(LE MARS)–More than 75-thousand dollars for 16 groups will be awarded by the Le Mars United Way.
Volunteer chair Janelle Bixenman says 13 volunteers reviewed 20 applications for more than 152-thousand dollars.
The programs funded will provide a variety of benefits to the Le Mars area including assistance to families facing emergencies, seniors needing aid to continue living independently, children receiving preschool instruction that prepares them for success in school and free books to develop literacy and language skills in infants.
The funded programs will begin receiving their approved allocation in July.
Safety net services funded included 10-thousand dollars to the Council on Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence for the Plymouth County Outreach office for 10-thousand dollars.
Children grow into successful adults funding included 95-hundred dollars to Le Mars Backpack Food program through Siouxland Community Food Bank.
Listed below is a breakdown of the funding that area agencies will receive for the fiscal years 2010-2011 in the area of ‘Safety Net Services’.
American Red Cross: Siouxland Chapter
Emergency Services-Disaster & Service to Military Families $3,600
Christian Needs Center
Interior Renovation of Property for Shelving Food Items $1,500
Council on Sexual Assault & Domestic Violence
Plymouth County Outreach Office $10,000
Jackson Recovery
Substance Abuse Services for Low Income Families $3,500
Life Skills Training Center
Network Server Upgrade $2,520
The Living Center
Assistance with Basic Life Needs $4,500
Plains Area Mental Health Center
Evening & Weekend Therapeutic Socialization Program $5,000
Plymouth County Drug Court
Incentives for Recovery Efforts $1,200
Plymouth County Senior Helpmate
Driver Reimbursement & Administrative Costs $7,000
Listed below is a breakdown of the funding that area agencies will receive for the 2010-2011 fiscal years in the area of ensuring that ‘Children Grow into Successful Adults’.
Gehlen Catholic Schools
Transitional Kindergarten Scholarships for Low-Income Families $7,500
Girl Scouts of Greater Iowa
Girls’ Summer Camp Scholarships $3,000
Imagination Library
Free Book Program $6,000
Le Mars Area Family YMCA
Scholarships $7,000
Le Mars Arts Council
ARTSreach Program Music to Daycares & Preschools $2,880
Le Mars Community Middle School
After School Programming $5,260
Le Mars Day Care & Preschool
Item Replacement & Age Appropriate Learning Materials $2,000
Siouxland Community Food Bank
Le Mars Backpack Food Program $9,500
Siouxland Youth for Christ
Juvenile Justice Ministry Program $7,500
The Le Mars United Way will begin this year’s fundraising efforts Thursday, September 2nd with a four-person scramble, 18-hole golf tournament at the city of Le Mars Willow Creek Golf Course. For more information on the tournament, the Le Mars United Way Campaign or the funding decisions, contact United Way at 712-255-3551 or visit www.lemarsunitedway.org and click on events.
(LE MARS)–Le Mars Police will use a bicycle lottery system to clear out the stolen/abandoned bikes from the past 12 month.s
The bike lottery will be Wednesday, June 30 at the Le Mars Police Department building, 22 Second Street NE. The number of bikes expected to be sold during the lottery are 40-45 bikes.
Those who’d like to buy a bike will put their name in a hat and each person’s name will be called by drawing one name at a time. That person will choose one bike and pay $5 for the bike. The process will be repeated until the bikes are purchased for $5 each.
If someone wants more than one bike, police will draw a second time after all names that have been drawn have had an opportunity to choose a bike in the first round.
The bike lottery for bikes sold “as is” will begin with viewing of the bikes at 4 p-m on June 30th and the first name being drawn at 6 p-m.
LE MARS)–A brief power outage affected about 600 MidAmerican Energy customers on the north side of Le Mars today.
Mark Reinders of MidAmerican reports a bad insulator caused a problem with a circuit on a power line about 8:30 this morning . Power was restored to all customers by just after nine.
The outage was reported at 17279 Highway 75.
KLEM 1410AM/96.9 FM was off the air briefly during the outage.
Listen to the newscast
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(DES MOINES)–While many Iowans are still recovering from this week’s flooding, they’ll have to be on guard for more severe weather later today (Thursday). Miles Schumacher, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service office in Johnston, says they’re tracking a large storm system that’s heading for Iowa from the west.
Moisture and warm air are coming, Schumacher says, and there’s a strong chance for severe weather statewide late this afternoon in the northwest and later tonight across much of the rest of Iowa. The western third of the state is at greatest risk of seeing a tornado but most of Iowa is threatened by wind and hail.
Schumacher says the best threat for tornadoes would be west of a line from Algona to Atlantic. He says the active weather pattern will continue into the weekend.
Heavy rain is likely this weekend though he says the potential for severe weather is less. Schumacher says heavy rains will be a possibility this time in northern Iowa. (News report by Radio Iowa)
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) State regulators will hold three public hearings on a request by a South Dakota-based utility for a 2.9 percent rate increase for its natural gas customers in Iowa.
The Iowa Utilities Board will hold hearings in Newton on June 29, Dubuque on June 30 and Council Bluffs on July 1.
Black Hills Energy, of Rapid City, S.D., has filed a request for a $4.7 million increase in annual revenues to recover the costs of capital investments in its Iowa distribution system and other expenses.
If granted, monthly bills of residential customers would go up by about 3.4 percent.
The utilities board says under Iowa law, a temporary rate increase of 1.6 percent, or $2.6 million, doesn’t require pre-approval and goes into effect on Friday.
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) Authorities say a driver suffered minor injuries when a car slammed into a house in Des Moines during a chase with police.
Police say officers were pursuing the driver when the car hit the house just before 2 a.m. Thursday.
No one inside the house was hurt.
Tracy Negrete told KCCI-TV that she had just gotten to sleep and thought someone was trying to get inside her home. Negrete say she went outside and saw a wall had collapsed and a car was inside the house.
The driver’s name was not immediately released.
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) A 31-year-old Iowa woman who was hauling cocaine across Nebraska has been given 40 months in federal prison.
U.S. District Judge Warren Urbom sentenced Sophia Morris on Wednesday. He gave her five years of supervised release after she leaves prison.
U.S. Attorney Deborah Gilg said in a news release that a Nebraska state trooper stop Morris for a traffic violation on Interstate 80 nearly Lincoln on Oct. 26.
A patrol dog taken to the scene indicated there were drugs in the car. The drugs were found in a diaper bag in the trunk.
WATERLOO, Iowa (AP) The owner of a Waterloo liquor store where two robbers were killed says the clerk who shot them had no choice.
The clerk, Johnny Sanders, shot Robert Bolden and Antonio Sproles, both of Waterloo, early Wednesday. Police say the men walked into East Fourth Street Liquor brandishing a rifle and a handgun about 2 a.m.
Store owner Mehnde Khan, who wasn’t in the store at the time of the shooting, says Sanders didn’t have a choice and was protecting himself. Khan says Sanders shot the men with a revolver, which was kept at the store.
Khan says the men were frequent customers and he never had problems with them in the past.
The shooting remains under investigation, but police say they don’t anticipate any charges.
FOREST CITY, Iowa (AP) Motor home maker Winnebago Industries Inc. says it returned to profitability in its fiscal third quarter as revenue nearly tripled as it sold more motor homes.
Recreational vehicle makers were hit hard as many consumers postponed big-ticket purchases during the recession in an attempt to conserve cash, and many RV companies cut their inventory and other costs in response.
Winnebago’s deliveries of motor homes more than doubled in the quarter to 1,366 from 620 in a year ago. Its deliveries of its bigger “Class A” motor homes rose to 690 from 176 a year ago.
Winnebago said it had net income of $6 million, or 21 cents per share, for the quarter ended May 29 compared with a net loss of $8.6 million, or 29 cents per share, in the year ago-quarter.
ANDREW, Iowa (AP) Authorities say a 4-year-old eastern Iowa boy apparently drowned in a bathtub.
The child, Collin Parker William Holdgrafer, of Andrew, died last Saturday. The Jackson County sheriff’s office says emergency crews responded to a 911 call about 5 p.m. The boy was rushed to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
The sheriff’s office says the boy’s father, Andrew Holdgrafer, made the 911 call while taking him to the hospital. Officials met them in Maquoketa (muh-KO’-kih-tuh), where the boy was put in an ambulance and taken to Jackson County Regional Health Center in Maquoketa.
The boy’s death remains under investigation.
AVOCA, Iowa (AP) A new option for water recreation is set to open in western Iowa.
A grand opening is planned for the Nishnabotna Water Trail on Saturday in Avoca. The trail runs along the West Nishnabotna River from near Avoca south to Macedonia past stops with camping in Hancock, Oakland and Carson. Canoeing, kayaking and tubing will be available on the stretch of river.
The state of Iowa has designated the portion of the river a water trail, meaning is has several points of entry.
Cindy Thompson is with the Pottawattamie County Conservation Board. She says about $50,000 in state and private grant money has been spent on the water trail.
(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
Submit your news release, confidential news tip or news idea by email klemnews@lemarscomm.net, by calling 712.546.4121 or 712.546.9672 fax.
