Supervisors Approve 83 Property Tax Credit Applications
(Le Mars) –– Plymouth County Board of Supervisors approved 83 property tax credit applications during their weekly meeting held at the county courthouse Tuesday morning. In other action, the county governing board approved the first reading of an ordinance vacating certain platted lots, streets and alleys. The area in question rests on the southern edge of Plymouth County where the county borders with the city of Sioux City. The Board of Supervisors also signed the contracts with Richards Construction of Sac City. Richards Construction was awarded three bids on three separate culvert projects.
Roosevelt Avenue To Be Closed On Wednesday
(Le Mars) –– Plymouth County Secondary Roads Department has announced it will close Roosevelt Avenue today between 180th Street and 190th street. The road will be closed while work crews repair for a bridge abutment. Officials hope to open the road at 4:00 p.m. this afternoon.
Museum To Hold Annual Banquet And Meeting Tonight
(Le Mars) — The Plymouth County Historical Museum will hold its 51st annual banquet this evening at the Old Central Gymnasium. The dinner will begin at 6:30 p.m. The museum plans to honor two former museum volunteers, who also were active with Plymouth county newspapers and printing.
Senior Awards Night
(Le Mars) — Le Mars Community High School Seniors will be recognized this evening during the Senior Awards Night to be held at the high school’s new gymnasium. School officials and school foundation members will announce the scholarships awarded to the Senior Class of 2015. More than $60,000 in scholarship funds will be presented to students. The program will begin at 6:30 p.m.
School Board Ponders Over Questions Relating To Possible Sharing Agreement
(Le Mars) — The Le Mars Community Board of Education was presented with a preliminary list of considerations regarding the request by the Remsen-Union Board of Education. Dr. Todd Wendt, superintendent of school formulated 15 different questions for the Le Mars Community School Board to consider as they decide whether or not to enter a sharing agreement with Remsen-Union. Wendt started by stating if a sharing agreement between Le Mars and Remsen were to take place it would mean more students, which in turn may mean more teachers. Wendt pointed out many elective classes are already near capacity.
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Wendt posed the question about transportation for school board directors to consider.
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Another area the school board will need to consider is students from Remsen and their academic ranking.
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Superintendent Wendt also suggested to the school board to consider graduation requirements between the two schools.
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Other questions Dr. Wendt asked of the school board to consider are which board’s policies will be applied to the students? All together, Wendt had presented 15 different questions, including what is the commitment level of Remsen-Union?
D-O-T Rejects Traffic Cameras In Four Iowa Cities
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Iowa’s transportation department has rejected requests by officials in four cities to keep operating some speed cameras in their areas.
The state Department of Transportation issued the denials in letters dated Monday to officials in Cedar Rapids, Des Moines and Muscatine. A letter to Council Bluffs was dated May 6.
DOT Director Paul Trombino says in the letters the cameras are not making interstate highways or nearby intersections safer.
The DOT decided in late 2013 that speed cameras on or adjacent to state highways should not be used as long-term enforcement tools and required more justification for their use. The agency later ordered several cities to turn off some cameras. Many communities appealed those orders.
City officials can appeal the decision in district court. The Iowa D-O-T did not say anything about the traffic cameras being used in Sioux City.
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Fuel Tax Will Help With Five-Year Plan To Improve Roads
AMES, Iowa (AP) – Transportation officials say an increase in Iowa’s fuel tax will help support a five-year plan to improve roads and bridges in the state.
The state Department of Transportation submitted a $3.2 billion proposal to an agency commission Tuesday. The commission will meet in June.
A draft report of the plan states money from a law that increased Iowa’s fuel tax by 10 cents per gallon in March will be used “100 percent” on critical road and bridge construction projects. It also pledges to use some of that money for four-lane construction on parts of U.S. Highways 20, 30 and 61. The report acknowledges those projects aren’t for repair or rehabilitation, but a DOT spokeswoman says they fill critical infrastructure needs.
The plan covers a period from July through 2020.
Four More Iowa Farms Report Having Bird Flu
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Four more Iowa farms are testing positive for bird flu.
The Iowa Department of Agriculture says an egg-laying farm and a turkey farm in Buena Vista County bring to 15 the number of cases in that county in northwest Iowa. A broiler farm in Osceola County is the state’s first indication of the disease on a farm raising chickens for meat. Officials said Tuesday the farm has 700 birds. Most of Iowa’s affected chickens are egg layers.
Lyon County also has its first case. It’s on an egg farm.
Iowa has 49 cases of bird flu in 13 counties. More than 26 million birds will die.
Minnesota and Wisconsin have no new cases but Nebraska reported its first on a farm with 1.7 million chickens.
Pipeline Officials Accused Of Offering Prostitute For Land Access
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – An energy company seeking to build an oil pipeline through Iowa is investigating a claim that an agent for the project offered to hire a prostitute for a landowner if he would allow access.
Vicki Granado, a spokeswoman for Energy Transfer Partners, said Tuesday in a statement that the company was investigating the allegation about an agent, who she said was working for a contractor. Hughie Tweedy says that he has recorded proof that an agent for the Bakken Pipeline offered to get him a prostitute in exchange for land access. Tweedy did not provide copies of the recordings during a news conference Monday.
The proposed pipeline would ship 450,000 barrels daily from production sites in North Dakota to a hub in Illinois.
