Plymouth County Board Of Supervisors To Appoint Perry Township Trustees
(Le Mars) — Plymouth County Board of Supervisors will hold their weekly meeting today at the Plymouth County Courthouse Boardroom beginning at 9:30 a.m. The county governing board is expected to appoint Ed Vondrak to replace Tom Flannery, Jr. and to appoint Jason Pridie to replace Perry Pinkerton as
trustees on the Perry Township Board. The county supervisors will hear from Attorney, Jenny Winterfeldt as she seeks an extension to file a minor subdivision for A. Muth Addition in Preston township. The county board will also hear from Plymouth County Engineer, Tom Rohe as he reviews permit agreement involving the construction project for the Right-Of-Way on county road K-49.
Rohe will also discuss with the county supervisors surplus
property acquired by the county.
City Council Cancels Scheduled Meeting
(Le Mars) — Due to the lack of agenda items, Le Mars city administrator Jason Vacura has announced the city council meeting originally scheduled for today at noon at the city council chambers has been cancelled. The city council will meet again on August 18th.
Plymouth County Fair On-line Auction Raises More Than $10,000
(Le Mars)— The Plymouth County Fair was able to raise $10,295 through its wood carving, belt buckle, toy truck and Dreckman quilt on-line auction.
This was the first year for the on-line auction because of the spread of the COVID-19 virus. There were not as many wood carvings featured as there normally would have been had the fair actually taken place. The wood carvings were created by Blair Smith of Westfield and Scott Toben of Akron.
The quilt created by Geri Dreckman sold for $3,525. The highest bid for the wood carvings was the South Dakota State Jackrabbit mascot that sold for $800. The Plymouth County Fair Bench sold for $130. The first toy truck sold for $825 and the colored belt buckle featuring “The Browns” musical family sold for $65 while the all pewter belt buckle fetched a high bid of $45. The Plymouth County Pork Producers donated grilling event sold for
$1,450. The on-line auction had begun on Sunday, July 26th and ran through Sunday, August 2nd.
Shepard’s Floral To Close
(Le Mars) — Le Mars is losing a floral shop. The owners of Shepard’s Floral have decided to end business after having a two-year run. Denise Gengler, the owner of Shepard’s Floral explains the reason for wanting to quit the flower business.
Gengler says the last day of business will be Friday, August 14th. Until that time, Gengler says people can still purchase fresh flowers and have floral arrangements.
Total Motors To Host Tri-State Cruisers Car Show
(Le Mars) — Among all the summer events that have been postponed or cancelled due to the coronavirus, one event has remained in tact, and that is the Tri-State Cruisers car show held each Wednesday evening. This coming Wednesday, August 5th, the street rods, hot-rods, muscle cars, antique and vintage autos, along with the classics from a by-gone era will be on display at Total Motors in Le Mars. Mitch Christoffel says the event will draw several participants and spectators.
As the Tri-State name implies, the classic cars will arrive from several miles within the Iowa, Nebraska, and South Dakota region.
The car show will get started at 5:00 p.m. and continue until 9:00 p.m. Christoffel says Total Motors will be handing out some sweet treats to the visitors of the car show.
Christoffel says anyone with a classic car are welcomed to attend the event, regardless of whether you are a member of the Tri-State Cruisers Association.
The Total Motors official says employees and signs will be posted to help guide exhibitors and visitors the traffic pattern for the car show into the auto dealership lot. Christoffel says all the cars for sale will be cleared of the lot allowing for more space for exhibitors and visitors. The Tri-State Cruisers car show has free admission. Christoffel says plans have been made for the cruiser participants to form a parade and drive bye each of the
Le Mars’ long-term nursing care facilities, and assisted living centers in an effort to give the residents a chance to enjoy some of the classic cars which the residents can enjoy seeing, but haven’t been able to this year.
Following the cruise past the nursing homes, the cars will make their way back to Total Motors for the car show.
State Medical Director Given Big Raise
(Des Moines, IA) — State medical director Caitlin Pedati has received a big pay boost in the midst of the pandemic. Department of Human Services director Kelly Garcia is now also the interim director of the Public Health Department
and she says she raised Doctor Pedati’s salary by nearly 45 percent for a variety of reasons. Garcia says that includes new responsibilities for Doctor Pedati in the Department of Human Services. Garcia says the raise was due in part to a desire to retain Pedati as well as the job she’s been asked to do
in her dual roles. Pedati has been the state epidemiologist as well as the state medical director since late 2018. Pedati’s new salary of 265-thousand-44 dollars is about 24-thousand dollars higher than that of her predecessor.
ISU Students Get COVID Test As They Move In
(Ames, IA) — Students at the three state schools are starting to move back into the dorms this week for the beginning of the fall semester. For Iowa State University students, the move includes a COVID-19 test. Health coordinator Kristen Obbink says that has changed this year. University of Northern Iowa students have also started moving in and University of Iowa
students will start at the end of the week. Those schools won’t be testing students. I-S-U Student Health Center director Erin Baldwin says they felt it was necessary to do the testing to know where they stand. Baldwin says they do not have a threshold number for positive tests — or a point where they will shut down classes.
Urbandale School Board Votes To Violate State Rule
(Urbandale, IA) — The Urbandale School Board has voted to defy the state and continue with virtual learning at one of its elementary schools. Rolling Green Elementary has a year-round schedule and got a waiver to began classes on-line. The Iowa Department of Education denied the request for Rolling
Green to continue on-line learning and says they must go to in-person classes at the end of this week. Urbandale Director of Teaching and Learning, Crista Carlile, told the school board that the governor’s proclamation set the legal guidelines for schools to follow — but she suggested that “morally we’re
all feeling that it’s really not right to think that students could be in school on Friday, in a building, with what we know about community spread.”
The governor is resuming COVID-19 updates today (Tuesday) and will likely be asked about the issue.
Davenport Father Murdered At Son’s Funeral
(Davenport, IA) — Davenport police say a 26-year-old father was shot to death at his son’s funeral last weekend. A suspect has been arrested.
Officers were called to Weert’s Funeral Home Saturday at about 11:30 a-m.
Jeremy Shorter of Davenport was taken to a hospital, but doctors weren’t able to save his life. Shorter had been attending the funeral for his eight- year-old son who had died from cancer. Police tried to stop the suspect vehicle, but the driver managed to get away by traveling at high speeds in residential areas. Twenty-four-year-old Nuemonei Laster was taken into
custody about two hours later. He has been charged with first-degree murder.
