Supervisors to Meet Today
The Plymouth County Board of Supervisors will meet today and take up last week’s funding request from the Le Mars Area Betterment Committee. The Supervisors were asked for $50,000 in order to strengthen two grant applications by showing the county’s support. The Board tabled the request last week in order to talk with constituents and consider the request, indicating their funding may be less than the requested amount.
Other action items on the Supervisors agenda include a lease renewal for Family Solutions at the 2nd Avenue Services Building and approval of the Mental Health Advocate service agreement to Plymouth County.
The Supervisors are also scheduled to go into closed session this morning. Following the closed session, they may consider approval of a tentative settlement agreement.
Reward Offered for Information on Ethanol Plant Fire
There’s a 10-thousand reward for information that leads to the arrest of the person or people responsible for a week-long fire at a northwest Iowa ethanol that caused significant damage.
The fire at the POET facility in Emmetsburg started in the evening on May 12th. Stacks of the corn stover used to make ethanol burned and POET estimates five MILLION dollars worth of the material was destroyed. The Palo Alto County Sheriff’s Office and fire investigators say the fire is being treated as an act of arson. The general manager of the plant says it was a serious criminal act that put people and property at risk.
Governor “Close” to Decision on Pipeline Bill
Governor Kim Reynolds says she’s really close to a decision on a bill that would limit carbon pipeline developers ability to use eminent domain to seize land along the pipeline route.
Reynolds has until Saturday to sign or veto all the bills that cleared the 2025 Iowa legislature. Reynolds had signed two dozen bills Friday.
However, Senate President Amy Sinclair says the state is likely to be sued if Governor Kim Reynolds approves a bill that would establish new state regulations for the Summit Carbon Solutions pipeline.
Sinclair, a Republican from Allerton, says there are so many problems with the bill and ultimately it will cost the state of Iowa money both in economic impact as well as potential lawsuits.
The Iowa Utilities Commission awarded Summit a permit last year to build and operate a pipeline to capture carbon from ethanol plants and ship it to underground storage in North Dakota. However, Summit must get a similar permit in South Dakota before construction can begin in Iowa. The bill has provisions that not only apply to Summit’s project, but to other hazardous liquid pipelines and energy infrastructure, like transmission lines.
Carlin Senate Campaign
Former state senator Jim Carlin of Sgt. Bluff kicks off his campaign against incumbent U.S. Senator Joni Ernst at a rally in Cedar Rapids Thursday.
Carlin will be joined by 7th District State Senattor Kevin Alons and State Represnentative Eddie Andrews. Andrews recently announed he is running for the Republican nominate for Governor of Iowa.
State climatologist Justin Glisan says the rain Iowa has been getting since the beginning of June is importnat, because we have had a dry year so far.
Drought conditions expanded across the state due to below-normal precipitation in May, according to the latess U.S. Drought Monitor.
While there have been a lot of ups and down through the first five months of this eyar, Glisan says it has all averaged out.
Western Iowa now carries a drought watch designation.
More than 80 percent of Iowa continues to experience abnormally dry conditions or drought conditions.
Glisan says the overal outlook for June continues to lean towards warmer temperatures, but there’s no clear signal on the precipitaton side.
Iowa Museum Week
The Plymouth County Historical Museum is pleased to announce Iowa Museum Week, which will run through Thursday, June 12.
Tomorrow, the museum will relaunch the “Dress Parade for Spring” exhibition. The final event of the week is the “Chamber After Hours” which is scheduled for Thursday, June 12 at 5 pm.
You can enjoy a reception and conversation with Dr. Mona Bomgaars. Libations and hors d’oeuvres will be served while attendees learn even more about Nepal. All events are complimentary and will take place on the 4th Floor of the Plymouth County Historical Museum.
Northwestern College Adoption Friendly
For the 13th year, Northwestern College has been named to the Best Adoption-Friendly Workplaces list compiled by the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption. Northwestern was recognized as an adoption advocate and ranked fourth in the education industry for 2025—behind only Baylor University (first), the University of Notre Dame (second), and Emory University (third).
Northwestern offers financial assistance of up to $2,000 per adoptee to faculty and staff, with an additional reimbursement of up to $1,000 for the adoption of someone with special needs. The funds can be used for home studies, agency and placement fees, legal expenses and court costs, medical expenses, and transportation and lodging.
Adoptive parents can also take advantage of Northwestern’s parental leave benefit, which offers six weeks of paid leave to full-time and three-quarter-time employees after 12 months of employment. Additionally, Northwestern employees who adopt are eligible for up to seven days paid leave beyond the six-week parental leave benefit.
