Home News Wednesday Afternoon News, September 16th

Wednesday Afternoon News, September 16th

Le Mars Arts Center Features The Artwork Of Andrew Peters

(Le Mars) — The Le Mars Arts Center is currently showcasing an exhibit featuring the art work of Andrew Peters. Nancy Thoma serves as the president of the Le Mars Arts Center and says Peters grew up in Council Bluffs area and typically likes to feature landscape scenes along with wildlife.

Most of the paintings of Peters featured at the Le Mars Arts Center showcase mountains and bird wildlife, but there is one exception, and that exception is a scene familiar to many people residing in Plymouth County. Peters has painted a scene featuring the famous Tonsfeldt Round Barn, now seen at the
Plymouth County Fairgrounds.

Featured in the painting of the round barn are a herd of Hereford cattle grazing near the barn, as well as birds flying above the barn. Peters uses oil paints and focuses on specific detail. Thoma says one reason why the artist chooses to feature wildlife is because Peters at one time was employed as a Conservation officer.

An artist reception is scheduled for this coming Thursday evening at the Le Mars Arts Center, beginning at 5:00 p.m. Thoma says many of the featured paintings are for sale if anybody would like to collect original artwork.

The collection of paintings by Andrew Peters will remain on exhibit at the Le Mars Arts Center through September 30th.

 

 

 

Le Mars Rotary Recognizes Ina Gatts With Flag Dedication At O’Toole Park

(Le Mars) — Members of the Le Mars Rotary, along with city officials and people from the community, gathered at O’Toole Park this morning for the dedication ceremonies acknowledging the civic organization’s 100 years of existence, and its relationship with the park. A new flag and flag pole
honoring the club’s first woman president, Ina Gatts, were dedicated, along with trees and park benches that had been donated by the local Rotary organization. Bob Lee is the current president of the Rotary organization and says there is a long time connection between the local civic organization and O’Toole Park.

Ina Gatts, along with her family attended the dedication program held at O’Toole Park. Gatts, says she is honored by today’s recognition, and she reflected back to the days when she was the first woman to join the Le Mars Rotary Club.

Gatts says the local Rotary club wanted to initially name the park as “Rotary Park”, but city officials said no to that idea. So, members of the Rotary at that time, then thought it would be appropriate to name the park in honor of a local doctor.

 

 

 

Reynolds Says She Is Disappointed With Des Moines School District’s Board Of Education

(Des Moines) — The battle rages on between Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds and the Des Moines school district’s board of education. Governor Reynolds during her news conference held Wednesday called the actions of the Des Moines school board as “disappointing and unacceptable.” Des Moines school district
is the only school district in Iowa not to have submitted a plan for the “Return to Learn”.

Reynolds says the Des Moines school board voted Tuesday evening to ignore the state law, requiring at least 50 percent of the student’s time be spent inside a classroom, and to instead implement an on-line only education system. Reynolds says the Des Moines students are the ones to suffer some setbacks.

The governor says other school districts across the state have shown when there is a will, there is a way to implement in-person classroom setting, and she focused on the West Des Moines school district as an example.

Reynolds says several parents of students from the Des Moines school district were trying to persuade school officials to change their minds, by holding a news conference, and incorporate a plan involving in-person learning.

 

 

 

Collins Aerospace Awarded $103 Million Contract For Army Helicopter Avionics

(Cedar Rapids, IA) — The U-S Army is awarding a 103-million-dollar contract to Collins Aerospace to produce avionic displays for Black Hawk helicopters. The Cedar Rapids-based company will also provide support services and materials on the displays for the next five years. Collins says the multi-function displays are the hardware inside an aircraft’s cockpit that provide video and graphical information to pilots about aircraft systems
and the surrounding environment. Iowa Congresswoman Abby Finkenauer said “this major contract will ensure our military is equipped with the best equipment to keep pilots safe and perform essential combat and peace-time missions.”

 

 

 

Big Ten Reverses Course, Approves Fall Football in October

(Rosemont, IL) — There will be Iowa Hawkeye football games at Kinnick Stadium this fall after all. The Big Ten Conference announced its “return to play” plan today (Wednesday). The 2020 season is set to kick off the weekend of October 23rd and 24th and each team will play eight games. Big Ten university presidents and chancellors came to the decision after several days of mulling over fall sports amid COVID-19 spikes at colleges around the country. Mandatory daily testing of athletes is scheduled to start by September 30th. The Big Ten postponed its fall sports season in mid-August due to concerns about pandemic. Iowa was one of three schools to vote against the postponement.

 

 

 

Ag Partners Royal Elevator Plans to Take Fall Grain After Explosion

(Royal, IA) — A northwest Iowa grain elevator damaged in a dust explosion last month still plans to take grain this fall in Clay County. Ag Partners says only one 330-thousand bushel silo is still out of commission in Royal and the rest of the elevator’s storage space can be used. Vice president Dan DeJong says what they call “dump number 3” will become the main receiving pit
this harvest season and can move 30-thousand bushel per hour. No one was injured in the August 25th explosion. Ag Partners hopes the Royal facility is fully functional next week.