WICK SEEKS RE-ELECTION, DONLIN DOES NOT
A Le Mars city councilman says he will seek re-election in November. Steve Wick told KLEM that after a family vacation and celebrating his birthday on Tuesday, he will seek a third term on the city council. He is serving a four-year term, and is also mayor pro-tem. Earlier this week, city councilman Mike Donlin announced he would not file for re-election. Donlin is nearing an end to his first term on the council, he was elected as an at-large representative. Earlier, Mayor Rob Bixenman announced he will seek election to a second two-year term as mayor.
Le Mars city councilman Steve Wick
FLOYD VALLEY EDUCATION
Floyd Valley Healthcare offers many education programs to the public, including a couple for kids and early teens.
Kari Daale, the Education Coordinator at Floyd Valley Health care, says one of the offerings is a babysitting course. The other is a home-alone course.
The babysitting course is held on a Saturday, but it’s a busy schedule.
The class is geared for older children There is a 20 dollars charge for the Babysitting course and a 15 dollars charge for the Home Alone course.
Home Alone takes place Saturday mornings.
Daale schedules the classes for alternate months.
Whether kids are ready for the Home Alone course is up to the parents, but Daale says it would be good for siblings, or even friends, to attend together.
Daale is also the Volunteer Coordinator at Floyd Valley Healthcare. She will have a key role to play after completion of the hospital expansion project. Daale says she’s looking for additional volunteers to help clients find their way around the complex.
BOMB POP SOUR
For the third consecutive year, a local microbrewery is paying tribute to one of Wells Blue Bunny’s best-known treats. The Bomb Pop Sour is available starting today at the Wise I Brewpub. Ben Sitzman, the brewmaster at Wise I, thought that creating a beer with the taste of the Bomb Pop would be a great idea.
What they arrived at is called the Bomb Pop Sour. It took some experimenting to get the flavor they wanted.
Wells Enterprises worked closely with Wise I to arrive at the Bomb Pop Sour.
It took two months to reach the Bomb Pop Sour.
The drink is available today at the Wise I, and crowlers will be available starting Saturday.
Response to the Bomb Pop Sour has been great.
A sweet treat in a sour beer has been a surprisingly good blend.
Sitzmann says the Bomb Pop Sour is available for a limited time.
CASEY’S EXPANSION
The leaders of the Ankeny-based Casey’s convenience store chain laid out their three-year plan Wednesday in an event for investors. C-E-O Darren Rebelez says their goal is to open 350 new stores in the next three years — keeping their focus on putting stores in rural areas and smaller cities. The company added 354 stores in the last three years, giving it more than 25-hundred stores. Rebelez says the industry is shifting from primarily selling fuel and tobacco to prioritizing freshly prepared foods and investing in technology. He says the fragmented convenience store industry is evolving, as those who are unable or unwilling to invest, are consolidating into those who are. Rebelez says Casey’s would like its new stores in the next three years to be a 50-50 mix of new and aquired stores, but is positioned to change that mix if there were favorable aquisitions are available.
CHEMO DRUG SHORTAGE
Cancer patients in Iowa are facing delays in potentially-life-saving treatments as two important drugs used in chemotherapy are in very short supply. Dr. Richard Deming, medical director of the MercyOne Cancer Center in Des Moines, says almost 50-percent of the cisplatin and carboplatin used in the U-S were made by a single factory in India — which recently stopped making those drugs. While those key drugs are being made elsewhere, there’s now such a tight supply and high demand for them that chemotherapy treatments are having to be pushed back. Deming says nine in ten cancer treatment centers nationwide are being forced to delay treatments. A delay of even one week can cause “intense psychosocial distress” for patients and their families, Deming says. If the delay goes into months, he says there’s the possibility the delay in treatment may impact the overall ability to cure someone of a curable cancer.
