Farmers and Fire Officials Battle Field Fire
(Le Mars) — Farmers and fire officials alike were battling the strong winds this afternoon when a soybean field caught fire. Le Mars and Merrill fire and rescue units responded to the scene located near the intersection of County Roads K-42 and C-16, or about three miles north of Brunsville. The call came in at about 2:30 p.m. and within a half hour, fire officials were fortunate to have contained the fire. Farmers from the area assisted fire officials by providing a bobcat skid loader and two large tractors pulling tandem disks to help smother the flames. Approximately six acres of soybeans were lost to the fire. It is not known how the fire started. No farm equipment was lost as a result of the fire.
Secondary Road Employees Present Contract Requests
(Le Mars) — The Plymouth County Board of Supervisors heard the contract requests from the Plymouth County Secondary Road Employee Association during their regular meeting this morning. Curt Sitzmann was representing the employee association, and he spelled out the various requests.
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The other requests was to have a four hour minimum for on-call pay during the time when snow and ice was to be cleared, and a two hour minimum for any other on-calls. The county road employees were asking for an increase of pay from forty cents an hour to a dollar an hour pay increase when performing duties while on-call.
County Road Construction Projects Nearing Completion
(Le Mars) — Many of the county road construction projects that were scheduled for the summer are now nearing completion. Tom Rohe, Plymouth County Engineer says county Road C-60 is now paved, but it isn’t quite ready for traffic.
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Rohe says the two bridge repair projects located on County Road C-38 should be done perhaps by mid-october.
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Kim Porter Selected As Chamber “Employee of the Month”
(Le Mars) — The Le Mars Chamber of Commerce has announced its September Employee of the Month. Kim Porter of the Good Samaritan Society of Le Mars has been named the recipient.
Kim Porter began her employment with Good Samaritan Society in September of 1982. She is a
valuable member of the dietary team over these past 30 years. She is always striving to
ensure she is assisting her fellow dietary staff, as well as helping the residents with
whatever they need in the neighborhoods. Because of her dedication to serving the
residents, Kim was nominated Employee of the Quarter and then Employee of the Year by her
peers in 1996. Our congratulations to Kim Porter for being named the Le Mars Chamber of
Commerce Employee of the Month.
Judge Asked To Consolidate Lawsuits Against Iowa Gaming Commission
SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) – The Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission wants a judge to consolidate two lawsuits filed against it by the owner of Sioux City’s riverboat casino.
Penn National Gaming Co. has gone to court to overturn the board’s decisions that put the gambling license up for bid for a land-based casino in Woodbury County and rejected a contract
extension with its nonprofit partner to 2015.
Penn National claims the commission’s actions were unconstitutional and beyond its authority.
The commission filed a motion on Monday in Polk County District Court asking that the cases be held at the same. The board argues that consolidation would promote “judicial economy” by eliminating the need to address the same or similar issues in two separate actions.
