RALPH KLEMME
A community leader from Le Mars passed away Tuesday. Ralph Klemme was 85. He served in the Iowa Legislature from 1993 to 2005. In 1994 he introduced a resolution in the Iowa House designating Le Mars the “Ice Cream Capital of the World.” The resolution passed in both chambers of the Iowa Legislature. Klemme was a life-long Plymouth County resident, a grain and livestock farmer, long-time member of the Le Mars Community School Board, and Floyd Valley Hospital Board of Trustees. Funeral services will be Saturday at 10-30 at First Baptist Church in Le Mars. Burial with military honors will be at St John’s Lutheran Cemetery in Craig.
WORKERS EAGER TO BECOME PART OF NATIONWIDE COORDINATED CAMPAIGN EFFORT
Workers at Kemps in Le Mars, a subsidiary of Dairy Farmers of America, have voted overwhelmingly to join Teamsters Local 554. The 200 production workers, warehouse workers, and drivers are responsible for producing milk products and cottage cheese.
In addition to bargaining their first local union agreement, the newest members of Local 554 will be joining more than 1,800 other DFA Teamsters as part of the first-ever national coordinated contract campaign at the dairy co-operative, which is the largest in North America.
Teamsters Local 554 has represented workers in Nebraska and Eastern Iowa since 1937.
CATTLE AND CONSERVATION PROGRAM EXPANDS
Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig says they are expanding its Cattle and Conservation Working Lands Project into an eighth Iowa county. Adams County joins Woodburty, Cherokee, Ida, and seven other western Iowa counties in this water quality program.
This is a first-of-its-king, locally led project which demonstrates compatability between cattle and conservation. The Iowa Department of Ag and other partners work with farmers and landowners to identify, build, and expand opportunities for the use of pasture and hay, where row crops are less profitable. Help is provided to livestock producers to target conservation practices on their land.
Sec. Naig says this provides oportunity to grow livestock herds and make progress toward the states Nutrient Reduction Strategy goals.
The program began in 2017. Last year, Cherokee, Ida, Woodbury, Carroll, and Gutherie counties were added, through the help of state and federal grants.
IOWA SUPREME COURT HEARS CASE ABOUT VOTING MATERIALS
The Iowa Supreme Court has heard arguments in a case that will determine if Iowans may get voting materials in languages other than English. Last year, a Polk County District Court judge ruled counties may offer voter registration forms in different languages. The state appealed, citing the 22 year old Iowa law that requires all government documents in the state to be in English. An attorney for the state says citizens who do not speak English can exercise their right to vote by calling the state court system’s translation line or asking someone in the county auditor’s office to talk them through the forms. An attorney for the League of United Latin American Citizens of Iowa says federal election law requires states to offer language assistance to citizens who have limited English proficiency — and translated voting materials are essential for non-English speakers.
LEMARS AIRPORT IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM
The Le Mars city council approved a list of future airport improvement projects to submit to the Federal Aviation Administration.
These projects include apron reconstruction and expansion, and runway lighting. These projects are to take place between 2026 and 2029.
The total estimated costs of these projects are 2.85 million dollars. The city’s share of funding would be 535-thousand dollars.
LE MARS PARK IMPROVEMENTS
The Le Mars city council approved the allocation of 5.5 million dollars for park improvements, The Le Mars Area Betterment Foundation and city consultant ISG created a series of improvements for parks in the city. Some of the projects include:
At O’Toole Park, a new splashpad, clubhouse and playground
At the Municipal Golf Course, a clubhouse expansion and event plaza,
At Cleveland Park, a new shelter, and an inclusive playground.
At Sunset park, an extension of the bike trail and instalation of a kayak launch pad, and construction of a picnic shelter.
At Shaefer park, additional sidewalk and sculpture.
The city is using Local Option Sales Tax funds to jump start the projects. The Betterment Foundation will begin a fundraising project to reimburse the city for a share of construction costs.
INJURY ACCIDENT
A Le Mars man was one of two people injured in an accident Tuesday evening west of Hull. The Sioux County Sheriff’s Office says the accident on U.S. Highway 18 near Harrison Ave. around 6 p.m. Loran Weiler, 67, of Le Mars, IA, was driving an SUV westbound on Highway 18. Byron Lopez, 29, of George, IA, was driving a pickup eastbound on the highway. Lopez lost control of the vehicle, entered the westbound lane and the two struck. Weiler and Lopez were both transported by Hull and Sioux Center ambulance to Sioux Center Health for treatment of their injuries. The sheriff’s office was assisted by the Hull Fire Department, Hull Ambulance and Sioux Center Ambulance.
NORTHWEST IOWA MUSEUM OPENS GIANT MODEL TRAIN EXHIBIT
A model train enthusiast who grew up in the O’Brien County town of Sanborn has donated his large, multi-train display to a museum there. Rob Balt, curator of Yesterday’s Memories & Truck Museum, says they’re thrilled to take in the extensive exhibit from Michael Johnson, who now lives in West Des Moines.
Johnson is a 1963 graduate of Sanborn Community High School. He and his wife decided they wanted the display to be available to a larger group than just family and friends. Plus, it had grown to be a huge undertaking. Balt says Johnson had to make several trips to Sanborn to bring up and assemble the complete display.
The museum hosted an open house Wednesday to promote the new exhibit.
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9 MORE COMMUNITIES JOIN KEEP IOWA BEAUTIFUL’S HOMETOWN PRIDE PROGRAM
Keep Iowa Beautiful has announced the addition of nine more northwest Iowa towns to its Hometown Pride program. The communities are located in Cherokee, Buena Vista, Clay, and Dickinson Counties: Albert City, Alta, Aurelia, Lake Park, Lakeside, Marathon, Royal, Sioux Rapids, and Storm Lake.
The Hometown Pride program began in 2012. To date, 118 towns have participated. The program has completed 2,000 community betterment projects and engaged more than 2,000 volunteers. These nine towns are each forming a team to take on community improvement projects. Carissa Harvey will serve these towns as a Community Coach. She has taken part in a variety of quality-of-life projects including those focused on public art, recreation, downtown development, and more.
