WELLS CELEBRATES 110TH ANNIVERSARY
Wells Enterprises is celebrating its 110th anniversary tomorrow with contributions to several of the communities where it operates. This includes the Le Mars Betterment Foundation. .The company is designating a 50-thousand dollar gift to renovations of O’Toole Park. O’Toole Park is noted for improvements under the city’s Vision 2045 Plan. A major renovation proposed for the park includes a splash pad, a new and expanded park shelter, a new playground, and preserve existing trees. Wells officials will outline their gifts tomorrow.
LINDSAY FOR LE MARS COUNCIL
Today we begin a daily series of interviews highlighting candidates for the Le Mars city council and the Le Mars Community School Board.
First, we introduce you to a young Le Mars resident who is one of four candidates running for an open seat on the city council.
Mark Lindsay is new to Le Mars, having moved here several years ago.
He explains why he deicded to run for city council.
Lindsay realized he has qualifications that could fit with the issues before the council.
Lindsay has a couple of issues he wants to address as a councilman.
Lindsay is an advocate for individual liberty and less government intrustion. In the case of back yard chickens in Le Mars, for example, he appeared before the council during these discussions and spoke in favor of a small number of chickens in the back yards of residents who desire them.
Asked about the City Development plan, particularly the goal of 8500 housing units by 2045. Lindsay says housing is a definite need in Le Mars, but hew’s not sure the goal is reachable.
Lindsay says the council’s recent decisions in support of a national golf tournament in Le Mars, and forming a new parks and recreation committee, fit his ideas of how city government should support local initiatives.
He says you can look at good infrastructure as a quality of life issue. He says he’s excited about the reverse osmosis system that will be installed in the Le Mars water treatment system. His engineering background could help in planning the system. In sum, Mark Lindsay wants to bring his unique perspective to the city council.
Mark Lindsay and three other candidates seek an open city council seat, after Mike Donlin decided not to seek re-election.
KLEM will carry interviews with city council and school board candidates each day, leading to election day, November 7.
CLAUSSEN’S CLOSING
A long-time Le Mars businesses will be closing. Terry and Lori Claussen, owners of Claussen’s Clothing store in Le Mars, have announced their retirement sale which opens to the public on Thursday.
The store windows were papered over last weekend and the store is closed in preparation for the sale.
The Claussens purchased the store in 1990. For decades the location on the corner of Central Avenue and Plymouth Street was the home for various clothing stores including Bower’s and Evan’s Clothing.
The Berg and Hentges Dry Goods store operated in that location in the late 1800’s.
Terry and Lori Claussen offered their thanks to their many loyal customers for their support.
FOREIGN POLICY NOW AN ELECTION ISSUE
Foreign policy is front and center of the conversation as Republican presidential candidates campaign for votes in Iowa’s Caucuses. During weekend events, though, candidates offered a variety of responses to what’s happened in Israel, in Gaza and in the United States. Nikki Haley, who served as President Trump’s ambassador to the United Nations, says Hamas committed flat out torture of Israelis in the October 7th attacks and the U-S needs to support Israel.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis says President Biden should be blocking humanitarian assistance to Palestinians in Gaza, because it will wind up in the hands of Hamas. South Carolina Senator Tim Scott says Pell Grants for students should be pulled from American colleges and universities that allow anti-Semitic protests.
Tech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy (vih-VAKE rahm-uh-SWAH-mee) says he’s deeply worried about the wisdom of a ground invasion of Gaza and Israel needs to learn from the mistakes the U-S made after the 9/11 attacks — like the trillions Ramaswamy says was wasted on wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
MILLER-MEEKS RESPONDS TO CRITICS OVER HOUSE SPEAKER VOTES
Iowa’s first district congresswoman is firing back at those who’ve criticized two of her votes for House Speaker. Republican Congresswoman Miller-Meeks supported Ohio Congressman Jim Jordan on the first round of voting on the House floor last week, but not during the other two rounds and she has reported receiving death threats. Miller-Meeks hosted a fundraiser for her 2024 re-election campaign Friday night and drew cheers from the crowd by saying she will not be intimidated and will keep fighting for Iowa. Miller-Meeks told reporters she’s confident House Republicans will come together and elect a speaker because most of them are there to govern, to legislate and to pass bills. The three other Republicans who represent Iowa in the U-S House supported Jordan for speaker in all three votes on the House floor last week.
DROUGHT CONDITIONS REDUCED IN WESTERN IOWA
The latest Midwest Drought Monitor shows an improvement in drought conditions in parts of Iowa. One inch to up to five inches of rain fell in parts of western Iowa. The excess precipitation alleviated longer-term deficits and improved soil moisture, and in some cases, impacted streamflows. An area south of Sioux City which had been in extreme drought (D3) was downgraded to severe drought (D2). Northwest Iowa improved from severe drought (D2) to moderate drought (D1).
HUNTING ACCIDENT SATURDAY IN DICKINSON COUNTY
Iowa’s Department of Natural Resources is investigating a hunting incident that occurred Saturday morning in Dickinson County.
The Dickinson County Sheriff’s Office received a report of a hunting incident at the Spring Run Wildlife Management area near Lower Gar Lake around 8:15 a.m.
The victim had suffered a gunshot injury while waterfowl hunting with friends.
The unidentified victim was airlifted to Avera Sioux Falls Medical Center in South Dakota.
The incident remains under investigation by the D-N-R and the Iowa State Patrol.
NAVIGATOR CANCELS PIPELINE
Developers of the Heartland Greenway carbon pipeline have cancelled the project. The Navigator C-O-2 pipeline was one of three projects proposed to ship carbon from ethanol plants to underground storage. Their route through Iowa would have extended from northeast Nebraska through Woodbury and Plymouth counties to a junction in eastern O’Brien County.
Matthew Ung — chairman of the Woodbury County Board of Supervisors — says he’s heard from landowners in his county who were concerned that Navigator would improperly seek eminent domain authority to seize their land for the pipeline.
Ung, who is a Republican, has been a Woodbury County Supervisor for nearly nine years.
Last month, South Dakota regulators denied the company’s pipeline route application for that state. Last week, Navigator asked the Iowa Utilities Board to put its Iowa application on hold. The Iowa Utility Board’s hearing on the application from a different developer — Summit Carbon Solutions — is scheduled to resume next month. They recently pushed back the estimated start date by more than a year after permit setbacks in both North and South Dakota.
