Gehlen Catholic To Dismiss Classes Early For State Volleyball Tournament
(Le Mars) — Because of the Girls State Volleyball Tournament, with Gehlen Catholic playing this evening at Cedar Rapids, Gehlen Catholic will dismiss two hours early today. There will be no bus service, and no school at Gehlen Catholic on Wednesday, November 4th.
Shamrock Avenue To Close Today For Railroad Maintenance
(Le Mars) — Plymouth County Secondary Roads Department will close Shamrock Avenue between 160th Street and 165th Street in order to allow the railroad to perform some maintenance work. The road will be closed only on Tuesday, and is expected to re-open late this afternoon.
Plymouth County Sheriff’s Office Investigating Firearm Injury Report
(Le Mars) — Plymouth County Sheriff’s Office is investigating an incident involving a firearm injury that happened on Sunday, November 1st. The incident took place at the 13000 block of Evergreen Avenue at around 11:30 a.m. The Sheriff’s Office has stated on their website that additional information will be forthcoming at a later time.
County Supervisor Meeting Is Cancelled
(Le Mars) — Plymouth County Board of Supervisors has cancelled its meet originally scheduled for this morning. The county governing board will meet again on next Tuesday.
City Council To Hold Meeting Beginning At Noon Today
(Le Mars) — Le Mars city council is scheduled to meet today at noon at the Le Mars city council chambers. The council will hold two public hearings to start the meeting. They will discuss the 2020 Dog Park Improvement Project, as well as hold a hearing regarding Mobile Food Vendors. As for action items, the city council is expected to award a construction contract for the Cleveland Park Restroom Improvement project, and reconstruct the airport’s runway.
Fire Department Issues October Monthly Report
(Le Mars) — During the month known as Fire Prevention Month, the Le Mars Fire and Rescue Department responded to a total of 18 fires in October. The fire and rescue department also were called to eight rescue calls. They conducted 20 investigations, provided 20 requests for services, and provided mutual aid to Hinton once. All told, the Le Mars Fire and Rescue Department
acted on 67 calls during October. During October, each of the members of the Le Mars Fire and Rescue Department completed their driving course testing.
The fire department conducted 17 different fire prevention talks and presentations to 239 children during October. They teamed up with the Merrill Fire Department to conduct extrication training at the Kellen’s Ponderosa.
Polls Open For Election Day
(Le Mars) — Polls have already opened for today’s elections, and they will remain open until 9:00 p.m. this evening. Although many of the local races including for county supervisor, sheriff, and state representative are uncontested for many of Plymouth County voters, all attention will focus on the race for Congress as Republican Randy Feenstra of Hull faces Democrat J.D. Scholten of Sioux City. Another key race is for the U-S Senate seat
between incumbent and Republican Joni Ernst and Democratic challenger Theresa Greenfield. Of course all eyes will be watching the presidential race between Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Joe Biden. A listing of the polling precincts locations can be found on the KLEM website under the “News” category and click on “Election Information.”
Fall Harvest Is Nearly Completed
(Des Moines) — The Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship is reporting the state’s fall harvest is close to wrapping up with 97 percent of the state’s soybean crop now harvested, and the corn crop is listed as being 87 percent complete. Rain and snow early in the week, along with cooler
temperatures, limited Iowa farmers to 5.3 days suitable for fieldwork during the week ending November 1, 2020, according to the USDA, National Agricultural Statistics Service. Fieldwork activities reported included harvesting corn and soybeans, baling corn stalks, applying fertilizer and manure, moving grain to town and tillage.
Topsoil moisture condition rated 13% very short, 28% short, 58% adequate and 1% surplus. Subsoil moisture condition rated 19% very short, 34% short, 46% adequate and 1% surplus.
Iowa Voters Head To Polls For Presidential Election
(Des Moines, IA) — Local election officials are encouraging Iowa voters to wear a mask when they go to the polls on Election Day, but they say they can’t force you to do that. Voters who are infected with the virus will be able to use curbside voting. Poll workers will be disinfecting the pens and
clipboards to keep things clean. Doctors have said voting in-person is just about as safe as going to your local grocery store. County election boards Monday began tabulating a record 956-thousand ballots sent in my mailed, dropped off at an auditor’s office, or collected during early voting in person. The statewide turnout is expected to be about one-point-six million.
State Agrees To $550K Discrimination Settlement With Former 4-H Leader
(Des Moines, IA) — The state of Iowa has agreed to a 550-thousand-dollar settlement with its former 4-H leader over a discrimination and harassment lawsuit. A jury trial was scheduled to begin in two months. The dispute between John-Paul Chaisson-Cardenas and Iowa State University Extension and
Outreach has been going on for two years. The Iowa Appeal Board approved the settlement Monday. Chaisson-Cardenas was fired in 2018. He was the first Latino 4-H state leader. He had alleged he was fired because of his advocacy for racial equality and gender identity protects among 4-H participants and
employees.
Iowa Hospital Officials Warn COVID-19 Is Stretching Resources, Threatens To Get Worse
(Des Moines, IA) — Leaders of Iowa’s largest hospital systems say the state is “entering the danger zone” as it deals with the COVID-19. Doctors say facilities are being stretched and the situation threatens to get worse.
Hospitalizations for the virus have nearly doubled in the last month. As of Monday, the Iowa Department of Public Health was reporting 718 people being treated in state hospitals for the disease, including 156 in intensive care units. Since the surge is affecting all Midwest states, that limits the ability of hospitals to help each other. And, the problem is surging just as the flu season normally starts.
Smoke Visible For Miles As West Des Moines Office Building Burns
(West Des Moines, IA) — The smoke was visible for miles as a vacant office building in West Des Moines burned late Monday afternoon. Firefighters were called to the location on 8th Street just before 4:00 p-m. The crews say they saw a lot of smoke coming from the two-story building as they pulled up.
Some witnesses reported seeing the smoke from several miles away. West Des Moines Fire Marshall Mike Whitsell says the building was about to be demolished and firefighters were told no one was inside when the fire started. Some nearby restaurants were evacuated as the crews worked to keep
the flames from spreading.
