(Le Mars)–Farm land on the west side of Le Mars that’s produced crops will be a sales and service location for farm equipment.
City officials Tuesday (May 18) approved development plans for John Deere dealer ICON Ag Solutions to move its Le Mars location to 15 acres on Key Avenue. The project is estimated at 2.2 million dollars. The site is property known as the Thommes’ land within the city limits on the west side of Le Mars.
ICON Ag Solutions will receive Industrial Property tax exemption for five years. City administrator Scott Langel answered council member Delana Ihrke’s question saying the business would pay the taxes and then ask the city for reimbursement of the amount.
Council member Rex Knapp said the farm ground is worth 10-thousand dollars. According to Knapp, the taxable value of the implement business of 1.5 million dollars would be 2-3 times the farm ground’s taxes after the the first year or two of the exemption. Council member Ken Nelson said there were plans for more jobs at the Le Mars location.
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“We’re getting additional property tax dollars,” Knapp explained. “We still would have put in water and sewer for any business that went out there. So, we’re giving the same (Industrial Property Tax) Exemption that we gave BoDean’s, that we gave Le Mars Public Storage that we gave McCormick’s. These are the same rules, same game, we’re not playing different games for different folks.”
“Very good point,” Mayor Dick Kirchoff responded.
Nelson said, “It should be noted, too, that this is a corporate center that they’re putting in out there. They’re going to have more employment out there than what they presently have at their (Le Mars) location.
The city will extend sewer and water lines for ICON Ag Solutions which Langel says are sized not for the John Deere dealer only, but for future growth in the area. The cost is estimated at 285-thousand dollars.
Although local governments won’t receive property taxes at the 100 percent taxable value for five years, city officials said local governments who have debt for bond issues would receive full property tax payment for that debt. Under the development agreement, ICON is to complete the project next year. The city will buy one acre from ICON for a recreational trail head end at a price of 20-thousand dollars. Soil needed for the project will be taken from the Le Mars Industrial Park Second Addition. The tax exemption is 75 percent the first year, 60 percent the second year, 45 percent the third year, 30 percent the fourth year and 15 percent the fifth and final year.
ICON has five John Deere dealerships located in Le Mars, Doon, Ireton, Paullina and Lawton.
(LE MARS)–A Le Mars resident who is known for his public service is the new member of the Le Mars hospital’s board of trustees.
The City Council Tuesday appointed Ralph Klemme of Le Mars to fill a vacancy on the Floyd Valley Hospital Board of Trustees.
Hospital Board chair Bill Rosacker last Friday announced Klemme was the choice of Floyd Valley Hospital Trustees who considered seven applicants for the opening.
Klemme is a former state representative and school board member also served on the Iowa Environmental Protection Commission and is a member of the Plymouth County Zoning Commission.
Trustee Jim Ryan resigned before his term will expire in December of next year because he and his wife are moving. He had served as a hospital trustee since 1999.
City administrator Scott Langel expressed appreciation to Ryan.
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“I would like to publicly thank James Ryan, Jim Ryan, for all the years of service he did for our hospital board of trustees. He was already thanked last Tuesday evening at the Floyd valley Hospital Board, but I think he deserves some special recognition for all the dedicated work that he had done at the hospital.”
Mayor Dick Kirchoff said he concurred. If there is not a petition requesting an election to fill the vacancy, Klemme would begin his work as a trustee on May 24th.
(RURAL SIOUX CITY)–A Sioux City man was taken to a Sioux City hospital after he lost control of a pickup truck in southern Plymouth County late Sunday.
According to the Plymouth County sheriff’s office, 23-year-old Kyle Young of Sioux City was driving south on South Ridge Road when the pickup went into the west ditch and rolled one time. Young told authorities his girlfriend took him to St. Luke’s Regional Medical Center. His injuries were reported to be non-life threatening.
The accident was reported by Young’s father about 2:30 Monday afternoon.
(SIOUX CITY)–A Sioux City boy who was seriously injured in a hit-and-run accident Saturday in Sioux City is still hospitalized.
Sioux City police Tuesday identified the injured children as 8-year-old Gage Zortman of Sioux City and 9-year-old Nick Belden of Sioux City. Zortman and Belden were on a bike that was struck by a pickup truck. The driver did not stop.
Both boys were injured but Belden is not hospitalized.
Police Monday arrested 18-year-old Thomas Varvais of Sioux City on charges of leaving the scene of an accident resulting in serious injury, operating an unregistered motor vehicle and operating a motor vehicle without proof of insurance.
YANKTON, S.D. (AP) A 19-year-old Yankton man died after the motorcycle he was driving collided with a car on a city street.
Acting Police Chief Jerry Hisek says Vince Varilek was airlifted to a Sioux Falls hospital, where he died.
The crash happened about 3:30 p.m. Monday. The 82-year-old driver of the car was not injured.
(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) Vice President Joe Biden waded into Iowa’s governor’s race, issuing a fiery endorsement of Gov. Chet Culver and pointing to his success at leading the state out of a recession and helping Cedar Rapids recover from devastating flooding.
Speaking Tuesday at a downtown Cedar Rapids park, Biden promised that he and President Barack Obama would campaign again in Iowa in support of Culver.
He argued that the Democratic governor had put Iowa in position to grow after a deep recession, had wisely overseen flood recovery for areas of the state flooded in 2008 and had succeeded in building Iowa’s alternative energy industry.
Three Republicans are seeking the gubernatorial nomination in the June 8 primary Terry Branstad, Bob Vander Plaats and Rod Roberts. Culver has no Democratic opposition.
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) An Iowa State Patrol trooper driving Gov. Chet Culver and his 7-year-old son in an unmarked SUV tried to pull over another driver who officials say was driving erratically.
Department of Public Safety spokeswoman Courtney Greene says the incident happened Sunday afternoon in West Des Moines as the driver was “screaming down the highway, honking the horn,” and nearly hit the governor’s vehicle.
Greene says the trooper turned on red and blue lights and tried to stop the vehicle. The driver refused until a marked West Des Moines police car arrived.
Greene identified the driver as Ed Allen of West Des Moines. No citations were issued.
Allen has filed a complaint against the trooper. Allen declined to comment Tuesday.
The governor’s office says the investigation is being handled by public safety.
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa (AP) The Dalai Lama says education and moral ethics is the key to happiness.
Speaking Tuesday to thousands of people at the University of Northern Iowa, the exiled Tibetan Buddhist leader told the crowd that relations between nations is important, but not as vital as “internal disarmament,” which he says means accepting peace as a path to happiness.
It was the 74-year-old Nobel Peace Prize laureate’s first visit to Iowa. He’s on a six-day tour through the Midwest.
He admitted to being a lazy student but says as he grew older, he took an interest in studying for the sake of knowledge.
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DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) A leading anti-tax group plans to endorse Republican candidate Terry Branstad, with stops scheduled throughout the state.
Ed Failor Jr., president of Iowans for Tax Relief, will join Branstad at five stops Wednesday to announce his group’s endorsement. They’ll begin in Ankeny and move on to Sioux City, Mason City, Cedar Rapids and Davenport.
The group’s support is important for Branstad, a former governor who has faced criticism for increasing taxes during his four terms, from 1983 to 1999. Branstad has responded that he cut taxes more than he raised them.
Businessman Bob Vander Plaats and state Rep. Rod Roberts are competing with Branstad in the June 8 primary for the right to oppose Democrat Gov. Chet Culver, who will seek a second term.
AMES, Iowa (AP) Boone County authorities say one teenager has died and another has been injured in an all-terrain vehicle crash.
Deputies say the crash occurred on U.S. Route 30 outside of Ames.
Investigators said the two boys were riding the ATV when it went over a 14-foot drop-off. They say the driver flew over the ATV and plunged into a creek, and the vehicle then landed on top of him. Deputies say the rider flew off the ATV backward and suffered injuries that did not appear to be life-threatening. He was able to call 911 after the crash.
Paramedics said the boys appeared to be about 17 years old.
BROOKS, Iowa (AP) The Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation says a resident of Clarinda Academy shot a resident during a home burglary and later wounded an Adams County sheriff’s deputy.
Authorities said Tuesday 16-year-old Daniel Beardsley assaulted a staff member and a resident before leaving Clarinda in a stolen pickup. They say Beardsley shot Matthew J. Herring while attempting Monday to burglarize the man’s home.
Despite wounds to his right arm and abdomen, Herring escaped. He is reported in fair condition in an Omaha, Neb. hospital.
Deputy Jason Swanson, responding to a 911 call, was allegedly wounded by Beardsley, who barricaded himself in the house near Brooks for more than three hours before surrendering. Swanson was treated for minor injuries.
Beardsley is charged with two counts of attempted murder. It was not immediately known if he has legal representation.
WEBSTER CITY, Iowa (AP) Jury selection has been completed for the trial of a Charles City teenager accused of sexually assaulting and fatally choking his 3-year-old cousin.
Court officers say 12 jurors and three alternates were seated Tuesday afternoon in Webster City.
Fifteen-year-old Edgar Concepcion Jr. is charged as an adult with first-degree murder, first-degree sexual abuse, second-degree sexual abuse and child endangerment. He has pleaded not guilty.
Jury selection began Tuesday in Webster City. His trial was moved from Floyd County to Hamilton County because of pretrial publicity.
Concepcion is accused in the death of Krystel Banes on July 10. His trial is expected to last about three weeks.
CORALVILLE, Iowa (AP) State and federal authorities have levied more than $92,000 in fines on a Coralville nursing home where staff are accused of covering up the sexual abuse of an elderly resident.
In addition to the fines against Windmill Manor nursing home, criminal charges were filed recently against its former director of nursing, Karen Etter.
State records say a male resident of Windmill Manor was found in bed with a female resident in November, and both were undressed. And then, on Christmas Day, staff saw the two having sex.
Regulators say the woman, who has Alzheimer’s disease, could not have given informed consent to sex.
Regulators also allege that Etter warned staff members not to tell anyone of the incident if they wanted to keep their jobs.
The home’s administrator, Janet Peterson, was unavailable for comment.
(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
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