Plymouth County Secondary Roads Department Closes 310th Street
(Le Mars) — The Plymouth County road department will be installing a culvert pipe on 310th Street, just west of South Ridge Road, in the southwestern corner of the county, and because of that action, 310th Street will be closed
to the public beginning today (Friday) and will remain closed until October 30th.
Middle School Students Say “Thank You” To Floyd Valley Healthcare
(Le Mars) — Students from Le Mars Community Middle School wanted to send a special message of thanks for Floyd Valley Healthcare staff and officials by placing a series of posters outside the doors showing their appreciation for
the work of the nurses, doctors, and the entire staff. Kari Kopperud is the guidance counselor for the Le Mars Middle School and explains how the idea came about.
Kopperud says the Le Mars Middle School consists of nearly 600 students, of which all of them participated in the project of creating “stars of thanks.”
In addition to the posters and stars, Kopperud says the students also placed several hearts of appreciation to the healthcare staff.
Lori Mortenson, Director of Nursing for Floyd Valley says everyone at the hospital appreciates the kind gesture of appreciation as displayed by the Le Mars Community Middle School students.
The posters of “stars of thanks” will remain in front of Floyd Valley Healthcare through the weekend.
Gehlen Participates In Jaywalk-a-thon
(Le Mars) — The term, “Jaywalking” will have a whole new different meaning after today, as students, faculty, and friends of Gehlen Catholic school will participate in the Jaywalk-a-thon fund raiser. Two of Gehlen Catholic’s major fund raisers were cancelled as a result of COVID-19. Students will be
walking the practice field today beginning at 8:30 and ending at 3:00 p.m.
All grades get a half-hour to walk the track and it will be based on special intentions of our community, prayer, and then fun music.
Museum Holds Annual Garage Sale Fund Raiser
(Le Mars) — The Plymouth County Historical Museum is holding its annual garage sale that started yesterday and continues through the weekend. The event serves as a fundraiser for the museum, and Museum Administrator Judy Bowman says the Old Central gymnasium is full with antiques and other treasurers.
Bowman says on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, during the annual garage sale, there is no admission being charged. She tells of the hours the garage sale will be open during the weekend.
Bowman says the following week on Tuesday, October 20th and Wednesday, October 21st, any items that have not yet been sold will be listed at half price. Then on Thursday, October 22nd, Bowman says the left-over items will be free for the asking.
The museum official offers a list of some of the items that are for sale at this year’s annual garage sale.
Bowman says if anyone wishes to contribute items to the museum garage sale, they need to contact the museum at (712) 546-7002.
Scholten Comments On Supreme Court Confirmation Hearings
(Hinton) — The nation’s eyes are watching the Senate confirmation hearings for Supreme Court nominee, Amy Coney Barrett. For many people, it has been unfortunate to witness the display of divisive actions with Senate Republicans on the side of wanting to act now, and confirm the judge, and for the Democrats fearing that the process is being rushed, and believing the process should wait until after the election. Democrats are concerned that if Barrett is confirmed to sit at the bench of the Supreme Court, the Affordable Care Act, otherwise known as “Obamacare” will be ruled unconstitutional with Barrett casting the deciding vote from the panel of nine judges. The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear the testimony of the
Affordable Care Act on November 10th, just a week following election day.
Iowa’s 4th District Democratic Congressional candidate, J.D. Scholten, says he has heard of an idea that will help keep the courts neutral.
Republican South Carolina Senator, Lindsey Graham, the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, has scheduled October 22nd as the day for the confirmation vote. Scholten believes the Senate Judiciary committee is going too fast in making the selection to the nation’s highest court.
Scholten was campaigning in Plymouth County earlier this week, and was volunteering at the Hinton United Methodist Church in re-establishing its food pantry.
De Vos To Visit Dordt University
(Sioux Center) — U-S Secretary of Education, Betsy De Vos, will visit Dordt University this afternoon (Friday). De Vos will see how Dordt’s two-year professional-technical (Pro-Tech) programs and partnerships are breaking down barriers between education and industry to help prepare the Iowa workforce
for high-skill, high-wage jobs in their communities. She will observe the school’s Pro-Tech farm operations program, view a demonstration of students training with equipment, find out about our innovative partnerships with the city and local schools, and then participate in a round table discussion with education and business leaders about how students and the community at-large have benefited from the university’s innovative apprenticeship programs.
Senate Candidates Meet In Forum
(Des Moines, IA) — Republican Senator Joni Ernst and Democratic challenger Theresa Greenfield debated a range of security issues during a live T-V forum. Health care security was a flashpoint in the Thursday event. Ernst said the Affordable Care Act has failed to provide affordable insurance to all. And is really just “a truck stop on the way to, on the road to a
single-payer system or government take-over of health care.” Greenfield says the public option would create competition with private insurance and let Iowans buy into Medicare rather than rely on their employer for insurance.
Ernst denounced white supremacists as “horrible organizations” and Greenfield said such groups should be monitored by federal law enforcement.
HHS Secretary Azar Cites Concerning COVID Trends in Iowa
(Des Moines, IA) — U-S Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar is encouraging Iowans who’ve recovered from COVID-19 to donate their plasma.
About 22-hundred patients in Iowa have been treated with convalescent plasma.
The product is available at 43 Iowa hospitals. Azar, who toured a blood center in Des Moines where plasma is being collected, said Iowa is among the states where COVID cases are rising and, as the weather gets colder, he urged residents to avoid the risks of socializing in groups. He did say there’s been a 75 percent drop in the mortality rate among patients over the age of 70 since April due to new treatment options. Azar added, “that’s real
progress, but we also have concerning trends as cases rise in a number of places, including here in Iowa.”
1410 New COVID Cases in Iowa, 13 Additional Deaths
(Des Moines, IA) — The Iowa Department of Public Health is reporting a record number of COVID-19 hospitalizations for the third day in a row. The state’s coronavirus website shows 482 patients are hospitalized with coronavirus which is nine more than the previous daily record from Wednesday.
One-hundred-seven patients are in intensive care and 49 are on ventilators.
One-thousand-410 new positive tests were confirmed today (Thursday), increasing the state’s total to 103-thousand-222 cases. Thirteen more Iowans have died from COVID complications which brings the death toll to one-thousand-505. More than 80-thousand patients are considered recovered or no
longer require isolation.
Ohio State Soil Researcher From India Wins 2020 World Food Prize
(Des Moines, IA) — The winner of this year’s World Food Prize has worked for five decades on five continents to improve soil health. Rattan Lal recorded a speech which was broadcast today (Thursday) during an online event. Lal said, “I strongly believe the health of soil, plants, animals, people and ecosystems is one and indivisible.” Lal is a refugee from Pakistan who grew up on a small farm in India. He became a U-S citizen and is currently a soil science professor at Ohio State University. Lal said
restoring the world’s soils improves water quality and his research has shown it can combat climate change. For the past two decades, the Iowa-based World Food Prize Foundation has hosted an international conference in mid-October in Des Moines. Events this year are being held online due to the pandemic.
