Olde Fashioned Christmas returns to Remsen this winter
Old-fashioned Christmas fun is returning to Remsen this winter, with Remsen’s Olde Fashioned Christmas celebration kicking off on Monday, December 1st.
The annual event has taken place since 2003, when the town of Remsen revived an old Christmastime tradition, according to Tammy Portz, a committee member for Olde Fashioned Christmas.
The schedule of events features the lighting of the 30 foot tall Christmas tree, the “Blessing of the Season” around the tree by local clergymen, and the arrival of Santa on a city fire truck. Train rides and horse drawn wagon rides will be available, along with most downtown stores hosting events of their own. Portz says the festival is a great way for the community to come together.
Remsen’s Olde Fashioned Christmas takes place on Monday, December 1st, starting at 5:30pm in downtown Remsen. More information on the schedule of events will be available on the Olde Fashioned Christmas Facebook page.
++++++++++
Republican candidates for governor to debate in Le Mars
The Plymouth County GOP will host a gubernatorial primary debate tomorrow night at the Willow Creek Golf Course in Le Mars.
Three candidates are set to participate: Adam Steen, a former director of the Iowa Department of Administrative Services, Brad Sherman, a former state representative from the 91st district, and Representative Eddie Andrews, who currently represents the 43rd district in the Iowa House of Representatives. As of Friday afternoon, current U.S. representative Randy Feenstra and fellow candidate Zach Lahn will not attend the debate.
Attendees must pre-register online for $25 to reserve a seat. Doors open at the Willow Creek Golf Course at 6pm Tuesday, with Jacob Hall of the Iowa Standard giving opening remarks at 6:50pm. Closing remarks will be given by state senator Kevin Alons.
For more information on the debate, call 712-395-2100 or visit the Plymouth County GOP’s Facebook page. A link to purchase seats for the debate is available here.
++++++++++
Iowa’s 6 food banks met fundraising goal, get $1 million in state funds
Iowa’s six regional food banks have received enough donations this month to trigger the one million dollars in state funding Governor Reynolds pledged to match those private contributions. The state’s largest food bank serves 55 counties and will get about 475-thousand dollars from the state. Food Bank of Iowa spokeswoman Annette Hacker says to put that in perspective, the organization spent well over half a million dollars just this week buying food.
Hacker says the managers of some of the food pantries served by the Des Moines-based Food Bank of Iowa estimate the number of people coming through their doors has doubled and in some cases tripled so far this month.
Valerie Petersen, associate director of the Food Bank of Siouxland in northwest Iowa, says part of the spike in food demand is coming from older Iowans.
When SNAP benefits expired, the Food Bank of Siouxland in northwest Iowa saw their pantry visits almost double — but at the same time Petersen says she saw more volunteers come in to help, companies hosted more food drives, and people increased their donations.
Food banks are able to buy food in bulk at cheaper prices.
(Story via Radio Iowa)
++++++++++
