PROPERTY TAX HEARINGS
Two public hearings were held today in Le Mars, concerning tax levies in fiscal year 2025 budgets. The Le Mars city council received no public comment on their proposed tax levy of 12 dollars, 78 cents per thousand for their new budget. That levy is an increase from the current levy of 11 dollars, 90 cents per thousand, While the levy is higher, tax collections will be lower, as state mandated rollbacks were lowered.
The Le Mars Community School District also held a public hearing on their proposed tax levy for fiscal 24-25. Their levy is 9 dollar, 97 cents per thousand, that’s lower than the current 10 dollars, 14 cents. The new levy will raise 9.9 million dollars, up 200-thousand from the current budget.
LE MARS BUDGET HEARING
A public hearing has been set by the Le Mars city council on their 2024-25 budget. Total revenues under the new budget are estimated at 26.5 million dollars, and total expenses at 26.7 million. The beginning balance on July 1 is estimated at 24.21 million, and the estimated closing balance is 24.06 million. A hearing on the budget will take place at the beginning of the city council session on April 23.
SCHOLARSHIP AND ENDOWMENT DISSOLVED
A fund which provided annual scholarships to Plymouth County rural responders has been dissolved. The Steven H. Musson Memorial Emergency Services Scholarship & Endowment was established in 2003 by the Musson family to recognize and honor Steve for his passion for emergency care. As time has passed, circumstances have changed with how educational opportunities are funded for responders on a national and state level. The Musson family has decided to divide the earnings between the six Plymouth County EMS services and the remainder of funds to be donated to Floyd Valley Healthcare departments of their choosing.
Steve Musson helped start the Le Mars Ambulance service in 1975 and served as co-director until his death in 2002. He also served on the Floyd Valley Hospital Board of Trustees and was instrumental in the decision to expand the Outpatient and Emergency Departments, a vision that was completed in the fall of 2004.
After Steve passed away in 2002, The Steve H. Musson Memorial Emergency Services Endowment and Scholarship Program was created with the intent to help support and pay costs associated with becoming EMS trained.
MC DONALD’S DIGITAL FUNDRAISER
In honor of World Autism Awareness Day today, local Greater Sioux City Area McDonald’s restaurants are holding a fundraiser where a portion of digital proceeds will benefit Autism Speaks. 10% of all proceeds from digital orders on April 2nd from local Greater Sioux City Area McDonald’s restaurants will benefit Autism Speaks. Autism Speaks is dedicated to promoting solutions, across the spectrum and throughout the lifespan, for the needs of individuals with autism and their families. Stores participating in the fundraiser include 18 McDonald’s franchises in northwest Iowa, northeast Nebraska, and southeast South Dakota.
NORTHWEST IOWA WOMAN SENTENCED TO 4 MONTHS IN PRISON FOR VOTER FRAUD
The wife of a Woodbury County Supervisor has been sentenced to prison after being convicted late last year on 52 counts of voter fraud. Woody Gottburg reports.
The federal judge who sentenced Taylor on Monday afternoon has ordered her to pay a special assessment of 52-hundred dollars. She must also serve two years of supervised release. Kim and Jeremy Taylor are the parents of six children.
MARCH SAW ABOVE AVERAGE RAINFALL
State Climatologist Justin Glisan says March saw a turnaround after what was the third-driest February on record.
Glisan says the March precipitation helped some in battling what has been 196 days of moderate drought being reported somewhere in the state.
Temperatures in March were also a little above normal. He says the current outlook shows some good chances for April showers.
EMERALD ASH BORER REPORTED IN IOWA’S 98TH COUNTY
Emmet County is now the only remaining county in Iowa without a detection of the tree killing emerald ash borer. That’s after the U.S. Department of Agriculture confirmed the presence of the emerald ash borer in Palo Alto county for the first time. Insect samples were collected in march from an ash tree in basswood recreation area outside of Emmetsburg. E-A-B was unknown to North America until its discovery in southeast Michigan in 2002. The invasive, ash tree-killing insect from Asia has now been found in 36 states including Iowa starting in 2010..
STATE RECEIVED $11.7 BILLION IN FEDERAL FUNDS DURING LAST FISCAL YEAR
A report from State Auditor Rob Sand shows the State of Iowa spent nearly 12 BILLION dollars in FEDERAL funds the last fiscal year. About six percent of that federal money was related to pandemic era spending. Some of it came from the CARES Act President Trump signed in 2020 and some from the American Rescue Plan Act that President Biden signed in 2021. The report covers the period from July 1st of 2022 through June 30th of 2023. It shows the State of Iowa received 46-MILLION dollars worth of vaccines during that 12 month period.
MIDWEST MANUFACTURING WAS IN RECESSION ALL OF 2023
Iowa’s economy bucked the regional trend and improved slightly during March, but the monthly Creighton University survey of supply managers in Iowa and eight other Midwestern states finds the region’s manufacturing sector slipped into recession — and was there all of last year. Creighton economist Ernie Goss says the overall Business Conditions Index fell below growth neutral for the third time in four months. The index is measured on a zero-to-100 scale where 50 is considered growth neutral. Iowa’s Business Conditions Index for March improved to 51-point-8 from 49-point-3 in February. Goss says the Midwest’s manufacturing sector lost jobs for a third straight month, and with last week’s deadly bridge collapse that blocked the port of Baltimore, Maryland, he predicts supply chain disruptions will worsen in the months ahead.
