Crude Oil And Natural Gas Product Markets

Dean Foods: Few changes in contract other than wages (03/19/10)
After a 15-month wage freeze, Dean Foods employees are headed for a raise. This week, the employee committee from the Le Mars plant and distribution voted yes to a new contract with the dairy company that includes at least a 2.5 percent raise each year for the next three years...

NCCC restores grasslands in Plymouth County (03/15/10)
A team of 11 AmeriCorps NCCC (National Civilian Community Corps) members are serving with the Plymouth County Conservation Board and the Nature Conservancy this month. From March 7 to April 23, the group will work to help restore and preserve 15 acres of Five Ridge Prairie, Broken Kettle Grasslands, and Hillview Recreation Area...

Stelzer leads charge to gather donations for Haiti orphanage (03/11/10)
The congregation of St. John's Lutheran Church in Le Mars and member Kathy Stelzer are hoping they can make a difference for an orphanage in Haiti destroyed by the January earthquake. "After the earthquake, I wanted to find an orphanage in Haiti that needed some help," said Stelzer...

Merrill industry is model for Iowa's future, Judge says (03/09/10)
If Iowa is going to recover from the recession that has plagued the nation, recovery is going to come from the ground up. That's what Lt. Gov. Patty Judge said Monday during a visit to the Plymouth Oil, a food-grade corn oil plant just north of Merrill...

From field to table: Plymouth Oil begins production (02/22/10)
The food-grade corn oil plant just north of Merrill is making liquid gold. After weather and financial delays, the $30 million Plymouth Oil plant is completely constructed and pumping out gallons of crude corn oil, according to Dave Hoffman, chairman of the Plymouth Oil Company board...

Branstad says it's time to clean house, Iowa (02/19/10)
Former Gov. Terry Branstad is OK with ice cream for breakfast, but he's not OK with Iowa's government the way it is now. That's what he told the crowd at the Blue Bunny Ice Cream Parlor in Le Mars Thursday morning on a campaign stop for the 2010 governor's race...

Local bright stars catch Food Network's eye (02/10/10)
It was lights, camera, action at the Le Mars Dairy Queen Tuesday. The Food Network was in town tracing the story of StarKiss Bars, a frozen treat at Dairy Queen. "The Food Network approached us and said they wanted to come to Le Mars to shoot a show on how StarKiss Bars are made," said Dean A. Peters, director of communications for the American Dairy Queen Corporation...

Job training program revision, could limit local businesses (01/28/10)
One-half million dollars for Plymouth County business could be at stake as the State of Iowa discusses adjustments in funding to the Iowa Industrial New Jobs Training Program. Plymouth County businesses that received job training funding in 2009 were Plymouth Energy - $250,612, Plymouth Oil - $153,000, Wells Dairy - $25,000 and Bodeans Baking Company - $63,403...

Students to hold book sale for Haiti (01/22/10)
A group of eighth graders is working together to make a difference for earthquake victims in Haiti. The Le Mars Community Schools students in Tina Gray's last-period study hall are planning a used book and movie sale Tuesday. "It's to raise money for the people in Haiti and the Red Cross," explained eighth grader Margarita Waldman...

Haitian visits change Le Mars woman's outlook (01/18/10)
Plymouth County is more than 2,000 miles from the epicenter of the 7.0 magnitude earthquake that devastated Haiti Jan. 12. But the aftershocks have traveled that distance to the hearts of people like Linda Kleven, of Le Mars. "When I heard this, my first reaction was that I have to go back," she said...

Extension staff settling in at new offices (01/05/10)
Freezing rain and snow didn't stop the Plymouth County Iowa State University (ISU) Extension Office staff from moving to its new office at the Le Mars Convention Center lower level just before Christmas. "We were ready to go," said Ann Schoenrock, 4-H County Youth Coordinator last Wednesday as she gave a quick tour of the new office space. It is in what was formerly known as the Vanilla and Chocolate Rooms, previously occupied by Wells' Dairy Inc...

Rewind 2009: The worst of times and the best of times (12/31/09)

Snow emergency?: Powder Players: Thinking outside the car (12/16/09)
A Plymouth County snowmobile club is teaming up with the local authorities, offering help in case of extreme weather. When a sheriff's vehicle can't get to a stranded motorists, the Powder Players might be able to, explained D.J. Kellen, the club's president...

Local grocery stores feed the hungry (11/17/09)
Local grocery stores are working to bring food to the tables of those who can't afford to buy it. At the Le Mars Wal-Mart, twice a week, a truck from the Food Bank of Siouxland pulls up to the back of the store. When it drives away, it's loaded with about 15 boxes of food to distribute to regional agencies helping people in need...

U.S. wildlife leaders worry about future during Akron summit (11/16/09)
Leaders from national wildlife groups shared concerns about the future of clean water and conservation in the United States during a summit near Akron this past weekend. "This is a place where agricultural producers, conservationists and water quality advocates come together for a common program," Jim Martin said of the gathering...

Couple plans to build semi trailers at former grain site (11/10/09)
A Le Mars couple will be transforming a former grain mill site west of Le Mars into a manufacturing business for semi trailers. Clint and Leslie Chapman, now owners of the 3.59-acre property about 2 miles west of Le Mars on Highway 3, received approval Monday from the Plymouth County Board of Adjustment for a conditional use permit to manufacture live-bottom trailers at the site...

China to lift ban, pork industry sighs in relief (11/02/09)
Last week officials from China announced plans to lift a six-month ban on pork imports from the United States -- news that could be a shot in the arm for a suffering pork industry. The ban has yet to be lifted, but National Pork Board president Tim Bierman, of Larrabee, Iowa, has no doubt this will have a widespread positive impact on the pork industry...

Faber's hobby wine earns high rank (10/28/09)
A Le Mars man's wine, made from grapes grown in his backyard and fermented in his basement, was picked champion in its class last weekend. Wayne Faber entered his dry red wine in the Schleswig Wine and Bier Contest last weekend, an annual event for Schleswig, 45 miles south of Cherokee...

Locally-made cottage cheese sweeps national competition (10/22/09)
Cottage cheese manufactured at Dean Foods in Le Mars rose to the top in the 2009 U.S. Championship Cheese Contest. In fact, the three entries from Le Mars, labeled under the Old Home Foods name, took first, second and third in their category, in a field of 11 entries from competitors like Kraft Foods and Westby Co-op Creamery...

Boosting employee morale when dollars aren't there (09/25/09)
In the past year, more than 70 percent of employers laid off employees or restructured their organization. About 60 percent of employees say they're not getting bonuses this year. And about 50 percent of workers saw negative effects from pay and benefit changes...

Former teacher turned author returns to Hinton (09/21/09)
Jane Kauzlarich wrote her book "Quack," then she published it and began selling it and now she's written a song about it. Kauzlarich, a retired Hinton Community School teacher, will be reading "Quack" and singing with pre-kindergarten through fifth graders Wednesday at the school...

Pheasants' habitat dwindles by millions of acres each year (09/18/09)
Hunters may face a challenge this season -- the pheasant population is on a downward spiral in Plymouth County and throughout Iowa. Last year Iowa had 100,000 hunters and 383,000 birds, which is four birds per person in the field. Other years there have been 1.5 million pheasants, said John Linquist, Pheasants Forever regional representative. "From the early 2000s to now there has been a steady decline because of weather and habitat," Linquist said. The cold, damp spring this year affected pheasants' nesting habits, said Mike Slota, Pheasants Forever chairman for Plymouth County youth programs. "The weather has to be somewhat warm to produce the insects for the chicks when they're hatched," Slota said. "The hens can't keep the chicks adequately warm and they just die from exposure." The loss of habitat also affects pheasants' nesting because hens have less area to hide from predators, Slota said. Pheasant habitats, which usually require 5 to 10 acres, are areas with a mixture of tall and short grasses and flowering plants that attract insects, Slota said. A major reason that habitat is dwindling is that millions of Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) acres are going away each year, Linquist said. Last year alone 1.1 million CRP acres expired, according to www.pheasantsforever.org. With the price of grain, farmers are finding they can make more money planting their land than putting it into CRP acres, Slota said. "With this economy you can't blame any farmer for squeezing every dollar out of the ground they can," Slota said. "Their job is to produce grain and make money off the ground. We understand that." Farmers began enrolling their qualified land into CRPs to be planted into habitats 10 to 15 years ago and receiving federal compensation, Linquist said. "A lot of people's acres are expiring and there are no new signups," he said. Another 3.8 million CRP acres will expire this fall and 4.4 million acres next September for a total of 21 million acres gone from the program by the end of 2012 without a new signup. The USDA does not have a signup scheduled, according to the Pheasants Forever website. "It's hard to maintain a bird population when we're constantly taking conservation acres out of play," Linquist said. Pheasants Forever hopes to turn that around with its program, Reload Iowa. The intent of Reload Iowa is to establish 1 million acres of new habitat on Iowa landscape. That means $11.5 million will need to be raised and 50 employees hired to go door-to-door to work with landowners to create the habitat, Linquist said. "That program is going to have to pay enough money out to entice the farmer to want to do this," Slota said. "The farmer has to look at the bottom line." There are also national programs like Conservation Practice 38 or State Acres For wildlife Enhancement (SAFE) working to help conserve and create new habitat. SAFE started last year with 200,000 CRP acres that were divided among states. "We had 27,700 acres," Linquist said. "All of those acres have been used up and all within a year." The loss of habitat and dwindling pheasant population in Plymouth County and throughout the state has a trickle-down effect on economy and recreation, Linquist said. "When the population of the birds down so does the population of the hunters," he said. That means less dollars spent shopping, eating and staying locally by nonresident hunters. Fewer hunters also leads to a loss of revenue on licenses, which means less money to help support county and state parks, Linquist said. "That's what buys the land and sees to the upkeep," he said. "We're hurting ourselves by people not going out and hunting." A declining pheasant and hunter population is also detrimental for the next generation of would-be hunters, but Slota's optimistic Reload Iowa and similar programs will turn the numbers around. "I hope we start seeing an increase in the next couple of years," Slota said. "I would love to see it start going back the other way and hopefully we are doing the right things to make it start going the other way."

Wells' Dairy helps region rank high in food processing (09/14/09)
Plymouth County's largest employer helped push the Sioux City metro region to the top of the list for food processing industry growth in a New Jersey magazine. Sioux City, along with the surrounding area, was picked as the Top Metro for Food Processing Industry Growth in the August issue of "Business Facilities." It is, the magazine said, the leading growth center for food processing, food products and agribusiness...

Judge emphasizes design, gain in swine winners (08/03/09)
The term "design" came into play frequently Saturday as exhibitors in the Fair's Swine Show maneuvered their entries before Show Judge Dr. Tom Baas, Ph.D. Baas, a professor in the Department of Animal Science, Iowa State University, explained that while the design of a pig "has always been very important" the design of the pig -- its structure and "how it's put together" -- is receiving added emphasis today in light of modern-day options for pork production...

Journey to Japan gives Remsen natives chance to teach (07/31/09)
At age 15, Jenny made a journey to Japan to study as a foreign exchange student. On August 10, Jenny, a Remsen native, will be making a second trip to Japan, and this time with her husband Lars Robins to teach English. During Jenny's first visit to Japan, she lived in a rural area on a small island, this time she and Lars will be in Tokyo...

Small portions, big tastes at fair's cooking school (07/29/09)
Ready to try something new in your kitchen and maybe win a prize? Then come out to the cooking school at the Plymouth County Fair at 7 p.m. Friday presented by Wells' Dairy, Inc. culinologist John Kennedy II. What is a culinologist? "It's part chef, part food science," explained Kennedy, admitting he has "one of the coolest jobs in the world."...

2009 fair truck recognizes fair board and swine show (07/27/09)
The 10th annual edition of the Plymouth County Fair collectible truck recognizes the swine show judging and members of the Plymouth County Fair board. The series of trucks is designed to recognize activities and scenes that make up the Plymouth County Fair...

Big Sioux River Cleanup scheduled for this weekend (07/14/09)
The Plymouth County conservation department will be holding the Third Annual Big Sioux River Cleanup July 18. The cleanup will start at the Big Sioux River Park north of Akron. Volunteers will then float, in canoes, down the river and end at a spot near Akron...

Clerk of courts works to meet public needs after flood (07/07/09)
Despite appearances, the Plymouth County Clerk of Courts is open to the public for business pretty much as usual. After rain water poured through the ceiling and flooded the large office on the third floor of the courthouse mid-June, every file and computer had to be moved out...

Farmers' market to open soon (06/15/09)
Ready for fresh fruits and veggies, jellies, salsas and baked goods? The Le Mars Farmers' Market will begin Wednesday, June 24. Market times are 3-6 p.m. every Wednesday and 8 a.m. to noon every Saturday. The market is held at the Olson Cultural Event Center at the intersection of First Avenue and First Street northeast...

Dean Foods ramping up for more volume (06/04/09)
A local dairy plant is adding employees to handle increased production volume. Plant manager Joe Leedom said during a Le Mars City Council meeting he anticipates 15-25 new employees will be hired. "Dean Foods has determined to transfer volume to our plant," Leedom said later. "It's a good-sized addition."...

Chamber hopes to reach all ages with celebration (06/04/09)
Are you ready for some wholesome family fun? Then the first annual Akron Summer Kickoff Saturday in Akron City Park is the place to be. The celebration, which begins at 9 a.m., will have activities for kids, adults, senior citizens and teenagers. "We kind of wanted to reach all ages and all areas," said Lori Rexwinkel, a member of the Akron Chamber of Commerce, which organized the celebration...

Oyens to celebrate centennial this weekend (06/03/09)
Oyens will kick off a weekend full of activities Friday to celebrate its 100th anniversary. The fun begins at 5:30 p.m. with the Tri-State Car Cruisers Show. The Pork Producers will also be grilling pork burgers and brats that night, while Oyens Fire Department will be in charge of the beer garden...

A Hinton vintage: Couple opens winery (06/02/09)
The bundle of 400 grape vines that arrived at Barry and Brenda Dittmer's door nearly six years ago have come to fruit. This weekend, the rural Hinton couple opened the doors to Tucker Hill Winery, complete with seven varieties of wine. Around 300 people visited the winery and vineyard during the weekend grand opening to taste the fruit of the Dittmer's labor...

Man charged with assaulting woman with putty knife (05/11/09)
A Kingsley man was arrested Friday morning at the Wells' Dairy North Ice Cream Plant in Le Mars after he allegedly assaulted a female employee by placing a putty knife against her throat, according to the Le Mars Police. Jeston Abon, 38, also an employee at the plant, was arrested at about 7:39 a.m. after allegedly assaulting both that female and a male employee who came to the aid of the female, according to the police report...

The grass is greener... Are you brutalizing your lawn? Here's how not to (05/05/09)
Lawn care with the best intention can still leave a yard looking abused. That's according to lawn experts Nicholas Peters and Al Vonnahme, of Le Mars. Both own lawn care and landscaping businesses. To grow a green, lush-looking lawn means getting to know your grass, Peters explained...

Remsen habitat creation could spark statewide projects (04/29/09)
This spring, the first native grass seeds will take root in about 70 acres of land around the Remsen wells. Cropland on those acres was replaced with native habitat to help keep the water source below the surface purer. Now state officials are watching the success of this water quality improvement project in hopes that it will be the seed project for others across Iowa...

Dean Foods closes Lincoln plant, plans to relocate production (04/16/09)
A Dean Foods dairy plant in Lincoln is closing this fall, and the corporation may use the Le Mars dairy plant to help pick up the slack. Meadow Gold's downtown Lincoln dairy production plant, which employs 70-100 people, will close in September, according to Dean Foods spokeswoman Marguerite Copel...

Notify fire department of controlled rural burns (04/15/09)
Holding a controlled burn on your rural property? You need to notify your fire district. Le Mars Fire Chief Wayne Schipper said the fire chiefs of each district need to know the day people are burning and who is tending to the controlled burn at least within the same day of the burn...

Don't mess with Mother Nature: Heed warnings (04/10/09)
We're barely out of blizzard season and here comes tornado weather. This week is National Severe Weather Awareness Week, and a local disaster management planner wants to get word out about the importance of heeding severe weather warnings. "When the National Weather Service puts out a severe weather or tornado warning, they try to give people as much time as possible so they can take shelter," Gary Junge, Plymouth County disaster services director said. ...

Calls to Quitline surge in advance of federal tobacco tax (03/31/09)
Calls to Quitline Iowa (1-800-QUIT-NOW) have surged by 20 percent since the price of cigarettes increased ahead of a new federal tax. With a 62-cent per pack increase in the tax on cigarettes going into effect April 1, Quitline Iowa is braced for even more calls. The sudden increase in calls is one of the most significant spikes since the Quitline began offering free nicotine patches and gum in addition to counseling by trained quit coaches in January 2008...

'A Time to Remember' features West Coast winemakers (03/30/09)
Six winemakers will be represented at the Le Mars Wine and Roses event, "A Time to Remember," this Thursday evening at the Willow Creek Country Club in Le Mars. "A Time to Remember" will benefit Alzheimer's Association programming in Plymouth County and features wine tasting with prestigious winemakers from across the United States...

New tobacco tax leaves retailers, smokers cornered (03/25/09)

Farmers can earn money per acre using soil conservation (03/24/09)
A grant will pay farmers per acre to implement conservation practices that improve soil quarity in Plymouth County. The USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) in Iowa is offering incentive payments through the 2009 Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) signup to row crop producers...

They're back: Bald eagles showing their faces around Le Mars (03/23/09)
Last week, Le Mars' airport manager Earl Draayer spotted seven bald eagles perched in the same tree. A driver reported seeing a dozen of the birds in trees along the Floyd River. We shouldn't be too surprised, according to Plymouth County Naturalist Victoria Shamblen...

Requests for county LOST grants reach nearly half a million (03/16/09)
Twenty-two Plymouth County groups are putting their name in for money from the $180,000 Local Option Sales Tax (LOST) revenue grant pool. Asking for a total of $431,261, the 21 groups' applications range from buying a Wii exercise DVD -- a kind of interactive video game -- for special needs people to renovation of the Akron Opera House...

Red Cross supplies cots, goods to help prepare local shelters (03/16/09)
In case of a flood, an ice storm, a heat wave, tornado or pandemic, victims who are forced from their Plymouth County homes will have a place to sleep. Friday, the Siouxland Area Chapter of the Red Cross delivered 80 cots, pillows, blankets and a supply of adult and youth comfort kits to the Le Mars Disaster Services building...

Blue Bunny Aspen Bar Acclaimed as Best and Most Innovative New Product (03/11/09)
Blue Bunny's new frozen creation, the Aspen Frozen Yogurt Granola Bar, has been recognized by the grocery and dairy industry as one of the most exciting and innovative new products of 2009. The International Dairy Foods Association recognized the Aspen Bar as Most Innovative Novelty at their Ice Cream Technology Conference, while the National Grocers Association selected the Aspen Bar as one of the top three best new products at their 2009 Convention...

Goodwill employee discovers designer bag or lookalike in donations (03/10/09)
Sometimes the Goodwill Industries employees stumble across something big when they're sorting through donations. A Black Hills gold bracelet. A Calvin Klein prom dress. Dolce & Gabbana sunglasses. But when Goodwill Industries employee Malinda Farmer saw the handbag, she knew it was something good...

Related subjects