Still Time To Select That Christmas Tree
(Le Mars) — If you haven’t found time to get this year’s Christmas Tree, you may want to head west on County Road C-12 about five and a half miles west of Craig. There, you will find the T & S Christmas Tree farm. Susan Muth says this year has been a good year for the Plymouth County Christmas tree farm.
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Muth says it is probably no surprise, but Thanksgiving weekend is the busiest for the Plymouth county Christmas Tree farm.
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Muth says their Christmas tree farm has a variety of pines, firs, and spruce trees.
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As for the most popular natural Christmas tree, she says it depends on the family selecting the tree.
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The Christmas Tree farmer says this year’s weather was ideal for the growth of Christmas trees.
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Tractor Accident Victim Now Identified
(Sergeant Bluff) — A 76 year old Sergeant Bluff man died on Saturday as a result of a tractor rolling over. The Woodbury County Sheriff’s Office, Sergeant Bluff Fire and Ambulance Department, and Woodbury County Emergency Services were dispatched to the 1900 block of Glenn Ellen Road at about 4:45 p.m. Initial investigation at the scene shows the man, identified as Dale Mahin, was operating the tractor, clearing tree limbs and yard debris, when the tractor rolled down a small hill. The victim was thrown from the tractor. He was treated at the scene and was transported to Mercy Medical Center in Sioux City by the Sergeant Bluff Ambulance where he had died as a result of injuries sustained in the accident.
Body Found After Canoe Capsized At Council Bluffs
COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (AP) – Authorities have recovered the body of a man who disappeared in a western Iowa lake after a weekend canoe accident.
WOWT reports (https://bit.ly/1IU3daO ) the man’s body was found shortly after 11 a.m. Monday. He had been missing since the canoe he and another man were in capsized in Lake Manawa near Council Bluffs Sunday afternoon.
The second boater, 36-year-old Benjamin Ferguson, was able to swim to shore and call for help. He was taken to a Council Bluffs hospital for treatment of hypothermia, but he is expected to recover.
Rescuers searched the lake for several hours Sunday before suspending the effort at nightfall.
The name of the man who died wasn’t immediately released Monday.
Emerald Ash Borer Has Spread To Five More Iowa Counties
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Officials monitoring emerald ash borer in Iowa say the destructive tree pest has spread to five more counties, and additional infestations could pop up in other parts of the state in 2015.
The Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship said Monday that larvae of the beetle were found recently in Appanoose, Lucas, Mahaska, Marion and Monroe counties, where hundreds of acres of woodland trees are located. The infestation is several years old.
Paul Tauke, a state forester with the state Department of Natural Resources, says the latest discovery in such a rural area shows infestations of the beetle could appear at a higher rate in the new year.
Eighteen Iowa counties now have confirmed cases of emerald ash borer, which was first found in the state in 2010.
One Person Found Dead At Granger Fire
GRANGER, Iowa (AP) – Firefighters say one person has died in an overnight house fire in Granger.
Crews were called to the house around 4:15 a.m. Monday. Multiple crews responded and reported heavy smoke and flames.
Firefighters say the person who died was found just inside the front door, and others escaped safely.
Authorities say the cause of the fire is yet to be determined and the victim has not yet been identified.
Google Provides Grant To Council Bluffs Library
COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (AP) – A grant from Google will help the Council Bluffs Public Library create a so-called makerspace, where people can make use of high-tech tools like a 3D printer.
The library’s foundation recently was awarded the $34,600 grant from the Internet company. The foundation has agreed to match Google’s contribution to help cover costs.
A librarian says details about the project are still being worked out. But he says officials hope to start reconfiguring a room on the library’s second floor to be the new makerspace by next year.
