LE MARS AT THE STATE FAIR
The city of Le Mars has a booth at the Iowa State Fair.
Lori French with the Le Mars Chamber and two others are working today.
There’s already a steady stream of people to meet
This is the first time the Le Mars Chamber has had a presence at the Iowa State Fair
The three are encouraging people to come and visit Le Mars
Beth Meyer, Lori French, and Jessica Brownmiller (left to right in the photo) are also promoting upcoming events in the city.
BINKLEY FOCUSES ON UNITY
A Texas pastor who’s running for president says it’s time to end the country’s political divide and come up with bipartisan solutions to some the crises America faces. Ryan Binkley says the goal of each major political party in America is to see the other fail. Binkley says as president, he would not vilify every Democrat on Friday and then ask them to work with him on Tuesday. Republicans can’t solve the country’s major problems on their own, according to Binkley, who says it will require compromise to balance the federal budget, secure the border and fix the health care system. Binkley has been campaigning at the State Fair and will return to the Iowa campaign trail August 31st.
BUS DRIVER SHORTAGE
The Le Mars Community Schools are facing a problem that is common nationwide – a shortage of school bus drivers. This is Le Mars Community Schools Superintendent Dr. Steven Webner.
Le Mars Schools took steps to be ready for the shortage.
Attrition is one part of the problem.
Trying to make it easier for new drivers to apply and train
If you want to become a bus driver, Contact Codie Kellen, the Le Mars School District’s transportation director, at 546-6801, or Codie.Kellen@lemarscsd.org.
COURTROOM HEAT
The Plymouth County Board of Supervisors approved an expense to cover materials to correct a heating issue in the courtroom at the county courthouse. This problem was noted over the winter months after a renovation of the courtroom was completed. Some of the pipes which circulated heat from the boiler system were too narrow, and had to be replaced with larger pipes. The materials to correct the error cost over 41-hundred dollars. The rest of the repairs will be paid for by the architect/mechanical engineer who was responsible for the heating system.
VOLUNTARY ANNEXATIONS
The city council of Le Mars has set a public hearing to consider voluntary annexations of three properties. These adjacent properties are located along Lake Ave. and C38. There will be a consultation meeting on August 23 involving the city and the County Board of Supervisors. There will be a public hearing on October 3 to formally consider and take action on the annexations.
GRASSLEY ASKS SHERIFFS TO REPORT ON LOCAL CRIMES
Each of Iowa’s 99 county sheriffs is being asked to report on what local crimes they’re seeing that may be tied to international cartels, from illegal drugs to human trafficking. U-S Senator Chuck Grassley says he’s sending letters to every Iowa sheriff, asking for their input.
Cartel-driven crimes are “soaring” in the U-S, according to Grassley, but he says the local impact often remains unclear because there isn’t comprehensive data.
With Interstates 35 and 80, Grassley says Iowa is at an intersection of major smuggling routes, and Iowa law enforcement officers monitor those routes every day. Grassley, a Republican, blames Democrats for the situation.
Grassley also blames the U-S Drug Enforcement Administration for repeatedly stonewalling requests for records and hampering congressional oversight.
HEAT WAVE COMING
The final days of the Iowa State Fair promise to be sweltering due to a late summer heat wave that’s approaching. The past few evenings have felt almost like fall with lows in the 50s and 60s, but National Weather Service meteorologist Cory Martin says daytime high temperatures will be climbing into the 90s by the weekend, with some areas reaching the low one-hundreds. Many of Iowa’s crops are at critical growth stages and Martin says there’s very little chance for rain, well into next week. With high temps likely spiking in triple digits this weekend, Martin says it’s certainly possible the weather service will issue heat advisories, or even extreme heat warnings.
