Health Officials Tell People To Stay Hydrated During Heat Wave
(Le Mars) –– Health officials are suggesting people
take proper precautions during the heat wave. Mary Jo Clark is the Emergency Room Managing Nurse for Floyd Valley Healthcare. She says people are more prone to possible heat exhaustion and heat stroke during this time of extreme
hot temperatures with high humidity levels.
Clark says in order to beat the heat, and avoid heat exhaustion and heat stroke, you will need to consume a lot of fluids. She says sports drinks are fine, but water is best.
The nursing supervisor says to take frequent breaks, and to try to stay out of the direct sunlight during peak afternoon hours. She says the type of clothing you wear can also help prevent heat exhaustion and heat stroke.
Today’s weather forecast is calling for a high temperature of 97 degrees with a heat index of 104.
Plymouth County Fair Begins Today (Wednesday)
(Le Mars) –– Today is the start of the Plymouth County Fair, known as the “Best Five Days Of Summer”. Loren Schnepf serves as president of the Plymouth County Fair Board. He says people are excited to see the return of the fair following last year’s COVID-19 outbreak that prevented a fair.
Schnepf highlights the entertainment that is lined up for this year’s county fair.
Schnepf says there will be a new food stand vendor at this year’s fair.
Today’s schedule has the livestock check-in. Poultry exhibits will check in beginning at 1:00 p.m. The rabbit judging will begin at 1:00 p.m. at the Rabbit Barn. Commercial exhibits will open at 1:30 p.m. Due to the excessive heat, the Livestock Judging Contest will be postponed until Thursday. The Bucket Calf judging will take place at the Covered Arena starting at 6:00
p.m. A ceremony honoring our local first responders will occur at the Grandstand at 6:20 p.m. The crowning of the Plymouth County Fair King and Queen will be at the Pioneer Village Stage at 7:00 p.m. Diamonds and Whiskey country music band will perform this evening at the Pioneer Village Stage.
Round Barn Agricultural Education Exhibit To Focus On Farm Safety
(Le Mars) — “A ROUND the farm in the BARN” the agricultural education exhibit hosted by the Le Mars Area Chamber of Commerce Agriculture Committee featured at the famous round barn will this year focus on farm safety. Micah Lang serves as the chairman of the Chamber Agriculture Committee. He says the area FFA chapters assisted with the exhibit.
Lang says this marks the seventh year for the agriculture educational exhibit. He explains why the Chamber Ag Committee places an emphasis on agriculture education.
Lang says visitors to the round barn are always amazed at the architecture design of the century old barn.
The Chamber Ag Committee chairman says the round barn features some new displays, as well as an old favorite of Jim DeBoer of Orange City with his hand-made wooden toy models.
4-H Static Exhibits Were Judged On Tuesday
(Le Mars) — On Tuesday, Plymouth County 4-H members had their static exhibits judged during entry day. Janelle Johnson is the Plymouth County Extension Director and offers a comment about the 4-H projects.
Johnson says a growing and popular category is the “Bucket of Junk” that was introduced just a few years ago. 4-H members are given old iron parts that have been cast aside, and then they use their imagination as to what type of sculpture they can create with the discarded iron parts.
Johnson says several 4-H members have entered a food entry for this year’s fair.
The Plymouth County Extension Director says because Plymouth County has a large number of members, we are fortunate to have a large number of projects to qualify for state fair exhibition.
Johnson says there were 28 judges this year to review each of the 4-H members projects.
Iowa Congressman Makes Change In Ag Bill To Cover Derecho Loss
(Washington, DC) — Congressman Randy Feenstra has gotten language included in a House ag bill for wildfires and hurricanes that would also cover the 2020 derecho-related losses. The Iowa Republican has been pushing for several months to get the derecho coverage after the powerful storm caused the loss of 850-thousand acres of crops. He says it was the most costly
thunderstorm in U-S history — causing about seven-and-a-half billion dollars in damages.
Reynolds Criticizes New CDC Guidance on Mask Wearing in Hot Spots
(Des Moines, IA) — Iowa’s Republican governor is speaking out against the updated C-D-C guidance calling for indoor mask wearing in coronavirus hot spots. Governor Kim Reynolds said in a statement, “The Biden Administration’s new COVID guidance telling fully vaccinated Iowans to now wear masks is not only counterproductive to our vaccination efforts, but also not grounded in reality or common sense.” Reynolds says she’s concerned this guidance will be used a vehicle to mandate masks in states and schools across the country. The governor encourages everyone to get the COVID vaccine.
Lawyers For Man Convicted of Killing Mollie Tibbets Seek New Trial
(Montezuma, IA) — Lawyers for Christian Bahena Rivera are seeking a new trial after his conviction in the murder of Mollie Tibbetts. At Tuesday hearing, an inmate testified that another inmate, Gavin Jones, confessed to the stabbing death of the University of Iowa student, calling it a “sex trafficking gone wrong.” But prosecutors argued that Jones was in a treatment facility during the summer of 2018 when Tibbetts was murdered. The judge said he’ll issue a ruling on a new trial as soon as he can.
Triple-A: Iowans Over The Pandemic, Ready To Return To Vacations
(Des Moines, IA) — A survey by Triple-A-Iowa finds Iowans are over the pandemic and they’re more than ready to return to vacations and traveling.
Spokeswoman Meredith Mitts says over the course of the past three surveys the comfort level has significantly increased as concern about COVID-19 waned.
She says people are confident in the COVID-19 vaccinations — and more confident in the safety measures that have been implemented nationwide. The survey shows two-thirds of Iowans have already traveled or plan to take a trip in 2021, while more than half of those will take their next trip between July and September.
Iowans to Testify at US Senate Hear on Competition in Meat Supply Chain
(Washington, DC) — Competition in the meat supply chain is the focus of a U-S Senate committee hearing Wednesday and at least three Iowans will be in the chamber. Senator Chuck Grassley calls the hearing “long awaited” as he says he’s been expressing strong reservations about consolidation within
agriculture and the livestock industry for more than 20 years. The Iowa Republican said, “We’ve got to keep the family farmer strong and from the standpoint of cattle feeders, they’re on life support.” The two Iowans who are scheduled to testify are Jon Schaben, owner of Dunlap Livestock Auction, and Shane Miller, group president of Fresh Meats at Tyson Foods. Grassley
says farmers only get 14-point-three cents of every one dollar Americans spend on food.
EPA Reaches Settlements With 3 Companies That Generated Hazardous Waste
(Lenexa, KS) — The Environmental Protection Agency has announced settlements with three companies that generated hazardous waste in violation of federal rules. One of the companies makes a blood product in Oelwein. D-C-W Casing has paid a civil penalty of just over 80 thousand dollars. The
other two companies are in Kansas City, Kansas, and Vinita Park, Missouri.
The companies have agreed as part of the settlements to take the necessary steps to return their facilities to compliance.
Appanoose County Woman Arrested, Accused Of Attacking Father With Hammer
(Centerville, IA) — An Appanoose County woman has been taken into custody and accused of using a carpentry hammer to attack her father. 38-year old Misty Collett is charged with felony willful injury causing serious injury and two misdemeanor counts of domestic assault. The attack was reported Monday. Investigators have been told the victim was hit in the head
multiple times at the home shared by the two family members in Cincinnati.
The father was treated and has been released from a hospital.
