(Le Mars) – Le Mars Community School Superintendent Dr. Steve Webner has announced due to increased COVID-19 positivity in Plymouth County and Le Mars, all Le Mars Community School orientations and activities are cancelled through August 23. Football Coach Gabe Tardive announced there will be no practice or scrimmage Friday August 21st or Saturday August 22nd. As we continue to get updates we will keep you informed. Today’s golf triangular at the Willow Creek Golf Course has been cancelled.
Gehlen Catholic Principal Jeff Alesch has announced due to increased COVID-19 in Plymouth County and Le Mars, all school’s activities through August 23 are cancelled. Football Coach Jeremy Schindler has announced tonight’s scrimmage with Cherokee has been cancelled.
UPDATE 2 – Remsen Demolition Derby Cancelled
(Remsen) — Remsen city council held a special meeting Thursday evening to determine whether or not the annual Remsen Demolition Derby should take place this weekend. KLEM news received a call this morning, and was informed the derby committee has made the decision to cancell the event for 2020.
City Water Department To Close 12th Street Southwest For Water Main Repair
(Le Mars) — The Le Mars Water Department has announced they will be working on a water main beginning on Monday, and as a result, the city will close 12th Street Southwest from Central Avenue to 2nd Avenue Southwest. Rich Sudtlgte, the city’s water department superintendent, realizes the area is a busy street with heavy traffic, but he tells residents to plan on the street to remain closed for at least a week.
Le Mars Community School Superintendent Sends Letter To Parents
(Le Mars) — Le Mars Community School District Superintendent, Dr. Steven Webner has written a letter to parents regarding the decision to hold in-person classes for the start of school. In his letter, Webner says the decision was initially made using the “return to learn” metrics provided by the Iowa Department of Education and the Iowa Department of Public Health. At the time of the decision, Plymouth County had a community transmission or positivity rate that was between zero and five percent. However, Plymouth County’s numbers of COVID-19 positive cases have risen in recent days to 16.9 percent which is the highest in the state at this time.
Webner says this places our county schools within the 15 to 20 percent metric category of “substantial controlled.” Webner says, typically, this would mean that Plymouth County schools may be required to move to a hybrid style of learning, if the school also had an absenteeism rate of 10 percent, or potentially a remote learn model. However, at this point in time, the community of Le Mars does not have significant enough outbreak to warrant hybrid or remote learning, although Webner realizes the numbers are rising. As of Thursday, August 20th, Le Mars Community Schools will continue to plan to start school on August 25th with on-site learning for all students. Webner notes the situation may change quickly, and families must be prepared to have child care options in place if the school is required to move to a hybrid or remote learning model. Webner reminds parents that all students must cover their mouth and nose with a mask or face covering in public. They are to avoid close contact, cover coughs and sneezes, stay home if ill, clean hands frequently, clean and disinfect your belongings, and monitor your health on a daily basis.
14 Iowa School Districts Get Okay to Start Late Due to Derecho Damage
(Des Moines, IA) — Administrators from 14 Iowa school districts notified the state that last week’s derecho did damage to school facilities. Governor Kim Reynolds today said she will issue an updated public health emergency proclamation that gives those districts permission to start the school year with online instruction. Reynolds told reporters, “and, if districts conclude that the damage to their district prevents starting even remote learning, they may apply to the Department of Education for a limited-time instructional waiver.” That’s because internet service is spotty or non-existent in some of the areas hardest hit by last week’s storm. Cedar Rapids Superintendent Noreen Bush said that each of the district’s 34 buildings suffered damage in the derecho.
333 New COVID-19 Cases in Iowa, 9 Additional Deaths
(Des Moines, IA) — State health officials are reporting 333 new positive COVID-19 tests which increases the total to 53-thousand-830 cases in Iowa. Nine more Iowans have died, bringing the state’s death toll to one-thousand-12. Three-hundred people are hospitalized with the coronavirus, 89 patients are in intensive care and 31 are on ventilators. The Iowa Department of Public Health says the numbers on its website are now corrected after a glitch in its reporting. Nearly 577-thousand COVID tests have been done in Iowa since the pandemic began.
Man Fleeing Waterloo Police Drives Fuel Tanker Into Home
(Waterloo, IA) — Police in Waterloo say a man crashed his car while fleeing officers and then got into a fuel tanker and struck a house. Major Joe Leibold says officers responded after reports of the car wreck. He says officers found the man driving the truck at a high rate of speed through traffic lights, and by the time they got behind him he had crashed the tanker truck. A man was sleeping in the home and escaped without injury. Firefighters evacuated part of the neighborhood and a hazmat team was called to help with the fuel spill. Leibold says the fuel was everywhere. The driver was taken to a hospital after being pulled from the truck that had flipped over. Leibold says they will release the man’s name and decide on charges after he has been treated at the hospital.
3 Killed in Fiery, 2-Vehicle Crash Overnight in Davenport
(Davenport, IA) — Three people are dead after a two-vehicle crash overnight in Davenport. Police say a car ran a stop sign around 12 a-m and collided with an S-U-V, sending both vehicles into the ditch where they burst into flames. Two occupants in the S-U-V and the other driver died at the scene. The victims haven’t been identified. Officers say the crash is still under investigation.
