Two Semi Trucks Collide On Highway 60
(Le Mars) — Two semi trucks with trailers collided at the intersection of Hwy 60 and county road C-12, located at about six miles northeast of Le Mars. The accident occured shortly after 12:00 noon on Friday. South bound traffic was reduced to one-lane of travel for several hours. Both trucks were heading southwest bound on Highway 60 when the first semi truck, hauling distilled dried grains, a by-product of ethanol, was wanting to make a right hand turn on to C-12. The second semi truck rear ended the first semi truck. The driver of the second truck says he was blinded by the glare of the bright sunlight and did not see the first truck’s turn signal. The second semi was pulling a tanker filled with organic waste material. Upon the collision, cargo from both trailers had spilled into a ditch. Both trucks and trailers had rolled on their side and were stacked next to each other. The cab of the second semi truck had caught on fire when fire officials arrived at the scene. Both the Le Mars and the Oyens Fire Departments and the Le Mars and Oyens Ambulances responded to the scene. Both drivers were transported to the Floyd Valley Hospital for what is believed to be non-life threatening injuries. The identities of the drivers is not known at this time. The accident remains under investigation by the Plymouth County Sheriff’s office. Also responding to the accident scene were the Iowa State Patrol and Iowa Department of Transportation.
Local Business Keep Busy On Black Friday
(Le Mars) — Today is known as Black Friday, a day when bargains are to be found and retail businesses open their doors early for the start of the Christmas shopping rush. Some larger big box retail stores, such as Sears, Kohl’s, Best Buy, and Wal-mart to name a few, had an early start to Black Friday, as they opened their doors on Thanksgiving hoping to take advantage of the shopping frenzy. Alex Zack serves as the store manager for the Le Mars Wal-mart and says the Wal-mart store opened its doors last evening at 6:00 p.m. He talks about the local shopping activity for this Black Friday.
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Since Wal-mart opened their doors on Thursday evening, were there early-bird shoppers taking advantage of the bargains?
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Tomorrow, has become known as Small Business Saturday, with many Le Mars businesses offering door prizes, and discounts as an effort to encourage people to shop locally and support the small business enterprises. Stacy Mahlke works at Claussen’s Men’s Wear in Le Mars. She reports about the holiday business shopping.
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Santa Claus will arrive in Le Mars on Saturday as part of Small Business Saturday, and will be at the Piece of Cake on Central Avenue between 11:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m.
Nationally, holiday sales are forecast to grow 4.1 percent over last year, the highest increase since 2011.
Locals watch the Iowa vs. Nebraska Football Game
(Le Mars) — In addition to people busy shopping, this weekend there are several rivalary college football games scheduled. At this hour the Iowa Hawkeyes are hosting the Nebraska Cornhuskers in a Big 10 match up that’s become known as the “Heroes” game. Joe Sitzmann is the owner of Mr. P’s Pizza, a well-known sports bar and grill located in Le Mars. He says his establishment is full with people watching the big game.
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Sitzmann says he is offering several drink and food specials for those people watching the games.
Sioux City To Have A Downtown Grocery Store
SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) – A downtown business advocacy group is exploring the idea of establishing a specialty grocery store in downtown Sioux City.
The store would be called Trader Sioux and feature local merchandise and fresh food. The store also could showcase products sold at the Sioux City Farmers Market, which is held twice weekly during the spring, summer and fall near the Tyson Events Center.
The group, Downtown Partners, hasn’t announced a budget or a timetable. Chris Bogenrief leads the Downtown Partners committee organizing the project, and he says the project “is an economic initiative, so we want to make sure we spur as much spinoff development as we can.”
Icy Roads Lead To Car Accidents On Interstate 29
SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) – Authorities say icy roads have led to multiple car crashes on Interstate 29 in Sioux City.
Sgt. Mike Manthorne with the Sioux City Police Department says the Friday morning crashes involved six vehicles traveling southbound and taking an exit ramp.
Manthorne says three vehicles lost control due to icy roads and hit the medium strip, though they not hit each other. Three other cars then crashed into one of the first cars.
Two people in one car were injured and sent to a hospital. Manthorne says their injuries do not appear to be life-threatening.
Traffic on the exit ramp was briefly affected but is now clear.
