Sesquicentennial Co-chairs Reflect On Celebration
(Le Mars) — The celebration of the Ice Cream Days and Sesquicentennial is now over, but not before the town of Le Mars had a fun and grand celebration.
KLEM news visited with the four co-chairs of the Sesquicentennial committee to gather their thoughts of the celebration. Many positive comments were shared about the celebration. Mary Reynolds says she enjoyed Sunday’s activities, including the game of Cricket.
Jessica Brownmiller, another Sesquicentennial co-chair found the polo match to be interesting.
Several thousand people from outside Le Mars had gathered at the “Ice Cream Capital of the World” to help celebrate, and Linda Mayrose, a third Sesquicentennial committee co-chair comments on the fun others shared with the community.
Rich Ziettlow served as the fourth Sesquicentennial co-chair, and says the Founder’s Day luncheon was a special event.
Reflecting back on Wednesday, the first day of celebration for Ice Cream Days and the Sesquicentennial, Ziettlow says the time capsule that was buried garnered a lot of interest and participation from the community.
The town of Le Mars reflected upon the first 150 years of history for the town during the week of celebration. Mary Reynolds was asked what she thinks will be the topics of interest and conversation in another 100 years when the people look back on Le Mars from today?
Jessica Brownmiller says the co-chairs began two years ago for the planning and preparation for the Sesquicentennial celebration.
Linda Mayrose says she was personally touched when so many people had thanked her for the great celebration.
Le Mars Sesquicentennial Celebration souvenirs are still available at many downtown businesses.
Police Investigate Killing Of West Des Moines Family
WEST DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Police are investigating the fatal shootings of four family members whose bodies were found in their Iowa home.
The Des Moines Register reports that the bodies were discovered
Saturday morning by relatives who were staying with the family at the home in West Des Moines.
A police news release identifies the victims as 44-year-old Lavanya Sunkara, 41-year-old Chandrasekhar Sunkara, and two boys aged 15 and 10 years.
West Des Moines police Sgt. Dan Wade says there is no threat to the community and investigators are trying to determine exactly what happened.
Real estate records indicate the family has owned the home since March.
Six People Injured Following Shooting Incident Into Crowd
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Six people were injured when someone fired shots into a group of people who had left a party on Des Moines’ east side.
Police say those hurt in the shooting early Sunday were taken to
hospitals and were all in stable condition.
The shooting happened about 1:30 a.m. when a vehicle approached a group of people who were standing in a street after a party ended. Someone in the vehicle fired multiple shots into the crowd, injuring three females and three males.
Police say the victims are 16 to 20 years old.
Fatality Near Nevada
NEVADA, Iowa (AP) – Authorities say a woman driving slowly to protect a horse walking on the side of a road in central Iowa died and seven other people were injured when her vehicle was struck by another.
The crash occurred around 5 p.m. Saturday, just north of the Story County city of Nevada (nuh-VAYE’-duh).
The Iowa State Patrol says 27-year-old Nycole Henson and another driver were driving with their emergency lights flashing when a third vehicle crashed into Henson’s vehicle from behind, knocking it into a cornfield.
The third vehicle’s driver and six other people were taken to an Ames hospital. He’s been identified as 17-year-old Nathaniel Oberhokam.
Patrol Sgt. Nathan Ludwig says he doesn’t know why the horse was being walked along the road.
Specialty Crops Being Delayed For Planting
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Torrential rain this spring prevented most Midwest farmers from planting their crops but while the federal government provides help to growers of corn and soybeans, those who grow specialty crops are largely on their own.
Although the lack of federal safety net programs for farmers who grow everything from arugula to zucchini isn’t new, one of the wettest springs in U.S. history has focused attention on the special status of commodity crops, primarily corn, soybeans, cotton, rice and wheat.
Iowa organic farmer Andrew Dunham shrugs at the situation, noting “there are no federal bailouts for vegetable farmers.”
Iowa State University economist Chad Hart says crops like corn and soybeans are treated differently because they’re so important to the national economy, and shortages would be painful, particularly to the livestock industry.
Iowa Sets Record For Amounts Of Rain and Snow
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration shows Iowa set a record for rain and snow over the past 12 months.
The Des Moines Register reports that the state saw nearly 51 inches of precipitation from June 2018 through May of this year. That’s about 16 inches more than the 34.42 inches the state averaged per year from 1981 to 2010.
State climatologist Justin Glisan says the past 12 months have been the wettest since 1895, the year officials began keeping weather records.
He says Iowa can expect more rain as temperatures increase this
summer, because higher temperatures create more water vapor in the atmosphere.
The USDA Midwest Climate Hub in Ames is predicting higher than
average rainfall for most of the summer.
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