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The Browns plan for Le Mars concert (10/02/08)
The Browns will be singing in Le Mars this weekend. The musical family is performing in concert at their home church, Le Mars Bible Church, 6:00 pm. Sunday, Oct. 5. The Browns will perform old favorites and songs from their brand new compact disc release "A New Day."...

Speakers urge local leaders to consider possible threats (10/01/08)
Maybe it will be an ice storm. Maybe a pandemic flu. Or maybe a terrorist strike with chemical weapons. Disaster is always on the horizon -- at least that was the message at a "Fail to Plan, Plan to Fail" videoconference that brought together local leaders from Le Mars and in six other states...

New feeding clinic may help children eat (09/19/08)
Some children don't like to eat or have difficulty eating. Floyd Valley Hospital's new children's therapy services will try to determine why and how to overcome those problems through its feeding clinic using sensory and motor equipment. Erin Schroeder, OTR/L, an occupational therapist, said those tools, like a trampoline, an obstacle course, a slide and a large ball, can help settle a child down in preparation for eating...

Supervisors delay decision to repair floors at Pride Group home (09/17/08)
The Plymouth County Supervisors put the matter of restroom floor repairs at a residential facility operated by Pride Group Inc. on hold Tuesday. The supervisors directed Mike Porter, CEO of Pride Group, to obtain a firm cost estimate to fix floors in four showers and two bathrooms at the residential care facility (RCF) on Highway 3...

Landfill amnesty days set for next weekend (09/12/08)
The City of Le Mars is offering three more days of free dumping for certain items at the Plymouth County Landfill next weekend Sept. 18, 19 and 20. For these days, the city is declaring an amnesty from the landfill disposal cost for up to 1,000 pounds per household of "throw away" material...

School board candidates share views heading into election (09/02/08)
The Le Mars Community School District has two open seats on the board of education. The election to fill the District 3 and 5 seats will be Sept. 9. Joe Cain and incumbent Dan Smith are running for the District 5 spot, and Mark Hemmingson is running a write-in campaign for the District 3 spot, which no one filed papers to fill. To get to know the candidates more, the Daily Sentinel asked each one eight questions, which are printed below with their answers.

Work on GIS website puts Plymouth County on the map (09/02/08)
Plymouth County's success with owning and operating a Geographical Information Systems (GIS) website will soon be known around the world. Autodesk MapGuide Enterprise, owner of AutoCad Map 3D software used on the county's GIS website, wrote a customer success story that will be published in the company's trademark magazines, displayed at GIS conferences and on its website...

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...

Users need to protect computers against security threats (08/29/08)
Experts say there are no foolproof methods to keep home or corporate computers safe from security breaches, but taking precautions helps deter attackers. "The best practice is to keep everything up to date, anti-virus and anti-Spyware programs, and use it (computer) responsibly," said Jerry Christiansen, owner of Computer Crossing. "That's not a hundred percent guarantee that it won't get hit with something, but it does decrease the odds."...

Cell phones beat landlines in Iowa (08/21/08)
Will cell phones eventually replace landline telephones? In Le Mars, store managers from Verizon Wireless/Wireless World and Frontier Communications, are on opposite sides of the debate. "The future is wireless," said Steve Harrington, Verizon manager. "People now are carrying cell phones. They all say this is their main form of communication."...

Wind blows Texas oilman in to Le Mars to talk energy (08/15/08)
He may be 80 but an audience member still called T. Boone Pickens a "rockstar." The Texas oilman and billionaire landed his jet at the Le Mars airport Thursday afternoon to spin to Iowans his plan for reducing U.S. dependency on foreign oil. His idea: shift to using more wind energy and natural gas -- two things in which the nation is rich...

Japanese students learn Iowa life from local families (08/13/08)
Brian and Sarah Kehm have an extra sister in their house for a month. She's 16. She likes to shop. She likes pop music and video games. And she's a black belt in karate. Shoko Harashima, a Japanese teen, is living with the David and Janet Kehm family for most of August. She's part of a group of 26 Japanese students living with 4-H families in Iowa from July 24 to Aug. 21. Five of those 4-H families are in Plymouth County...

Building on education: LCS addition nearly complete (08/07/08)
With only two weeks until school starts, teachers and staff at Le Mars Community High School and Middle School are busy putting the finishing touches on moves to new classroom space and computer labs and looking forward to the new middle school gymnasium...

Sen. Harkin suggests alternatives to combat oil prices facing country (08/07/08)
Americans are addicted to oil. Sen. Tom Harkin told Plymouth County residents gathered Wednesday at Lally's Eastside Restaurant that addiction is the reason for the continued increase in oil prices. "When you're addicted to something, you just continue to feed the addiction," Harkin said...

Sign-up deadline nears for new disaster program (08/07/08)
Sign-up for the SURE, the new USDA disaster program, is underway, and the deadline to participate in this year's program is Sept. 15. SURE is a permanent disaster program that will be specific to each farmer. Unlike previous USDA disaster programs, this one does not require an Act of Congress for it take place...

City searches for solutions to indoor pool problems (08/06/08)
alse alarms on the fire alarm system. Temperature spikes. Ventilation system running non-stop. Computer lock ups. Since it opened in March 2007, the Le Mars Indoor Aquatic Center has been plagued with heating/ventilation/air conditioning (HVAC) problems...

SRTS will offer rides to country music festival (08/06/08)
Those attending the country and bluegrass festival later this month can catch a ride with the Siouxland Regional Transit System (SRTS) at its regular fee rate. Supervisor Don Kass told the Plymouth County Supervisors Tuesday a SRTS bus will be available within Le Mars to take people to and from festival, which will be at the Plymouth County Fairgrounds...

Le Mars composer makes musical notes come alive (07/30/08)
David Moore began writing melodies as a teenager. "I started dabbling when I was in high school just kind of messing around," the Le Mars man said. "I actually did a couple of arrangements for my jazz band experimenting a little bit." Since then, a band instructor by day, Moore has composed full concert band and smaller solo, piano and ensemble pieces...

Landfill amnesty days added this weekend (07/28/08)
The City of Le Mars is offering two more days of free dumping for certain items at the Plymouth County Landfill Aug. 1 and 2. For these days, the city is declaring an amnesty from the landfill disposal cost for up to 1,000 pounds per household of "throw away" material per household...

Plymouth Oil may receive $1.2 million in tax benefits (07/22/08)
The State of Iowa pledged about $1.2 million in tax incentives to a plant near Merrill that will make corn oil for food and cooking. The $30 million Plymouth Oil plant is planned next to the 50-million-gallon Plymouth Energy LLC ethanol plant near Merrill. The projected completion date is July 31, 2013, according to an Iowa Department of Economic Development (IDED) spokesperson...

Grassley gives his take on fuel crunch at Le Mars meeting (07/01/08)
U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley praised ethanol and drilling for more oil in the United States during his stop at a Le Mars town hall meeting where concern about energy and food prices was the prevailing mood. Speaking to a crowd of about 50 people at the American Bank Monday, Grassley responded to questions about fuel prices by presenting his idea for an energy program...

After 30 years: Meyer will pass torch to new auditor (06/19/08)
Mentor, friend, boss, elected official, community leader. K. Kae Meyer has carried a variety of titles throughout her 30 years in the auditor's office. That will come to an end Dec. 31 when she hangs up her hat as Plymouth County auditor and passes the torch to the next person elected...

Corn oil plant seeks property tax relief from county (06/18/08)
A proposed $30 million corn oil plant near Merrill inched closer to reality this week. The Plymouth County Supervisors on Tuesday approved five years of property tax relief for Plymouth Oil L.L.C. The first year will be a 75 percent break declining to 15 percent in the fifth year...

LCS administration makes the move (06/17/08)
Now there's a cornfield between the Le Mars Community Middle and High Schools and the district's new central office. The LCS administrative staff moved last week to the former Wells' Dairy headquarters on Lincoln Street Southwest. Along with the district superintendent's office and business office, the schools' technology and printing will also be based there...

You Docs Podcast: Wear your sunscreen (06/05/08)
The YOU Docs -- Mike Roizen and Mehmet Oz -- are authors of the best-selling "YOU: The Owner's Manual" and "YOU: On a Diet." var inlinePlayerParameters = {"f":"IALEM","mk":"en-ap","containerId":"inlinePlayerContainer","type":"ByUUIDS","prop1":"b7447592-1bfd-4262-919d-a8e88bde5b44","prop2":"IALEM","skin":"0","headlineColor":"#AB0110","borderColor":"#BBDDEE","padding":"4","sort":"Default","sortdir":"Descending"};. ...

Landfill amnesty days this weekend (06/03/08)
The City of Le Mars is offering a free dumping for certain items at the Plymouth County Landfill June 5, 6 and 7. For these Spring Clean Up days, the city is declaring an amnesty from the landfill disposal cost for up to 1,000 pounds per household of "throw away" material per household. The garbage must be delivered to the landfill. The City of Le Mars will pay the bill for that garbage, and it will not billed to the household...

Redesigned user-friendly county website rolled out Tuesday (04/30/08)
Need driving directions to the Plymouth County Courthouse? Need contact numbers for elected officials? Or how about links to other cities? All those answers and more can be found on the county's newly revamped website at www.co.plymouth.ia.us/. The redesigned site came online Tuesday afternoon presenting county information with a clear, easy display in a more user-friendly environment...

Teacher's essay gets laptop computers for LCS (04/24/08)
A Le Mars Community Schools teacher has received a 2008 Best Buy Teach� Award of $2,000 enabling the school to purchase four laptop computers for classroom use. It was at the suggestion of the Sioux City Best Buy store's assistant manager that LCS teacher Pam Hirschman write an essay on how she would use technology in the classroom. She thought of her "struggling students" who need the extra help in reading and writing. That was in October 2007...

Earth Day: Learning what it means to save the planet (04/23/08)
Saving the world doesn't necessarily require wearing a cape and blue tights. That's what elementary students from Hinton learned while tromping around Hillview Park Tuesday in honor of the 38th annual Earth Day. At one station, students picking chocolate chips out of a cookie to learn about how coal is mined. ...

Corn oil producer planned near Merrill ethanol plant (04/21/08)
Better together. That's what Dave Hoffman of Merrill says about the $30 million corn oil plant he and others are planning to build next to the Plymouth Energy ethanol plant near Merrill. The corn oil plant will produce up to 60 tons every day of the oil used for human food and cooking. Employing 25 people, the plant is slated to be in operation by the spring of 2009...

Spring landfill amnesty days set (04/21/08)
The City of Le Mars is offering a free dumping for certain items at the Plymouth County Landfill June 5, 6 and 7. For these Spring Clean Up days, the city is declaring an amnesty from the landfill disposal cost for up to 1,000 pounds per household of "throw away" material per household. The garbage must be delivered to the landfill. The City of Le Mars will pay the bill for that garbage, and it will not billed to the household...

Pearson predicts bright future for agriculture (03/20/08)
Things are changing in agriculture and the long-term outlook is good, according to the host of a nationally syndicated farm program. Mark Pearson is host of "Market to Market," which is broadcast on public television stations across the United States. He brought his message about what's ahead in agriculture to Le Mars on Tuesday for the Le Mars Area Chamber of Commerce's annual Agri-Business luncheon...