School Board Elects Pat Murphy As President
(Le Mars) — During last evening’s school board meeting, long-time board member Pat Murphy was elected as president of the school board with Todd Lancaster elected as the vice president. School superintendent, Dr. Todd Wendt verified the election results and explained the open position of District 3.
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Chris Collins has agreed to remain on the school board and therefore is the District 3 representative.
Fire Department Called To Gas Line Leak
(Le Mars) — The Le Mars Fire and Rescue Department were at the scene of a natural gas line leak at the 200 block of 2nd Avenue northeast, near the Agri-Center grain storage complex. A gas line was ruptured shortly before 11:00 a.m. Monday morning, and neighbors near the incident reported smelling gas. MidAmerican Energy was called to the scene to cut the power to the neighborhood, as well as, to repair the ruptured gas line. Le Mars Fire Chief Dave Schipper says the gas line that was cut was at least an inch in diameter.
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There wasn’t any fire or injuries associated with that gas line leak. Officials were on the scene for nearly two and a half hours.
Police Investigate Break In At Total Sales And Service
(Le Mars) — The Le Mars Police are investigating a break-in and thefts from Total Sales and Service in Le Mars. On Saturday, in the early morning hours, a burglary occurred at Total Sales &Service on Hawkeye Ave SW. Entry was gained by smashing a window on the northwest side of the business. Once entry was gained, two vehicles, a customer vehicle and a shop vehicle were moved from the shop area to the outside. At one point, the customer vehicle was driven into the side of Total’s building causing damage to the exterior of the building. This same vehicle also struck two additional vehicles in Total’s parking lot causing damage to them as well. A third vehicle, a white 2014 Ford Fusion was driven out of the shop and was later involved in a personal injury single vehicle accident reported to the Plymouth County Sheriff’s Office at around 6:47 AM this same date. This case remains under investigation.
Supervisors To Convene Today
(Le Mars) — Plymouth County Board of Supervisors will convene for their weekly meeting today at the county courthouse board room. The supervisors will hear from Judy Bowman, administrator of the Plymouth County Historical Museum. She is scheduled to discuss the museum’s non-profit status and fiscal sponsorship agreement. The supervisors will also hear from surveyor, Al Fagan, as he will be seeking an extension to file the Plymouth Energy addition. County engineer, Tom Rohe is also scheduled to appear before the supervisors. Rohe will be requesting the supervisors to approve a permit for the Southern Sioux Rural Water Association as they wish to place service in three locations using the right-of-way in both Meadow township and Fredonia township.
City Council To Hold Hearing On Sidewalk Project
(Le Mars) — The Le Mars City Council is scheduled to meet today at noon at the city council chambers. The city council will hold a public hearing regarding the 12th Street Southwest Sidewalk Improvement Project with a special assessment. The city council will also look at an Ecoengineer’s Proposal, and they will discuss the CDBG downtown Le Mars revitalization project.
Farmers Facing Deadline To Sign-up For Farm Bill Programs
(Le Mars) — Farmers have only until the end of the month to sign up for the Farm Bill program. Jeff Davis, of the U-S-D-A’s Farm Services Agency with both Plymouth and Sioux Counties says regardless if farmers are participating in the Agriculture Risk Coverage plan or ARC, or if they want to participate in the Price Loss Coverage or PLC program, they need to stop by their F-S-A office and sign up for the program.
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Davis says the actual time to sign up should take no more than a few minutes.
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The Farm Services Agency Director says the federal government is not planning on issuing an extension for the date. Farmers will need to sign up for the programs before the September 30th deadline.
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Davis says the farm program covers all base acre crops, including corn, soybeans, wheat, oats, and many other crops.
Iowa Ranks High For Deer-Car Collisions
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – A new review of accident data says Iowa drivers have a 1 in 68 chance of striking a deer on the road this year.
Insurer State Farm said in a news release Monday that Iowa’s is the third-highest rate in the nation. The state had the fourth-highest rate last year.
Neighboring Nebraska’s rate for 2015 is 1 in 143, ranking it 25th on the State Farm list. The state ranked 23rd on the 2014 list.
Leading the 2015 list in West Virginia, with a rate of 1 in 44. No. 2 is Montana, where the rate is 1 in 63. The national odds this year are 1 in 169.
State Farm says its estimate is derived from claims data and state licensed driver counts from the Federal Highway Administration.
