Plymouth County Historical Museum to host annual Accordion Festival
The Plymouth County Historical Museum has announced details on the 22nd annual Art Pahl-Peter Boe Accordion Festival, a beloved celebration of accordion music and heritage returning to Le Mars this spring.
The festival will be held on Sunday, May 3rd at 2:00pm in the historic “Old Central” Gym at the museum. Now in its 22nd year, this cherished annual event honors the legacy of accordionists Art Pahl and Peter Boe, bringing together musicians and music lovers from across the region for an afternoon of lively performances and community celebration. Admission is by free will offering and is open to the public.
For more information, contact the museum by calling 712-546-7002.
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Le Mars man arrested in Sioux County on grooming charges
A Le Mars man was arrested last week on child exploitation and grooming charges following an undercover investigation by Sioux County authorities.
The Sioux County Sheriff’s Office took 22-year-old Jorden Lee Berkenpas into custody last Friday, April 3rd at 11:05am. According to authorities, Berkenpas had allegedly been engaging in explicit conversations with an undercover Deputy posing as a 15-year-old juvenile female. Berkenpas has been charged with sexual exploitation of a minor, a Class B felony, and grooming, a Class D felony.
Berkenpas was taken to the Sioux County Jail, but was released after posting $25,000 bond.
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Monthly Northwest Iowa Genealogical Society meeting focuses on famous families
The monthly meeting of the Northwest Iowa Genealogical Society will take place next Saturday, April 18th, with guest speaker Ray Scott to give a program concerning the Platt Armstrong and Robert McCarter families of Western Iowa.
The Society says Scott’s ongoing research recently yielded surprising details about his family’s links to Platt Armstrong, one of the founders of the Iowa town of Lake View, and Robert McCarter Jr., who helped to open a Moville bank. He even uncovered some evidence of connections to the Rockefellers. According to the Society, Platt once lived in a Le Mars home close to what is now the museum, and several of McCarter’s descendants ended up in Los Angeles, founding what became U. S. Bank.
The public is invited to attend this event, and there is no charge for admission. The meeting will take place in the 4th floor Study Hall of the Plymouth County Museum next Saturday, April 18th.
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Iowa Senate passes property tax system overhaul
A bill that would significantly change the property tax system for Iowa homeowners has cleared the Senate. Senator Dan Dawson, a Republican from Council Bluffs, calls it the first step toward a plan that can win approval in the Iowa House and be signed into law by Governor Reynolds.
The bill passed on a 41-to-four vote. All but one Democrat voted for it and Dawson says that affirms the plan is headed in the right direction.
Senator Tony Bisignano, a Democrat from Des Moines, says the bill’s not perfect, but it’s a good opener for negotiations.
The bill would cap city and county revenue growth between two and five percent, based on inflation. It would replace Iowa’s system that limits how fast the taxable value home grows with a 50 percent homestead tax exemption. That exemption would start growing for Iowans once they reach the age of 60 — and by the time a homeowner turns 100, they would pay no property tax at all.
The bill also calls for an immediate increase in the gas tax, followed by incremental gas tax increases in the future that are tied to inflation.
(Story via Radio Iowa)
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