Disaster Response

County working to make new disaster hazard plan (02/11/10)
The Plymouth County Supervisors is taking disaster preparation one step further in case of future disaster. The supervisors approved the county's participation in a Local Hazard Multi-Jurisdictional Grant Program Tuesday. "It's a FEMA requirement if we have a disaster and we're going to apply for state and federal assistance this plan has to be done," said Gary Junge, county emergency management coordinator...

Officials seek residents with yardsticks and rain gauges (02/08/10)
Needed: volunteers to measure snowfall, rainfall and other precipitation daily. In Plymouth County there are two National Weather Service Cooperative Observer stations, in Le Mars and Akron, where volunteers measure precipitation and temperatures daily...

County declares Christmas blizzard a state of emergency (01/20/10)
The snowstorm that pummeled Plymouth County between Dec. 22 and 27, 2009 is officially a disaster. The Plymouth County Board of Supervisors approved a disaster declaration Tuesday, a formal step toward securing state and federal dollars to help pay for the blizzard cleanup...

Plymouth County declares snow emergency (01/13/10)
Based on the amount of snowfall during the 2009 Christmas blizzard, a preliminary estimate for cleanup costs and damages is several hundred thousand dollars for Plymouth County. To receive state money to help pay for those damages, Plymouth County is in the process of declaring a snow emergency with the State of Iowa...

Budget time: Money sought for park ranger, emergency management, WIC (12/31/09)
County conservation, emergency management and Mid-Sioux Opportunities' directors made 2010-11 budgets requests Tuesday. The Plymouth County Supervisors did not make any decisions stating, instead, they will discuss all department's requests next week when they begin digging into budget preparation...

Supervisors look at storm shelter option (09/23/09)
Could the basement of the proposed Plymouth County Courthouse annex building be made into a storm shelter? Gary Junge, Plymouth County emergency management coordinator, presented that possibility to the conty board of supervisors Tuesday. Junge explained federal and state grant money is available to help pay about 85 percent of the cost to to transform buildings into storm shelters...

Sheriff's evidence building ready for construction (07/08/09)
After three years, plans to construct a county evidence storage building moved from the drawing board into reality Tuesday. The Plymouth County Supervisors Tuesday approved estimates to construct a 40-by-60 pole building next to the Law Enforcement Center for a total cost of $79,200...

Officials ready for emergency after training (06/29/09)
How would local health officials respond to a statewide outbreak of meat contamination? A training exercise covering that hypothetic scenario indicated Floyd Valley Hospital along with Plymouth County community health and emergency management would do well...

County residents remain safe, officials ready for H1N1 Flu (05/04/09)
No suspected cases of Swine Flu have presented in Plymouth County, but the first case has been confirmed in eastern Iowa. Plymouth County health officials are prepared if the H1N1 influenza, which was previously called Swine flu, is found here. Deb Steffen, county public health nurse, has been in constant contact with the Iowa Department of Public Health (IDPH) to stay abreast of what's happening throughout the state...

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. ...

Opportunity available to head north to give flood relief (03/31/09)
Locals plan to travel north to help people affected by the flooding Red River, and there are more spots available to volunteers interested in a short trip this weekend. The group, organized by the United Methodist Church of Le Mars, will leave Le Mars at 1 p.m. Friday for the Red River area, which forms the border between Minnesota and North Dakota, and return at 11 p.m. Saturday...

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...

More budget requests on table for supervisors (01/12/09)
Plains Area Mental Health Center and Plymouth County emergency management officials requested increased budgets for 2009-10 Tuesday. Patrick Schmitz, Plains Area Mental Health Center's executive director, presented a 4.8 percent increase to the center's budget. The increase comes from an increase in services offered to county clientele...

How to survive being snowbound on the roadway (12/30/08)
Help save a life -- your own. Pack an emergency car kit before setting out on treacherous snow covered roads. "Do your planning. If you were delayed or had trouble, think of what you might need," said Gary Junge, Plymouth County emergency management coordinator...

Don't get stuck in the cold: Plan for winter power outage (12/29/08)
By Charles Schwab Safety Specialist, Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering Iowa State University Extension Winter power outages are always challenging but occasionally they can be dangerous if not handled correctly. The key to managing any emergency such as a power outage is to have a specific disaster plan to handle decisions that must be made in the moment of the crisis...

Legislators predict budget crunching, right-to-work laws to top session (12/12/08)

Community Foundation awards more than $106,000 in grants (12/12/08)
More than $106,000 in Community Foundation grant money was awarded to 26 organizations and groups in Plymouth County at a breakfast meeting Thursday, Dec. 11. The grants were presented by members of the Community Foundation of Greater Plymouth County. The presentation was postponed from Dec. 9 due to weather and road conditions...

After the flood, Locals help Cedar Rapids woman reclaim 'home' (11/17/08)
After the flood ripped through Cedar Rapids this year, a single mother named Andrea and two of her daughters were left without somewhere to really call home. They moved two times since then and currently were crammed into Andrea's mom's one-bedroom apartment. The things they did rescue from their home were stacked up in a storage unit...

AmeriCorps team preps Loess Hills for bison (09/11/08)
Men and women ages 18-24 from across the nation are building fences, restoring grasslands and helping with research in the Loess Hills through Oct. 2. The 10-member AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corps (NCCC) team, has been working in the Broken Kettle Grasslands and Five Ridge Prairie in Plymouth County since August...

Saturday country music show will benefit flood victims (08/19/08)
A benefit for flood victims at Cedar Rapids with old-time country music will fill the Plymouth County Historical Museum this Saturday, Aug. 23, and give a preview of music to be enjoyed at the 33rd Annual National Old-Time Country & Bluegrass Festival set for Aug. 25-31 in Le Mars...

Senator Harkin plans Le Mars visit (08/04/08)
Senator Tom Harkin will be hosting a Le Mars meeting on Wednesday, Aug. 6 during a cross-Iowa tour. The Democrat plans to visit with local residents about his work in Washington to help Iowa's working families. The public is invited to attend the cafe stop, which will be held at 10 a.m. at Lally's Eastside Restaurant...

Local Pork Producers will donate to flooded hog farmers (07/23/08)
A group of northwest Iowa pork producers are coming to the aid of southeast Iowa pork producers who were hit hard by the June floods. The Plymouth County Pork Producers Association will once again operate its Grandstand Pork food stand during the Plymouth County Fair. The producers have decided to donate the entire day's proceeds from the stand on Friday, July 25, to help their flooded brethren in southeast Iowa...

Garage sale raises hundreds for flood relief (07/14/08)
A garage and bake sale hosted this weekend by Perry and Sonni Cosby's family raised more than $500 for flood victims in Cedar Rapids. The Cosbys and their three daughters held the sale at their house in southern Le Mars Saturday, inviting neighbors and friends to donate baked goods and garage sale items...

Rummaging for help (06/30/08)
Sonni Cosby and her three girls decided they wanted to do more than just watch the flooding relief efforts in eastern Iowa on the news. They wanted to help. Now they're planning a rummage and bake sale on Saturday, July 12 with all of the proceeds going to help flood victims in Cedar Rapids...

Local National Guard unit helps fend off floodwater (06/16/08)
Fifty-five members of the local National Guard unit were working through the night this weekend to help hold back flood water in downtown Des Moines and Burlington. The group from Le Mars' C-Troop 113th Cavalry left Thursday to help sandbag near the rising Des Moines River. This weekend they were called to Burlington to help with sandbagging efforts along the swelling Mississippi River, and they are continuing with that effort this week...

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