FAIR IMPROVEMENTS
Each year, the Plymouth County Fair Board makes improvements to the fairgrounds. Chairman Loren Schnepf says the biggest addition to the Fair this year is a new parking lot. Schnepf says this will benefit activities at the fairgrounds all year round.
Improvements were also made on some of the small animal houses.
There are more entries for 4-H judging events.
This also denotes new participants in the judging events.
Schnepf says recruitment of kids the Clover Kids program, which introduces students to 4-H at a young age, is bringing new members from untypical places.
This includes a new event that was unveiled last night.
Some ideas come up from the fair board, others are suggested to them, like the Bacon Buddies event.
There are more commercial exhibits and vendors this year, a necessary part of the fair.
Schnepf says the Fair Board is thinking ahead for future needs at the fair. They have a vision committee which is dedicated to this task.
Today at the Plymouth County Fair is the beef show in the morning, and the poultry show in the afternoon at the livestock arena. There’s the dog show this morning at the open class building. Tonight, there’s the cooking school at Century Hall, and the grandstand event is a demolition derby. Hear live reports from the Plymouth County Fair on KLEM today and Saturday, at 10-30 and 11-30 a.m., and at 4-30 p.m. A Sunday report will air at 12-30 p.m.
EXCESSIVE HEAT WARNING TODAY
The National Weather Service says dangerously hot conditions are forecast today, with heat index values up to 113 expected. The warning is in effect from this afternoon and evening from 1 to 8 p.m. Extreme heat and humidity will significantly increase the potential for heat related illnesses, particularly for those working or participating in outdoor activities. There is a break in the weather coming. Today’s high temperature in Le Mars is expected in the mid 90s. Highs Saturday and Sunday will be in the lower 80s.
ROAD CLOSINGS
There will be two more road closings in Le Mars over the next week. Both will be short-lived. Street Superintendent Scott Kneip says the rail crossing at 6th street SE will be closed for the day, as the railroad will replace the rail going through the crossing. The crossing should be reopened by 4 pm that day. Also Tuesday, weather permitting, there will be water main installation under Lincoln Ave., near REC. The project should be finished on August 4th.
FATAL CONSTRUCTION ZONE CRASH
Two people were killed, two hurt, in an accident on Interstate 29 in Harrison County. The crash occurred in a construction zone south of Mondamin, at around 4 p-m. Wednesday. The Iowa State Patrol reports a road crew was placing cones on I-29 northbound to direct traffic into one lane, when the truck they were in was struck from behind by an S-U-V. The driver of the S-U-V, 57-year-old Tony C. Flowers, Senior, and 45-year-old Tamika J. Powell, both of Omaha, died at the scene. The driver of the truck, 39-year-old Michael L. Harper, Junior of Omaha, and 45-year-old Aaron M. Scott, of Missouri Valley, were injured. Harper was flown to a hospital in Omaha. Scott was taken by ambulance to the hospital in Missouri Valley.
BLACK HISTORY CURRICULUM
Republican presidential candidate Tim Scott says rival Ron DeSantis should be asked to clarify his position on Florida’s new black history curriculum. Scott, after a campaign event Thursday night in Ankeny, told reporters there was no silver lining in slavery. The curriculum includes a line that says slaves developed skills which, in some instances, could be applied for their personal benefit. Vice President Kamala Harris has said the new curriculum is an attempt to replace history with lies. DeSantis criticized Harris during remarks in Iowa Thursday afternoon. DeSantis says the curriculum for Florida schools is a 200 page document that has very vivid details about the injustices of slavery and the reference was to skills gained in spite of, not because of slavery.
NEW ALZHEIMERS DRUGS
New drugs which may help slow the progression of Alzheimer’s disease may soon be available to Iowans. The F-D-A recently approved the drug Leqembi. Dr. Lynn Rankin, a clinical neurologist at UnityPoint Health in Des Moines, says researchers have waited three decades for a treatment that could impact the progression of Alzheimer’s, but this new treatment can be intensive. Rankin calls Leqembi “a little messy” as it requires an I-V every two weeks, plus M-R-Is multiple times during treatment. Pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly is seeking F-D-A approval for its experimental Alzheimer’s drug, Donanemab. Rankin says the new drugs may be more of a challenge to distribute in Iowa because the state has a shortage of neurologists. The Iowa chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association estimates there are 66,000 Iowans living with Alzheimer’s or another dementia, and another 98,000 Iowans are their caregivers.
IOWA BIKE MAPS
It’s no coincidence the Iowa Department of Transportation is releasing its new edition of the Iowa Bike Map the same week tens of thousands of cycling enthusiasts are in the state for RAGBRAI. Mark Hansen, a D-O-T transportation planner, says officials are hoping some of those out-of-state visitors will pick up a free bike map and make plans for a return trip to Iowa.
The state ordered 150-thousand bike maps this year and they’re available at all welcome centers, interstate rest areas, and by visiting iowadot.gov/iowabikes. The maps display hundreds of miles of multiuse trails, as well as a summary of Iowa bicycling laws, and bike safety tips. They also include trail maps of the state’s largest cities, and something new this year that helps cyclists choose the routes that best suit their level of riding experience.
The maps detail paved and unpaved bike paths, as well as trailheads, restrooms, public water supplies, and more. Iowa’s interstates were highlighted in red on previous maps, but that’s changed this year.
The maps once detailed every bike trail in Iowa that was at least five miles long, but that list got to be too long, so Hansen says this year’s map shows 51 trails that are at least -ten- miles long.
The map’s cover photo this year is of the new Interstate 74 bridge at the Quad Cities which includes a bike trail on its western span.
IOWA YAK RANCH
The owners of the Iowa Yak Ranch are giving tours of their farm near Exira and will have two yaks in the Iowa State Fair’s Avenue of Breeds as they make the case that raising yaks — in Iowa — can be profitable. Neal Meseck and his wife began raising yaks in late 2019 and they now have a herd of 20. He’s collecting the inner layer of cashmere-like hair his yaks shed each year and geting it spun into yarn, which he sells. Meseck is also selling yak meat, which is as lean as a turkey breast, but with a beefy flavor. Yaks are smaller than beef cattle and Meseck says they eat about a third as much, so it’s little more economical to feed them as well.
