Animals

Chinese praying mantis made the trip to Le Mars (09/05/08)
When Rick Prouty looked up from cleaning his pool, he could hardly believe his eyes. Sitting on the fence in his Le Mars backyard was a 4-inch praying mantis. "I didn't even know they lived up here," he said. "I've only ever seen them on National Geographic. I've never seen one up close."...

Farm Bureau honors Conley with Service to Ag award (09/03/08)
A longtime Le Mars area veterinarian was honored with the Plymouth County Farm Bureau's "Service to Agriculture" award Tuesday evening at the organization's 90th annual meeting. Dr. John Conley and his wife, Barbara, of rural Merrill, were called to the stage by President Mark Loutsch, who explained the award is given to those in Plymouth County who have contributed much of their lives toward the helping and development of agriculture...

New building site for ECO Center could hold down costs (08/14/08)
The Plymouth County Conservation Board on Tuesday designated a new site for its proposed Education and Conservation Opportunities (ECO) Center that could help reduce project costs. Dennis Sohl, Plymouth County Conservation director, said the center will be built adjacent to the Elk Overlook Parking Area in Hillview Park...

Soybean aphids increase in Plymouth County (08/07/08)
Soybean aphid numbers have increased dramatically in northwest Iowa soybean fields, and many fields are requiring treatment. "There are several fields in the county above treatment threshold so people should be scouting their fields," ISU Extension Grain Specialist Joel DeJong said Wednesday. The treatment threshold is 250 aphids per plant...

Merrill Threshing Bee (08/04/08)

Ohlrichs shows champion market beef (07/28/08)
Denton Ohlrichs made his debut appearance as a showman at the Plymouth County Fair beef show on Friday. It was a day the 10-year-old Merrill boy will never forget. His chances for winning the grand champion market beef trophy looked good after the two steers he showed took top places in both divisions during the show. Those steers competed with the champion heifer, shown by Colton Beaulieu, Sioux City, and the champion performance beef, shown by Mitchell Hoefling, Merrill...

Loutsch's influence proves hare-raising (07/25/08)
Rabbits are notorious for multiplying. So perhaps it should be no surprise that the two white rabbits Ronald Loutsch was given as a 10-year-old started a snowball effect -- he started the Plymouth County Fair rabbit show which now boasts nearly 125 rabbits...

Ahlers anticipate upcoming Plymouth County Fair (07/22/08)
As the prize hopeful pumpkin bread bakes in the oven and the sheep are led around the farm one last time, John and Debra Ahlers' four children Jill, Rebecca, Kristen, and Daniel, are busy putting the finishing touches on livestock entries and 4-H exhibits for the upcoming Plymouth County Fair...

Livestock numbers steady in fair entries (07/21/08)
There will be a lot of hooves, paws and bird feet on the Plymouth County Fairgrounds for the 2008 fair which opens Wednesday. "Our numbers are steady and a couple of areas are up," said Carol Schneider, ISU Extension Education Director and fair board member...

Conservation camps teach children about insects (07/10/08)
First through fourth graders from all over the region migrated to Hillview Park in Hinton to take part in the Plymouth County Conservation camp this Wednesday and Thursday. The focus for the camps is learning about insects. "The purpose of these camps is to get kids outside in the summer and to give them an awareness of what's in their own backyard," said naturalist Victoria Shamblen...

Low mosquito population makes spraying cost prohibitive for city (07/10/08)
Mosquitos constantly buzzing and biting can be annoying and even concerning for residents. Le Mars officials said there aren't enough of the winged pests flying around this summer to make it cost effective to spray the city. "There is a tremendous cost and very little opportunity even if you were spraying to eradicate all the mosquitos," said Ken Nelson, Le Mars city councilman. "It would impossible for the city to spray all areas."...

Feller's hard work yields promising future (06/05/08)
This is the third story in a series looking at what plans and dreams local members of the graduating class of 2008 hope to pursue. At 6:30 in the morning, most high school graduates are only concerned with one thing -- sleep. While they study the inside of their eyelids, Brandon Feller is hitting his alarm clock and getting dressed for a full day of work on the farm. ...

On the lookout for an invasion of tree-eaters (05/21/08)
They're leaving no survivors. They're moving in on Iowa. Emerald Ash Borers, insects that kill ash trees by eating away at them under their bark, are heading this direction, according to Dr. Mark Shour, a program specialist on pest managment and the environment from Iowa State University Extension...

High-tech eye image machine way of keeping 4-H'ers honest (04/29/08)
A new retinal image machine that takes a picture of an animal's eye made identifying lambs easier as 4-H'ers prepared for this year's Plymouth County Fair. On Saturday about 46 4-H exhibitors brought their lambs to the fairgrounds to be identified, weighed and tagged...

DNR looks at extending bobcat hunting grounds (04/28/08)
Aiming to bag a big cat? Thinking of Africa? Try Woodbury County. If the Natural Resources Commission approves a new rule, area hunters and trappers could enjoy a bobcat season closer to home. "Last year was the first year there was a season for bobcats, the allowed hunters to get 150 of them in the southern two tiers of Iowa counties," explained Steve Grabel of the Iowa Department of Natural Resources. ...

New compactor will squeeze more years out of landfill (03/26/08)
It weighs more than eight large elephants. It can pulverize more than half a ton of garbage and squeeze it into the size of two suitcases. And the new garbage compactor at the Plymouth County landfill will add around 15 years of life to the dump. That's according to Mark Kunkel, the landfill manager...

Kooistra advances to state Geographic Bee (03/24/08)
A Le Mars Community Middle School student has advanced to the 2008 Iowa Geographic Bee. Seventh grader Zach Kooistra, son of Marie and Mike Kooistra, will compete at the 2008 Iowa Geographic Bee set for Friday, April 4, at Drake University in Des Moines...