’s Human Remains Found Near Mason City
MASON CITY, Iowa (AP) – Authorities say human remains have been found in the Mason City area.
The Iowa Public Safety Department said in a news release Wednesday that someone called 911 on May 20 to report the discovery to the Cerro Gordo County Sheriff’s Office.
The remains are thought to have been at the rural scene for between five and 15 years and are thought to be those of a woman between 20 and 45 years old. The examiners have determined that the remains are not those of Jodi Huisentruit, a Mason City television broadcaster who went missing in
1995.
Officials haven’t released the person’s name, if known, and other
autopsy results.
Iowa and Nebraska Trying To Prevent Indian Casino For Carter Lake
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) – Nebraska is joining Iowa and the city of Council Bluffs in a lawsuit to challenge the federal government’s approval of a tribal casino near Omaha.
Attorney General Doug Peterson announced the effort Wednesday to prevent the Ponca Tribe of Nebraska from building the casino in Carter Lake,
Iowa.
The National Indian Gaming Commission ruled last year that the tribe can put a casino on trust land in the city.
Carter Lake is the only city in Iowa located west of the Missouri
River, and the only way to access it by land is through Nebraska, where casino gambling is illegal. Neighboring Council Bluffs, Iowa, has three casinos.
Tribal Chairman Larry Wright Jr. says he’s confident the court will rule that the tribe can offer gaming on its sovereign land.
MidAmerican Energy Proposes Another Wind Turbine Farm
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – An Iowa-based utility is proposing a massive wind turbine project that would be the nation’s first investor-owned electric utility to generate all of its customer demand from wind energy.
Des Moines-based MidAmerican Energy said Wednesday that it’s
submitting its proposal for a $922 million wind project to the Iowa Utilities Board. The utility says the project would generate 591 megawatts of power, or enough electricity to power 2.4 million homes.
If approved, the proposal would mark MidAmerican’s 12th wind project.
MidAmerican is a subsidiary of Warren Buffett’s Nebraska-based
Berkshire Hathaway. It already has 2,189 wind turbines on 27 wind farms in Iowa, producing 4,400 megawatts of power.
If the latest project is approved and completed, the utility’s total
investment in wind will total more than $12 billion. The project is slated for completion in late 2020.
Lawsuit Filed Against Voter Identification Bill
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – A lawsuit claims Iowa’s new voter identification law violates the state constitution.
Priorities USA Foundation says the lawsuit was filed Wednesday in Polk County District Court in Des Moines. The national group, which is covering legal costs, provided a copy of the lawsuit.
It’s the first legal challenge against the new ID requirement and its provisions. Parts of the law will be in effect for Iowa’s upcoming June 5 primary, though a requirement to show ID to cast a regular ballot won’t be in place until 2019.
The lawsuit’s plaintiffs are the League of United Latin American
Citizens of Iowa and an Iowa State University student.
Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate is named as a defendant in the
suit. His office did not respond to a request for comment.
