LCSD CONTRACTS
New contracts were approved for faculty, staff, administrators, and the Superintendent by the Le Mars Community School Board Thursday. A new master contract with the Le Mars Community Education Association was approved. Under the new contract, teacher base pay will increase by 1219 dollars, or 2.9%, to 43,259 dollars. This does not include supplemental pay provided by the state, which is issued to the district on a per pupil basis. The cost of base salary to the district will be over 490-thousand dollars in the next fiscal year. Contracts for support staff and administrators were approved, with an increase of 2.9%. A 3-year contract was approved for Superintendent Dr Steven Webner. The Superintendent’s salary will increase 2.5% per year for the next three years. It will be 207-thousand dollars in the next fiscal year.
SATURDAY IS DRUG TAKE BACK DAY
The National Drug Take Back Day is this weekend. This is a good way to safely dispose of your unneeded prescription drugs. The event runs this Saturday April 27th from 10 a-m until 2 p-m. You can anonymously bring in the drugs and put them in the container. They will not accept liquid medications, syringes or illegal drugs. The D-E-A also allows you to drop off vaping devices and e-cigarettes if the batteries are removed from the devices.
Plymouth County drop off points include:
Le Mars Police Department
Floyd Valley Healthcare
HyVee Pharmacy – Le Mars
Lewis Drug – Kingsley
REALTORS ISSUE REPORT ON MARCH SALES
The Iowa Association of Realtors report for March shows buyers had more homes to choose from and sales were down slightly. Association statewide housing analyst, Les Sulgrove, says the drop in sales signals we’re no longer in the COVID market where everything was selling extremely fast. He says getting back to more of a normal pattern is good for home buyers who don’t have to make a quick decision. He says it also encourages homeowners that are sitting on the sidelines waiting to jump into market that they can sell knowing that they’re not going to be out of a home if theirs sells quickly. Sulgrove says interest rates are higher than they were a few years ago, but he says right now the key is those rates have been stable.
PROJECT TO DEVELOP MAPS OF IOWA’S UNDERGROUND WATER RESOURCES
The Iowa legislature has set aside 250-thousand dollars to start developing accurate maps of Iowa’s underground water resources. State geologist Keith Schilling (SHILL-ing) is director of the Iowa Geological Survey, the agency that will develop the maps of shallow groundwater supplies. Schilling says there’s increasing demand for groundwater in Iowa from municipal users, businesses and industries and even irrigation. The maps would help connect the dots, according to Schilling, and give people an idea of how much groundwater is available, how much is being used, how much is being replenished by above ground precipitation — all factors in determining the longterm outlook on the state’s water supply.
ATTORNEY GENERAL: BORDER STATES CAN PROTECT THEIR BORDERS
Iowa’s Attorney General says border states have a right to protect their borders. During a visit to Le Mars Wednesday, Brenna Bird said Texas’ move to deport illegal immigrants should be upheld by the courts.
Bird says this move is unrelated to a bill passed in Iowa which gives Iowa judges authority to deport illegals.
First visited Plymouth County for the first time since her election as Attorney General.
FOUL PLAY NOT SUSPECTED IN TRUCKER’S DEATH
The Iowa medical examiner conducted a forensic autopsy on the body of David Schultz. The 53-year-old Schultz was positively identified through dental records. Authorities do not suspect foul play in the death of Schultz.
Schultz’s body was found Wednesday in a farm field in the 1900 block of Union Ave. in Sac County. Preliminary autopsy results show no signs of trauma or serious injury. Further autopsy test results are pending.
He had been missing since November 21, 2023. When Schultz went missing the field his body was found in Wednesday was empty and there wasn’t any snow on the ground.
Hundreds of volunteers and law enforcement agents had searched those fields and a multi county area without finding him until Wednesday.
Schultz’s wallet and cell phone were in his truck when it was found parked on the traveled portion of the road at the intersection of 190th Street and Union Avenue in rural Sac County. His coat was found near the truck.
His family has thanked those who helped in the search in a post on their go-fund me page, which raised nearly $19,000 in donations.
WESTERN IOWA TECH SETTLES STUDENT LAWSUIT
Western Iowa Tech Community College in Sioux City has reached a settlement with international students who accused the school of human trafficking.The school’s board of directors has approved a three-million-dollar payment to 13 students from Chile who filed a lawsuit in November of 2020. The students who took part in what’s called the Federal J-1 student program and said they were promised a free two-year program with internships. But the students say they ended up doing jobs involving manual labor to pay off their tuition. The college issued a statement that acknowledges the program did not meet its high standards, but denied the allegations in the lawsuit. A lawsuit is still pending against the Sioux City area companies involved with the program.
GRASSLEY: PENTAGON PANDEMIC MONEY SPENT ON PERSONAL EXPENSES
Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley is firing new criticism at the Pentagon after an audit found tens of thousands of incidents where government workers inappropriately used federal pandemic dollars for personal expenses. Grassley, a Republican, says it’s a “slap in the face to the taxpayer” that millions of dollars in military spending is being so blatantly misspent. He says the Department of Defense is the only federal agency that never has its audits certified. An Inspector General’s report found D-O-D employees used pandemic-earmarked accounts for things like musical equipment, dental supplies, plumbing services, vehicle repair and even Nordic skiing machines.
A STORMY WEEKEND IS AHEAD WITH SEVERE WEATHER POSSIBLE
Whatever your weekend plans, Iowans are being warned they’ll need to keep an eye on the weather, as severe storms may be moving in soon. Meteorologist Andrew Ansorge, at the National Weather Service, says Friday afternoon, Saturday and Sunday will each feature rounds of strong-to-severe storms with the risk for tornadoes, large hail and damaging winds. We’re in the heart of severe weather season in Iowa, and he says it’s wise to have a weather radio handy, or a reliable severe weather app on your phone.
