Several City Streets Scheduled For Repairs
(Le Mars) — The City Of Le Mars has hired Knife River to mill and overlay a few streets and intersections in town. They will be starting on Monday May 4th, 2020. We will have some temporary street closures/detours with some of these projects while they are working . Here is the lists of areas they will be working through out the week. If anyone has questions or concerns please contact the Street Dept. at 546-5314.
- 2nd Ave S.E. from 3rd St. S.E. to 6th St. S.E. They will mill and overlay entire 3 blocks.
* 9th St S.W. from Central Ave going west to 2nd Ave. S.W. They will mill the edges and overlay the entire street.
* 2nd St. N.W. from Central Ave. going west to 1st Ave. N.W. They will mill the gutter line on both sides of street and only overlay the those edges.
*1st Ave N.W. from 1st St. N.E. to 2nd St. N.E. They will mill the gutter line on both sides of street and only overlay those edges.
* 12th St. S.E. and 7th Ave. S.E. intersection . They will mill and overlay the entire intersection.
*6th Ave. S.E. and 12th St. S.E. , There is a small section on 6th Ave coming up to 12th St. that they will mill and overlay.
6th Ave. S.W. and Lincoln . This will be the approach on both sides of the railroad tracks, City will mill and they overlay.
* 12th St. S.E. from 2nd Ave. S.E. going west up to 4th Ave. S.E. They will mill the street.
Fire Department Issues April Monthly Report
(Le Mars) — The Le Mars Fire and Rescue Department responded to a total of 34 calls in April, of which 19 were fire calls. Several were reported as grass or field fires from originally controlled burns that got out of control. In addition to the fire calls, the local fire and rescue department responded to seven rescues, 14 investigations and/or accident clean-ups. The
Le Mars Fire and Rescue Department had four mutual aid calls during the month of April…two were to assist Akron, once with Merrill, and once with Hinton.
Le Mars Fire Chief Dave Schipper says that seven members of the Le Mars Fire and Rescue Department were certified as Hazard Materials technicians for handling chemical emergencies. Schipper says the certification involved several hours of on-line training, as well as classroom hands-on training.
Floyd Valley Healthcare Announces Hiring Of New Doctor
(Le Mars) — Floyd Valley Healthcare CEO Dustin Wright announced that Dr. Destiny Miller will be joining the medical staff at Floyd Valley Clinics in September. As a family physician, she will provide all facets of family healthcare services from pre-conception to end of life services. She has special interest in obstetrics, preventative medicine, joint injections and dermatology procedures.
Dr. Miller brings a wealth of education and training experience with her.
She earned her undergraduate at Briar Cliff University in Sioux City. She worked as a CNA and nurse at Manning Regional Healthcare Center. Dr. Miller then attended medical school at Ross University School of Medicine in Picard, Dominica. She is currently finishing her residency and will be spending time
in May working at Floyd Valley Clinics.
Dr. Miller grew up in Vail, Iowa and attended Ar-We-Va High School. She and her husband, Brandon, have two cats named Roo and Lincoln. She is an avid Iowa Hawkeyes fan. She enjoys photography, gardening, fishing, target shooting and spending time with friends and family.
Wright states, “Dr. Miller grew up in rural Iowa and is passionate to serve a rural community. Her professional training along with her compassionate care and personality is going to be a great fit at Floyd Valley Healthcare. The entire team at Floyd Valley Healthcare is looking forward to her practice beginning this fall.”
Tulip Festival Steering Committee Wants Memories Of Tulip Festivals From Past Years
ORANGE CITY, Iowa – The Tulip Festival Steering Committee invites the community to contribute to a special digital
celebration, hosted on social media, by sharing favorite Orange City Tulip Festival memories and traditions. The “Celebrating
Our Favorite Festival Memories” initiative will take place on social media May 14, 15 and 16, the dates previously scheduled
for the 2020 Tulip Festival.
During May 14, 15 and 16, all those who have enjoyed the festival are encouraged to post a photo or video on social media
(Facebook, Instagram and Twitter), sharing their favorite memory of Tulip Festival or what they love most about the Dutch
tradition. Participants are asked to use the hashtag #OCTulipFestival and are encouraged to tag the @OCTulipFestival pageon their post.
“The Orange City Tulip Festival is more than beautiful tulips, colorful floats and a charming downtown. Tulip Festival is a
community of people—guests who bring life to the celebration, volunteers who make it happen, vendors who offer festival
favorites, and families and friends that use the third weekend in May as a time to reconnect,” say Reese and Cristi Kelch,
chairpersons for the 2020 Tulip Festival. “Together, even now, we can enjoy the spirit of the festival. We know that the festival
continues in the hearts of each of us and our favorite springtime tradition will prevail for years to come.”
An event has been created on Facebook, and reminders will be posted on the Orange City Tulip Festival Facebook, Instagram
and Twitter accounts leading up to the third weekend in May.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 Tulip Festival scheduled for May 14, 15 and 16 was cancelled by festival organizers.
The Tulip Festival has a rich history since its beginning in 1936. The last time the festival was not held was during the years
of 1942-1946 due to World War II.
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Congressman Steve King Says Public Needs More Information About COVID-19 Virus To Make Better Decisions
(Le Mars) — Last week, Congress approved a second round of funding to help fight the COVID-19 coronavirus. The amount of money amounts to around $500 billion dollars. However, Iowa 4th District Republican Congressman, Steve King says he doesn’t believe it will be enough, and he anticipates Congress
will return to allocate even additional funding.
King says there is no one that would have been able to accurately predict the problems that have derived from the outbreak and spread of the COVID-19 virus. He says, so far, no can determine all the damage and repercussions from the virus. King says there are many places, such as New York, that have
been overwhelmed by the virus and needing additional medical equipment and staff to effectively manage the virus. However, the Iowa Republican says it is time to try to get the economy back on its feet.
Some people fear opening up businesses too soon may prove to be determental, especially when health officials say we haven’t yet hit the peak of positive coronavirus cases. King says if a second round of COVID-19 was to spread through the country, people may not be as willing to submit to social distancing and other mitigation efforts. He says that doesn’t mean those
people would be right with their thoughts. The republican congressman says the law of diminishing returns may apply to this situation.
King says he would like to see additional information being released from health officials regarding those that have contracted the COVID-19 virus so he would have a better position to make better decisions.
King says additional data should be provided to the public.
Reynolds: Lag in COVID Testing Will Be Resolved This Weekend
(Des Moines, IA) — Governor Kim Reynolds says 740 new cases of COVID-19 have been identified in Iowa, a significant spike in positive cases from testing in areas of the state where virus activity is high. Reynolds said, “in the last week alone, we have deployed ‘strike teams’ and sent tests to long term care facilities, manufacturing facilities, and the Iowa Veterans
Home so that essential workers could be tested.” Many Iowans who have been tested have not yet received their results. The governor acknowledged there is a backlog, but she said all of the past week’s results will be revealed this weekend. She says sites in Des Moines and Waterloo generate a high volume of tests for the State Hygienic Lab in a short amount of time.
John Deere Laying Off 159 Employees at Dubuque Works Facility
(Dubuque, IA) — John Deere says 159 employees at Dubuque Works will be placed on indefinite layoff effective June 1st. Their last day of work will be May 29th. Deere and Company will be temporarily suspending production at John Deere Davenport Works and Dubuque Works for two weeks. Production will
pause on May 11th and will resume on May 26th. The temporary suspension is due to a lack of demand in the market during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Jaci Hermstad of Spencer Loses Battle With Rare Form of ALS
(Spencer, IA) — A Spencer woman who has been battling a rare form of A-L-S lost her fight to Lou Gehrig’s disease. The parents of 26-year-old Jaci Hermstad says she died this morning (Friday). The family announced last week that Jaci had entered hospice care after receive several experimental treatments for A-L-S. Her parents posted on Facebook, “our warrior angel
here on Earth, has answered the call to join the angels in Heaven, reunited with her beautiful twin sister Alex.” Her sister died on Valentine’s Day 2011 and Jaci was diagnosed with A-L-S on February 14th, 2019. Her parents called Jaci “a hero and a pioneer who blazed a trail for groundbreaking A-L-S
treatments that will hopefully save countless others from this terrible disease.” Congressman Steve King commented about Jaci during his interview with KLEM radio.
Iowa Supreme Court Upholds Lower Court Rulings on Reynolds Bowl Game Flight
(Des Moines, IA) — The Iowa Supreme Court has upheld a lower court ruling in a campaign finance issue involving the governor. Attorney Gary Dickey filed a complaint with the Campaign Finance Board that Governor Kim Reynolds
under reported the value of a flight on a corporate jet to the Liberty Bowl in 2017. The campaign finance report listed the cost at two-thousand-880 dollars. The board dismissed the complaint and then two lower court rulings found Dickey had no standing to sue. The Iowa Supreme Court agreed with the lower courts — saying an administrative decision that the cost of the flight
was under reported might result in some adverse publicity for the governor — but it says the courts exist to hear claims brought by injured parties — and Dickey is not injured.
