WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY
The first measurable snow of the season is forecast to fall across the area today. A Winter Weather Advisory is in effect today and tonight across Plymouth, Sioux, and Lyon Counties in northwest Iowa. The advisory is in effect from 10 am to 1 am Sunday. The Le Mars forecast today calls for 3 inches of snow today. Slippery road conditions are expected with the snow. The advisory also covers Union County, South Dakota, and Dixon and Dakota Counties in Nebraska.
SNOWPLOW CREWS PREPARE FOR WINTER
Parts of northwest Iowa may get a few inches of snow this weekend, and the Iowa Department of Transportation is preparing its fleet of snowplows, end loaders, and motor graders to keep thousands of miles of roads safe for the rest of us. D-O-T spokesman Pete Hjelmstad says when you start adding it all up, they cover a lot of ground. Statewide, plows clear more than 24-thousand-500 lane miles, enough to circle the Earth. Even if your area of the state is only expecting a dusting of snow, Hjelmstad says you’d be wise to familiarize yourself with your vehicle’s break-down equipment, like the spare tire and jack. Also, he recommends having a cell phone charger in your vehicle, a winter survival kit, and jumper cables.
MUSEUM NATIVE AMERICAN EXHIBIT
The Plymouth County Historical Museum in Le Mars will open a new Native American exhibit tomorrow, Sunday, Oct. 29. The room, on the fourth floor of the museum, will open at 2 pm.
Museum Director Judy Bowman says their directors have been planning this exhibit for several years.
The exhibit features a mural which is just being finished…
The exhibit is also made possible by grants from the Community Foundation of Greater Plymouth County, and the Gilchrist Foundation of Sioux City. The Gilchrist grant is used for creation of a Native American mural being painted by several artists from Little Priest Tribal College in Winnebago, Nebraska. Donations from several patrons of the museum also helped develop the exhibit.
DRUG TAKE BACK DAY
Today is National Drug Take Back Day. The Iowa Department of Public Safety’s Office of Drug Control Policy encourages Iowans to clean out their medicine cabinets and safely dispose of unused and unneeded medications. There are three drop-off sites in Le Mars: Floyd Valley Healthcare and HyVee Pharmacy. There’s also a permanent drop-off site at the Le Mars Police Department.
PLEA DEAL FOR FORMER POLICE OFFICER
Court documents show a former northeast Iowa policeman accused of stalking and assault is planning to plead guilty, but not to those charges. Benjamin Scheevel once served in the Estherville and Armstrong Police Departments. He faced 85 criminal charges, including perjury, stalking, nonfelonious misconduct, ongoing criminal conduct, tax evasion, second degree theft and assault while displaying a dangerous weapon. The alleged crimes happened between January 2016 and April 2019. Online court records show a petition was filed on Scheevel’s behalf that outlines a plea deal. It would have all but seven counts of unauthorized access or dissemination of data dismissed. Judge Carl Peterson has set a sentencing hearing in late November. Scheevel is one of a handful of former officials in the small town of Armstrong who’ve been charged with a variety of crimes. Two former city clerks pleaded guilty after a special investigation released by the state auditor’s office in 2017 found Armstrong’s finances were a tangled mess.
