Ribbon Cutting Ceremony Held For New Stadium
(Le Mars) — Members of the Le Mars Community Board of Education were flanked by Chamber members, school officials, donors, cheerleaders, and others as the long-awaited anticipated ribbon-cutting ceremony took place Friday afternoon to officially acknowledge the new renovated stadium and new football field. School Superintendent, Dr. Steven Webner thanked all
the donors for making a dream become a reality.
First to address the crowd was Patrick Murphy who has served on the Le Mars Board of Education for 25 years. Murphy informed the gathering of 200 plus people, the process of renovating the stadium began several years ago.
Murphy informed the crowd it was the goal of the school board to secure a major donor that would help make the process of acquiring a new stadium possible.
As it turned out, Wells Enterprises made a pledge of $2 million to help get the project started. Murphy acknowledged the support from several area businesses, and the many individual contributors.
The attorney says public schools need to remain competitive in all aspects, and Murphy says the Le Mars Community School District is among the best in the state.
Adam Baumgartner spoke on behalf of Wells Enterprises. He says although many things have changed during the 106 years of Wells’ existence, there is one thing that never has changed, and never will change.
School Board president, Todd Lancaster was selected to cut the ceremonial ribbon.
Menu Masters Scheduled For Saturday Evening
(Le Mars) — The annual event known as MenuMasters is scheduled for this evening to take place at the Century Hall at the Plymouth County Fairgrounds. Janelle Bixenman serves as a co-chair for the event, and says tickets are still available for the major fundraiser for the Le Mars Education Enhancement Project or LEEP.
Bixenman says MenuMasters is a lot of fun, but it does have a purpose behind the event.
Bixenman says 21 teams of chefs will be competing against each other, not just for the best tasting food, but also for the best theme.
Serving begins at 5:30 p.m. and will continue until 8:00 p.m. Following the serving of the food, awards will be announced, then the evening will continue through midnight with music and dancing. Over the years, MenuMasters has raised close to a total of $218,000.
School Board Candidates Announced
(Le Mars) — People seeking election to the Le Mars Community Board of Education include three candidates running for the At-large position.
Voters will elect two names. They include Angela Catton who is running for re-election.
The other two candidates include Nick Jalas and Kyle Plathe. Jane Arnold is running unopposed for the school board position
for District 3. She filled in after the resignation of Chris Collins
during the middle of last year.
Makenzie Lang is running unopposed for the school board position for District 5 which was vacated when Fred Zenk
decided not to run again.
State Supreme Court Hires Investigation Team For Courthouse Security
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – The Iowa Supreme Court says it has hired a law firm to conduct an independent investigation into the arrests of two cybersecurity workers who were found inside a closed central Iowa courthouse and say they were just doing their jobs testing courthouse security.
The state’s high court said in a statement Friday that it had hired
Faegre Baker Daniels, one of the largest law firms in the Midwest.
The men were working for Colorado-based cybersecurity company Coalfire when they were arrested inside the Dallas County Courthouse early Sept. 11.
The state court administration has said it hired Coalfire to test security of electronic access to court records, not “forced entry into a building.”
But the contract between Coalfire and the state seems to outline plans for the company to try to break into the courthouses in Dallas and Polk counties, as well as the Judicial Branch Building that houses the Iowa Supreme Court.
Corrections Officer Assaulted By Inmate
ANAMOSA, Iowa (AP) – Iowa state prison officials say an Anamosa State Penitentiary corrections officer has been assaulted by an inmate.
Officials say in a news release that the officer was working at his
post Friday morning when an inmate jumped across the officer’s desk and kicked him in the face. The inmate then landed several closed-fist strikes on the officer. The officer used defensive tactics to subdue the inmate until additional staff could respond moments later and restrain the inmate.
The officer suffered a broken nose, was treated at a local hospital and released. Officials say the inmate had no major injuries from the incident.
This incident remains under investigation.
Democratic Presidential Candidates To Attend Steak Fry Fundraiser
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Nineteen candidates are appearing at the Polk County Democratic Party Steak Fry in Des Moines, Iowa, this weekend, an opportunity to show their organizational strength just four months out from the caucuses.
Saturday’s steak fry is part parade, part organizing show of force – and quintessentially Iowa. It began as a fundraiser for Tom Harkin’s first congressional bid, where 53 attendees could buy a steak and a foil-wrapped baked potato for $2.
Harkin is out of politics now, but the steak fry lives on as a fundraiser for the Polk County Democratic Party. This year, 11,000 people are expected to join in addition to 19 presidential candidates.
Dubuque Man Sentenced For Solicitation Of Murder
DAVENPORT, Iowa (AP) – A Davenport man has been imprisoned for trying to hire someone to kill his ex-wife’s boyfriend.
Scott County District Court records say 43-year-old John Cooper was sentenced Thursday to 10 years. He’d changed his plea to guilty to solicitation to commit murder.
Authorities say Cooper had violated terms of a drug crime probation and been ordered in September last year to complete probation programming at the Residential Correctional Facility in Davenport. The court records say a cellphone confiscated from him there in November contained a message asking a former resident at the facility to kill another former resident
who was in a relationship with Cooper’s ex-wife.
