Le Mars election results: Close finishes and runoff elections
Election day took place yesterday, with ballots being cast for four city positions, and two ballot measures. The turnout produced close races in Le Mars, with two races coming to just within votes of each other.
It appears there will be 2 runoff elections for both the at large City Council seat and Mayoral race. For the at large race, Derek Conyers currently leads with 1,107 votes, with Beth Meyer coming in second with 780 and Lenny Flack in third at 777. However no candidate reached a 50% majority of the total votes in the 3 way race so a runoff between the first and second place vote getter is needed. In the mayoral race, Rob Bixenman gained 1,291 votes to challenger Brian Hughes 1,209. Bixenman, however, was also not able to secure a simple majority of the vote due to the large number of write-in votes. The city runoff election will be held Dec 2nd.
In Ward 1, Brian Bruns won reelection decisively against Jaqueline Perez, winning 658 votes against Perez’s 281 votes. In Ward 3, 7 votes were the margin between incumbent Mark Sturgeon and challenger Dan Dembinski, as Sturgeon won 296 to 289.
The ballot issues, compared to the city positions, were more decisive with their results. Public Measure RY, asking to raise the city hotel/motel tax, passed with 66% of the vote, gaining 1,793 Yes votes to 916 No votes. Public Measure RY, asking for a new bond to fund a new firehouse, failed to pass with only 30% of the vote, gaining 844 Yes votes to 1,912 No votes.
Votes will need to be canvassed, and these are unofficial results. For a full list of Plymouth County election results, click here.
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City council renews property/casualty insurance, awards contract for pavement replacement project
The Le Mars city council met yesterday at noon to discuss several agenda items, including the renewal of the city’s property and casualty insurance.
With the renewal, the city’s insurance bill will come out to $582,411, a 7% increase from 2024-25. The casualty premium, covering city vehicles, officers and officials, has increased by 22% to $164,396 with the addition of a cyber liability. The property premium has increased by only 2% to $418,015.
The council also awarded a contract to Steve Harris Construction for a pavement replacement project on 12th Street SE for $430,829. Funding for the project will come from a Surface Transportation Block Grant awarded to the city from the Iowa Department of Transportation. The project won’t start later than August 31st of next year, but city administrator Jason Vacura told the council that the project could start in the spring.
Other agenda items the council discussed included establishing a public hearing to rezone the Dogwood Industrial Park First Addition, changing a city policy concerning the billing of outdoor water usage to be year-round, and approving establishing a no parking zone on 2nd Street SE near the Wells North Ice Cream Plant.
The council will next meet on November 18th.
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Fire-Rescue shares reports from October
Le Mars Fire-Rescue answered 151 calls for service during the month of October, according to their monthly report.
The department responded to 109 9-1-1 calls within Le Mars and the surrounding area. 16 investigation calls were answered, 11 special operation calls were received, and 27 requests for services were made to the department. 13 all staff Fire-Rescue calls were made in total.
During October, the department hosted two open houses relating to the firehouse bond issue, hosted their annual pancake breakfast with over 500 attendees, was awarded a $10,000 Plymouth County Foundation Grant, and provided fire extinguisher training to Plymouth County Jail staff. As part of Fire Prevention Week, the department also gave 20 fire prevention talks to nearly 400 schoolchildren.
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