Mescher family honored by Senator Ernst with Small Business of the Week award
This week, U.S. Senator Joni Ernst announced the recipient of her Small Business of the Week award to be the Mescher family’s clothing businesses in Le Mars: Sugar N Spice, Mescher’s Clothing, and Lily Zita. The announcement was made in a press release on Tuesday.
In the release, Ernst cited the Meschers and their businesses being “woven into the fabric of the Plymouth County community” as the reason for the award, stating that, quote, “there is no shortage of material that makes the Meschers qualified to receive my Small Business of the Week award.” Ernst has recognized small businesses throughout the state, with the goal of highlighting businesses from all 99 counties in Iowa during the current sitting of Congress.
Jill and Chad Mescher told KLEM that they were honored to receive the award.
The group of clothing shops got their start in 2013 when Jill founded Sugar N Spice as a children’s boutique, later opening Lily Zita as a teen boutique in 2021 and launching Mescher’s Clothing with Chad for menswear and dry cleaning in 2024.
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Board of Supervisors holds regular meeting
The Plymouth County Board of Supervisors met for a regularly scheduled meeting yesterday morning, going over several agenda items.
During the meeting, the Board approved the wages paid listing for county employees during 2025. Salaried employees earned roughly $5.9 million in gross wages, with a total of 147 employees paid last year.
The Board also re-approved a plat in Elgin Township and heard from county engineer Tom Rohe on several county construction projects. The Board is scheduled to meet next on Tuesday, February 17th.
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Central Valley Ag announces “Fuel up For FFA” program
Central Valley Ag has announced the return of the “Fuel up For FFA” program during National FFA Week from February 21st-28th. During this time, CVA will donate 5 cents from every gallon of fuel purchased at CVA fuel sites with a CVA fuel card. CVA will donate the funds to support the Nebraska and Kansas FFA Foundations.
In a press release, Jeff Ingalls, senior vice president of energy at CVA, said that “FFA students represent the future of agriculture, energy, and rural leadership,” and that when customers fuel at CVA locations, “they’re directly helping provide opportunities for young people who will drive our industry forward.”
In the release, Stacey Agnew and Beth Gaines, the executive directors of the Nebraska and Kansas FFA Foundations respectively, said that they were proud and grateful to partner with CVA. Funds raised through this program help support a variety of each foundation’s initiatives, including leadership conferences, state conventions, chapter and state grants, as well as local engagement efforts.
CVA fuel cards are available to sign up for at cvacoop.com.
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Bill would require public school dress codes that emphasize good hygiene and modesty
Iowa public schools would have to adopt student dress codes that promote personal hygiene, neatness and modesty under a bill that’s cleared a House subcommittee. Republican Representative Samantha Fett of Carlisle says the bill sets minimum standards.
Representative Angel Ramirez, a Democrat from Cedar Rapids, works in a middle school. Ramirez says she’s concerned about a section of the bill requiring students to wear clothes that are clean and in good repair, as she sees a lot of kids wearing clothes that would violate that standard.
The bill calls for clear consequences for violating the dress code, which would not only apply during the school day, but during extracurricular activities. The bill would ban any gang-related attire and it says a student’s clothes must adequately cover the body. Exposing undergarments or midriffs would be prohibited.
(Story via Radio Iowa)
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