Feature film with local roots to premiere next week
Two area screenings are planned for the release of a feature film with local roots. Travis Barrett, who grew up in Le Mars, says his new movie “Pastoral” is a love letter to the community.
The film will be shown at the Holland Theatre in Orange City on Friday, February 27th and at the Royal Theatre in Le Mars on Monday, March 2nd at 7pm. The project features actors from the Le Mars Community Theatre including Jeff Neary, Renea Buss, and Angela Riedeman; along with crew members Jonathon and Micah Foster.
Barrett says a portion of the movie was filmed in a church in Hospers.
Barrett says the film is about a pastor who is struggling to connect with his new congregation.
Barrett was a guest on KLEM’s What Now Show.
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City council approves organizations to receive hotel/motel tax funding
The Le Mars city council met yesterday afternoon for a regularly scheduled meeting, and during the meeting, the council formally approved the list of applicants to receive project funding from the city’s hotel/motel sales tax. The council received the list of recommended organizations from the Hotel/Motel Sales Tax Grant Committee during their February 3rd meeting. The committee received 11 grant applications for fiscal year 2027, recommending 9 organizations and projects to receive a total of $40,000 in funding.
The list includes the Le Mars YMCA’s “Fun Runs/5K & Kid’s Dash,” the Plymouth County Historical Museum’s “Festival of Trees,” Junior Golf of NW Iowa’s “National College Invitational 2026,” the Plymouth County 4H & Agricultural Society’s “Front Gate Project,” the Le Mars Little League’s “John Britton Memorial Youth Baseball Tournament,” the Plymouth County Cyclists’ “Tour de Plymouth 2027,” the Le Mars Arts Council’s “American Watercolor Society & Makers Market 2027,” the Le Mars Police Department’s “USPCA Patrol Dog Trials,” and Engage Le Mars’ “Olson Concert Bash.”
The council also approved the rezoning of 927 6th Avenue SW and set a public hearing concerning changes to building, construction, and fire regulations and code for the council’s next meeting on March 3rd.
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New Fire-Rescue members take oaths of office
Prior to Tuesday’s city council meeting, two new members of the Le Mars Fire-Rescue Department were sworn in as full members of the department. Bryan Worthey and T.J. Whitcomb took their oaths of office from mayor pro-tem Steve Wick.
Worthey, from Waupaca, Wisconsin, was originally a paid on call member from April 2022 until August 2023. Worthey returned to the department after spending time as a firefighter at Volk Field Air National Guard Base in Wisconsin. Whitcomb, from El Cajon, California, had been a paid on call member since October 2024, and both him and Worthey are expected to finish paramedic school by the end of the year.
Congratulations to both Bryan Worthey and T.J. Whitcomb!
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