Health Care Facility Construction

Pioneer Cemetery could put curve in reconstruction plans (03/19/10)
With each road reconstruction project, Plymouth County Engineer Tom Rohe faces obstacles like driveways to work around or cut through. But the 2011-12 project to reconstruct 4 1⁄2 miles of C-60 going west of K-49 may put a curve in his plans -- literally...

L-22 railroad intersection soon to be safer (03/19/10)
Railroad signals and cross arms will be installed in the near future at the intersection of county road L-22 and the Chicago Central Pacific Railroad. The Plymouth County Supervisors learned this week the county will pay 5 percent, or $8,750, of the $175,000 cost...

Local ambulance service strong, director says (03/19/10)
The Le Mars Ambulance Service is "exceeding" the expectations of local residents, according to Director Bill Rosacker. Appearing at this week's Le Mars City Council session, Rosacker commended the 21-member ambulance staff for its dedication and the "exceptional" job he feels they do for the community...

Council tables acceptance of Highway 3 project (03/18/10)
The Le Mars City Council put off accepting an engineer's statement to the Iowa Department of Transportation on the completion and owners contract for the Highway 3 widening project. City Manager Scott Langel acknowledged that the city had already, due to state legislative direction, in essence accepted the $721,701 project when the widened portion of the highway was opened last November...

Supervisors to take on mailbox versus road debate (03/18/10)
Are mailboxes sitting too close to county roads? The Plymouth County Supervisors decided Tuesday to look into the matter more thoroughly, after hearing concerns from local farmer Del Kellen. Kellen, who lives and farms south of Le Mars, said there's a problem with sight distance when it comes to rural mail carriers stopped along the K-49 and other county paved roads...

MidAmerican customers may help finance nuclear study (03/16/10)
The 7,184 MidAmerican Electric Company customers in Plymouth County may see a monthly increase in their payment due to a proposed law. The increase would come if Iowa Gov. Chet Culver signs a bill to allow MidAmerican to boost electric consumer payments throughout the state by $15 million to study the possibility of bringing a second nuclear plant to Iowa...

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...

A survivor, Kooiker urges on final push to eliminate polio (03/05/10)
When Dixie Kooiker was 3, she was diagnosed with paralytic poliomyelitis, or polio. Hospitalized in the Sister Kenny Polio Institute in June 1949, Kooiker was in a crib next to her infant cousin and in the room across from her uncle, both who had polio...

Agri-Business Luncheon morning program features area biotech company (03/05/10)
The Le Mars Area Chamber of Commerce 16th Annual Agri-Business Luncheon will feature a new biotectechnology company based in Sioux Center. The Agri-Business Luncheon is Tuesday, March 16, at the Le Mars Convention Center, upper level. The morning begins with a 9:30 a.m. Chamber Coffee hosted by the Plymouth County Farm Bureau...

Apartments officially on national historic register (03/04/10)
A building which first was home to a hospital and is now apartments is Le Mars' newest listing on the National Register of Historic Places. Floyd Valley Apartments, at 110 Sixth Ave. N.E. has been named to the National Register of Historic Places. That confirmation was made Feb. 3, 2010, according to Iris Hemmingson, president of the Le Mars Historic Preservation Commission...

Ice cream parlor will bring life to historic Le Mars building (02/25/10)

'A Time to Remember' benefits local Alzheimer's programming (02/23/10)
Jerry and Audrey Scholten, of Le Mars, will serve as honorary chairpersons for the upcoming Wine & Roses event in Le Mars, "A Time to Remember." The event benefits the Alzheimer's Association. The Scholtens encourage everyone to generously donate to help provide optimal care and services to the persons and their families confronting this disease...

American Cancer Society holds Daffodil Days (02/23/10)
Spring is coming early this year -- and so is the American Cancer Society Daffodil Days! Plymouth County residents have until Feb. 25, to place their orders for daffodils. "With Daffodil Days, the hope goes beyond the symbol of the flowers -- you know that with every bouquet you order, you're making an actual difference in the lives of real people fighting cancer," according to June Muth, Plymouth County Daffodil Days co-chair...

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...

Relay For Life team kick-off is Monday in Remsen (02/19/10)
Get ready for Relay For Life of Plymouth County 2010. The American Cancer Society Relay For Life of Plymouth County will hold a community and team kick-off open house in Remsen Monday, Feb. 22. The open house will be held from 4:30-6:30 p.m. at Remsen's VFW, 207 S. Washington St...

County construction means less LOST money for grants (02/16/10)
The Plymouth County Supervisors set aside $100,000 in Local Option Sales Tax (LOST) money in their proposed budget to be used for grant requests. That's $80,000 less than last year -- but the county has two new major construction projects to pay for with LOST revenue in the next fiscal year...

FVH and clinics roll out new mission statement (02/12/10)
"Our mission is to be a progressive health care partner serving you with compassion, integrity and excellence." That's the new mission statement for Floyd Valley Hospital (FVH) and its Family Medicine Clinics in Le Mars, Remsen and Marcus. The FVH Board of Trustees approved it during its meeting this week...

Peters pays it forward with Habitat for Humanity homes (02/11/10)
Rob Peters knows how much a Habitat for Humanity house means to a family. He and his three children moved into their home, the first built by Habitat for Humanity in Le Mars, just before Christmas 2006. Now he's even more involved and paying forward what he has received, serving as construction foreman for Habitat houses going up in the Riverside area of Sioux City...

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...

LADS Valentine's Dance features live quilt auction, silent auction (02/09/10)
A king-size quilt, an afghan and a tie-blanket will be auctioned off as part of the Le Mars Area Dialysis Services Valentine fundraiser Saturday night at the Le Mars Convention Center. The three items were donated to LADS for the fundraiser. All three items can be seen in the window of Linda Mayrose Real Estate in downtown Le Mars...

Ten Le Mars scouts honored with Pope Pius XII emblem (02/08/10)
Ten local boys will be receiving the highest emblem in Catholic boy scouting. Michael Brandenburg, Tim Burwitz, Mitchel Christoffel, Preston Freking, Matt Klein, Kyle Mangerson, Zack Nemmers, Jonathan Puhl, Ryan Sitzmann and Andrew Theisen were honored Sunday at a Mass in Le Mars for earning the Pope Pius XII Emblem...

Steve King says time to stop spending (02/08/10)
U.S. Rep. Steve King thinks the biggest problem in government right now is overspending. He also doesn't believe President Barack Obama's $787 billion stimulus plan is working as it was set out to do. Neither does he favor a government-run national health care program...

TIF: a powerful tool being overused? (02/05/10)
Out of all 99 Iowa counties, Plymouth County is ranked second for using Tax Increment Financing (TIF). About 15.2 percent of the county's taxable valuation is in TIF, according to the Iowa State Association of Counties. TIF is a taxing tool different than regular taxes, according to Plymouth County Auditor Stacey Feldman...

Are we sending bald eagles back to endangered list? (02/01/10)
Bald eagles are being attacked by an emerging predator. It's in the food they eat. Eagle protection agencies have been seeing eagles that are oddly sick, explained Plymouth County Naturalist Victoria De Vos. "They started testing the blood and they are finding out that they had very high levels of lead -- a neurotoxin," De Vos said. "It was basically paralyzing them in different ways."...

Groomer keeps dogs happy in 'puppy salon' (01/29/10)
Tails wag with happiness as dogs get their pampering trim from Tricia Pippett, owner of Tail Trends, a new dog grooming business in Le Mars. Pippett opened her business Dec. 1, sharing space at Town and Country Veterinary Clinic, but has been doing grooming in Le Mars for 10 years...

�Habla espa�ol? :Plains Area staff trains to be multi-lingual (01/29/10)
Employees at Plains Area Mental Health are learning to say "What do you need?" and "How much does this piano cost?" -- in Spanish. It's all part of a new venture Plains Area is starting to help reduce cultural and language barriers. About 25 therapists and receptionists at the Le Mars mental health center and its Storm Lake counterpart are working on picking up another language and learning about that group's culture...

Children take a look at eye exams (01/28/10)
A visit to the eye doctor was a fun and informative outing for children at Noah's Ark Preschool Wednesday. Optometrist Dr. Becky DeRuyter of Advanced Eye Health located at Wal-Mart in Le Mars gave the students a tour of the exam rooms and explained what happens when someone gets an eye exam...

Floyd Valley Hospital Foundation holds annual meeting, elects officers (01/28/10)
The Floyd Valley Hospital Foundation held its annual meeting on Friday, January 22, 2010. Included among the business conducted at the meeting was election of officers. After nominations were held, Bill Bomgaars was elected as chair and Craig Bauerly was elected as vice-chair of the foundation...

From biomedical engineering to watercolors: Artist's journey winds its way to Le Mars (01/26/10)
A teacher told Jean Weiner she was born to paint. This affirmation came not during the Le Mars woman's high school career or even her college or graduate studies. It came after Weiner was in her early forties, had worked successfully in biomedical engineering, had two children and had battled a rare form of cancer...

LCS board cuts back early retirement policy (01/26/10)
A revision in the Le Mars Community School District's early retirement policy will be financially beneficial to the district while trimming some benefits to staff as well. It will continue to offer retiring certified staff with a contribution to the individual's medical insurance coverage...

Many hands make a difference: BackPack Program ready to fend off hunger (01/19/10)
It took less than 20 minutes to pack snack bags that will fill 140 Le Mars kids' tummies. The Le Mars BackPack Program officially kicked off Monday with volunteers assembling bags of nutritious snacks that will be delivered weekly to dozens of elementary students...

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...

Locals urge legislators to watch medical, school bills (01/18/10)
Plymouth County residents concerned with proposed Iowa laws impacting everything from school dollars to anesthesiology in rural hospitals spent Saturday morning bringing questions before the local legislators. At the Le Mars Public Library, Republicans Sen. Randy Feenstra and Rep. Chuck Soderberg held their first public forum of the year, outlining the beginning of the legislative session and hearing citizens' concerns...

Le Mars Area Dialysis plans Valentine's Day Dance (01/18/10)
Get ready for music and fun at the Le Mars Area Dialysis Services Third Annual Valentine's Day Dance set for Saturday, Feb. 13, at the Le Mars Convention Center upper level from 7:30 to 11:30 p.m. "The Magnificent Board of Directors" return this year as the featured entertainment...

Akron senior living apartments to close (01/12/10)
An eight-plex of senior living apartments in Akron is closing. The Senior Village North Apartments, under the umbrella of the Akron Care Center, will be closed by the end of February due to a lack of interest and the money it would take to upgrade it for assisted living...

Live Healthy Le Mars offers team approach to good health (01/11/10)
Get ready to get in shape in 2010 by participating Live Healthy Le Mars. The 100-day challenge promotes a team approach to weight loss and physical activity. Local sponsors for Live Healthy Le Mars are the Le Mars YMCA, Floyd Valley Hospital and ISU Plymouth County Extension...

Highway 3 west widening, city signs on 2010 project list (01/08/10)
Adding a lane to Highway 3 west of Le Mars will likely be one of the City of Le Mars' top projects in the works in the new year. Le Mars City Administrator Scott Langel sketched out the 2010 priority projects with the Daily Sentinel this week, noting the finalized list is yet to come...

Remembering the decade: At home and beyond (01/04/10)
Ten years ago, as the decade turned, we were waiting to see if the Y2K threat was real. While that turned out to be the biggest non-news event of the Aughts (the first decade of the 2000s), there was plenty of headline material to come, tragedy and triumph alike...

Quitline doubles free nicotine patches, gum (01/04/10)
Smokers in Plymouth County are being offered an option to help them quit. Quitline Iowa is doubling the amount of nicotine patches and gum from two to four weeks of therapy available to callers during the month of January. "I visit with tobacco users quite often and it is not uncommon for them to share the struggles they have when faced with health related issues and the fear of not being able to quit," said Cheryl Buntsma, Tobacco Prevention Coordinator of five counties in Northwest Iowa. ...

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

Rewind 2009: The good, the bad and the blizzard (12/30/09)
Editor's note: This is the first of two stories recapping 2009's top stories in the Daily Sentinel. Mother Nature put a wet (or white) blanket on Plymouth County's Christmastime plans, nailing northwest Iowa with more than a foot of snow and winds that lowered visibility and drifted roads shut. ...

Keep your driveway shoveled without seeing the doctor afterward (12/29/09)
If you haven't noticed yet, the Christmas season left us all the gift of about 17 inches of snow last week. It was likely left in your driveway among other places. Unfortunately, a heavy snowfall can also be the gift that keeps on giving -- like a trip to the chiropractor or hospital from people trying to dig out...

Blood drive time change (12/22/09)
The Blood Drive scheduled for tomorrow (Wednesday) has moved up scheduled times. Blood donations will be accepted 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday, December 23 at Floyd Valley Hospital Lower Level. Donations will also be accepted from 8 a.m. to noon Thursday, December 24...

The Bridge: When the water's too deep to cross alone (12/22/09)
There are three days until Christmas, and a blizzard is blowing its way toward northwest Iowa. Can you imagine having no warm, safe place to go? That's the reality two Plymouth County women and their children recently faced before they were introduced to The Bridge, a transitional living home in Orange City...

Le Mars man injured hunting deer in Taylor County (12/22/09)
A Le Mars man was injured while hunting deer in Taylor County Sunday when a shot missed its target. A piece of slug ricocheted, striking him in the upper chest area. Mathew Fedders, 41, was taken to Clarinda Regional Health Center, then transferred to the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha, where doctors were removing the slug fragment...

Hundreds line up for free H1N1 vaccine, more to come (12/21/09)
About 500 people were vaccinated for H1N1 flu last week in Le Mars, and another free clinic will be held Tuesday offering the vaccine to anybody that wants it. Last week's clinic was the first time the shots were available for free to all Plymouth County residents...

Cherokee Mental Health Institute escapes DHS chopping block (12/15/09)
The Iowa Department of Human Services is recommending closing the Mount Pleasant Mental Health Institute -- not Cherokee's -- in a proposal today (Tuesday) to the Iowa Legislature. Last spring, the Legislature asked the DHS to recommend closing one of Iowa's four mental health institutes without cutting services...

All Iowans eligible for H1N1 vaccination (12/14/09)
Beginning today (Monday) all Iowans will be eligible to receive an H1N1 flu vaccination, according to an announcement by the Iowa Department of Public Health. Floyd Valley Community Health will be offering free public H1N1 clinics from 4-6 p.m. Thursday and 3:30-6:00 p.m. Tuesday, December 22 at Floyd Valley Hospital Conference Center...

Cherokee Mental Health Institute not on chopping block (12/14/09)
The Iowa Department of Human Services is recommending closing the Mount Pleasant Mental Health Institute, not Cherokee's institue, in a proposal today (Tuesday) to the Iowa Legislature. Last spring, the Legislature commanded the DHS to recommend closing one of Iowa's four mental health institutes without cutting services...

The stimulus dollars and you: Have you been touched by recovery money? (12/10/09)
More than $8 million worth of federal stimulus dollars has been quietly sliding through the IV of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and into Plymouth County's veins. That injection meant some schools could keep a teacher one more year. It meant replacing a worn bridge and repaving some roads. It meant some families will have money to weatherize their homes...

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