Clean Up Continues Following Friday Night Storm
(Le Mars) — (sfx -chainsaw) Clean up from Friday night’s storm continues as the
sound of chainsaws could be heard throughout the town of Le Mars over the weekend.
Downed trees line the streets of the “Ice Cream Capital of the World.” Following
Friday’s storm, Le Mars city officials declared the city a “state of emergency”,
and implemented its disaster plan. City crews from all departments were called
late Friday evening to help move the trees from blocking the streets. Winds with
speeds of at least 68 mph were reported on Friday evening. City crews and
contractors used pay loader construction tractors to move the trees, and within
three hours nearly every street in Le Mars was open to traffic and emergency
vehicles. Despite the storm, Le Mars’s hometown celebration of “Ice Cream Days”
with its parade and other events were able to continue on Saturday without
interruption. Brad Wurth of the Wurth Tree Services of Le Mars says he has had a
busy weekend.
Wurth has been in the tree trimming business for more than 20 years, and he says
Friday’s storm was the worse he has witnessed.
On Friday evening, the Le Mars Police estimated that every street in town had a
tree that was damaged from the storm. Wurth echoes the police department’s
assessment.
The tree service owner talks about the largest tree that he worked on after the
storm.
Three utility poles along 12th Street southeast snapped off during the storm
causing extensive power outages. At one time, MidAmerican Energy estimated as many
as 1683 Le Mars customers were without power. Most of Le Mars’ residents were able
to have their power restored on Saturday, although MidAmerican crews were seen
still working on Sunday afternoon.
Central Le Mars around Foster Park and the Cleveland Park neighborhood looked to
have suffered the most extensive damage. Although several hundred trees were
damaged and numerous power lines were down, there were very few reports of any
structural damage in Le Mars, and there were no reports of any injuries.
Fire Department Respond To 25 Calls Friday Night/Saturday Morning
(Le Mars) — The Le Mars Fire and Rescue Department was stretched thin Friday
evening and into Saturday morning responding to multiple calls within the city of
Le Mars, as well as in the outlying community of Brunsville. Le Mars Fire and
Rescue Chief Dave Schipper talks about the number of calls received by the Fire and
Rescue Department.
Members of the Le Mars Fire and Rescue Department had to watch over areas where
energized power lines were down until the street could be barricaded from traffic.
Fire fighters also assisted the city work crews and the contractors by providing
light, while crews were using chainsaws Friday night into Saturday morning clearing
the streets from the downed trees. Schipper calculated the firefighters racked up
169 man hours following the storm.
Schipper says he was proud of how everyone joined together to remove the tree
debris from the streets, and made sure the Ice Cream Days parade, and other planned
activities would proceed without any interruption.
The initial crew that was sent to Brunsville remained in that community for five
hours before another crew was available and able to offer relief. For the first
time in Dave Schipper’s tenure as the Le Mars Fire Chief did city officials
proclaim the city as an emergency. Schipper says the coordination and
implementation of the plan proceeded smoothly.
Fortunately, the Le Mars Ambulance Service had only one call that evening, and that
was to respond to a person needing oxygen, since the individual lost power and
consequently the oxygen machine was not functioning.
Many people are asking the question, “Why were there no storm sirens to warn the
people?” Schiper offers this explanation.
The fire chief says most of the damage was confined to taller trees, or structures.
Adding that few homes were damaged.
Schipper believes the winds were stronger at higher elevated levels, and he
believes the heavy driving rains contributed to the downfall of so many trees.
Schipper says it would be like trying to stand when a fire hose is turned on at full
blast. Incidentally, Le Mars did receive over three inches of rain within an hour.
Just prior to the time the winds hit Le Mars, Schipper did check the swimming pool,
the ballparks, and the Olson Cultural Events Center where the motorcycle stunt show
was completed. He says there were never any storm warnings posted for Le Mars by
the National Weather Services.
Le Mars Mayor Dick Kirchoff Says City Disaster Plan Ran Smoothly
(Le Mars) — For the first time since Mayor Dick Kirchoff has been mayor of Le
Mars, city officials were forced to implement its emergency disaster plan following
the aftermath of Friday’s storm. Kirchoff says city officials, and city employees
have prepared and trained for such action, and when the time came to implement the
plan, it proceeded smoothly. He says many city employees from all departments were
contacted, along with some contractors, to gather at Fire Station number one.
Crews were split to cover four quadrants of the city, with each area having a pay
loader construction tractor, chainsaws, lights from the fire department, and a city
marked vehicle assigned to the area.
Following the initial clean up that involved pushing the trees off the streets, city
officials were still concerned about the parade route down Central Avenue.
Kirchoff says he received many compliments about how the city pulled together to
get the town ready for the Ice Cream Days celebration, and especially the parade.
As for the winds and the storm, Kirchoff says he heard what many other residents
say they heard… the winds produced a loud roaring noise.
Kirchoff says he personally wants to thank the fire department, police department,
EMS staff, all employees of the other city departments, along with the contractors
for their hard work and dedication.
City work crews, along with contractors working for the city, will be picking up
tree branches beginning today (Monday). Residents are asked to cut the trees limbs
into eight foot lengths and stack them into the parking areas along the streets.
Area Crops Damaged From Friday’s Storm
(Le Mars) — The strong storm also affected many corn and soybean fields located
northwest of Le Mars. Several acres of both corn and soybeans were severly damaged
from strong winds and hail. Iowa State University Extension Crop Specialist, Joel
DeJong says an informational meeting has been scheduled for Monday afternoon, June
20th at 1:30 p.m. The meeting will be held at the Keith Koerselman farm inside his
shed located at 10705 Juniper Avenue. An area of northwest Plymouth County
stretching from Highway 75 heading west to county road K-18 between the Plymouth –
Sioux County border to the north and State Highway 3 to the south suffered damage
from the storm. DeJong says he will be discussing and demonstrating information
that will help area farmers evaluate the extent of damage done to the corn and
soybeans that were hit with winds and hail.
DeJong says as for crop recovery, it depends. He says it may be more difficult for corn to recover simply because the growing point is now above ground.
Rural Ireton Man Dies From Tree Falling On Him
(Orange City) — Sioux County authorities are reporting a death associated with the clean up of debris following Friday evening’s storm. Apparently, a rural Ireton man, 49 year old Christopher Soppe had been struck by a tree branch from a tree he was cutting down. Soppe was transported by the Ireton Ambulance to the Floyd Valley Healthcare in Le Mars, where he died from his head injuries. Responding to the accident was the Ireton Fire Department, Ireton Ambulance, and the Plymouth County Sheriff’s Office.
Local Funeral Home Changes Ownership
(Le Mars) — A local funeral home has changed ownership. Dan and Lori Rexwinkel of
Le Mars has purchased the Carlsen Funeral Homes from Doug and Karen Carlsen. The
change of ownership, which includes the funeral homes in Le Mars and Akron, was
effective on June 15th. The funeral home’s name will be changing from Carlsen
Funeral Home to Rexwinkel-Carlsen Funeral Home in Le Mars, and from Carlsen Funeral
Home – Schroeder Chapel to Rexwinkel-Schroeder Funeral Home in Akron. The
Rexwinkels noted the funeral homes will continue to be family owned and operated by
the Rexwinkels and serve the Le Mars and Akron communities with the highest level
of professional and compassionate care. The contact phone numbers have remained
the same for both locations. Any pre-arranged and/or prefunded funeral plans that
were purchased through Carlsen Funeral Homes have been transferred in the sale and
will be honored under the same terms in which they were purchased. Rexwinkel
Funeral Homes will also honor all plans purchased through any other funeral home.
Susemihl Wins National History Day Contest
(Le Mars) — A junior from Le Mars Community School was named the first place
winner in the category of Senior Individual Exhibits at the National History Day
national competition. The contest was held last week in Washington D.C. Kelli
Susemihl took the top honors with an exhibit featuring the history of some
railroads. Jeanne Rust is the supervising teacher for the national competition.
Rust is also in Washington D.C. as a national finalist for Teacher of the Year.
Police Arrest Coca-Cola Truck Thief
SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) – Police have arrested a Sioux City teen they say stole a
Coca-Cola delivery truck, then gave away the goods inside.
Police believe the 18-year-old stole the truck as the driver was inside a
business making a delivery Monday.
Police say the teen then drove to a construction site in the Dakota Dunes and
gave away $1,000 in merchandise from the truck.
Police say he then came back to Sioux City in the truck and fled on foot when
officers attempted to stop him.
Police say that upon his arrest, he was found with prescription pills that
were not in his name.
The teen has been charged with theft, drug possession, reckless driving and
other counts.
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Rape Kits Remain In Storage
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – State officials say there are at least 3,400 untested
rape kits in storage around Iowa, and preliminary data indicate law enforcement
agencies don’t have standardized rules for handling such evidence.
The Crime Victim Assistance Division within the Iowa attorney general’s office
says its review of untested sexual abuse evidence collection kits in Iowa is
continuing, and the actual number of untested kids could increase by several
hundred.
Division director Janelle Melohn says more than 70 percent of the state’s
nearly 400 agencies have responded to an electronic survey released this year about
the kits. Survey results will be compiled into a report, which could include
proposed legislation or a request for state funding to test kits.
The division received $2 million in federal funding to conduct research and
some testing.
Professors Vote To Sanction Iowa For Hiring Harreld As University President
IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) – A national group of professors has voted unanimously to
sanction the University of Iowa for the way the school hired its new president.
The century-old American Association of University Professors voted Saturday
to sanction UI for “substantial non-compliance with standards of academic
government” during the process that led to last year’s hiring of former IBM
executive Bruce Harreld as president of the university.
In December, the group’s investigating committee found that instead of
involving faculty fully in the presidential search, the Iowa Board of Regents
engineered a search to identify a figure from the business world. Once the regents
identified such a person, the report said, “what followed was at best an illusion
of an open, honest search.”
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Sac City Produces World’s Largest Popcorn Ball, Again
SAC CITY, Iowa (AP) – Hundreds of people convened on the western Iowa town of Sac
City this weekend to construct the world’s largest popcorn ball.
The ball of popcorn estimated to weigh 10,000 pounds was constructed Saturday at the Noble Popcorn plant.
Sac City first claimed the largest popcorn ball in 1995, when people came
together to make one weighing in at 2,225 pounds. The enormous treat traveled all
over the Midwest and to the Iowa State Fair to promote Sac County’s claim as the
“Popcorn Capital.”
But as the record was defeated in following years, Sac City kept building
bigger popcorn balls, its last one coming in at 5,000 pounds in 2009.
Saturday’s effort is intended to be noted in the Guinness Book of World
Records.
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