FREEZE WARNING
A Freeze Warning is in effect from midnight tonight until 9 a.m Saturday. Sub-freezing temperatures as low as 30 are possible. 32 and patchy frost is the forecast for Le Mars tonight. Plymouth County and eight other northwest Iowa counties are included in the Freeze Warning. The National Weather Serivce says Frost and freeze conditions will kill crops, other sensitive vegetation and possibly damage unprotected outdoor plumbing.
WILLOW CREEK CAMPGROUND REPORT
The managers of the Willow Creek Campground say their park is well used, but also needs some improvements. Chad and Trudy Poeckes reported to the city council this week that there are two safety issues they would like the city to address. One is to install an automatic gate system at the park entrances, in order to cut down on speeding vehicles and unwanted visitors to the grounds. The other is to eliminate golf cart traffic along the paths leading to the park.
Other improvements which would be welcome include an update to the campground’s bathhouse, electric upgrades for the campsites on the north side of the pond, and improved wifi and Internet access.
The Poeckes’ reported that the campground is full every weekend of the summer, and they are turning people away. They also say camper’s habits are changing, in that when the reservation period is opened in April, campers are reserving spots throughout the season. This makes it difficult for short-term campers to find a spot. There are 61 camping sites at Willow Creek Park. Trudy Poeckes says the city council should consider building more camp sites.
GEHLEN CATHOLIC HOMECOMING
Gehlen Catholic’s Homecoming celebration culminates with a flurry of activities today and tonight. KLEM Intern Luke Larson reports.
BUILDING PERMITS
The Plymouth County Zoning Office has granted permits for just over 1.5 million dollars in construction projects in the county last month.
1.1 million of that total is for permits for 7 building projects on farms in the county. Construction types include one home, 2 home additions, a shop a cattle building, and two machine storage buildings. 430-thousand dollars in construction for four non-farm projects were granted. These including a house addition, a garage, and two storage buildings.
FALLEN FIREFIGHTERS
A ceremony honoring the fallen firefighters who paid the ultimate price in serving with Sioux City Fire Rescue will take place today.
The ceremony will take place inside the city hall council chambers with the presentation of colors starting promptly at 3:00 p.m. The public is welcome to attend.
The ceremony honors a dozen men who made the ultimate sacrifice while serving and protecting the City of Sioux City and its citizens, dating back to 1884.
The last time a city firefighter died in the line of duty was in 1982, when Michael Johnson and Kirk Wicker were lost fighting the hen house business fire on West 7th Street.
LAND VALUES DIP SLIGHTLY
The Iowa REALTORS Land Institute September farmland survey released Thursday finds values for all three farmland types across all regions averaged down point-two percent in the last six months. Spokesman Elliott Siefert says that leaves values essentially flat. He says northwest Iowa was the region with the biggest drop — down two-point-nine percent and south-central was up one-point-three percent. Siefert says this is the second survey in a row with pretty flat numbers here after rising prices in the two years prior. He says the biggest headwind they’re facing is interest rates, which have risen and taken away a little bit of the buying power for land buyers.
HARVEST NUMBERS GOOD
The president of the Iowa Corn Promotion Board and Des Moines County farmer Stan Nelson says the harvest numbers are looking good despite all the challenges this growing season.
Nelson raises corn and soybeans near Danville and says this season shows how well farmers have adapted.
He won’t venture a guess on how the harvest will impact crop prices.
Nelson made his comments at the announcement of the NASCAR Cup Race that’s coming to the Iowa Speedway in Newton.
