PESTICIDE LAWSUIT
Ten States, including Iowa, have joined in a lawsuit against pesticide companies. The complaint accuses Syngenta and Corteva of using “loyalty programs” with distributors to unlawfully exclude generic competitors from the market by skirting patent rules. The lawsuit alleges this has cost farmers millions of dollars each year, and it is seeking reimbursement. The other states suing include Illinois, Minnesota, and Nebraska.
ORANGE CITY COUNCIL
The Orange City Council meets in regular session this afternoon.
They will consider signing onto a 28E agreement to form an Explorer Trail group. This, group, made up of representatives of Orange City, Sioux Center, and Sioux County, will develop a recreation trail that will extend from Sioux Center to Orange City. These entities, along with an advisory group, the Sioux County Trails Council, are developing a trail that will connect an existing trail from Sioux Center to Sandy Hollow to Orange City’s trail system. Sioux Center is also considering this 28E agreement today, and the Sioux County Supervisors will decide on it next week. Once formed, the 28E group will seek a Destination Iowa grant to help fund the project. The Sioux County Supervisors this spring approved 100-thousand dollars in American Rescue Plan Act funding to the project.
The council will also consider a resolution that will allow the city to proceed with their Puddle Jumper Park project. Their next move would be to take bids on construction,
LINEMEN IN FLORIDA
Two linemen from Sioux Center Utilities are in Florida to help restore power after Hurricane Ian. Lorn Wielenga and Troy Kunnari, were sent to Smyrna Beach, Florida, last Friday, to help utility crews working there. Sioux Center also sent a digger derrick truck to help with storm damage. Many wires and poles were knocked down during the storm, due to wind and falling trees. They will also work to repair or replace flood-damaged equipment.
TRAVELING OFFICE HOURS
US Congressman Randy Feenstra has announced a series of travelling office hours. These are designed for representatives of Feenstra’s office to begin casework for constituents of the Fourth District. Feenstra himself will not be appearing during these office hours.
In Plymouth County, a Feenstra representative will be at the Akron Public Library on Wednesday, October 12, from 10 to 11 am.
MRHD GRANTS
Missouri River Historical Development has awarded over $1,1-million dollars in grants to ten Siouxland area non-profit organizations and governmental entities, including two in Plymouth County.
Grants were awarded in four categories: economic development, community improvement and tourism; human services and health services; civic, public, patriotic, charitable & religious; and education.
The Plywood Trail, a joint effort to build the Sioux City to Hinton Plywood Trail Phase received 220-thousand dollars, and the Kingsley Volunteer Fire Department received 100-thousand dollars toward a new fire tanker truck.
The ten grants ranged from nearly $19-thousand to $220- thousand dollars.
MRHD holds the license for gaming in Woodbury County, which allows the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Sioux City to operate a gaming operation.
STREET CLOSING
Le Mars Street Supervisor Scott Kneip says there will be a street closure as of this morning. The Le Mars Water Department is closing a section of Park Lane at the Willow Creek Golf Course in order to run a water line under the street. The street closure will last about ten days.
QUILT SHOW
The “Quilts of Valor” show at the Plymouth County Historical Museum in Le Mars is being extended another two weeks. It will be open through Saturday October 15 in the Study Hall in the Museum. The display opened on September 11 to commemorate the 21st anniversary of the 9-11 attacks. This is a display of quilts made for Plymouth County veterans, and the collection was put on display for the first time together. At the opening, the owners of the quilts were honored.
BUSINESS UNCERTAINTY
The Iowa Association of Business and Industry (ABI) finds continued uncertainty about factors impacting business as they survey members on their outlook for the fourth quarter. A-B-I President, Mike Ralston, sums it up this way.
Ralston says finding employees continues to be a concern and has been for several years. He says one other item was more prominent in the latest survey.
He says businesses have been doing a lot of creative things to deal with the supply chain problems.
He says it doesn’t look like supply chain issues are going to go away anytime soon.
A-B-I has 15-hundred member companies of all types and sizes in all 99 counties employing more than 330-thousand workers. Ralston says one thing stands out among all the concerns about supply chain issues, inflation, and finding workers.
Thirty-seven percent of respondents expect sales to expand in the third quarter of the year. That’s a decrease from 48 percent in the third quarter and 60 percent for the second quarter of 2022. Eighteen percent expect sales to retract, a five percent increase from last quarter.
CANDIDATE RALLIES
Governor Reynolds held her fourth annual fall fundraiser this weekend. Reynolds told the crowd the tax cuts and new abortion restrictions she approved will all be undone if Democrats win in November. The Iowa Democratic Party held a fundraiser Sunday afternoon, with candidates drawing cheers for defending abortion rights and supporting unions. Deidre DeJear, the Democrat challenging Reynolds, told the crowd to look for common ground with potential voters. Mike Franken, the Democrat running against Republican Senator Chuck Grassley, said the 2022 election is about saving democracy.
HONOR FLIGHT
Veterans of the Korean and Vietnam Wars traveled with Midwest Honor Flight to Washington, D.C. Saturday. The trip included stops at Arlington National Ceremony, the Vietnam and Korean War Memorial, and the U.S. Navy Memorial. The group included veterans from northwest Iowa and from South Dakota. They returned to Sioux Falls late Saturday night.
