FV HEALTHCARE PROJECTS
The Board of Trustees of Floyd Valley Healthcare Thursday night approve contracts for two projects.
CEO Dustin Wright says two bids were received for an expansion of the hospital’s laboratory and Maternal Health Departments.
Construction will soon be underway.
Steffes Construction of Spencer was the low bidder, at 1.3 million dollars. That’s 10% below the project estimated cost.
A contract was also awarded for a retail pharmacy at Floyd Valley Healthcare.
Wright says the board is pleased with the bids.
PLYMOUTH COUNTY GOP CONVENTION
Plymouth County Republicans meet for their county convention Saturday. It will take place at the Le Mars Community High School Theater. The convention will be called to order at 1 p.m. Those in attendance will choose delegates to the District and State Republican Party Conventions, and decide on the party’s platform. The Plymouth County Democratic Party convention will be March 23 in Le Mars.
LE MARS WEB CAM
A web cam view of downtown Le Mars is now featured on the KLEM website. Powell Broadcasting has partnered with the Wells Visitor Center and Ice Cream Parlor to present “Sweet Views,” a live video stream, capturing Central Avenue from the parlor to the welcome arch.
Dave Grosenheider, KLEM station manager, commented on this latest addition to klem1410.com, saying “this is the perfect location, offering a birds-eye view twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week.” Grosenheider added that the live video stream is also available on the KLEM Radio Youtube channel.
Beth Meyer, Manager of the Wells Visitor Center and Ice Cream Parlor commented on the live webcam saying “we’re pleased to sponsor this new addition to the KLEM website. As a tourism destination in Northwest Iowa, this is just another great way we can help showcase Le Mars and our downtown.”
The project was made possible with assistance from Justin Vore at SecureIT Consulting, Premier Communications, and technical support from Wells Enterprises. Wells’ personnel used their boom equipment to mount the camera high atop the Visitor Center. The Powell Broadcasting team formatted and linked the stream on the station’s website.
Whether you’re checking out the activity in downtown Le Mars or the current weather conditions, Grosenheider remarked that “it’s always good weather to enjoy Blue Bunny Ice Cream in the Ice Cream Capital of the World.”
STATE-SUPPORTED PRE-SCHOOL FOR 4 YEAR OLDS
State funding would support full-day preschool for children from low-income households under legislation eligible for debate in the Iowa Senate, The state’s voluntary preschool program for four year olds provides state funding for 10 hours of preschool per week. The bill would provide state funding to support 20 hours of preschool each week for children whose parents have a yearly income at or below 185 percent of the federal poverty level. Senator Lynn Evans, a Republican from Aurelia, says many school districts offer full day preschool, but have to find other ways to finance it. Some are charging tuition, but Evans says that means children from low income families are left out.
Evans says the proposal has the potential to close the achievement gap for some students.
Representative Henry Stone, a Republican from Forest City, introduced a similar bill in the Iowa House that offered schools state funding to support all-day preschool for four year olds from low income households.
Senator Herman Quirmbach, a Democrat from Ames, supports the bill, but he’s like to go farther and have full-day, state-funded preschool for all Iowa four year olds.
Senator Sarah Trone-Garriott (trohn GAIR-ee-uht), a Democrat from Waukee, would also like to see full day state-funded preschool for all four-year-olds, but she voted for the bill to support preschool for children from low income households.
The bill cleared the Senate Education Commitee this week, but did not come up for a vote in the House Education Committee.
FIRST FEBRUARY TEMPERATURES TRENDING WELL ABOVE NORMAL
State Climatologist, Justin Glisan, says Iowa is on pace to have the warmest February in 152 years of records. He says at the middle of the month we’re about 17 degrees above average. Glisan says the colder temperatures today will have some impact, but temperatures are going to warm back up. Glisan says we have two weeks to go before the end of the climatological winter, which he says has been drier than normal despite the third snowiest January on record. Glisan doesn’t see a lot of change through the end of the month as he says the strong El Nino leaves Iowa stuck in a pattern of so warmer weather and a less active storm track.
