Fire Destroys An Abandon Farm House
(Le Mars) — Fire officials responded to a controlled fire that quickly got out of control Wednesday afternoon. The alarm came in at about 3:10 p.m. at a farm located at 34619 120th Street, approximately six miles north-northeast of Le Mars. A neighbor commented the fire was set on a brush pile earlier this morning, but it had spread to an old abandon farm house.
Within minutes, the vacant farm house was totally engulfed in flames.
Firefighters were trying to stop the spread of the blaze as they sprayed water on other out buildings and farm equipment. The fire had spread to a couple of utility power poles and to surrounding trees. The abandon house was totally destroyed by the fire. Orange City, Alton, and Maurice fire departments were called for reinforcements and to help shuttle water to the
rural residence. At one time, four additional separate fires had started in a grove of trees when the southwest winds blew embers into the trees. Northwest Rural Electric Cooperative and Plymouth County Sheriff’s Office also assisted at the scene.
Le Mars Community Board Of Education To Hold Special Meeting
(Le Mars) — Le Mars Community Board of Education will hold a special meeting scheduled for this evening, Thursday, September 3rd to begin at 6:00 p.m. The meeting will be held at the Education Service Center. The Le Mars Community
School Board will hold a public hearing on the proposed renovation of the baseball and softball fields. The school board will review the bids and take appropriate action. The school board will also take action on several resignations as well as approve contracts. The school board will also decide
upon three students requesting open enrollment to Hinton Community School.
Knights Of Columbus Phone-a-thon Raises More Than $58,000
(Le Mars) — The 40th annual Knights of Columbus phone-a-thon for Life Skills Training Center came to a successful conclusion yesterday. So far, the tally is more than $58,000. Justin Freking serves as the chair for this year’s phone-a-thon and he acknowledged those people from years past that help make the phone-a-thon become a strong tradition.
Freking says the people of Plymouth County really stepped up, and he is especially pleased because of the financial turbulent year brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.
If you were unable to make a contribution, and still would like to, you can visit any of the Plymouth County banks and submit a donation directed to Life Skills Training Center.
Classic Cars Roll Into Le Mars
(Le Mars) — Classic cars of an era gone by were on display yesterday afternoon and early evening at the Arnold’s Motor Parts store in Le Mars. It was all part of the Tri-State Cruisers Auto Club. Darwin Huls assists with the coordination of the Wednesday evening summer ritual. He says the owners
of the antique and classic cars enjoy showing off their prized collection, and they also like to look at other classics, and show their appreciation for the vehicles of the past. Close to 130 vehicles were on display.
Huls says the oldest car featured Wednesday was a Ford 1923 Model A. Huls says it is easy to become a member of the Tri-State Cruisers Auto Club.
The Tri-State Cruisers usually roll into Le Mars on various occasions from Ice Cream Days in June to the final “Scoop the Loop” which according to Huls is set for September 23rd.
Huls says everyone is welcome to the event. He says if you are the owner of a classic car, than by all means, you should attend the “Scoop the Loop” event, and its an opportunity for others to reminisce upon a simpler time.
Northwestern College President Speaks During Governor’s News Conference
(Orange City) — Northwestern College president Greg Christy was invited to address the media during Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds’ news conference held Wednesday morning. Christy told of the efforts Northwestern College was conducting to minimize the impact of COVID-19 virus as students returned to
to the Orange City campus. Christy says the four-year college conducted testing on in-coming students on August 14th.
Christy says through the testing, college officials did identify some students that tested positive with the COVID-19 virus.
The Northwestern College president reported that after the second full week of campus courses, only two people now have the coronavirus of the nearly 1100 students. Christy says masks are required by everyone on the Northwestern College campus. He says college officials created an App which asks the students to check-in on a daily basis.
The governor was asked about the six counties, that have been ordered to close the doors to their bars, nightclubs, and lounges. The governor responded by saying in those counties that host large universities, the numbers show the most increase in positive COVID cases with people between the ages of 18 and 40.
Iowa State University Reverses Course, No Fans For Football Opener
(Ames, IA) — Iowa State University is changing the decision the school announced Monday to allow 25-thousand fans into Jack Trice Stadium for the season-opening home football game Saturday. Athletic Director Jamie Pollard said Wednesday that I-S-U President Wendy Wintersteen told him last night that she has weighed feedback she has received from the community and
has decided to reverse the decision. There has been lots of public feedback on the decision with the rising COVID-19 rates in Story County. Governor Kim Reynolds was asked about it at her news conference Wednesday and said she was confident fans could safely attend the game if they followed COVID guidelines. Pollard says they will continue to monitor the situation closely and make a decision regarding fans for the next home game against Oklahoma October 3rd at a later date.
740 New COVID Cases in Iowa, 4 Additional Deaths
(Des Moines, IA) — The Iowa Department of Public Health is reporting 740 new positive COVID-19 tests, increasing the state’s total to 66-thousand-137 cases. Four more Iowans have died from coronavirus complications which brings the death toll to one-thousand-125. State health officials say 310
people are hospitalized with COVID, 87 patients are in intensive care and 39 are on ventilators. More than 48-thousand patients in the state are considered recovered. A total of 642-thousand-772 tests have been done in Iowa since the pandemic began. There are 31 outbreaks in long-term care facilities in the state.
Iowa Small Business Relief Grant Program Re-Opens For Bars in 6 Counties
(Des Moines, IA) — Governor Kim Reynolds says the Iowa Small Business Relief Grant Program will re-open to assist bars and taverns she ordered closed in six counties. Eligible businesses in Black Hawk, Dallas, Johnson, Linn, Polk and Story counties will receive a ten-thousand-dollar grant to assist with cash flow. Those counties had the highest COVID-19 activity last
week. Reynolds said, “this short-term program can help bridge the gap for those local businesses as we work to slow the spread of COVID-19.”
Iowa Appeals Court Upholds Use of Lip Reader in Murder Conviction
(Des Moines, IA) — The Iowa Court of Appeals has upheld a central Iowa man’s appeal of his murder conviction on a couple of issues. Rodney Henricksen of Johnston was convicted of second-degree murder in the death of Joshua Sadlon of Wisconsin during a bar fight in Urbandale in 2018. He
appealed saying he should have been able to use the state’s “stand your ground” law as he was threatened by Sadlon. He also said the testimony of a lip reader, who said she saw him say he wanted to beat Sadlon on the bar’s video, should not have been allowed. The Appeals Court says there is substantial proof supporting the jury’s finding Henricksen’s self-defense
justification was unfounded. And it said the video was clear enough to allow the lip reader to give an accurate description of what was said between the two men.
