County Supervisors To Convene For Weekly Meeting
(Le Mars) — Plymouth County Board of Supervisors will convene today at the Courthouse Annex basement for their weekly meeting. The county governing board will approve acturarial services agreement with Silver Stone Incorporated for a GASB75 audit compliance. The supervisors is expected to approve the Iowa Secretary of State’s Vote Safe Iowa Initiative grant
agreement, and they county board is expected to approve the hiring of the Klass Law firm. The county supervisors will hold a public hearing at 10:00 a.m. for the fiscal year 2019-2020 Budget amendment. Surveyor, Dave Wilberding will appear before the county board seeking approval of the T & C
Majeres minor addition in Preston township. County engineer Tom Rohe will also appear before the board seeking several utility construction permits, as well as a tile crossing permit. Rohe will also discuss some construction projects with the county supervisors.
City Council To Discuss Extending Loan To Plymouth Energy
(Le Mars) — The Le Mars city council will again hold a meeting, however, it will be done by conference call due to the COVID-19 virus. The city council will decide upon the construction of a multi-family housing unit by the Northwest Real Estate, LLC which is seeking approval from the city to submit an application to the Iowa Economic Development Authority for funding through
the Workforce Housing Tax Incentive program. The recommendation is for the city to approve the request which would be an exemption of 100 percent taxes on the new construction for seven years. This represents a pass-through
grant and the estimated tax exemption amount of $350,229 over the seven year period.
The city council will also discuss the situation involving Plymouth Energy.
The ethanol producer has a loan with the city for ethanol storage, as well as for a rail line. However, the ethanol producer has not been able to have its operations active for several months, Plymouth Energy is looking for an extension of the loan.
Iowa Now Reporting More Than 9700 Positive COVID-19 Cases
(Des Moines) — As of Monday, Iowa now has more than 9700 positive cases of COVID-19 virus. In Plymouth County, the number has now reached 27 cases.
Governor Kim Reynolds during her daily briefing told reporters the number of deaths associated with the coronavirus within the state has now hit 188.
The governor was asked about the 77 Iowa counties that have been approved for lifting some of the restrictions, and what type of monitoring is still occurring with those counties.
Reynolds says businesses within the 77 counties are still implementing some self-imposed strict guidelines.
Sarah Reisetter of the Iowa Department of Public Health was asked what is the percentage of positive cases needed for manufacturing and food processing companies to report to state health officials to be considered as an outbreak?
Reisetter says the public health department continues to monitor companies that employ hundreds of employees and have been identified as a “COVID-19” hot spot.
State Health And Human Services Director Confirms COVID-19 Has Infected Staff And Residences Of State Institutions
(Des Moines) — The COVID-19 virus has now entered some of the state managed health institutions, and Iowa Department of Health and Human Services Kelly Kennedy-Garcia addressed the situation during the Monday daily briefing.
Garcia says she realized it was going to be a matter of when, not if, the state managed institutions would eventually have positive cases reported.
Garcia informed reporters that all nine state employees are recovering and doing well. Garica says six residents of the Woodward Resource Center have also tested positive for the coronavirus. She explained the protocol used after the COVID-19 virus was first detected within the state.
Garcia offered a timeline as to how the Department of Health and Human Services dealt with the pandemic.
The Health and Human Services director says the agency has a goal of creating an environment of having the staff feel supported when they feel ill. She says the agency is doing everything it can to keep the staff and residents safe from contracting the virus.
North West Rural Electric Cooperative To Offer Early Dividends
(Orange City, IA) — In light of the COVID-19 outbreak, the Board of Directors of North West Rural Electric Cooperative
(NWREC) has approved an early retirement of patronage dividends to the member-owners. According to Lyle Korver, NWREC General Manager, the amount of the retirement is $1.6 million dollars.
Jeff Rehder, NWREC Board President, said the directors and management team understand that many of the members are experiencing financial challenges as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak. Rehder says, “We decided this was oneway we could provide some timely assistance to our members,” Rehder said.
During these unprecedented times, NWREC is also making every effort to work with customers who are experiencing financial difficulties by waiving late fees, providing payment plan options, and temporarily suspending disconnections for non-payment.
Korver says, “The directors and employees of North West REC want to assure our member-owners that our commitment of providing safe and reliable power to our members is as strong as it has ever been.”
North West Rural Electric Cooperative delivers power to its members in O’Brien, Ida, Sioux and Plymouth Counties.
Remsen St. Mary’s On-line Gym Naming Auction Was Successful
(Remsen) — More than $5,000 was raised Friday evening through an on-line auction that benefited Remsen St. Mary’s school. Sarah Garvin, Remsen St. Mary’s Director of Advancement says the on-line version of the auction went
well. Remsen St. Mary’s officials resorted to having an on-line auction through the Catholic school’s facebook page since COVID-19 had caused officials to cancel the actual gathering.
Garvin says the dollar amount is comparable to past years when there was a live auction.
Garvin says over-all, the fundraising efforts between the naming rights to the gym, and donations, along with auction activity of the no-ball ball exceeds $50,000.
The gym’s name in honor of Gib Schroeder will take effect at the start of the 20-21 school year, and will remain in his honor for the duration of the school year.
Farmers Ahead Of Schedule With Planting Crops
(Le Mars) — Farmers have been able to take advantage of the recent nice weather and get a jump on this year’s planting duties. According to Iowa State University Extension Crops Specialist for northwest Iowa, Joel DeJong, many farmers have either finished planting, or are getting close to finishing
planting.
DeJong says soil conditions have been excellent for the planting, but he says we could use a nice significant rainfall in the near future.
Despite not having much rain, DeJong says many of the earlier planted crops have already emerged.
DeJong says there are some soybean seeds that are laying in dry soil, that could use a boost.
The extension crops specialist says conditions have been favorable as soil temperatures have hit 50 degrees and are rising. He says area alfalfa and oats crops are doing well, but like with the corn and soybeans, a rain would be welcomed. DeJong says extension personnel have set up traps to determine
the likely severity and infestation of different crop pests.
DeJong says other areas of the state are also ahead of normal planting schedules, although in eastern Iowa, they have had some rains which has slowed down the planting progress.
Iowa Farmers Make Planting Progress
(Des Moines, IA) — Iowa farmers made some record progress putting crops in the ground last week. Warm, dry weather allowed the wheels to roll on tractors and planters and farmers now have 46 percent of the beans in the ground. That compares to nine percent of the soybeans planted one week before
— and it marks the most soybeans farmers had planted by May 3rd since records began in 1974. Bean planting is now one full month ahead of schedule.
Thirty-nine-percent of the expected corn planting got done last week — and it is the first time since 2010 that three-quarters of the corn crop was in the ground by May 3rd.
Farmers Urged To Certify Crops As Soon As Possible
(Le Mars) — As farmers finish up with this year’s planting duties, they are reminded to report to their county USDA office to certify their acres. However, due to the COVID-19 virus, farmers are being urged to call first and set up an appointment. Jeff Davis serves as the Farm Services Agency director for both Plymouth and Sioux Counties. He says the deadline to certify crop acres remains at July 15th, but he says farmers need to plan ahead when they report their acres.
Davis explains the procedure that will be implemented this year through the U-S-D-A Farm Services Agency.
Davis admits the process may not be easy, but it’s what is needing to be done. Farmers can contact their respective county office either in Plymouth County or Sioux County.
The F-S-A director asks farmers not to wait until the last minute, and to show some patience with the USDA county employees as they process your data and information.
Davis says both offices will be staffed with only two employees.
The Farm Services Agency director reminds farmers that all acres need to be certified with the government in order to participate in government programs.
Davis says the deadline to certify crops is July 15th.
Western Iowa Tech Community College Is Site For IowaTests.com
(Des Moines) — The Office of Governor Kim Reynolds has opened a Test Iowa site in Sioux City for residents of Northwest Iowa. Iowans are encouraged to fill out an assessment today at TestIowa.com to determine if they qualify for testing. Individuals who qualify will then schedule an appointment to get tested.
Sioux City’s Test Iowa site is located at Western Iowa Tech Community College, at 4647 Stone Ave, Sioux City, IA. Only individuals who have qualified for testing and scheduled an appointment will be tested.
Iowa Sales Tax Revenue Take Steep Drop
(Des Moines, IA) — Iowa tax revenues plunged 39 percent in April. One reason for that double-digit drop is the delayed deadline for paying state income taxes. Individuals and corporations normally must pay their state income taxes by April 30th, but during the pandemic, state officials pushed the due date to July 31st. State officials will have to come up with an
estimate of the pandemic’s economic impact as they rework their state budget plans for the fiscal year that begins July 1st. The Iowa legislature is currently scheduled to reconvene on May 15th. Moody’s Analytics, a research firm focused on finance, has estimated the State of Iowa’s budget must be cut at least five percent.
6 COVID-19 Cases Confirmed At State-Run Facility For Disabled
(Woodward, IA) — A top administrator has confirmed six residents of a state-run facility for the disabled have tested positive for coronavirus.
Iowa Department of Human Services director Kelly Garcia says three employees at the Woodward Resource Center also tested positive. Garcia says a total of nine employees who work at five different state-run facilities have tested positive. All nine staffers are self-isolating and doing well, according to Garcia. Garcia says the residents who’ve tested positive for COVID-19 have
been relocated to another home on the Woodward campus. Starting on March 13th, outside visitors were barred from the five state-run facilities Garcia’s agency manages.
Regents: Proposal Would Keep Tuition Flat At Iowa Public Universities
(Des Moines, IA) — The Board of Regents is advancing a proposal that would keep tuition at the state’s public universities unchanged next fall. Leaders say they want the cost of tuition to be predictable for students and their families as they deal with the COVID-19 pandemic. If that proposal is finalized next month, the base tuition for an Iowa state resident would be 93 hundred dollars at Iowa State University, 96 hundred at the University of Iowa and 89 hundred at Northern Iowa University. All three universities have major budget challenges. If the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics are included, they have to deal with a revenue loss of 260 million dollars, plus additional costs connected to the pandemic.
