County Supervisors Will Not Meet This Week
(Le Mars) — Due to a lack of agenda items, the Plymouth County Board of Supervisors will not be holding a meeting this week. The county governing board will convene again next week at the Plymouth County Courthouse Boardroom.
City Council To Hold Public Hearings On Water and Sewer Rates
(Le Mars) — The Le Mars City Council will hold public hearings on the new water rate and sewer rate ordinance during today’s council meeting that is scheduled to begin at 12:00 noon at the city council chambers. What is being proposed is an increase in rates for the first 2,000 gallons from $6.50 per 1000 gallons to $6.83. The proposed sewer rate would go from the current
rate of $7.72 per 1,000 gallons to a new rate of $8.11 per 1,000 gallons. In other action, the city council will decide whether to start with phase 2 construction of the new police headquarters. If approved, phase 2 would include a locker room and exercise room for the officers, along with a conference room.
Bad Habit Boutique Donates $1000 To Le Mars Little League
(Le Mars) — The Le Mars Little League Association continues to draw donations following the two floods that hit the fields and destroyed equipment last September and again this past March. The latest to offer a contribution is the Bad Habit Boutique of Le Mars. The Bad Habit Boutique initially raised $500 for the youth baseball and softball program by selling t-shirts focusing on the John Britton edition. Bad Habit Boutique then matched the $500 with another $500 contribution to make the total donation at
$1,000.
Historic Tour Of Homes Scheduled For Saturday
(Le Mars) — The Le Mars Historical Preservation Commission will again be offering its Tour of Homes on Saturday, May 11th. Four homes will be featured during this year’s historical home tour. Linda Mayrose serves as the chair for the Historical Preservation Commission. She says all four homes are older homes that date back to the late 1800’s or early 1900’s and
have been renovated. Mayrose says two of the homes are located on the north end of town near the Central Avenue tear drop neighborhood.
The third home is located near the Foster Park neighborhood, and for a while was owned by a newspaper publisher.
Mayrose talks about the fourth home to be featured on the Historic Home Tour.
Each year the proceeds from the historical home tour either benefit the Plymouth County Historical Museum, or in this year’s case, the Le Mars Arts Council and the Le Mars Arts Center will benefit from the home tour.
As Linda Mayrose stated, the historic tour of homes on Saturday will begin at 10:00 a.m. and will continue until 4:00 p.m.
Wet, Cool Weather Continues To Delay Spring Planting
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Rainy weather is delaying Iowa farmers from planting crops this spring. The U.S. Department of Agriculture reported Monday that 36% of Iowa’s expected corn crop had been planted as of Sunday. That’s five days behind the five-year average. About 8% of the expected soybean crop has
been planted. That’s two days behind the five-year average. Last week, rain allowed for only 2.8 days of fieldwork. Chilly temperatures also slowed the emergence of crops that have been planted.
New Law Requires Schools To Report Staff Misconduct
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) – Gov. Kim Reynolds has signed into law a measure that requires school district officials to report misconduct of employees to a state board within 30 days of disciplinary action. The law, which takes effect July 1, requires school administrators to report staffers who engage in misconduct, including improper relationships with students, falsifying grades or test scores, using public property for personal use or attending school function under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
Governer Reynolds Passes Logan’s Law Allowing Organ Donation Designation On Hunting and Fishing Licenses
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Iowa outdoor enthusiasts will soon have an option to place an organ donor sticker on their hunting and fishing licenses under a new law signed by Gov. Kim Reynolds.
It’s called Logan’s Law after Logan Luft, of Charles City, who died at age 15 in 2017 after an all-terrain vehicle crash.
Luft, who enjoyed hunting and fishing, had decided to be an organ donor and his family says that decision saved the lives of five people who received his organs.
His father Leonard Luft and other relatives sought the bill in his
memory after seeing organ donor stickers on hunting and fishing licenses in Minnesota.
The bill passed unanimously.
It requires the Iowa Department of Natural Resources to include organ donor information in hunting safety courses and to provide the designation of organ donor on hunting and fishing license applications. Anyone at least age 14 may check an organ donor box with a parent’s signature.
Reynolds signed the bill Monday at Charles City Middle School.
Sioux Falls Missing Woman Believed To Be Found Dead In Nebraska
SIOUX FALLS, Wis. (AP) – Authorities believe a body found in Nebraska is that of a Sioux Falls woman who has been missing for nearly two weeks.
Seventy-six-year-old Kathryn Ann Butler left her home on April 24 without her heart medication.
She was last seen in Orange City, Iowa, that same day.
Her vehicle was found Saturday in a field in Saunders County, Nebraska – about 40 miles west of Omaha.
A body was found nearby and an autopsy is being conducted to confirm whether it is Butler and determine the cause of death. Police in Sioux Falls say they don’t believe foul play was involved.
Altoona Officials Approve $400 Million Construction Project For Facebook Data Center
ALTOONA, Iowa (AP) – A Des Moines suburb has approved a $400 million development agreement with social media giant Facebook for construction of another data center building.
The nearly 1 million-square-foot building (90,000 square meters)
would be the fifth Facebook has erected in Altoona.
The City Council’s decision will make the building exempt from
property taxes for 20 years. But Facebook has agreed to pay a yearly fee of nearly 60% of what it would otherwise have paid in property taxes.
Facebook also will pay for the construction of a $500,000 pump
station that will boost the water pressure for the data center and other structures in the area.
Officials say the new building is expected to bring 70 new jobs to
Altoona.
Facebook’s headquarters is in Menlo Park, California, south of San Francisco.
Fatal Accident Victims Have Now Been Identified
OXFORD, Iowa (AP) – The Iowa State Patrol has identified three children who died in a crash on Interstate 80 near Coralville after a truck hit a car trying to cross from westbound lanes to the eastbound freeway.
The state patrol says 11-year-old Oneimus Quaterman and two 12-year-olds, Adaess Adams and Braden Brown, died in the Sunday afternoon crash about 10 miles west of Coralville. All of the children killed were from Cedar Rapids.
Police say the crash occurred when the driver of a westbound car, 62 -year-old Terrance Joe Edwards, of Cedar Rapids, tried to use a prohibited crossing point to change directions. A truck hit the car while the driver was attempting the move.
Edwards and another 11-year-old child were taken to University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics.
The truck driver wasn’t injured.
Former Congressman David Young Says He Will Run Again For Congressional Seat
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Republican David Young says he will run for the Iowa congressional seat he lost in the 2018 election to Democrat Cindy Axne. Young announced Monday afternoon that he would seek the GOP nomination in the 3rd district, comprised of 16 counties stretching from Des Moines to the Missouri River. Young was elected to represent the district in 2014 and 2016 before losing to Axne in the 2018 general election.
