Plymouth County Historical Museum To Induct Hall Of Fame Recipients
(Le Mars) — Plymouth County Historical Museum will induct four honorees into the museum’s Hall of Fame during a ceremony scheduled for Sunday. Museum Hall of Fame honors will go to four individuals during an induction ceremony and reception in the Study Hall of the Plymouth County Historical Museum at 2 p.m., Sunday, Oct. 24.
The public is invited.
The Museum will confer its highest honor on Al and Delores Maser of Le Mars and Spirit Lake, and upon Keith Renken of Arcadia, California, formerly of Le Mars. The honorees plan to be present for the induction.
Al and Delores Maser
Keith Renken
Carol B. Parkinson
In addition to the three honorees, the Museum will confer Hall of Fame honors, posthumously, on Carol B. Parkinson, who helped start the Museum in April, 1965.
Museum board president Ryan Odor of Hinton will be on hand to present the honors.
Introducing the honorees will be: for Al and Delores Maser, Dr. Wayne Marty, former president of the Museum’s board of directors and himself a member of the Museum’s Hall of Fame; for Keith Renken, Vernon and Karen Harrington of rural Le Mars, relatives of the honoree, and Curt and Priscilla Strathman of Le Mars, relatives of race car driver Emory Collins.
Jane Schultz of Le Mars will speak about the late, Carol B. Parkinson.
Following the ceremony, the honorees will greet people during a reception in the historic 1905 Study Hall, which is completely handicapped accessible.
The Museum has been selecting Hall of Fame inductees since moving to “Old Central” in 1983. The third-floor Hall of Fame exhibit features 38 inductees, with the most recent being Norm Barker, Dr. John Conley, Dr. Wayne Marty, and Timmy’s Catering – Bonnie and Timmy Rasmussen. Inductees must have made a significant difference in their world, whether that be Plymouth County, Iowa, the nation, or the world.
Grass, Twig, and Branch Site Has Extended Saturday Hours
(Le Mars) — Le Mars city officials wants to remind the residents that the grass, twig, and branch deposit site located on the western edge of town has expanded its Saturday hours. The old hours for Saturday were between 10:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. The new hours have been extended from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. The new hours will remain in effect through the month of November.
City Council Approves Public Hearing Date For Phase 2 Project For The Le Mars Police Department
(Le Mars) — Le Mars city officials have established Tuesday, November 2nd as the date for a public hearing regarding the construction of Phase 2 of the Le Mars Police headquarters. Phase 2 would consist of 3700 square feet of construction inside the present-day police headquarters. The project would include a classroom to accommodate up to 45 people, and it would include a fitness and training center. Police Chief Kevin Vande Vegte informed the city council the classroom is needed for a couple of reasons. Vande Vegte says the conference room inside the police station can hold only about 15 people. Vande Vegte says it is not large enough to have all the officers on staff gather for a meeting. In addition, Vande Vegte says by having the new classroom, it would allow Le Mars to host training seminars for other law enforcement agencies from the region. The estimated cost of the construction project is at $1.2 million dollars. Construction is scheduled to begin in mid-December.
City Council Approves Hiring City Clerk Position
(Le Mars) — During this week’s city council meeting, city leaders approved the hiring of Jan Feller as the new city clerk. Feller will begin her duties as the city clerk starting on November 1st. Since Beverly Langel’s retirement, city finance director, Jacob Widman had assumed those duties.
Democrats Request Republicans To Approve Second Proposed Redistricting Maps
(Des Moines) — Iowa Democrats are calling on Republicans in the legislature to approve the second plan to establish new boundaries for congressional districts as well as districts for Iowa House and Senate seats. The redistricting plan was produced by the non-partisan Legislative Services Agency and state law does not allow lawmakers to amend this second plan. Iowa Democratic Party chairman Ross Wilburn of Ames is also a member of the Iowa House.
If the Republican-led legislature rejects Plan two for redistricting in a special session next Thursday, lawmakers would be able to amend the third plan produced by the Legislative Services Agency. Senate Democratic Leader Zach Wahls (like “walls”) of Coralville says the agency addressed the concerns Republicans raised about the first plan and Plan two meets legal and constitutional requirements.
House Democratic Leader Jennifer Konfrst (CON-first) of Windsor Heights is calling on Republican lawmakers to ensure redistricting is the only subject legislators vote on next Thursday. Groups opposed to vaccine mandates are asking Republicans to pass a state law forbidding those kind of requirements and Konfrst says there are rumors a bill on the topic may be introduced next Thursday.
The 2022 Iowa legislative session is scheduled to start on January 10th. Democrats held an online news conference Thursday afternoon. Republican legislative leaders issued written statements, thanking the Legislative Services Agency for the quick turn around on a second plan and saying they’re reviewing the maps to see if the districts are fair.
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Deere To Pay Health Benefits For Striking Employees
(Moline, IL) — John Deere says it will continue to provide health care benefits for its hourly workers who are on strike. The company’s announcement today (Friday) comes in the first full week of the strike. The company also says workers who earned incentives before the strike from the Continuous Improvement Pay Plan, will receive them as scheduled. Deere says, “We are taking these steps to demonstrate our commitment to doing what’s right by our employees and focusing on all that we can achieve together.”
Casinos Fined For Underage Gambling
(Des Moines, IA) — Four casinos are paying a combined 130-thousand dollars in fines to the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission for gambling violations involving minors. Racing And Gaming administrator, Brian Ohorilko, says the Catfish Bend Casino was fined 30-thousand dollars for the actions of an underage male who was on the gambling floor for 47 minutes. The Horseshoe Casino in Council Bluffs was fined 60-thousand dollars for two underage violations. The first involved a minor female in January who entered the gambling floor with an adult and the second a 17-year-old female who had entered the gaming floor. Prairie Meadows in Altoona and the Diamond Jo Worth casino were each fined 20-thousand dollars. The standard fine for an underage violation is 20-thousand dollars. That goes up depending on the circumstances.
DOT Prepping For Winter
(Ames, IA) — The Iowa Department of Transportation is already gearing up for the winter season even though the start of winter isn’t officially until December 21st. D-O-T Winter Operations Administrator Craig Bargfrede (BARG-freed) says they’ve been doing a lot of maintenance on the trucks and the equipment, making sure everything is functioning properly. The agency typically brings on more than 600 temporary workers during the winter timeframe, with many of them becoming snowplow drivers. He says they have been able to fille only about three-dozen of those 630-plus jobs. He says a lot of the seasonal workers are farmers or work in construction and other areas that are still really busy this time of year.
Economist Says Newton Better Able To Handle TPI’s Closure
(Newton, IA) — An Iowa State University economist says the closure of a wind turbine blade factory in Newton will be a blow to the area, but not the magnitude of a hit when Maytag left the community. T-P-I Composites started making blades in Newton about a year after Maytag quit making washing machines in 2007. T-P-I plans to stop production and lay off more than 700 workers by the end of this year. I-S-U economist Liesl Eathington (LEE-sul EH-thing-tun) says that’s a lot of jobs for a city of 15-thousand, but the impact is more isolated because T-P-I has fewer ties to local suppliers. She says Maytag was deeply rooted into the local economy when the company decided to pull up stakes and move out.
