Patriotic parade and program in Le Mars Monday
(LE MARS)–A patriotic parade is planned in Le Mars for the Fourth of July holiday today (Monday, July 5).
This will be the fifth celebration organized by volunteers and featuring a short parade and a ceremony at Plymouth County Veterans Memorial Park in Le Mars.
One of the organizers, Don Law, says a new memorial will be dedicated honoring those Plymouth County Veterans who have died while in the service to their country since September 11th, 2001.
Wayne Thieman, who is working with Law and Mike Donlin, says the parade might be short in distance but it’s long on patriotic spirit.
The parade will begin at 10 a-m at the Le Mars Community School’s north lot. Parade participants should be at the lot by 9 a-m to line up. The route is 10 blocks.
Donlin says anyone can be in the parade but patriotic red, white and blue themed entries that aren’t commercial or political are encouraged.
The brief program at the Plymouth County Veterans Memorial Park will begin after the parade. The program begins with the National Anthem, includes prayer, remarks by guest speakers and ends with the 21-gun salute and Taps. A lunch for a free will donation will follow.
Minimal damage from apartment fire
(LE MARS)–Damage was minimal after an apartment fire in Le Mars Sunday morning.
Le Mars Fire-Rescue Chief David Schipper reports fire fighters were called to 1111 Second Avenue Southeast at 5:20 a.m.for an apartment fire where there was heavy smoke visible. Several residents of the Royal Park Apartments, formerly Bonebrake Hall, reported the fire. The building is owned by Terry Messelhiser, according to the chief’s report.
Firefighters determined the fire was in apartment 13 rented by Dorcas Kamau. The cause of the fire was accidental and was due to food left cooking on the stove.
The occupant of the apartment, who was not the renter, was checked by the Le Mars Ambulance crew.
Damage to the apartment was minimal and all occupants were allowed to stay in the building. Fire fighters removed smoke from the third floor of the building and the apartment.
Fire fighters were assisted by Le Mars Police and Ambulance and the Plymouth County Sheriff’s Office.
Scoop the Loop in Le Mars August 18th
(LE MARS)–Music and memories of the classics return to downtown Le Mars for the Le Mars Area Chamber of Commerce “Scoop the Loop.”
The annual summertime celebration is Wednesday, August 18th at the Olson Cultural Event Center in Le Mars.
Live music by The Jammers is from 6-8 p-m.
The car cruise begins at 6:30 p.m. at the Le Mars Convention Center parking lot.
Boitano skates in Sioux City for NBC special
(SIOUX CITY—NBC WILL NATIONALLY BROADCAST A WINTER EVENT BEING HELD IN SIOUX CITY.
OLYMPIC GOLD MEDALIST BRIAN BOITANO WILL STAR IN “BRIAN BOITANO SKATING SPECTACULAR”, WHICH WILL BE FILMED LIVE AT THE TYSON EVENTS CENTER.
ERIKA NEWTON, GENERAL MANAGER OF THE TYSON EVENTS CENTER/ ORPHEUM THEATRE SAYS THE NEW THEATRICAL FIGURE SKATING EVENT WILL SHOWCASE BOITANO SKATING ALONG WITH NATIONAL CHAMPIONS AND OLYMPIADS.
A SPECIAL MUSICAL ARTIST WILL SING DURING THE EVENT AND PROVIDE BOITANO AND OTHERS WITH MUSIC TO SKATE TO.
THE ARTIST WILL BE ANNOUNCED AT A LATER DATE.
NEWTON SAYS THIS EVENT, WHICH IS GENERALLY FILMED ONCE A YEAR, HAS PREVIOUSLY BEEN HELD IN LARGER CITIES LIKE CHICAGO AND NEW YORK, SO IT’LL BE NICE TO PUT SIOUX CITY ON THE NATIONAL STAGE.
THE BRIAN BIOTANO SKATING SPECTACULAR WILL BE FILMED AT THE TYSON EVENTS CENTER IN SIOUX CITY DECEMBER 16TH AND AIRED ON NBC DECEMBER 26TH.
TICKET PRICES AND AN ON-SALE DATE WILL BE ANNOUNCED WITHIN THE MONTH.(News report from KSCJ, Sioux City/Powell Broadcasting)
Cherokee woman injured near Everly
(SPENCER)–A Cherokee woman was injured in a collision between a pickup truck and a car north of Everly Saturday afternoon.
According to the Iowa State Patrol, a car driven by 64-year-old Shirley Ruth George of Cherokee was passing a pickup truck driven by 79-year-old Dale William Adolf of Everly.
Authorities report George’s car struck Adolf’s pickup when he began turning left. Her passenger, 95-year-old Ruth Irene George of Cherokee, was taken to the hospital in Spencer by Everly Ambulance.
Rock Rapids man injured in three-wheeler accident
(LESTER)–A Rock Rapids man was injured in a three-wheeler accident investigated by the Lyon County Sheriff’s Department Friday afternoon.
Authorities report 28-year-old Joshua James Waddell was driving east in the ditch with his three-wheeler when he began to drive up and around a box culvert.
The sheriff’s office reports the three-wheeler slid down toward the culvert and Waddell was thrown from the vehicle and landed in the box culvert.
Waddell was taken by Lyon County Ambulance to the hospital in Rock Rapids and then transferred to Sanford Sioux Falls for possible head injuries. Lester Fire and Rescue also assisted the sheriff’s office.
KLEM Business office closed until Tuesday
(LE MARS)–The KLEM Radio, Powell Broadcasting office is closed today (Monday, July 5, 2010) for the Independence Day holiday. The office will reopen Tuesday, July 6, 2010 at 8 a.m.
Spooked horses take off, injure Iowa parade-goers
BELLEVUE, Iowa (AP) Hospital officials say more than a dozen people have been injured at a Fourth of July parade in eastern Iowa where a newspaper has reported two horses pulling a carriage got spooked and ran out of control along the parade route.
Carol Dietzel, house supervisor at Mercy Medical Center-Dubuque, says 10 patients were brought there, nine of them children. She says one child was flown to University of Iowa Hospital in Iowa City in critical condition.
Other patients were taken to Finley Hospital in Dubuque and Jackson County Hospital in Maquoketa. Their conditions were not immediately known.
The Dubuque Telegraph Herald reported that the horses ran for more than eight blocks, hitting signs, jumping curbs and galloping over children.
Iowa levee breach forces families to evacuate
KNOXVILLE, Iowa (AP) A levee breach has prompted families living in central Iowa to leave their homes.
Marion County Emergency Management Director Jeff Anderson says about 10 families living east of Knoxville voluntarily evacuated from their homes on Sunday morning. The area is along the Des Moines River. Anderson says so far no homes have been damaged from last week’s levee breach.
But Anderson says rains are forecast for Sunday and Monday and that could affect the levee breach’s impact. Flooding in Iowa also has forced the closure of portions of state recreation areas, including Dolliver Memorial State Park south of Fort Dodge.
The National Weather Service in Des Moines has posted flood watches and warnings throughout the state.
Court orders 2 men committed as predators released
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) The Iowa Supreme Court has ordered the release of two men who were committed to state custody as sexually violent predators after it ruled prosecutors failed to meet a trial deadline.
The court issued its ruling Friday in the Clinton County case of Alan Fowler and the Page County case of Valjean Lehman.
The court ruled prosecutors failed to hold trials in the civil commitment process within the required 90 days of when a court found there was probable cause to hold the men as sexual predators.
The district court determined scheduling errors and failures to request speedy trials constituted “good cause” for missing the deadline but the Supreme Court disagreed.
Assistant Iowa Attorney General Kevin Cmelik (SMELL’-ick) says he is disappointed in the court’s decision. A telephone message left for Fowler’s and Lehman’s attorney was not returned.
Fireworks smoke could make air levels unhealthy
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) Iowa officials say the smoke from Fourth of July fireworks that hangs in stagnate air could cause breathing problems for some residents.
The Iowa Department of Natural Resources says fine particles from the smoke can become trapped near the ground and build to unhealthy levels. The department says those at risk include those with asthma and respiratory difficulties, the elderly, children and pregnant women.
The department says an air pollution monitor recorded unhealthy levels the last two years in Davenport after Fourth of July fireworks.
Officials say they’re encouraging at-risk residents to watch fireworks from a safe distance. The pollutants that fireworks smoke come from the black powder that is used to shoot the fireworks into the sky. The pollutants also come from the metals used to make colorful explosions.
Des Moines resumes mosquito spraying
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) Mosquito spraying has resumed in Des Moines.
The city has restarted its mosquito abatement efforts after budget cuts forced the program to briefly stop. Spraying began again on Friday and trucks usually go out in the evening, after about 8 p.m.
Central Iowa has seen above average rainfall through the spring. That’s made breeding conditions ideal for mosquitoes. The city asks that anyone who sees standing water or anyone who wants their neighborhood to be sprayed to contact the Des Moines mosquito hotline.
Work to update Iowa Statehouse continues
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) To some it may seem like the Iowa Capitol is a permanent construction zone.
The building has been under going a massive renovation for the past 27 years and four years of the project remain.
John Nash, the engineer overseeing the work, says the building is unlike any other and requires special attention.
Time and weather has taken a toll on the brick and limestone building and metal covers were placed over the entrances because chunks of stone routinely fell off.
There are also ornate paintings that need to be restored. Columns that look like marble aren’t and the only company that can restore them is in England.
Nash says the building needed fire protection systems and to be brought up to American with Disability Act standards.
The overall cost of the project is $120 million, compared to the $2.8 million cost of construction in 1886.
(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.
