Approval Voting

Election workers' service spans decades (11/04/09)
They arrive one hour before voting starts. They don't leave the building, not even for lunch. They stay until the last vote from their precinct is counted. Meet the Le Mars election workers that help you make sure your vote counts. Bernice Koopman started serving at the polls 40 years ago...

Poor showing at the polls during city elections (11/04/09)
Unofficial results indicate low voter turnout at the polls Tuesday with just 1,017 residents picking their favorites in 11 city elections throughout Plymouth County. According to election officials, 11,391 registered voters in the county had the opportunity to vote in Tuesday's city elections...

City elections Tuesday (11/02/09)
Polling sites will be open from noon to 8 p.m. Tuesday for city elections in all 11 Plymouth County towns. Le Mars residents, voting in the Le Mars Convention Center, will be using voting machines to cast ballots while other city voting sites will be using paper ballots...

Voters to cast ballots in city elections Tuesday (10/30/09)
All 11 Plymouth County cities will hold elections Tuesday. In Le Mars there are no contested races and incumbents are running unopposed for mayor, three city council seats and two Floyd Valley Hospital Board of Trustee seats. Mayor Dick Kirchoff is seeking a second two-year term...

Absentee ballots for Nov. 3 available (10/02/09)
Voters wishing to cast their ballot absentee for the upcoming city elections can do so now. Absentee ballots are now available at the Plymouth County Auditor's Office for the city election to be held on November 3. People can vote absentee until 11 a.m. Nov. 3...

Challengers vie for city seats in many Plymouth County towns (09/21/09)
There are races in six Plymouth County towns for city elections Nov. 3. Le Mars is not one of them, with incumbents running unopposed for mayor, three seats on the city council and two on the Floyd Valley Hospital Board of Trustees. Mayor Dick Kirchoff is seeking a second two-year term. Councilmen John Leonard (Ward 1), Ken Nelson (Ward 3) and Rex Knapp (council at-large) are seeking another four-year term...

Supervisors approve last week's school election (09/14/09)
Three more people cast votes in last week's school board election than originally reported. The Plymouth County Supervisors learned the actual number of voters was 1,219 and gave their official stamp of approval last Friday during a canvass of the election...

Bond passes, new Hinton elementary looms on horizon (09/09/09)
Hinton residents made their feelings known Tuesday when more than 60 percent voted in favor of a $5.9 million bond to build a new elementary school. Hinton School District needed a 60 percent majority to pass the measure -- it got 65 percent. Unofficially, of the 836 people voting absentee and visiting the polls Tuesday, 545 were in favor of the bond while 291 were against. These numbers will be verified Friday...

LCS, Remsen, Hinton have new school board members (09/09/09)
A total of 1,216 voters in Plymouth County school districts went to the polls Tuesday to make their choices for school board members. Le Mars Community School District will have one new member on the board. Scott Kommes received 152 votes for the District 1 seat formerly held by Leon Scott. Scott is retiring from his board seat and did not seek re-election...

School board election is Tuesday (09/04/09)
Voters in Plymouth County school districts will go to the voting booth Tuesday to elect school board members, and in the case of Hinton Community School District, decide on a $5.9 million bond issue for the construction of a new elementary school. The polls at the Hinton Community Center will open at 7 a.m. and close at 8 p.m. due to the bond issue on the ballot and the number of voters going to one voting location...

Hinton school approves land purchase agreement (09/01/09)
Hinton School Board members Monday voted unanimously to accept an offer from Kevin and Annette Held to purchase 24 acres to build a new elementary school. That decision means the district will pay $580,000 for the property, which includes 8 acres adjacent to the school building and 16 acres to the west...

Voters to decide on school board seats, Hinton bond issue (08/04/09)
September's school board elections will include a bond issue for Hinton, a few races for seats around Plymouth County and a few empty spots as well. In Hinton, voters will decide whether to approve a bond issue to help pay for a school addition on their September 8 ballots...

Few candidates with school board deadline nearing (07/24/09)
Candidates for school board seats open at area school districts have until 5 p.m. Thursday, July 30 to file nomination papers with board secretaries. As of Thursday, only two candidates had filed papers for the 14 seats open in Plymouth County school districts...

Arbitrator will decide fate of LCS teacher contract negotiations (04/24/09)

State funding uncertainties plague LCS budget process (03/06/09)
Even as the City of Le Mars council members and Plymouth County Supervisors certify their budgets, the Le Mars Community School officials, along with districts across the state of Iowa, are faced with the task of preparing a budget for April 15 certification when they don't know how much money they have to work with...

Eliminating electoral college could impact Le Mars (03/03/09)
Before he was president, Barack Obama shook Le Mars residents' hands. He answered their questions. He stopped at the fairgrounds and spoke in the Plymouth County Historical Museum. Not only that, locals had face time with other major players in the 2008 presidential race. Hillary Clinton. John McCain. Joe Biden...

New S.D. law keeps door open for Greater Hoyt (02/27/09)
A bill currently making its way through the South Dakota Legislature will assure that students from the Greater Hoyt and Greater Scott School Districts in South Dakota will be able to attend school across the state's border in Iowa at Akron-Westfield and West Sioux Community Schools respectively...

ISL will not go to third vote for LCS (02/10/09)
There will not be a vote in the Le Mars Community School District on the Instructional Support Levy (ISL). The Le Mars Community School Board of Education unanimously approved a motion to accept Superintendent Dr. Todd Wendt's recommendations and abandon the election process on the ISL...

Supervisors approve numbers for Hinton school election (12/10/08)
After the official count was confirmed, there were no changes in numbers for the Hinton Community School Districts Dec. 2 special election. The Plymouth County Supervisors Tuesday canvassed or approved the election, which brought 191 voters to the polls...

Le Mars pets will soon need to be collared with a new license (12/03/08)
Boxer, Bright-Eyes, Rover and Lily best be ready. Come Jan., 1 Le Mars dogs and cats over 6 months old will need a license and a metal identification tag. Le Mars City Council members gave a new city pet ordinance its final approval Tuesday with a 4-1 vote...

Election canvass gives complete picture of ballots cast (11/13/08)
The canvass of the Nov. 4 general election showed 52 more voters cast their ballots than initial numbers indicated. That is a total of 12,557 people or 71 percent of the total 17,544 registered voters in Plymouth County. These results were made official when the Plymouth County Supervisors conducted a canvass of the election Tuesday...

Speedy ballot count? Result of paper voting machines (11/07/08)
After the polls closed Tuesday, ballot results were at the Plymouth County Courthouse in record time. "All results were in with a half-hour of closing the polls," said Cherie Nitzschke, deputy auditor. "That's never happened before." At least since she came in 2003...

Rush of young voters? Not so much (11/06/08)
It was all the rumble -- young voters were going to rock the 2008 general election. Turns out it was more of a nudge. According to national exit polls, about 18 percent of the voters Tuesday were under the age of 30. That's up only 1 percent from the 2004, 2000 and 1996 general elections, where 18-29 year olds made up about 17 percent...

Pet licensing ordinance gets first round approval (11/05/08)
The reality of licenses for Le Mars dogs and cats moved a step closer Tuesday as members of the Le Mars City Council, voted 4-1, to give first reading approval for a pet licensing ordinance. Councilman Rex Knapp, who voted against the ordinance, emphasized that his action was not that he was against either dogs or cats but was based on his belief that responsibility for proper control of pets belongs to owners themselves...

Supervisor incumbent Henrich beats out Koopman by wide margin (11/05/08)
In Plymouth County, Republican Jim Henrich will pick up the reins as county supervisor in District 5 for another term with 6,863 votes compared to his opponent's 4,647. "I'm kind of excited," said Henrich, from his home in Akron Tuesday night. District 5 includes the area north of Merrill and west of Le Mars reaching into a total of six townships...

General election absentee ballots available (09/25/08)
Absentee ballots for the Nov. 4 general election are available to voters as of today (Thursday), according to officials at the Plymouth County Auditor's Office. A request form is required to receive an absentee ballot, whether in the Auditor's office or by mail. Request forms are available in the Auditor's Office or may be found online at www.co.plymouth.ia.us/Departments/audito... and clicking on the Absentee Ballot link...

School board waits on decision about future levy (09/23/08)
The Le Mars Community School board won't decide whether or not to make another try at starting the Instructional Support Levy (ISL) until November. Monday night's board of education meeting was the first opportunity for board members to discuss together the outcome of the Sept. 9 ISL vote...

Voters turn down ISL for Le Mars schools (09/10/08)
Le Mars Community School District voters said "no" to starting an Instructional Support Levy by 49 votes in Tuesday's election. District residents cast 1,880 "yes" votes (49 percent) for the adoption of the funding source for the district's general fund budget, with 1,929 "no" votes (51 percent) cast. The decision needed a simple majority to pass...

Voters narrowly turn down ISL (09/10/08)
With nearly half the Le Mars Community Schools district turning out to vote Tuesday, the Instructional Support Levy (ISL) was defeated by a narrow margin. Only 49 votes were between the "no" vote, which won, and the "yes" vote for the ISL, which would have brought in money for teachers, programs, textbooks and transportation fuel at LCS. The ISL program would have raised money through a combination of state aid, property tax and income tax...

Do your duty - vote (09/08/08)
It's the end of a era. With the passage of a new law by the Iowa Legislature, terms of school board members will grow to four years. Each school district in the state has submitted plans with the Iowa Secretary of State as to how they will phase in these new terms...

Hubler issues challenge to King in congress race (09/05/08)
"If you like what you've had for the last six years, vote for Steve King. But if you want change, vote for Ron Hubler." This is the challenge Hubler, democratic candidate for the 5th U.S. Congressional District of Iowa, announced during a short stop in Le Mars Wednesday...

School election absentee ballots still available (09/02/08)
School board elections for Plymouth County school districts will be Tuesday, Sept. 9. In the Le Mars Community School District, polling places will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. where voters will cast their ballots for two director seats, and give a "yes" or "no" vote on the Instructional Support Levy request...

Questions answered on school levy issue (08/29/08)
Two public information meetings brought approximately 75 Le Mars Community School District residents out to learn about the Instructional Support Levy (ISL) Wednesday and Thursday evenings. A vote on whether to implement the levy will be held on Sept. 9, the same day as school board elections...

Supervisors approve buying trailer for voting machines (08/20/08)
Election workers will have the help of a cargo trailer to haul voting machines to the polls in September. The Plymouth County Supervisors approved purchasing the single-axle enclosed cargo trailer with a ramp for $3,000 Tuesday. The handicap-accessible voting machines weigh 89 pounds, which K. Kae Meyer, Plymouth County auditor, said she can't lift nor does she expect her staff too...

Merrill council urges 'Yes' vote for ISL (08/20/08)
The Merrill City Council is officially encouraging people to vote in favor of the Instructional Support Levy (ISL) which would raise money for the Le Mars Community School District. During its Monday meeting, the council passed a resolution stating its council "encourages all those eligible to vote YES" to the ISL...

School election absentee ballots available (08/18/08)

Trailer could make poll workers' job easier (08/13/08)
An enclosed cargo trailer could help election workers transport voting machines to the polls. The Plymouth County Supervisors looked at purchasing a $3,000 trailer on Tuesday, but tabled the discussion until their meeting next week. Auditor K. Kae Meyer said the cost of the trailer could be taken from her her department's budget...

LCS board puts ISL issue to voters (07/28/08)
Le Mars Community School District residents will cast their vote on Sept. 9 on whether the district will participate in the Instructional Support Levy. The school board met at noon Friday to hold a public hearing on the resolution to participate. After hearing from two members of the public, the board unanimously passed the resolution and set the date for the vote...

LCS board tries again for instructional support levy (06/10/08)
The Le Mars Community School Board of Education unanimously approved a resolution to participate in the Instructional Support Program for a five-year period beginning with the 2009-2010 school year. This is the board's second attempt to implement the instructional support levy (ISL). A petition by district patrons put the same issue to a vote in March, when it was defeated...

Six county residents on the ballot June 3 (05/30/08)
Voters will go to the polls for the primary election Tuesday, June 3, to pick candidates from their party to face off in the November general election. Six Plymouth County residents are running for county offices. On the Republican side, Mark Loutsch and incumbent John Schneider are competing for the District 2 seat on the county board of supervisors. ...

LCS board looks at new ISL request (05/12/08)
A timeline prepared by Le Mars Community Schools Superintendent Dr. Todd Wendt indicates the board of education may soon begin the process to implement an Instructional Support Levy for the district. The Instructional Support Levy combines state funds, property tax and income surtax as a funding source for school districts. Le Mars Community School District voters defeated the ISL request in March...

Absentee ballots for June 3 primary available (04/25/08)
Plymouth County voters who don't plan to be at the polls on June 3 for the primary election can apply now to get their absentee ballots. A registered voter may vote absentee in the auditor's office in the courthouse 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. The auditor's office will also be open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, May 24 and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, May 31...

LCS board sets two special meetings on budget reductions (03/25/08)
The Le Mars Community School Board Monday night set two special meetings to deal with budget reductions following the "no" vote on the Instructional Support Levy by district voters on March 18. The board must cut $272,298 from the proposed 2008-09 budget. That was the amount budgeted with the intent of the ISL being approved...

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