Industry Regulation

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...

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...

Optimist Club impacts 25 years worth of children (03/12/10)
Twenty-five years ago this week, a group of locals came together to make a difference for youth. Since then, thousands of young people in Le Mars have been reached by the Le Mars Optimist Club. "We've made an impact," said Jerry Haack, founding president of the club. "Over the past 20-some years, we've touched every kid in this town in a positive way."...

Proposed texting and driving ban receives local support, criticism (02/26/10)
As soon as this summer, Iowa drivers who text and drive might see flashing blue and red lights in their rear view mirror. The Iowa House and Senate have both passed their own versions of a bill that would ban texting and driving. However, they have to come to an agreement before the law can move forward...

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...

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...

Water for Life Honduras (02/03/10)
A local group is about to change the lives of people of five villages, plagued with parasites and other water-borne diseases. The Le Mars Rotary Club spearheaded fundraising for water projects in Honduras, pulling together more than $35,000. That's enough to build a water system in each of those five villages, bringing clean, potable water to more than 1,000 people's homes...

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...

Are you missing anything? Yes you are! (01/28/10)
The answer to the question is yes you are! Only the brief highlights of news and activities are published. You are missing pages of news and information on local awards and recognition, business events and advertiser discounts and sales. Every page of the Daily Sentinel can be viewed by buying a newspaper or subscription and this can be done online!...

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...

MidAmerican Energy calls for safety, continues storm restoration (01/26/10)
MidAmerican Energy reminds customers to take additional safety precautions as work continues to restore service to thousands of customers impacted by this week's ice storm. Today (Tuesday) MidAmerican Energy reported only one outage in Plymouth County...

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...

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...

LCS board proposes no teacher salary increase for 2010-11 (12/22/09)
No increase in base salary. No step movement on the salary schedule. No changes in contract language other than date changes. That's the opening proposal put forth by the Le Mars Community Schools board of education negotiating team in response to contract talks with the Le Mars Community Education Association (LCED) for the 2010-11 teachers' contract...

Free H1N1 vaccination clinics scheduled (12/08/09)
Floyd Valley Community Health Service will be offering free public H1N1 influenza vaccination clinics from 4-6 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 17 and from 3:30 -- 6 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 22 in Floyd Valley Hospital's Conference Center. These clinics are open to anyone that is in one of the following priority groups only:...

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...

Family Medicine Clinic to offer additional urgent care hours (11/09/09)
Hours of operation for the Family Medicine Clinic - Le Mars Urgent Care have been expanded to include Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday evenings from 5-8 p.m. Patients may be seen on a walk-in basis for acute health conditions. "We are excited to be providing urgent care services to our communities. ...

Floyd Valley Hospital restricts patient visitors (10/26/09)
People with flu symptoms are currently banned from visiting patients at Floyd Valley Hospital. That's part of the temporary restricted visitation policy recently posted at the building's entrances by hospital officials. "A new strain of influenza, commonly known as H1N1, is currently widespread across the country," the policy states. "In order to protect our patients, guests and staff, we are temporarily modifying our visitor policy."...

Local electric providers: We're for cap, but not trade (10/23/09)
Under proposed energy legislation often called "cap and trade," the Midwest would get burned, according to representatives from local electricity providers. MidAmerican Energy representative Mark Reinders explained his company's take on the American Clean Energy and Security Act, a comprehensive energy bill proposed by U.S. Representatives...

Ethanol outlook: Where is the industry headed? (10/21/09)
Editor's note: This story is part two of a pair of stories looking deeper at the ethanol industry and Plymouth Energy's recent quest to raise $10 million for the ethanol plant. In the past decade, ethanol has been both a golden egg and a rotten one...

Day, King thank soldiers, urge patriotism (10/19/09)
It was a good day to be a Siouxland soldier Saturday. Col. George "Bud" Day, America's most decorated living war veteran, spent the day pheasant hunting with soldiers from the 113th Cavalry in Le Mars and the 185th Air Refueling Wing in Sioux City, along with Rep. Steve King (R) in western Plymouth County...

Sheriff hopes company can save jail money (10/12/09)
Plymouth County Sheriff Mike Van Otterloo hopes a company that provides jail health care programs can help curb rising inmate medical and prescription costs. Otterloo told county supervisors Tuesday he plans to contract with Advanced Correctional Healthcare, of Illinois, at $2,417 a month for its "cost saving" services...

'Well Aware' health fair is Wednesday (10/12/09)
Area residents can learn more about health-related services and programs in the Le Mars community and surrounding area by attending the "Well Aware" Community Health Fair Wednesday. The fair, sponsored by Floyd Valley Hospital, will be held from 2-6 p.m. at the Le Mars Convention Center upper level. The Well Aware Community Health Fair is free of charge...

Are you missing anything? Yes you are! (10/09/09)
The answer to the question is yes you are! Only the brief highlights of news and activities are published. You are missing pages of news and information on local awards and recognition, business events and advertiser discounts and sales. Every page of the Daily Sentinel can be viewed by buying a newspaper or subscription and this can be done online!...

Are you missing anything? (10/08/09)
The answer to the question is yes you are! Only the brief highlights of news and activities are published. You are missing pages of news and information on local awards and recognition, business events and advertiser discounts and sales. Every page of the Daily Sentinel can be viewed by buying a newspaper or subscription and this can be done online!...

Station in the sky: How to view the ISS (09/24/09)
Even though it is flying 220 miles above our heads at the speed of 17,000 miles per hour, the International Space Station can still be seen from earth by the naked eye. In fact, through Sunday the International Space Station (ISS) can be seen from our backyards in Le Mars and the surrounding area...

Seasonal influenza vaccine clinics set in Plymouth County (09/17/09)
Floyd Valley Community Health Service will again be providing flu vaccine throughout Plymouth County. This year's seasonal vaccine covers three strains of influenza, A/Brisbane/59/2007 (H1N1)-like, A/Brisbane/10/2007 (H3N2)-like and B/Brisbane/60/2008-like...

Feds shut down Vantus Bank, Missouri bank acquires deposits (09/09/09)

Can't afford your prescriptions? Help may have arrived (07/14/09)
A big orange bus pulled into Le Mars Monday on a mission: to help uninsured and underinsured people get access to free or nearly free prescription drugs. The Partnership for Prescription Assistance (PPA) has been taking the "Help is Here Express" around the nation to match those people up with prescription assistance programs...

Ordination, consecration service set for new Lutheran clergy (07/10/09)
Three Lutheran congregations will celebrate together as their newly called pastor and diaconal minister will be ordained and consecrated in a 3 p.m. service Sunday, July 12, at St. John's Evangelical Lutheran Church in Craig. Sarah and Joel Nye have accepted a call to serve the three congregations of the newly-formed Plymouth Ministries. This includes St. John Evangelical Lutheran, rural Akron, St. John's Evangelical Lutheran, Craig, and St. John Lutheran Church, Merrill...

Iowa businesses comply with nonsmoking act (07/08/09)
Only 1 percent of more than 82,000 Iowa businesses received notice of potential violation of the Smokefree Air Act in the past year. Effective July 1, 2008, the law bans smoking in bars, restaurants and other public areas. Since last year, notice of potential violations have been sent to 1,015 businesses with employees, according to the Iowa Department of Public Health (IDPH)...

Military coup causes upset in Honduras, Le Mars friends safe (07/01/09)
Le Mars Mission Honduras contacts living throughout the Central American country are safe and well following a military coup in the capital city Sunday said Dick Sievert, Le Mars Missions' director. Honduran President Manuel Zelaya was ousted from the national palace in Tegucigalpa for attempting to change the Honduran Constitution to apparently extend his time in office, according to the Associated Press...

Hospital, clinic merger will combine strengths (06/30/09)
Signing on the dotted line is all that's left to finalize the acquisition of Medical Associates by Floyd Valley Hospital (FVH). "It's the merger of our organizations," said Mike Donlin, FVH administrator. "We will take the best of both and mix them all up and have better health care services to offer."...

A mom with a message: Porterfield visits Washington D.C. (06/16/09)
"I'm not a lobbyist," Barbara Porterfield said. "I'm a mom." Even so, the rural Plymouth County woman just returned from Washington D.C. where she spoke to legislative officials about her family's plight to get affordable health care. Porterfield, a medical transcriptionist, had health coverage through her company until its ownership changed a few years ago...

County Veteran Affairs office to offer more hours (06/12/09)
Changes are ahead for the county Veteran Affairs office. Jim Henrich, Plymouth County supervisor chairman, read a letter describing those new requirements to the board during its Tuesday meeting. Legislation passed this year requires Veteran Affairs offices to be open a certain number of days depending on the county's population...

Plymouth Energy hearing for grain dealer license postponed (06/11/09)
The Merrill ethanol plant has another 2 1/2 months to make their financial system comply with state standards. The Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship (IDALS) temporarily revoked Plymouth Energy's license to purchase grain as a dealer in early May because of "deficiencies" in the company's financial system and accounting with grain transactions, according to Rich Wahl, of the IDALS...

Motor Inn to close door on Chrysler dealership (06/10/09)
The word came down late Tuesday afternoon from federal bankruptcy court -- Chrysler is clear to cut ties with 789 franchise dealerships, including Motor Inn of Le Mars. The judge's order stated that franchises can no longer act as authorized Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep dealers, effective immediately, according to a story from the Associated Press...

Health care: Is the system broken and can we fix it? (05/22/09)
Barb Walter, owner of Close to Home, a local shop, said her health care costs are getting out of hand. For self-employed people like Walter and her husband, they have to find and pay for health insurance on their own. "It goes up every couple of months," she said of the price they pay. "And we have a high deductible to keep our premium lower. We have no co-pay."...

Hospital's patient costs will increase next year, but remain low (05/20/09)
Costs patients pay for services at Floyd Valley Hospital will grow for the second year in a row. Even with the 4.2 percent increase, inpatient and outpatient costs will still be lower than other area hospitals, both rural and metro, according to Daryl Friedenbach, director of financial services at FVH...

Hospital's patient costs will increase next year, but remain low (05/19/09)
Costs patients pay for services at Floyd Valley Hospital will grow for the second year in a row. Even with the 4.2 percent increase, inpatient and outpatient costs will still be lower than other area hospitals, both rural and metro, according to Daryl Friedenbach, director of financial services at FVH...

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...

LCS grad soars at NASA, retires after 38 years (04/21/09)
A man who started his journey in the math and science classrooms of Le Mars Community High School finished his career this month at the top of NASA's center for experimental flight research. Kevin Petersen, a 1969 LCS grad, retired from Dryden Flight Research Center as the director after serving nearly 38 years...

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...

Floyd Valley Hospital now offers urgent care hours (03/16/09)
Urgent care services are now available through Floyd Valley Hospital's Emergency Department. These services are intended to provide additional access at a lower cost for outpatient care for minor illnesses and injuries that might be presented to the emergency department, especially after typical business hours, said Mike Donlin, FVH administrator...

Ethanol debate: Is your car ready for E-15? (03/12/09)
Currently, government rules allow non-flex-fuel vehicles to use only 10 percent ethanol in their gasoline. Politicians from Iowa are pushing for that to change. Earlier this week, newly appointed U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack and U.S. Senator Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, spoke in support of allowing higher blends -- 15 percent...

Students say FFA keeps modern edge (02/26/09)
The Le Mars FFA chapter was chartered in the 1940s. But today's members say the club is far from outdated. "We're still a growing organization, making updates as we go," said Shawn Oetken, a junior at Le Mars Community School and officer in the local FFA chapter...

Remsen co-op feeds sheriff's K-9 program (02/25/09)
Sabot, the German shepherd that sniffs out people and drugs for the Plymouth County Sheriff's office is well fed, thanks to Remsen's Farmers Cooperative Company. The co-op has been donating dog food for about three years to the tune of about 40 pounds each month, according to feed department manager Jon Perrizo...

City prepares for proposed Highway 3 widening (02/18/09)
Le Mars City Council members gave their approval Tuesday for plans and specifications for a new storm sewer project along Iowa Highway 3, which will ease current excessive storm water run-off near Floyd Valley Hospital. Cost of this initial phase of the project is estimated at $20,950. City Administrator Scott Langel estimated an additional $24,000 will be needed for construction work...

Renewing driver's license changes to deter fraud (02/12/09)
Coming soon -- a new way to renew driver's licenses. By late summer or early fall, it will take 10 days to get a new driver's license, according to Dena Gray-Fisher, a spokeswoman with the Iowa Department of Transportation (IDOT). Currently people can renew their driver's license and take it home the same day...

City eyes effects of new state electrical licensing law (02/09/09)
This story ran last Thursday but included several incorrect items. The following is the corrected version of the story. Local builders and developers will soon find themselves impacted by Iowa's new state electrical licensing laws. Jason Vacura, city code enforcement officer, told Le Mars City Council members Tuesday that under the new provisions, also requiring electrical inspections as of March 1, there are a number of concerns facing the city as well...

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