BROWNS WILL BUILD A NEW THEATER
In a Facebook post this morning, the Browns announced they will build a larger theater in downtown Le Mars, to open next fall. Shelly Brown says their current location on the corner of Plymouth Street and Central Ave. serves them well.
The Browns restored the old building and turned it into a 150 seat performance venue. Starting ten years ago with five Christmas shows, they have built up a 38 show schedule this year. Shelly says they want to create a great experience for their audience.
Their new location is near their current one.
It will provide more room for performances and their related businesses.
Brown says their plans will bring their new location full circle to its original purpose.
Shelly says that site is well-suited for a new, 400-seat theater, and gift shop. Construction will begin in March, and the new venue will be opened in October, 2025.
WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FOR SLEET AND FREEZING RAIN
A Winter Weather Advisory has been called for Le Mars and all of northwest Iowa from 5 trhis afternoon until noon Saturday. For Le Mars and Plymouth County, flurries and a chance of sleet begin after 5 pm.
Tonight, there will be freezing rain and sleet are likely through the evening and early morning hours Saturday.
Roads, and especially bridges and overpasses, will likely become slick and hazardous. Plan on slippery road conditions. The hazardous conditions could impact the Friday evening commute.
WINTER WONDERLAND CANCELLED SATURDAY
The weather conditions expected tonight and tomorrow have caused the cancellation of the Christmas Winter Wonderland Saturday at the Plymouth County Fairgrounds. However, it will be held on Sunday evening, from 5 to 8 pm. The event includes a festival of trees and live music performances at Century Hall, horse drawn wagon rides, a marshmallow roast, and the historic Round Barn Christmas display. Again, the Christmas Winter Wonderland has been cancelled Saturday, but will take place Sunday evening..
SCHOOL PLANNING PROGRESS
The Le Mars Community School Board heard an update from two committees involved in plans for a new elementary school. The facilities planning and Elementary Design Committees reported on their activities since voters approved a 49.9 million dollars bond sale in November. The facilities planning committee considered three options for facility and construction plan. The options included the traditional method: design – bid – and build. The second option was to hire a construction manager to oversee planning. The third, and preferred option, is to hire a construction manager as contractor. Superintendent, Dr. Steve Webner, explained to the board that in this arrangement, the construction manager can work with the architect in the design phase. It’s a little more expensive but the construction manager can bring costs down through the bidding process. He’s also on site every day during construction. The design committee is arranging school visits for January, where they will look for architectural features that would fit a Le Mars school design.
Later in the meeting, the board approved a motion citing ISG, their current consultant, as the architectural and engineering firm for the construction project, pending agreement on a suitable contract.
SECOND FATALITY IN SIOUX CENTER ACCIDENT
A second person has died of injuries suffered in a two-car crash west of Sioux Center. The Sioux County Sheriffs Office issued a press release yesterday which said a second passenger in the crash died at the scene, at the intersection of K42 and B40. Alfredo Lira, age 24, of Chicago was the second fatality. Earlier, it was reported that Maikol Segobia, age 28, of Chicago, died at the scene of the crash. Both were passengers in a northbound Honda Fit which ran a stop sign at the intersection and was struck by an east-bound vehicle. The Sioux County Sheriffs Office and the Iowa State Patrol are conducting a joint investigation into the crash.
FIRST GUN SEASON SEES INCREASE IN DEER TAKEN
The D-N-R reports the number of deer taken in the early archery and other seasons was down about five percent leading into the first gun season. The D-N-R’s Pete Hildreth says the totals for the first gun season are up about four percent from last season and about two and a half percent higher than the five year average. He says hunters in eastern Iowa have seen the best success and western Iowa is lagging considerably. Hildreth says the lower deer totals in western Iowa are due to the impact of Epizootic Hemmorrhagic Disease or E-H-D on deer.
IOWA TAX REVENUE PREDICTION DOWN $67 MILLION FOR NEXT BUDGETING YEAR
The governor’s top budget advisor and two other officials agree state tax collections during the NEXT state budgeting year will drop 67 million dollars more than they predicted two months ago. Iowa Department of Management director Kraig Paulsen is also chairman of the state Revenue Estimating Conference.
Governor Reynolds has signed a series of tax reductions since she became governor in mid-2017 and the state income tax will shrink to a single rate of three-point-85 percent in January. Paulsen says with over six-point-six BILLION dollars of unspent tax money held in a cash reserve and the Taxpayer Relief Fund, there’s room for more cuts.
And Paulsen says there are positive signals in the national economy, indicating taxes paid to the State of Iowa won’t fall precipitously.
Democrats in the Iowa House say every week Iowans are experiencing more layoffs, while Republican lawmakers are planning for more tax cuts for corporations and the wealthy. A top Democrat in the Iowa Senate says while state tax revenue is declining, Governor Reynolds is sending hundreds of millions of dollars to private schools and Iowans need more information about how the state money in Education Savings Accounts to cover students’ private school expenses is being spent.
RECORD AMOUNT OF UNCLAIMED FUNDS COMES TO STATE
State Treasurer Roby (Rob-EE) Smith says more than 68 million dollars of unclaimed property has been turned over so far this year to the Great Iowa Treasure Hunt. He says that’s a record amount and brings the total amount to 586 million dollars. Smith says that easily surpasses the previous record of nearly 43 million. Smith believes the large amount of unclaimed money and property is linked to the chaos of the pandemic as three years ago we were coming out of the pandemic and businesses were closing, transferring ownership, being sold. Unclaimed funds can be held for three years before they have to be turned over to the state. Smith encourages everyone to go to GreatIowaTreasureHunt.gov and search for their name to see if you have unclaimed money.
