FAIR ATTENDANCE
Attendance at this year’s Plymouth County Fair broke last year’s mark. The Best Five Days of Summer attracted 118,200 admissions, compared to 110,350 last year. Huge numbers flocked to the fair Friday and Saturday, over 35-thousand on Friday, and nearly 40-thousand on Saturday, for a total of nearly 75-thousand for those two days alone. That compares to a combined 58-thousand for Friday and Saturday last year. Great weather aided the turnout, with temperatures staying in the 70s and 80s four of the five days.
ANOTHER HEAT WAVE
Brace yourselves for extremely hot temperatures in Iowa this week. Meteorologist Alex Krull at the National Weather Service says the switch from July to August will bring us some excessively hot days, with highs in the low 90’s today then hitting the mid and upper 90’s tomorrow. By Wednesday the highs could top out at 100 degrees. As for heat indices, it’ll feel like it’s above 100 degrees tomorrow and between 105 and 107 degrees by Wednesday. Krull says the pattern of above-normal temperatures will continue perhaps for another ten days.
JUNE UNEMPLOYMENT
June unemployment in Iowa was at levels last seen before the covid outbreak. The statewide rate was 2.6%, and the US rate was 3.6%. In northwest Iowa, Plymouth county’s unemployment rate was 2.1%. 14 of th 16 counties had rates below the statewide average. Lyon County had the state’s lowest rate at 1.6%. Sioux and Osceola counties were at 1.7%. The state’s highest rate was 4.7% in Lee County, in the southeast corner of the state. Only two northwest Iowa counties – Woodbury and Buena Vista – had rates at or above the statewide average.
DEMOCRAT CAUCUSES
National party leaders will decide the fate of the Iowa Democratic Party’s 2024 Caucuses after the November election. A group of Democratic National Committee members were to meet this week and recommend which five states should get to host the early voting contests in the next presidential election, but that decision is now delayed. Democrats from Iowa, along with 15 states and Puerto Rico are vying to host the opening voting in the party’s next presidential nominating process. Iowa Democratic Party chairman Ross Wilburn says it’s important for small rural states like Iowa to have a voice in picking the party’s next nominee. Some national party leaders say Iowa lacks the kind of diversity and General Election competitiveness that early voting states should have.
AUCTION FOR LIFE
One of the highlights of the Plymouth County Fair over the weekend was the The 25th Annual Quilt Auction for Life Skills. The acution netted more than 31-thousand dollars. Shelly Thomson of Life Skills reports that the event, which was held Saturday afternoon at the Plymouth County Fair, raised $31,110. Thomson says the Pork Producer quilt was the top seller for $2,300. It was made by first time donor Sterling Meyer.
FATAL AIRPLANE CRASH
Federal investigators are looking into the crash of a small plane near Ute, Iowa Saturday Afternoon, that claimed the life of the pilot. The Monona County Sherriff says a spray plane hit electrical lines shortly after 1 p.m. Saturday. The plane crashed into the roadway and caught fire. The male pilot was pronounced dead at the scene. His name has not been released. Agents from the National Transportation Safety Board and Federal Aviation Administration are investigating the crash.
NATIONAL NIGHT OUT
Tuesday is National Night Out and area communities are planning for the event. Remsen will have first responders, inflatables, train rides, BINGO, and a pedal tractor pull. The activities in Remsen begin at 5 p.m. Tuesday.
Sioux County Emergency Management is hosting a “First Responser Meet and Greet” to take place at the Orange City Fire Department Tuesday (August 2) from 6 till 8 p.m. The event will be “sensory friendly.” Organizers say it’s important for some children with disabilities to learn to interact with first responders and just as important for first responders to understand disabilities and respond effectively and safely.
As KLEM reported earlier, an event is being planned for October in Le Mars in place of National Night Out.
ROTARY DISTRICT GOVERNOR
A rural Le Mars man has been chosen a district governor for Rotary International, a worldwide service club. John Schneider says he’s keeping tabs on Rotary clubs in all of SD, and parts of Iowa, Minnesota and Nebraska.
While Rotary is an international organization with thousands of members worldwide, the organization has membership challenges.
Schneider says his job is to help start new clubs, and help others thrive.
Schneider says Rotary has a program to recruit and encourage new members, and fold them into local clubs.
Rotary still has a diverse membership that fits the times we live in.
Schneider wants to use his experience with the Rotary clubs to help other clubs and members.
Schneider wants to make sure the clubs in his district are healthy and active.
Schneider’s job is to visit and encourage the clubs in his district, and to offer them advice. He’s been a member of Rotary for 37 years.
BUSINESS COMPETITION FINALS
A Le Mars business owner will make a presentation later today in an effort to win a 20-thousand dollar grant. Scott Pageler of Hardware Hank and Flooring will present his idea for a mobile flooring vehicle that would take flooring samples right to the homes of customers. Pageler has already made it into the top five in the “Open for Business Contest,” winning an 8-thousand dollar grant. The Le Mars Chamber of Commerce will Facebook Live the presentation from Pella, Iowa beginning at approximately 5:30 p.m. today. They invite everyone to watch and cheer on Scott by going to the Chamber Facebook site.
