Le Mars Community School Board approves final plans for new elementary school, sets public hearings
During the Le Mars Community School District Board meeting on Monday evening, the Board approved the final design and guaranteed maximum price of the district’s new elementary school, set to open in the fall of 2028.
Hausmann Construction and ISG confirmed that the guaranteed maximum price for construction is set at $66.6 million. This figure accounts for allowances such as insurance, fees, and liabilities, from the construction subtotal of $59.8 million, and means that costs have been guaranteed to not exceed that amount. Both Hausmann and ISG have worked with the Board to reduce costs over the past several months; in November, the Board approved several changes to the design that saved roughly $5 million on the project. During the meeting, the Board also formally approved the final design of the school, with work to begin on the building on Monday.
The Board also set their next meeting, Monday, April 13th at 6pm, as the date and time to hear public comments on the closure of the Clark and Franklin Elementary School buildings and their potential transfers to the city.
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Le Mars Chamber of Commerce hosting Agri-Business Luncheon Tuesday, March 17
The Le Mars Area Chamber of Commerce Agriculture Committee will host the 2026 Agri-Business Luncheon on Tuesday morning inside of the Le Mars Convention Center.
The luncheon will start with a Chamber Coffee event at 9:30am, hosted by the Plymouth County Farm Bureau. Steve Johnson, a former ISU Extension farm management specialist, will serve as the morning speaker, while national ag reporter and market analyst Michelle Rook will be the keynote speaker. The event will also include the presentation of the 2026 Service to Agriculture Award and a scholarship presentation from the Chamber Agriculture Committee.
Tickets for the luncheon are set at $25/person, and can be purchased by contacting the Chamber offices. The luncheon will take place on Tuesday, March 17th at 9:30am.
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New Iowa cancer study shows rates of diagnosis, death still rising
Iowa’s cancer rate is the second worst in the nation for three years running, and a comprehensive study released on Friday offers little optimism. The 2026 Cancer in Iowa Report predicts some 21-thousand-700 Iowans will be diagnosed with invasive cancers this year, and 64-hundred Iowans will die from cancer. Both figures are up from last year’s report.
Mary Charlton is an epidemiology professor at the University of Iowa and director of the Iowa Cancer Registry, and says she couldn’t pinpoint why Iowa’s numbers are rising.
A symposium on cancer prevention and treatment this week at Drake University featured an expert on nitrate poisoning in waterways, which has been a years-long battle in Iowa. Charlton says nitrates may be one cancer culprit.
One bright spot in the report deals with farm families. Iowa farmers in a recent study had 13-percent fewer cancers overall than expected compared to Iowa’s general population, and their spouses had ten-percent fewer.
The report found the rate of new cancers in young adults in Iowa for 2018-2022 is higher than the rate for 2008-2012, and is the second highest in the nation.
(Story via Radio Iowa)
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