Plymouth County Farm Bureau To Hold Food…Toy…And Children’s Clothing Drive
(Le Mars) — Plymouth County Farm Bureau is launching a food…toy…and children’s clothing drive for the holiday season. Donations are being accepted at the Plymouth County Farm Bureau offices located at 28 2nd Avenue Southwest in Le Mars. Tyler Meekma is a financial services agent with Farm Bureau. He says the Plymouth County Farm Bureau Federation, along with his offices will match the donations.
Meekma says all accepted donations will be utilized and distributed in Plymouth County. He says receptacle bins will be located inside the local Farm Bureau office to collect the donations.
The Farm Bureau official tells of the greatest needs in terms of children’s clothing items.
Meekma says anyone can contribute to the collection drive, and he further explains how the matching portion of the program will work.
The donation drive for food, toys, and children’s clothing will continue up through Monday, December 21st.
City Council Hears Report On Plymouth Energy Ethanol Plant
(Le Mars) — The Le Mars city council heard a report from Steve Meyer, the Chief Financial Officer representing Plymouth Energy ethanol plant based at Merrill. Meyer informed the city council the plant has been shut down since March. Meyer offered an update as to the current situation, as well as future plans for the corn-based ethanol plant. The Plymouth Energy official
says plans are to invest an estimated $16 million dollars into the existing facility in order to make it more competitive with other ethanol plants.
Meyer says officials hope to bring the ethanol plant back into production in April.
Plymouth Energy currently has a loan totaling about $3.1 million dollars with the city of Le Mars, and Le Mars serves as the location of a trans-load and storage facility in the Industrial Park. At present time, Plymouth Energy has an outstanding balance of nearly $1.5 million that is owed to the city of Le Mars.
Iowa House of Representatives Make Committee Assignments
(Des Moines) — The Iowa House of Representatives has begun to make committee assignments for the upcoming legislative General Session that is scheduled to begin on January 11th. 5th District House Republican member Dr. Tom Jeneary of Le Mars has again been appointed to serve as the vice chairman for the
House Natural Resources Committee. Jeneary had served in this position during the last session.
Meanwhile, House Speaker Pat Grassley has appointed
Orange City Republican, Skylar Wheeler to serve as the vice chairman of the House Education Committee. In addition, Republican representative-elect, Dennis Bush of Cleghorn has been appointed to serve as the vice chairman of the House Budget Committee.
Dr. Jeneary says there are committee appointments that are still pending.
Congresswoman-elect Miller-Meeks in Washington For Freshman Orientation
(Washington, DC) — Iowa Congresswoman-elect Mariannette Miller-Meeks is in Washington, D-C for new member orientation. The Republican from Ottumwa defeated Democratic state Senator Rita Hart by just six votes following a recount in the Second District. Miller-Meeks was 282 votes ahead of Hart the
day after the election. She said,”there were ups and downs. It was gut-wrenching. I’m glad that that process is behind us.” Miller-Meeks is an eye doctor and former director of the Iowa Department of Public Health and says she’d like to serve on a committee where she can use her health care experience. Hart has until the close of business today Wednesday to file a
court challenge in the closest U-S House race in the country.
Rita Hart To Challenge Voting Results In Court
(Des Moines) — Democratic contender for the Iowa’s Second Congressional District, Rita Hart, has announced she is challenging the election results of her race against Marianette Miller-Meeks. The race has been determined to be the closest in the nation. After a recount of the ballots from each county, Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate certified on Monday that Miller-Meeks was the winner. The margin of votes between Republican candidate Miller-Meeks and Democrat contender, Rita Hart was only six votes out of nearly 400-thousand votes cast.
Former Southwest Iowa Sheriff and Wife Die of COVID 4 Minutes Apart
(Mount Ayr, IA) — A former southwest Iowa sheriff and his wife of 67 years died within four minutes of each other last week after contracting COVID. A double memorial is set for Friday morning at the Benton Cemetery for 86- year-old Lyle Minnick and 84-year-old Judy Minnick. Lyle Minnick served as Ringgold County sheriff from 1985 until his retirement in 1999 after ten
years as a deputy. His current four-year term on the Ringgold County Board of Supervisors would have ended in a few weeks. Lyle and Judy Minnick were married in January 1953. The couple had four children and five grandchildren.
Sioux City Police Investigate Homicide in Apartment Building
(Sioux City, IA) — Sioux City police are investigating the discovery of a body in an apartment reportedly used by transients. Officers say the body was found early Tuesday and the person appeared to have been dead for a week.
The body appeared to have signs of blunt force trauma and it is considered a homicide investigation. The medical examiner will determine the cause of death and identify the victim. There was a fatal shooting in the building November 1st, but police do not believe the incidents are related.
