SUPERVISORS BEGIN BUDGET TALKS
The Plymouth County Board of Supervisors began discussion on the county’s 2025-26 General Fund budget. They focused yesterday on General Fund expenses. A projected increase of nearly a million dollars in new tax revenue is anticipated in the next fiscal year, due to an increase in property valuations. State code places a cap on valuation increases and new tax revenue that can be generated in the county’s general fund. Next year that’s 703-thousand dollars. Budget requests from departments and community services total nearly 12 million dollars, an increase of 8.7% from the 2024-25 budget. The Supervisors began discussions on the Sheriff, Communications, and Jail portion of the general fund, which represents the largest expenditures in the general fund.
LE MARS COUNCIL
The Le Mars city council Tuesday decided to hold a special council meeting on Tuesday, January 14, in council chambers. At the meeting, the council will consider approval of a Bond Purchase Agreement for water revenue bonds. The bonds will pay for improvements to the city’s water treatment system.
The city council also approved an agreement with consulting firm ISG to provide design, construction documents, and administer bids for improvements to O’Toole Park. The project is to be bid in April. The contract for ISG’s services is not to exceed 298-thousand dollars. The 5.5 million dollars park project will be paid for through Local Option Sales Tax proceeds.
SHOP FOR A CAUSE PROCEEDS
Two Le Mars non-profit organizations received checks totaling over one-thousand dollars Tuesday as the result of a Le Mars Chamber of Commerce promotion. “Shop for a Cause” took place during a two-week period this past holiday shopping season.
Chamber Executive Director Lori French presented 582-dollars to Siouxland Youth for Christ and $448 to A Chance to Dance.
Pictured- Lori French, Executive Director of the Le Mars Area Chamber of Commerce and Josh Parkin, City Live Teen Center Director.
Lori French Executive Director of the e Mars Area Chamber of Commerce and Emma DeRuyter, Founder and President of A Chance to Dance.
Josh Parkin, City Live Teen Center Director, told KLEM about the mission of Youth for Christ.
Parkin explained what happens at the teen center.
Emma DeRuyter, the founder and President of A Chance to Dance explained what that organization is all about.
DeRuyter, who attends Iowa State University, outlined what the donation will be used for.
The dollars awarded represent more than two hundred donations of five dollars each from shoppers. Those donating received a savings card good at nineteen participating chamber retail businesses and restaurants.
IOWA’S LARGEST EMPLOYERS ARE BULLISH ON THE ECONOMY IN 2025
The latest Iowa Business Council survey finds a significant increase in optimism about the economy among some of the state’s largest employers. The survey indicates over the next six months that vast majority of Iowa Business Council members will either hire more employees or don’t expect to make changes in their workforce. Almost 70 percent of Iowa Business Council members plan to make capital investments in infrastructure or technology over the next six months that are higher than what was spent on physical assets in the last half of 2024. Twenty-one of the state’s largest businesses — employing 160-thousand Iowans — are members of the Iowa Business Council and the group’s survey found over 60 percent of its members expect sales increases in 2025.
U.S. SENATE COMMITTEE ASSIGNMENTS
Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa Tuesday resumed his role as Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, following the Senate’s unanimous passage of an organizing resolution appointing committee leaders in the 119th Congress. Chairman Grassley will move swiftly to schedule a hearing on Pam Bondi’s nomination to be United States Attorney General. In addition to his leadership on the Senate Judiciary Committee, Grassley in the 119th Congress will continue to serve as a member on the Finance, Agriculture and Budget Committees.
In the 119th Congress, U.S. Senator Joni Ernst of Iowa will join the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee and become chair of the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship in addition to continuing her roles on the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry and the Senate Armed Services Committee.
Senator Ernst will rejoin the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, where she will focus on border security and advance her work as chair of the Senate DOGE Caucus to cut wasted tax dollars and rein in bloated bureaucracy.
GOVERNOR’S CALL TO LIMIT CELL PHONE USE IN SCHOOLS MAY MEET SOME HEADWINDS
Governor Kim Reynolds has called for a statewide cell phone policy for Iowa schools and will unveil the details of her proposal next Tuesday.
Incoming Senate Education Committee chairman Lynn Evans, a Republican from Aurelia, says there are concerns about the impact cell phone use is having on academic achievement.
But Evans, who is a retired superintendent, says he doesn’t want to interfere with Iowa schools that have taken the initiative to establish policies for the use of cell phones, tablets and other electronic devices during school hours.
House Education Committee chairman Skyler Wheeler of Hull says he’s open to reviewing what the governor may propose, but his local superintendents are telling him they want to retain the ability to adopt policies that best fit their own school districts.
House Democratic Leader Jennifer Konfrst also suggests there is a limit to how far the legislature should go in setting a statewide policy on cell phone use in schools.
Senate Democratic Leader Janice Weiner says there is wide agreement something should be done to curb cell phone use in schools, but it’s too early to say the governor’s proposal will become law.
Senate Majority Leader Jack Whitver says Senate Republicans are happy to work with the governor on the issue, but haven’t come to consensus yet on what cell phone restrictions the legislature should adopt for Iowa schools. The 2025 legislative session begins Monday. On Tuesday, Governor Reynolds will deliver the annual Condition of the State address and will reveal her 2025 legislative agenda.
FREE RADON TEST KITS FOR IOWA RESIDENTS
At least half of the homes in Iowa have radon gas levels above the E-P-A’s action level according to the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services. Radon is an odorless radioactive gas that can seep in through the foundation or insulation of home. Radon is the leading cause of cancer among non-smokers and the rate of new cases of lung cancer IN IOWA is significantly higher than the national rate. This is National Radon Action Month and the American Lung Association is offering free radon test kits to Iowa residents — while supplies last.
POLL SHOWS IOWA FARMERS ARE UNDER MORE STRESS
More farmers reported higher levels of stress last year compared to 2022 in the latest Iowa Farm and Rural Life Poll, which surveyed nearly 950 farmers statewide. Most of the respondents were men and 66 years old, on average. J-Arbuckle (ARR-buckle), an Iowa State University extension sociologist, led the poll which showed a “very big shift in the level of personal stress.” Nearly half of the participants said they had medium-level stress, while 17-percent said they had high or very high stress levels. Arbuckle says farmers were also more pessimistic about their economic prospects for the next five years. Sixty-two-percent indicated they thought they would be worse off, the highest rate ever recorded by the survey.
