Uptown Event Center Holds Ribbon-Cutting Ceremony
(Le Mars) — Ribbon-cutting ceremonies along with a Chamber coffee were held Wednesday morning at Le Mars’ latest downtown venue. The Uptown Event Center is owned by Mike and Cheryl Wells and sits between the Iowa Barbecue
Restaurant and Hardware Hank. Mike Wells says he thought Le Mars could use a smaller venue for special occasions.
Cheryl Wells says the facility has been in the planning stages for sometime.
The Uptown Event Center is located on a historical site for Le Mars. Mike Wells says they wanted to showcase the location’s history as part of the interior decor with black and white era-based photos of the former Union Hotel, and other downtown buildings.
The Uptown Event Center has already hosted a couple of wedding receptions.
Cheryl Wells says for people wanting to rent the facility, they need to contact the Habitue Coffeehouse and Bakery. She tells of the new Uptown Event Center’s capacity.
Plymouth County Pheasants Forever Chapter Banquet Scheduled For Saturday
(Le Mars) — Plymouth County Chapter of Pheasants Forever will hold their annual banquet this coming Saturday, but at a different location. This year, the banquet will be held at Century Hall at the Plymouth County Fairgrounds.
Vice President of the Plymouth County Pheasants Forever is Randy Reardon.
Reardon says the Pheasants Forever chapter will again hold several games of chance and raffles for members to participate.
Reardon says the auction will feature several unique artwork, as well as hunting excursion trips, and vacation destinations.
Again, this year, the Plymouth County Chapter of Pheasants Forever will hold raffles for various shotguns and other firearms.
Reardon says tickets are $60 which includes a year’s membership along with the banquet meal, and spouse tickets are $20. The local Pheasants Forever official says despite the pandemic, they have been fortunate to secure many
of the traditional sponsors. As mentioned earlier, this year’s Pheasants Forever banquet will be at the Plymouth County Fairgrounds, inside Century Hall, beginning at 5:00 p.m.
(pheasants photos courtesy of Don Poggensee.)
Governor Reynolds Offers Vaccination Update During Weekly News Conference
(Des Moines) — Governor Kim Reynolds informed the news media of the latest statistics of Iowans who have received a vaccination against the COVID-19 virus. Reynolds spoke of the numbers during her weekly news conference, held Wednesday morning.
The governor again mentioned that the makers of the vaccine will distribute a significant more doses to the state beginning on March 29th.
Wednesday Serves As Tornado Alert Day During Severe Weather Awareness Week
(Sioux Falls) — One of the most feared weather related incidents are tornadoes. Within minutes, and usually without much advance notice or warning, tornadoes can form and appear and destroy a community, and unfortunately at times cause injuries, or even fatalities. The National Weather Services
wants everyone to be prepared, and to know where to seek shelter if a tornado warning is issued for your area. This week is National Severe Weather Awareness Week with today’s focus on tornadoes. Several communities across the country tested their weather warning sirens at 11:00 a.m. today (Wednesday).
Meteorologist Peter Rogers with the National Weather Services in Sioux Falls says this would be the ideal time to rehearse a tornado drill, and seek shelter.
Rogers says a common myth about tornadoes is they won’t ever cross a body of water. But the weather official says that simply is not true.
Rogers explains where are the best places to seek shelter when a tornado has been spotted, and a tornado warning has been issued.
The weather meteorologist says if you are traveling and see a tornado, you should perhaps go to a ditch, or the lowest possible spot.
Despite a popular video that has gone viral on social media platforms, Rogers says, you should never seek shelter from a tornado under an overpass.
Le Mars tests their tornado weather warning sirens on the first Monday of each month from April through November. Tomorrow, we will conclude our series of severe weather awareness week by examining flash floods.
Mathematical Error Inflates Number of Older Iowans Vaccinated For COVID
(Des Moines, IA) — State health officials say they made a mathematical error when calculating how many Iowans over the age of 64 have received a COVID shot. Governor Kim Reynolds announced last week that 95 percent Iowan seniors had received at least one dose of vaccine. State officials now say that figure is 82 percent. The error was made because Iowa Department of
Public Health staff were counting doses, not people. That means people who got both doses of COVID vaccine were counted twice. The state’s vaccination figures do not match the Centers for Disease Control’s data, which show 76 percent of Iowans over t age of 64 have gotten at least a first dose of vaccine. Iowa officials say they’re using the latest Census data and the C-
D-C is using averages based on total population.
State Capitol Memorial For Iowans Who Died From COVID-19 Complications
(Des Moines, IA) — There’s a memorial at the State Capitol this afternoon (Wednesday 2:30 p-m) to honor the more than 56-hundred Iowans who died from COVID-19 complications. The first victim died one year ago today. The group Progress Iowa says volunteers will read the names of loved ones lost to the
coronavirus pandemic. Several state lawmakers are scheduled to speak during the ceremony. Iowans who have lost a family member or friends are invited to submit the name to IowaCOVIDMemorial-dot-org to honor their memory.
Iowa Supreme Court Hears Arguments in Branstad Discrimination Appeal
(Des Moines, IA) — The Iowa Supreme Court is hearing arguments today (Wednesday) in the appeal of former Governor Branstad’s discrimination case.
A jury awarded former Workers Compensation Commissioner Christopher Godfrey one-and-a-half-million dollars in 2019 after concluding that Branstad retaliated against Godfrey because he’s gay. Godfrey said Governor Branstad asked him to resign from his six-year appointment and when he refused, his salary was cut by a third. But Branstad claimed that he wanted Godfrey to
resign because the business community did not like his rulings on workers compensation claims.
Northwest Iowa Authorities ID Victim in Osceola County Hit and Run
(Sibley, IA) — Authorities in northwest Iowa are identifying the victim in a deadly hit and run last week near Sibley. The Osceola County Sheriff’s Office says 19-year-old Tyler Wills of Sioux Falls, South Dakota was found lying on a road last Thursday night. Deputies believe Wills was struck by a vehicle that fled the scene. No information has been released about the
suspect vehicle. The incident is still under investigation.
