Three School Board Directors Announce They Will Not Seek Re-election
(Le Mars) — Le Mars Community School Superintendent Dr. Steve Webner discussed the upcoming school board election during Monday evening’s meeting. Candidates wanting to run for election must file their nomination papers between August 23rd and September 16th. Webner says this year there are four director positions up for election. Three current school board directors have announced they will not be seeking re-election to the school board.
Besides Todd Lancaster and David Miller, current president Scott Kommes announced he will not seek re-election. Jill Feuerhelm, is up for election since she filled the remaining term of Makenzie Lang, who had to remove herself from the school board since she had moved away from the representing district. Webner says Districts 1, 2, 4, and 5 are up for election.
Dr. Webner explained that school board candidates need at least 50 names on a petition.
The school board election will be held on November 2nd.
Supervisors Approve L & L Builders For Courtroom Renovation Project
(Le Mars) — Plymouth County Board of Supervisors approved the bid submitted by L and L Builders of Sioux City for the renovation of the county courtroom. Only two bids from different contractors were submitted for the project. Project manager and architect Jordan Metzger of Stonegroup Architect Firm read the sealed bids.
The county supervisors approved of L& L Builders submitted bid by a vote of 4 to 1. Supervisor Craig Anderson voted against having L & L Builders with the renovation contract. Anderson had concerns with a previous county construction project that was performed by L & L Builders.
Supervisors Learn Of Proposed CO2 Pipelines Through County
(Le Mars) — Plymouth County Board of Supervisors listened to a report from Evan Del Val with ISG Architects and Engineering during their weekly meeting held Tuesday regarding the possibility of two separate pipelines to be installed within the county.
Del Val informed the county board his firm had performed pipeline inspections with the Dakota Access pipeline for 13 of the 18 counties. He says Plymouth County needs to get ahead of the plan as early as possible.
Del Val says the key is to be upfront with the landowners and pipeline companies to identify early on any potential obstacles.
Del Val says he is not representing the pipeline companies, and was not able to answer specific questions relating to the proposed pipelines, other than he thought the size would be between four to six inches in diameter for a feeder line, and a trunk line may be up to 24 inches in diameter. He says the proposed pipelines would go in opposite directions with one going north to North Dakota, and the other going east to Illinois. Construction is projected to begin within 18 to 24 months.
Grassley Votes For Infrastructure Bill
(Washington, DC) –– Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley voted in favor of the trillion-dollar infrastructure bill this (Tuesday) morning. Grassley, a Republican, says the bill is truly a bipartisan measure which he says will make a “significant investment” in Iowa’s future. The legislation includes 65-billion dollars for improvements to broadband and Grassley says many Iowans in rural corners of the state are in dire need of better access to high-speed internet service.
Farmer Reflects On Derecho Aftermath
(Woodward, IA) — The Farm Bureau estimates last year’s derecho caused nearly one-half a billion dollars in damage to Iowa crops. Rod Pierce, who farms near Woodward, is still working on repairing some of his grain bins and two of the bins will be replaced in the next few weeks. Pierce says he’s lucky to have had not only good crop insurance, but insurance on structures and vehicles that covered the replacement value of the property. Pierce says his operation suffered 750-thousand dollars in crop damage.
Famous Coffee Shop In Iowa City Becoming Workshop
(Iowa City, IA)-– A coffee shop created nearly five decades ago to provide work for an Iowa City man with disabilities is changing with the times. Jen Knight is part the University of Iowa’s School of Social Work, and says they’ve decided to transition “Wild Bill’s Coffee Shop” to “Wild Bill’s Workshop.” The coffee shop created in 1975 was named for Bill Sackter, who had spent years in a mental institution. His story by his guardian Barry Morrow eventually gained national recognition in an Emmy-winning 1981 T-V movie. Knight says several things brought on the change, including a proliferation now of coffee shops, and a fuller integration of people with disabilities into society. She says they are placing a greater emphasis on clinical social work education for these students who are going to be interacting with people with social disabilities through the workshop.
Teen Charged In Red Oak Fire
(Red Oak, IA) — A 14-year-old boy faces a first-degree arson charge in connection with a house fire in Red Oak late last week. Fire Chief John Bruce says firefighters dispatched to the home shortly after 3 p-m Friday discovered a fire in an upstairs bedroom. Though firefighters were able to contain the fire in the bedroom, the house suffered significant smoke and water damage. Occupants had evacuated the house before fire crews arrived.
