Le Mars School Board To Meet Tonight
(Le Mars) — The Le Mars Community School Board is scheduled to meet tonight. Board members Todd Lancaster and Fred Zenk are expected to report on their trip to Minneapolis when they attended the TIES Educational Technology Conference. Superintendent Dr. Todd Wendt will present to the board a facility projects update. Dr. Wendt will share with the school board the progress with the 10-year facility plan and upcoming projects. The school board will discuss the 2015-2016 school calendar with relationship to a directive from Governor Branstad and the Iowa Department of Education. The school board will also consider the Le Mars Daily Sentinel’s request to be designated as the school district’s official newspaper publication. The board of education will conduct the second reading and consider approval of the proposed “Debt Management” policy.
Amazing Holiday Light Display
(Le Mars) — If you are looking for a home with perhaps the most Christmas lights and decorations, all you need to do is travel west of Le Mars on Highway 3 about seven miles to Impala Aveune. There, you will see the thousands of lights and displays of the Rob Scheitler farm. Known as Christmas Acres, Scheitler gives a rundown of the numbers.
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Scheitler doesn’t have any idea how many people view the exhibit each year, but he says the road is a constant convoy of cars from 5:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.
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Scheitler says the lights are turned on the weekend prior to Thanksgiving and they remain on until New Year’s Eve. However, the work to set them up starts in September.
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The Christmas enthusiast says this marks the 18th year for the display, and he says it is definately worth the time and effort to set up the annual light display. He says it is pure enjoyment, and he has done it since he was a youngster. Scheitler says for the last three years, all of the donations from the display have been given to the Le Mars Christian Needs Center.
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Scheitler says his family has received thousands of positive comments and compliments regarding the lighted display. He says ABC television network recently interviewed his family for the “American Light Show” for the 2015 season. He doesn’t know yet whether or not his light display will be featured on the television show.
Weather May Affect Children’s Museum Opening
SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) – Officials in Sioux City are keeping an eye on winter weather to help determine when a new children’s museum under construction will be ready to open to the public.
The Sioux City Journal reports that the Children’s Museum of Siouxland was scheduled to open by next summer. But officials later said it would open by October.
Darren Macfee is the museum’s interim director. He says the organization will have a more concrete date of project completion once the weather warms up.
After a decade of planning, officials broke ground last October for the $7 million, 16,000-square-foot museum.
Gun Comfication At Des Moines Airport Up From 2013
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – So far this year, security officers at the Des Moines Airport have confiscated four guns.
Officials report that’s double the number from 2013.
The revelation comes as the number of guns being confiscated at airports across the country is on the rise. Federal officials report a record 2,100 guns confiscated at U.S. airports so far this year.
In the Des Moines cases, two people were arrested and the other two were issued tickets.
Des Moines Police spokesman Sergeant Jason Halifax says the Des Moines numbers are low compared to other airports around the country.
If a Transportation Security Administration agent finds a gun, it’s turned over to Des Moines Police. If the gun owner has a license, he can eventually reclaim it.
Former Juvenile Home Future Uncertain
WATERLOO, Iowa (AP) – The future of the former Iowa Juvenile Home facility in Toledo remains murky, and questions about how the state will care for delinquent girls linger.
Supporters of the facility hope the state will decide soon what to do with it, but lawsuits related to the closure of the juvenile home complicate the situation.
Bill Skow says it’s sad to see the facility set empty like a ghost town. Skow was one of the founders of a foundation that supported the juvenile home.
The Iowa Juvenile Home closed in January after questions were raised about the treatment of teenagers, including use of isolation cells and a lack of educational opportunities.
But a year ago, the facility housed 21 youths and employed 93 staff members.
Hospitalizations Due To Flu Are Up
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Iowa health officials say the number of Iowans hospitalized for flu complications has more than doubled in recent weeks.
The Des Moines Register reports that senior citizens in Iowa are being hit especially hard.
A report released Friday by the Iowa Department of Public Health says more than half of Iowans being hospitalized for the flu are 65 or older.
The latest report says that through December 13th, 65 Iowans were hospitalized for the flu at a set of hospitals monitored by the department. That was up from 50 the previous week, and 26 the week before that.
Doctor Patricia Quinlisk, the department’s medical director, says the Type A H3N2 is the most common strain of the flu hitting the state.
Man Charged With Enticing Minors
FORT DODGE, Iowa (AP) – A central Iowa man has been charged with enticing minors using social media.
42-year-old Kevin Lee McDonald, of Fort Dodge, was charged after a report to police on November 6th.
Police say investigators conducted a search of McDonald’s home and found a number of cellphones and computers that police seized as part of the investigation.
McDonald has been held in the Webster County Jail since November 10th on suspicion of sex offender registry violations. He could not be reached Saturday for comment.
