MILLER FOR LE MARS COUNCIL
Mark D Miller, a longtime Le Mars resident, is seeking a seat on the Le Mars city council.
Miller says he’s always been interested in city government.
His qualifications are, in Miller’s estimate – wide-ranging and varied.
He has no particular issues which drive him, but has some ideas to reward city employees.
Miller’s overall impressions of the city’s Vision 2045 plan are still being formed.
Housing is one of the biggest needs in Le Mars. Miller would like to revive a housing enhancement program that was done in the past.
Miller says the biggest challenge facing the city is a major project at the city’s wastewater treatment plant.
Miller asks voters to endorse his experiences and his desire to help Le Mars grow.
Mark D. Miller is one of four candidates for an at-large seat on the city council, replacing Mike Donlin, who is not seeking re-election
KEMP’S MILK DONATION
The Food Bank of Siouxland has received the second half of a major donation of milk from Kemp’s Dairy and Hy-Vee.
Jacob Wanderscheid, executive director of the Food Bank of Siouxland, says this time the shelf-stable milk donation from the “giving cow” program is chocolate milk;
The food bank and the two businesses have teamed up for the annual Great American Milk Drive for the past 2 years.
Wanderscheid the donation of over 49,000 units of milk is just in time for a busy season for the Food Bank:
Because milk has a short shelf life, the product is in high demand from agencies the Food Bank serves.
Jay Johnson is the sales director of Kemp’s in Le Mmars, which was the first to use the product developed by their owners, the Dairy Farmers of America:
Wanderscheid says this milk will be split between two main efforts;
The backpack program is for 2000 local school children to make sure they receive nutritious food to take home.
More than 238,000 people in Iowa are facing food insecurity every day, including nearly 69,000 children.
SIGNUP DEADLINE FOR CONSERVATION PROGRAMS
U.S. Dept. of Agriculture officials are touting record conservation funding for Iowa farmers and private landowners over the next year thanks in part to the Inflation Reduction Act.
USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) accepts conservation program applications on a continuous basis but sets application cutoff dates as funding allows. NRCS recently set a Nov. 3 application cutoff for fiscal year 2024 Farm Bill conservation programs.
Iowa agricultural producers and private landowners can apply for NRCS conservation programs by visiting their local NRCS office. Iowa has 100 NRCS field offices, located at USDA Service Centers.
LAKEPORT ROAD BRIDGE REPAIRS
Today, traffic will shift to head-to-head on South Lakeport Road over Highway 20. This emergency lane closure is to facilitate bridge beam replacement work required due to the overpass being struck by a commercial vehicle in August. Access to the pedestrian bridge walkway will be closed throughout the entire project.
Construction is anticipated to be complete on November 22, 2023, weather dependent, to create the least impact to traffic during the holiday shopping season. This is a major traffic route into the Southern Hills Mall in Sioux City.
FIRST SNOW MAY ARRIVE THIS WEEKEND
Some trick-or-treaters in Iowa -could- be crunching through new-fallen snow this Halloween, though the forecast is still a bit shaky for the weekend. Meteorologist Kristy Carter, at the National Weather Service, says some Iowa cities set record high temperatures Tuesday in the low 80s, but a big cool-down will likely be arriving on Friday.
She says there’s at least a chance of falling flakes this weekend across much of Iowa’s northern half as a storm front arrives.
Winter doesn’t officially arrive until December 21st, a little under two months from now, but Carter says snowfall isn’t out of the question in October.
The long-range forecast says the cold weather is expected to stick around into early next week, before the next chance at a warm-up.
US 75 BIDS
The low bid for the remaining nearly 1.8 miles of Highway 75 reconstruction in Sioux Center came in under the engineer’s estimate.
The $29.2 million bid on the Phase 2 construction work came from the lead contractor on the current Phase 1 Highway 75 work in southern Sioux Center, Godbersen-Smith Construction, of Ida Grove. The cost of this shared state/local project will be split with about $18.9 million being paid by the Iowa Department of Transportation and about $10.3 million being paid by the City of Sioux Center. The City Council will consider approving the low bid Friday.
This bid includes reconstruction of Highway 75 from 13th St. South to 12th St. North in an enhanced 4-lane design focused on safety, function, and showcasing Sioux Center’s character. This work will take place in three years, 2024, 2025, and 2026.
IOWA GUARD SOLDIERS AT SOUTHERN BORDER
Governor Kim Reynolds led an hour-long briefing Wednesday morning to discuss the work Iowa National Guard soldiers and state law enforcement officers did at the southern border in August. Reynolds says it’s a crisis that the Biden Administration has ignored — and she’s using over one-point-nine MILLION dollars in federal pandemic relief to cover the cost of the deployments. Iowa National Guard Adjutant General Stephen Osborn says the 109 soldiers from his units who volunteered found their Texas counterparts were exhausted. The Guard soldiers were involved in stopping nearly three-THOUSAND people who were crossing the border illegally in August. Twenty state troopers and nine special agents from the Iowa Department of Public Safety worked alongside Texas Highway Patrol and Texas Criminal Investigation Division on smuggling routes. An Iowa Highway Patrol plane and two pilots who were in Texas during August provided a 40-thousand foot view of illegal activity at the border.
GRASSLEY BILL AGAINST FLASH MOBS
Iowans may have seen security camera footage on the T-V news where coordinated “flash mobs” of perhaps a dozen people or more swarm a store, steal armloads of pricey products, then bolt for the exits — all within a matter of seconds. Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley says we’re seeing a dramatic rise in this brand of organized retail crime and he’s introducing legislation today (Thursday) to target this type of theft ring. Grassley says “underworld people” organize these crimes in big box stores, where crooks grab the most expensive items they can, and it’s fenced. The money is laundered to China, Grassley says, and it pays for fentanyl that comes to Mexico through cartels. Grassley is co-sponsoring the Combating Organized Retail Crime Act, which would create a new center to ensure resources and information-sharing will be available across state, federal and private-sector partners. He says the legislation would also set up a coordinated, multi-agency hub and new tools to better target the networks and trends driving organized retail crime.
