RED FLAG WARNING
The National Weather Service has issued a Red Flag Warning, from noon to 8 p.m. This covers northwest Iowa counties, including Plymouth, and all its surrounding counties in Iowa, and South Dakota.
Low humidities and High winds will create dangerous fire conditions. Any fire that develops will catch and spread
quickly. Outdoor burning is not recommended
The Le Mars forecast includes sunny and hot conditions today. Temperatures are to reach into the upper 80s and winds will be out of the south-southwest, gusting up to 35 miles per hour.
STRAIGHT WINDS CAN BE JUST AS DANGEROUS AS TORNADOES
This is Severe Weather Awareness Week, and National Weather Service meteorologist Peter Rogers says it is important to know what is happening when a thunderstorm warning is issued. Rogers says there are a couple of factors that go into those warnings.
He says the speed of the wind is key.
Rogers says straight line winds, including derechos, have become more common in the midwest.
Rogers says its important to heed the warnings for thunderstorms and be prepared to react.
TAX DEADLINE APPROACHES
Plymouth County Treasurer, Shelly Sitzmann, reminds property owners that Property taxes are now due. Real Estate and Mobile Home taxes can be paid in the office, online, or through the mail. Taxes must be paid by Monday, March 31st, 2025. Taxes are delinquent April 1, 2025. and will incur a penalty.
Mail must be postmarked on or before March 31st to avoid penalty.
Online payment is a convenient option. Go to iowatreasurers.org to make your payment by e-check or credit card. This is an easy, quick, and secure option if you cannot come to the courthouse or get to the post office.
Online payment of taxes can be done up until midnight on March 31st, 2025 without penalty. Delinquent interest will begin online at 12:00am on April 1st.
Anyone who needs information on property taxes can contact the Plymouth County Treasurer’s office at 546-7056.
MAXIMUM TAX LEVY
There will be two public hearings in Le Mars next Tuesday. Both concern tax levies.
A public hearing will be held before the Plymouth County Board of Supervisors at 9 a.m. Tuesday to set the maximum tax levies in the 2025-26 fiscal year budget.
The Supervisors will take public comment on levies for the county General Fund and Rural Fund.
The proposed levy for the General Fund is 3 dollars, 33 cents per thousand valuation.
The proposed levy for the Rural Fund is 3 dollars, 72 cents per thousand valuation.
The hearing will take place at 9 a.m., before the Supervisors regular session, which begins at 9:30 a.m.
Another special meeting has been called by the Board of Education of the Le Mars Community School District. This is for a public hearing on the proposed FY2026 tax levy. The meeting will be at the district’s Education Service Center on Lincoln Street in Le Mars, Tuesday, at noon. The next regular meeting of the board will be April 14 at 6:00 p.m.
LCSD PARTNERSHIP WITH CARPENTERS TRAINING INSTITUTE
The Le Mars Community School District has entered a partnership with the Carpenters Training Institute of Sioux City.
Le Mars Community High School Principal Dr. Mark Iverson said earlier this month, the district officially signed its first pre-apprenticeship agreement.
This builds on a construction trades program that was begun at Le Mars Community High School.
Dr. Iverson describes the advantages to joining the Carpenters Training Institute:
Dr Iverson says this partnership provides more options for students who want to be involved with construction skills.
The partnership will allow more students to learn about the construction trade.
This opens the doors for Le Mars high school students in construction classes to gain real-world experience and earn credit for their learning.
Through this partnership, LCSD students can join the local 948 union and continue their apprenticeship with the Carpenters Training Institute after graduation.
BILL SEEKS NEW LIMITS ON ITEMS SNAP BENEFITS CAN BUY
The Iowa House has passed a bill that could lead to new restrictions on what Iowans may buy with federal food assistance. If the U-S-D-A grants a waiver from the current list of eligible foods and beverages, Iowans would be limited to using SNAP benefits to buy healthy foods like whole grains, proteins, and fruits and vegetables. Representative Carter Nordman, a Republican from Adel, says the bill sets reasonable guardrails and ensures tax dollars aren’t being used to buy luxury foods like pop, energy drinks and candy that do nothing to alleviate hunger. The bill passed with the support of 56 House Republicans. Eight other Republicans joined 32 House Democrats in opposing it. Representative Heather Matson, a Democrat from Ankeny, says the bill may not just affect people who go to the grocery store and could impact elderly Iowans who get Meals on Wheels. Representative Beth Wessel-Kroeschell a Democrat from Ames, says the legislature has no business micromanaging the diets of Iowans.
IOWA’S UNEMPLOYMENT RATE HOLDS STEADY IN FEBRUARY
The unemployment rate for February stayed the same as January at three-point-three percent. Iowa Workforce Development director Beth Townsend says there were some ups and downs in the job market.
Townsend says on the positive side there was an increase of 500 jobs in manufacturing, primarily in food production and animal processing.
Federal officials always do revision of labor numbers at the start of the year and that revision included an increase in the number of Iowans in the workforce for January. Townsend says that number also stayed the same in February. She says Iowa labor situation is doing okay right now.
The three-point-three percent unemployment rate in February is up from two-point-seven percent one year ago. The U-S unemployment rate increased to four-point-one percent in February.
ERNST WAITING FOR NSC INFORMATION BEFORE COMMENTING ON ‘SIGNAL’ LEAK.
Senator Joni Ernst says she’s waiting for information from the National Security Council before commenting on Trump Administration officials accidentally inviting a journalist to their group chat while discussing military strikes in Yemen. Ernst says while everybody’s talking about the leak of information via an app called Signal, President Trump is standing up to a terrorist organization threatening to attack Israeli vessels in the Mideast. Ernst says she is not worried about the competency of the U-S defense secretary or the president’s national security advisor who admits he accidentally included The Atlantic’s editor-in-chief in a text chain with others, including the vice president. However, Ernst does emphasize the importance of using secure facilities called SCIFs (SKIFFS) when sensitive information is being discussed. While the text messages disclosed military strikes in Yemen would start in about an hour, President Trump has said classified information was not shared.
