Floyd Valley Healthcare Able To Raise $36,000 During Virtual Gala Event
(Le Mars) — Nearly 100 people were logged-on to virtually attend the fifth annual Floyd Valley Foundation Wine and Craft Beer tasting event held Saturday, November 14th. In addition to those participating in the bidding and program viewing, over 40 tasting-to-go orders went out for participants to enjoy prior to the live streaming event. This year’s first ever virtual
event is projected to net over $36,000. The proceeds will be placed in the Greatest Needs Fund for a future medical equipment purchase or project. The tasting-to-go packages were comprised of select wine and craft beer, various
selections of barbecue and smoked salmon. The live streaming event had a virtual auction with a variety of items to bid on, several special guest videos, and a virtual treasure hunt. Attendees not only helped raise funds, they also enjoyed a fun evening with friends and family from the comfort of
their home. Amy Harnack, Floyd Valley Foundation Manager, says “we are extremely grateful for the support from the community and businesses who contributed in helping to hold this event again this year.”
Plymouth County Historical Museum To Again Hold Nativity Exhibit
(Le Mars) — Christmas nativities will continue to be a part of the Plymouth County Historical Museum’s gift to the Plymouth County community, with the exhibit scheduled to open in the Museum’s Study Hall Saturday, Nov. 28.
Open hours will be from 1 to 5 p.m., Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday through the Epiphany season in January.
This will mark the 11th year of the nativities, although this year will be quite different from other years, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Instead of approximately 500 nativities, the display will feature the smaller collection of the Rev. Paul Eisele’s nativities.
Museum personnel note that the heart of the exhibit will remain, thanks to the priest’s nativities from around the world, donated to the Museum in 2016.
The collection of nearly 75 nativities hails from Holland, St. Petersburg, Russia, Mexico, Le Mars, and Remsen, plus many other destinations.
The late Ron and Delores Burkard started the Museum’s nativity display in 2010 when the renovation of the 1905 Study Hall was completed. The Burkards brought their own collection from home the first year. Through the years, nativities have been shared by many people.
Jim and Mary Rohlfs of Le Mars, Museum volunteers, have led the way in putting up the exhibit of lights, trees, and nativities for the last several years. Helping this year was volunteer Jeanetta Kelly of Oyens.
In an adjacent room, a new winter display is underway. More details will be announced soon concerning that exhibit.
Masks and social distancing will be required for visitors; only small groups will be admitted at one time into the spacious Study Hall. All five floors of the Museum will be open to visitors.
Any small groups wishing to see the nativity exhibit outside of regular hours may call the Museum at 546-7002 to arrange for a tour.
The Museum, located at 335 First Ave. Southwest in Le Mars, is completely handicapped accessible. Admission is free, but free will donations are welcome.
University of Iowa To Offer Online Classes After Thanksgiving
(Des Moines) — Friday was the final day of classes at Iowa State University and the University of Northern Iowa. Students will are now taking finals with the fall semester will end on Wednesday, the day before Thanksgiving. U-N-I president Mark Nook says less than 30 percent of U-N-I’s classes have been
exclusively online.
Iowa State University president Wendy Wintersteen says it’s been a fall semester unlike any other, but the student body has been fairly stable.
There WERE huge spikes of Covid cases in Ames AND Iowa City when students returned for fall classes. University of Iowa president Bruce Harreld says after initial fears, it appears the virus has been manageable on the Iowa City campus.
Harreld says the university updated the air handling systems in some campus buildings and mask wearing is very common in the community, both contributing factors in keeping Covid “relatively controlled” on campus.
University of Iowa students get a Thanksgiving break, starting next Wednesday. Classes resume November 30th — but they will ALL be online through the end of the fall semester.
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Iowa’s Unemployment Rate Drops
(Des Moines) — Iowa’s unemployment rate fell a full point during October, to three-point-six percent.
Iowa’s unemployment rate is tied with South Dakota for third lowest in the country, behind only Nebraska and Vermont. About 47-hundred people were hired in Iowa’s construction industry last month. State officials say it’s the first time since May there’s been job growth in construction. There were still layoffs in Iowa’s food service and hotel industries last month. The
data shows the size of Iowa’s workforce has shrunk by about 90-thousand compared to pre-pandemic levels. Iowa’s unemployment rate peaked in April at 11 percent.
University Of Iowa Hospitals And Clinics Buys 2 Freezers For Vaccines
(Iowa City, IA) — University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics is getting ready for distribution of the vaccines for COVID-19 by purchasing a pair of freezers. A committee was formed last summer to plan for the arrival of a vaccine, including how to store it. Two ultra-low freezers just arrived.
The vaccine developed by Pfizer has to be stored at 94 degrees below zero.
Doctors say they are expecting to have a vaccine by the middle of next month.
The goal is for health care workers to get the shots first, then emergency responders, those in long-term care facilities and people who are considered to be high-risk.
Landlords Finding Tricks To Get Rid Of Tenants Who Can’t Pay
(Des Moines, IA) — Iowa landlords are finding tricks to get rid of their tenants who can’t pay. Most areas around the country have eviction moratoriums in place now, but that’s no guarantee a family can stay in their rented home. In some cases, tenants say the landlord kicked them out after accusing them of violating rules like smoking cigarettes inside or failing to take the hitch off their mobile homes. With courts freezing their dockets during the coronavirus pandemic, the evicted tenants don’t have any recourse when the locks are changed, utilities are cut off, or repairs aren’t made.
Native Americans Plan Wednesday March To Honor Children Placed In Foster Care
(Sioux City, IA) — The Iowa Department of Human Services confirms that 58 Native American children in the state have been placed in foster care since the coronavirus pandemic began. A march is scheduled for Wednesday in Sioux City to honor those children. March organizer Manape LaMere says marchers will be required to wear face masks and to socially distance during the march. They will make the usual four stops for prayer,
but they won’t gather for a big meal at the end. This time they will be given food to go instead.
Dubuque Man Arrested For Severely Injuring 2-Month-Old
(Dubuque, IA) — Authorities in northeast Iowa say a 19-year-old Dubuque man has been arrested for severely injuring his two-month-old child. The infant was brought into the hospital Saturday after spending Friday with his father, Luke Heim. Doctors say the child had a fractured femur, petechiae
(puh TEEK ee eye) in both eyes, a brain bleed, and bruising. The baby was airlifted to the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics. Heim reportedly told investigators he was upset when he came home and he admitted hitting the baby’s head on a door jam while spinning around. When she started to cry, Heim said he bounced her to try to soothe her, but the baby’s head moved like
it had whiplash. He is charged with child endangerment with serious injury and is being held in the Dubuque County Jail.
