Spring Clean Up Day In Le Mars
(Le Mars) – The City is declaring an amnesty from the Landfill Disposal cost for Spring Clean up Days , May 2nd through May 7th from 8am to 4pm Monday through Friday or Saturday from 8am to noon at the Plymouth County Landfill. Only Le Mars residential properties can participate. Assistant City Administrator Jason Vacera with more.
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Vacera then went on to talk about the Appliance/Tire drop off on May 11th.
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Vacera also talked about the PC Sweep going on May 21st at the City Hall Parking lot.
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Police Investigate Car Hitting House Accident
(Le Mars) — Le Mars Police are investigating an early-morning accident involving a car that had hit a house. The accident occurred Friday morning at about 1:45 a.m.at 600 3rd street southeast. The car driven by 22 year old Trevor Koontz of Remsen was heading southbound on 6th Avenue southeast when he lost control and veered to the southeast and left the roadway. Koontz had driven over the curb, across the lawn, between two trees and striking the house. The car had scraped some bark off a tree. The car struck the corner of the house and caused some major damage that included replacing a gas line and gas meter, damaging the foundation wall, as well as the first story wall of the house. Also damaged was a toilet, and several water and plumbing pipes. The Le Mars Police estimate the damage to the house at $10,000. The house is owned by Marlene Stoos. The Le Mars Fire and Rescue Department, the Le Mars Ambulance, and the Le Mars Police all responded to the scene. No one inside the house was injured, and Koontz, the driver of the car, refused any medical treatment. Koontz was arrested for operating while intoxicated, on a second offense, and failure to maintain control, and for not having insurance coverage.
Moving Day For Floyd Valley Healthcare Family Clinic
(Le Mars) — It is moving day for the Floyd Valley Healthcare Family Clinic. Throughout the weekend, medical staff and others will be hauling records, supplies, and equipment just a few feet to the east to the new north addition of the Floyd Valley Family Clinic. Floyd Valley Healthcare Chief Financial Officer Daryl Friedenbach.
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As Friedenbach says, the new clinic will be in operation beginning Monday, and he says patients and clients should use the West side entryway.
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Friedenbach says once the move is completed and everyone is settled, then demolition will begin on the old Family Clinic, making way for additional parking and for the geo-thermal wells.
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On May 18th, during National Hospital Week, Floyd Valley Healthcare officials want to extend an invitation to the general public to visit the new north addition.
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The Floyd Valley Healthcare official says the medical staff is excited about using the new facilities.
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Friedenbach says there will not be any Urgent Care scheduled for today
Plymouth County Health Planning Committee Shows Appreciation To Seniors
(Le Mars) — At the April meeting of the Plymouth County Health Planning Committee, appreciation was extended to the Committee’s graduating seniors who participated in the Committee for the past two years.
Loretta Myers, Floyd Valley Healthcare’s Director of Patient Care & Committee Chair, stated, “These students were very active and took their responsibilities very seriously by representing fellow students and the youth of Plymouth County.
The students have provided leadership and exhibited their commitment to serving their communities. A sincere thank you and much praise is extended to these young men and women. We have enjoyed working with and wish them continued success in their future academic endeavors.”
Students retiring from the Plymouth County Health Planning Committee, include: Charles “Charlie” Ellis (LCHS), Mackenzie Schnepf (Gehlen) and Amy Isebrand (LCHS).
Iowa Legislature 2016 Session Adjourned
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – The Iowa Legislature has adjourned its 2016 legislative session with agreement on a roughly $7.35 billion budget that rejected an attempt to remove state funding for Planned Parenthood.
The Democratic-controlled Senate and Republican-majority House voted Friday to finish their work for the year. Their budget bills require Gov. Terry Branstad’s approval.
For weeks, lawmakers sorted through legislation for the state budget that goes into effect in July. Deals over agriculture and economic development were reached early, while decisions on health care and transportation came in the last hours of legislative activity.
GOP lawmakers attempted to remove Medicaid funding for family planning facilities that provide abortions, but the proposal created an impasse. It was eventually dropped.
Lawmakers were also unable to reach deals this session on water quality and medical marijuana.
15-Year-Old Boy Arrested In Connection To Fatal Shooting
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Des Moines police have arrested a 15-year-old boy in connection to the fatal shooting of another teenager.
Police announced Friday that they have charged the Des Moines resident with first-degree murder in the Wednesday shooting death of 17-year-old Kendall Foster.
Authorities did not release the name of the suspect and the Associated Press doesn’t typically name minors who have been charged with crimes.
Police say officers were dispatched around 4:50 p.m. Wednesday after receiving reports about gunshots. The first officer to arrive at the scene found Foster in an alley behind a house. Foster had a gunshot wound in his chest.
He died later at a hospital.
Water Utility Company Switched On Nitrate Removal System
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – The water utility serving a half a million customers in central Iowa including the city of Des Moines says it has switched on its nitrate removal system.
Des Moines Water Works CEO Bill Stowe says nitrate concentration in untreated water from river sources is approaching 10 milligrams per liter. That’s a level the Environmental Protection Agency says isn’t safe for babies to drink. Stowe says processed water remains safe but it costs extra to run the denitrification equipment. It ran for a record 177 days last year at a cost of $1.5 million.
Stowe says Iowa’s voluntarily farm program designed to help contain fertilizer runoff is not working.
Water Works has sued several upstream county agriculture drainage systems seeking federal regulation of the runoff through Clean Water Act permits.
