(LE MARS)–A project to expand Le Mars Community School District facilities could be finished in 16 months from the start of construction.
The Phase 2 construction plans being discussed by the Board of Education would provide a gym with a capacity of 2,000; wrestling; art and band and practice rooms; parking lots; and tennis courts. Architect Jim Ruble of Sioux City has estimated the total project cost at nine-point-four million dollars which includes eight million dollars for construction.
Ruble said plans had been 95 percent complete for drawings and specifications that go to bidders and are used for construction. He explained the basketball court had been reviewed from the work a few years ago.
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At a meeting of the Board of Education Monday night, Ruble described construction costs over the last couple of years as staying very constant.
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If the board makes a decision on the building project next month (November), bids could be opened in January or the first part of February. Ruble estimated completion in the fall of 2012.
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He said the action the architects need from the board is formal approval of the construction documents and authorizing them to be sent out for bids.
The presentation was for information and the board took no action Monday night. Board members Mark Stelzer, Dan Smith and Patrick Murphy were absent.
City and employees to start contract talks next week
(LE MARS)–Contract talks between city of Le Mars employees and the City will begin next week.
Assistant city administrator Bill Cole responded to a letter from Le Mars City Employees Bargaining Unit President Doug Masuen.
The first meeting, open to the public, is set for Tuesday morning at ten in the Le Mars City Council Chambers.
The current agreement ends next June.
ECO Center groundbreaking is Thursday night
(HINTON)–An outdoor environmental education center project moves to the groundbreaking stage west of Hinton on Thursday.
The Plymouth County Conservation Board’s monthly meeting begins at the ECO Center site at Hillview Recreation Area at six Thursday evening. Groundbreaking is the start of the board’s evening agenda.
The building contractor is H-W Design Build of Sioux City.
Federal grant to help plan potential SD state park
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) Sen. Tim Johnson says South Dakota will receive a $75,000 federal grant to create a master plan for a future state park at the Blood Run National Historic Site.
The South Dakota Democrat says the money is through the National Park Service’s Preserve America Grant Program.
The state owns about 300 acres within the 3,000-acre Blood Run National Historic Site and would like to buy more land to develop a state park. The project cost is estimated at more than $5 million.
Blood Run takes its name from the legend of a battle between Indian tribes that left the water of a creek red from blood. Part of the site includes land across the Big Sioux River in northwest Iowa.
(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
Iris Avenue closed for bridge work
(LE MARS)–Traffic patterns have changed on one rural Plymouth County road for a few days.
Engineer Tom Rohe reports Iris Avenue, from County Road C-38 to 200th Street, is closed for repair of a bridge abutment.
According to Rohe, that portion of Iris Avenue is slated to reopen Thursday afternoon at four.
Rohe reported on the repairs when he met with the County Board of Supervisors today (Tuesday).
Marching Bank has successful season
(LE MARS)–Gehlen Catholic’s Marching Band stepped up to top honors during fall competition.
The Jays’ Marching Band was first in Class 1A at the Dutchmen Field Championships in Orange City; earned a “I” rating at state and placed first in Class IA at Starfest in Sioux City to advance to the finals and place ninth overall.
The group is guided by Instrumental Music Director Paul Niebuhr ; assistant instrumental music director Cliff McMurray , Drum Corps International designer Peter Connell and includes Lisa Niebuhr who guides the Color Guard.
Paul Niebuhr hopes the Marching Band can perform one last time this season as they cheer on the football team in the playoff season.
The Marching Band
Jury deliberates in murder trial of Iowa man
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) Jurors have started deliberations in the case of an Iowa charged with killing his wife and shooting a Des Moines police officer.
Judge Joel Novak sent the juror home for the day Tuesday after they started deliberations and heard closing arguments in the trial of Randall Moore, who is charged with first-degree murder, first-degree kidnapping and first-degree sex abuse in the 2009 death of TereseAnn Lynch Moore. Deliberations are to resume Wednesday.
Moore is accused of forcing his wife into her car in November 2009, then driving her to an apartment, where he killed her and wounded a police officer. He has pleaded not guilty. His defense called one witness and Moore did not testify.
Cedar Falls hosts hate crimes conference
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa (AP) The University of Northern Iowa campus in Cedar Falls has hosted a federal hate crimes conference focused on the Matthew Shepard/James Byrd Jr. Hates Crimes Prevention Act.
The Tuesday conference was held on the anniversary of the death Shepard, a gay, 21-year-old student at the University of Wyoming who died when he was beaten and tied to a remote fence post in 1998. The United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Iowa sponsored the conference.
Federal, state and local prosecutors attended the conference and U.S. Attorney Stephanie Rose said recent suicides of young people harassed because of their sexual orientation are “terrible reminders of the consequences of intolerance.”
Federal prosecutors said victims of hate crimes should contact law enforcement.
Father says remains in Iowa are son
FREMONT, Iowa (AP) The father of a Fremont man missing since 2008 says skeletal remains found in a farm field in southern Iowa are those of his son.
Steve Reeves told WHO-TV on Tuesday the remains have been identified as his 26-year-old son, Jacob Reeves, who hadn’t been seen since October 2008.
Steve Reeves says his son suffered from schizophrenia and hanged himself in a tree near a cornfield in Mahaska County.
A farmer found the remains on Oct. 2. State investigators have said no foul play was suspected.
Autopsy: Alcohol contributed to Iowa teen’s death
HARLAN, Iowa (AP) Authorities say alcohol intoxication contributed to a 17-year-old western Iowa boy’s death.
The Iowa Department of Public Safety said Tuesday that autopsy results from the Douglas County medical examiner found Julio Caceres of Harlan died from gastric aspiration attributable to alcohol intoxication. Authorities say Caceres died Monday at the Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha, Neb.
Officials say Caceres was taken to the Omaha hospital after he was taken to the Myrtue Medical Center in Harlan in unresponsive condition. A preliminary investigation from the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation found a group of teenagers drove Caceres to the Iowa hospital after they were drinking alcohol at a Harlan residence.
Caceres was in the pediatric intensive care unit at the Omaha hospital before he died.
Ossian man pleads guilty to animal cruelty
NEW HAMPTON, Iowa (AP) A 44-year-old Iowa man has pleaded guilty to animal neglect charges involving more than a dozen horses.
The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier reports Kelly Olson of Ossian was released from the Chickasaw County jail on Tuesday after spending 108 days behind bars. Olson pleaded guilty to the serious misdemeanor charge of animal neglect causing injury or death. Four other counts were dismissed.
Authorities removed more than dozen horses near Fredericksburg. Some carcasses were already decaying. Court records show he faced similar charges in the past, including a 2006 case involving 57 horses and 12 carcasses.
County attorney Patrick Wegman said he was satisfied that Olson spent his longest stay in jail. The prosecutor said if Olson didn’t learn a lesson “hopefully he’ll be back in jail again.”
Hunters falsifying records to get Iowa licenses
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) Authorities say there’s been an increase in hunters falsifying records so they can obtain illegal resident hunting licenses and deer tags in Iowa.
Iowa Department of Natural Resources said Monday the state’s reputation as a choice place to hunt trophy-sized whitetail deer has made it tempting for nonresidents to try to hunt in illegally. Iowa offers 6,000 nonresident deer licenses a year and the department says there’s up to a three-year wait.
Conservation officer Joe Fourdyce says there is a trend of nonresidents buying land or a home and getting an Iowa driver’s license and trying to claim their residence is in Iowa. Fourdyce warns that this is a felony.
Authorities say charges have been filed against three Louisiana men since August. FARM FIRE SAFETY
Farmers urged to think fire safety during harvest
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) The Iowa Department of Natural Resources is urging farmers to take fire safety precautions as the harvest seasons continues.
The department said Tuesday that farmers should properly prepare their machinery for harvesting, including fire extinguishers. Experts say a spark from a combine can set fire to dry plants and field debris. Equipment also should be kept clean and combustible harvest debris should be removed several times a day.
Farm fires also can be caused by mishandling hay, forgetting to turn off interior lighting in overfilled bins and grain dryers that haven’t been properly maintained. It’s also suggested that farmers till a 30-foot break around buildings to minimize the spread of fire.
Biden visits Des Moines coffee shop before event
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) Vice President Joe Biden arrived in Iowa for a fundraiser on behalf of Democratic Rep. Leonard Boswell, but before heading to a planned luncheon the two stopped off at a downtown Des Moines coffee shop.
Biden and Boswell shook hands and posed for pictures with customers and staff for about 10 minutes at Java Joes, then sat down at a table with Iowa House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy and others.
Many of the customers were campaign volunteers for various Democratic candidates.
Biden will speak at the noon fundraiser for Boswell, who is seeking his eighth term. He’s being challenged by Republican state Sen. Brad Zaun of Urbandale.
Media access to the luncheon was limited.
(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
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