Ice Cream Days: Friday to feature carnival, live music, and more
Day two of the Ice Cream Capitol of the World’s signature summer celebration took place yesterday, featuring theater and music productions, an outdoor movie, and more. Hometown Le Mars Heritage Foundation executive director Kristen Heimgartner gave a recap of Thursday’s events to KLEM.
Heimgartner also gave a preview of today’s events, with the debut of the carnival and a live musical performance at the Olson Cultural Events Center set to be the highlights of the day.
The carnival will open to the public starting at 3pm today with rides and games for all ages from gentle spins to thrilling adventures. Two new events for this year are the 65-foot-long Waffle Cone Warrior Course in the KC Hall Parking Lot and rock painting, in addition to pony rides, caricatures, the Ice Cream Train, and more. Alongside the carnival, the Le Mars Arts Center will host Surreal Sundaes, which will give young artists the chance to design dreamlike ice cream art inspired by Surrealism and Salvador Dalí with custom stamps and watercolor markers.
To end the day, Friday’s Ice Cream Bash Concert will feature country rock musician Tyler Anthony performing on the Olson Cultural Events Center stage from 7-10pm. The Schmidt Brothers will be the Ice Cream Bash entertainment Saturday Evening.
At 2pm today, the Jonathan May Family Magic Show is coming to Ice Cream Days at the Headline Event Space. Jonathan May is one of the Midwest’s busiest and most beloved entertainers, performing over 300 shows a year, with a high-energy show blending mind-blowing magic, hilarious comedy, and tons of audience participation, making it perfect for all ages.
For more information on today’s events, or for the full event schedule, visit icecreamdays.com.
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Bixenman to participate in Iowa Mayor’s Design Workshop
Iowa State University has announced that Le Mars mayor Rob Bixenman will be one of a handful of mayors across the state participating in the 2026 Iowa Mayor’s Design Workshop taking place next week.
Now in its third year, the Workshop brings together mayors from across Iowa with Iowa State faculty, extension specialists and design professionals to examine complex community challenges. Since the program’s launch in 2024, it has grown into an ongoing collaboration between communities and the university, linking local priorities with design, planning, engineering and economic development expertise.
During the Workshop, each participating mayor presents a local challenge and receives direct feedback from peers and a multidisciplinary resource team. Building on the local case studies presented during the Workshop, some community challenges are carried into Iowa State design studio courses and engineering capstone projects, where students develop detailed planning and design proposals under faculty guidance.
Participating alongside Bixenman this year will be Sioux Center mayor Dale Vander Berg, Cherokee mayor Tony Puffett, Denison mayor Dustin Logan, Shenandoah mayor Roger McQueen, and Creston mayor Doug Daggett. The Workshop will take place on Iowa State’s campus in Ames next Tuesday, June 23rd through Thursday, June 25th.
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Board of Education approves rules to allow eighth graders to play all high school sports
The Iowa Board of Education approved emergency rules Thursday for the new law that allows eighth graders to play in any high school sport. The Board’s attorney Thomas Mayes says the rules create the power to allow eighth graders to play, but the decision is still up to the schools.
Mayes says the emergency rule takes effect on August 1st, and it also prevents students from playing on a junior high and high school team at the same time. He says the rules require the annual physical required for all athletes to consider the nature of the sport and the student’s health and development.
Current rules require athletes in 9th through 12th grade to take at least four courses and pass all of them. Mayes says that will not apply to eighth graders, with that currently being the standard for eight graders who are allowed to play summer baseball and softball. The Board also approved a change to transfer rules requiring athletes to sit out 140 calendar days instead of the current 90 school days.
The Board of Ed will hold a public hearing on the emergency rules on August 11th, and will then vote on permanent rules at its meeting in September.
(Story via Radio Iowa)
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