Remsen Chamber of Commerce announces award-winners at annual meeting
The Remsen Chamber of Commerce held their annual meeting on Monday, and during the meeting, the Chamber announced the winners of their “Business of the Year” and “Employee of the Year” awards. Happy Siesta Health Care Center won “Business of the Year”, and Jennifer Kuiken of Happy Siesta won “Employee of the Year”.
The meeting itself was held at the Golden Pheasant in Remsen. During the meeting, a brief overview of Chamber events during 2025 was given, as well as updates from the Remsen Economic Development and Remsen Growth Coalition Boards. Dinner was served during the meeting, with meals including chicken and ribs, mashed potatoes and gravy, green beans, salads, and cheesecake.
Congratulations to Happy Siesta Health Care Center and Jennifer Kuiken for winning the awards!
++++++++++
Le Mars Pizza Hut closes for good
The Pizza Hut location in Le Mars announced yesterday afternoon that they’ve permanently closed their doors.
A post on their Facebook page simply says “Sorry! We’re Permanently Closed,” alongside a link to find other restaurants in the area. Calling the store’s phone number results in a similar pre-recorded message. No reason for the closure has been shared as of Wednesday afternoon.
The closest Pizza Hut locations to Le Mars are now in Sioux Center, Cherokee, and Sioux City. KLEM will continue to update this story if more information becomes available.
++++++++++
Plymouth County Sheriff’s Office presents quarterly report
During Tuesday’s Plymouth County Board of Supervisors meeting, Sheriff Jeff TeBrink presented quarterly reports to the Board from October through December of last year.
The Treasurer’s Report found that the Sheriff’s Office was down roughly $2,300 from the previous quarter, with TeBrink citing a reduction in service fees as the main reason. 1,593 911 calls and 1,807 complaints were made to the Sheriff’s Office, and 609 ambulance calls and 161 fire calls were made throughout Plymouth County during the quarter. TeBrink told the Board these figures were close to average for the time of year.
The Plymouth County Jail booked 262 inmates and released 258 inmates; the US Marshals housed 27 federal inmates and the Bureau of Prisons housed just 1 inmate at the Jail from October through December. The Jail was down by nearly $43,000 during the quarter; TeBrink says the reduction in inmates from the US Marshals accounted for about $40,000 of the loss.
++++++++++
Pipeline bill clears Iowa House subcommittee
A bill that would ban the use of eminent domain for pipelines carrying carbon dioxide has cleared an Iowa House subcommittee. The bill is similar to a South Dakota law and would not allow Summit Carbon Solutions to use the government’s eminent domain authority to seize land along the pipeline route.
Mike Henning owns Greene County farmland along the Raccoon River.
The Iowa Corn Growers Association is on the record opposing the bill and says by capturing carbon from Iowa ethanol plants, that ethanol can be sold in markets that require zero-carbon fuels. Jake Ketzner, a lobbyist for Summit, says the bill would kill the company’s project.
That’s a description of the bill Senate Republican Leader Mike Klimesh says would be a way to end the years’ long debate over the pipeline. Representative Steven Holt, a Republican from Denison, says that Senate bill will not protect all landowners.
Holt says that’s why a complete ban on the use of eminent domain for carbon pipeline is advancing in the House.
(Story via Radio Iowa)
++++++++++
