Leisure Travel

Memorial will honor Lauters' lifetime love of museum (10/02/08)
Laura Lauters' passion for the Plymouth County Historical Museum lives on. Lauters, 101, died peacefully Tuesday, Sept. 30 at her grandson's home in Fremont, Neb. She will be remembered at an 11 a.m. memorial service Saturday at the the museum. "She used to be a cheerleader," said Judy Bowman, museum administrator. "That's what she was all the time for the museum."...

Open house set for LCS additions, renovation (09/30/08)
An open house at the Le Mars Community Middle and High Schools will be held from 5:30 to 7 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 2. The open house provides the public an opportunity to tour the new middle school gymnasium, the three new technology enhanced classrooms at the high school, and the renovations that were completed in the high school following the move of the superintendent's office...

Pictorial history book of county in progress (09/29/08)
A pictorial history of Plymouth County may soon be a reality, thanks to the efforts of Seney area native Linda Zieman. Zieman made a commitment with Arcadia Publishing of Chicago earlier this year to put together a pictorial history of Plymouth County...

Museum gets new LOST money for chimney repairs (09/24/08)
The Plymouth County Supervisors agreed Tuesday Local Option Sales Tax (LOST) money already awarded cannot be redirected to help with chimney repairs at the museum. "We've got a policy issue with that," Supervisor Craig Anderson said. "Money that is not used (for a specific project) should go back into the LOST fund."...

Students use five senses on area farm tour (09/23/08)
They came by the busload. Students from area schools experienced fun on the farm last week during the annual Le Mars Area Chamber of Commerce Agricultural Tour. Children from Le Mars Community, Gehlen Catholic, Remsen-Union and Remsen St. Mary's had a chance to visit four farms to learn about agriculture in Plymouth County. The students were from the third or fourth grades, depending on which school they attend. They were divided into four groups that traveled from one farm to the next...

Vintage harvest: Dittmers' vineyard produces juicy crop (09/22/08)
With a juicy plop, a bunch of grapes falls into a heaping pail of the purple fruit. All around, people are talking, laughing, and clipping away at loaded branches of grape vines. It's Sunday and it's harvest time at Barry and Brenda Dittmers' vineyard in Hinton...

Hinton School Board steps closer to using eminent domain (09/22/08)
Last week Hinton School Board members moved forward to possibly try to obtain agricultural land through eminent domain by scheduling a public hearing in November. "It's a necessary step before we would be able to actually pursue the possible use of eminent domain," said Robert Held, Hinton School Board president...

Supervisors to decide if LOST can be used for museum repairs (09/17/08)
The Plymouth County Historical Museum's chimney is crumbling. Judy Bowman, museum administrator, via letter asked the Plymouth County Supervisors' permission to use $1,000 of Local Option Sales Tax (LOST) money for the repairs. Museum board members originally asked for the $1,000, already awarded, to replace a shattered glass backboard in the museum's gymnasium...

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...

Music festival uses hotel/motel tax grant to bring people to Le Mars (08/28/08)
A Hotel/Motel Sales Tax grant is paying off for Le Mars. More than $6,000 of the 5 percent sales tax revenue from hotel and motel rooms rented in town was given to a group advertising the 33rd annual National Old Time Country and Bluegrass Music Festival, held this year in Le Mars for the first time...

Gas prices only take small bite out of summer traffic (08/22/08)
By 10:30 a.m. a man from Charles City had already finished his breakfast: a vanilla cone at the Blue Bunny Ice Cream Parlor. Before 5 p.m. that same day, a woman from San Francisco, Calif. was posed outside to get her picture taken with the old fashioned milk truck...

American Indian art exhibit travels to Plymouth County (08/20/08)
Artist Robert Morris captures the faces of American Indians from across the country, something he began 10 years ago. "I want to paint one Indian from every tribe," Morris said. "I travel all summer and paint all winter." An exhibit featuring 16 of Morris' chalk paintings from his collection "The First Americans" opens at 1 p.m. Wednesday and runs through Friday at the Plymouth County Historical Museum. The museum is open 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. or in the morning by appointment...

Hinton School Board looks into legal options to obtain land (08/19/08)
Hinton Community School Board members discussed Monday the possibility of using eminent domain to obtain land on which to construct a new elementary school and gymnasium. The school board decided to find out more about steps necessary to obtain 8 acres adjacent to the current school from property owners, Kevin and Annette Held, through eminent domain...

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...

Branching out: Hinton couple goes vintage with planned winery (07/31/08)
Tuscany. Napa Valley. Hinton? If Barry and Brenda Dittmer have their way, yes -- their sloping vineyard on a Plymouth County hillside will be not only an agricultural plot but a destination winery. An Iowa winery isn't as surprising as people think, Barry pointed out...

Dave Grosenheider is fair's 2008 Hall of Fame inductee (07/31/08)
The Plymouth County Fair's 2008 Hall of Fame award recipient wasn't listening as fair board president Terry Reuter began his presentation on the opening night of the fair. He soon perked up as Reuter mentioned KLEM in his talk. Dave Grosenheider, director of sales for Powell Broadcasting, was presented with the Hall of Fame award at Century Hall, preceding the royalty coronation which he was preparing to emcee. Radio station KLEM in Le Mars is a part of the Powell group...

Help ahead for 102-year-old Akron opera house (07/29/08)
Akron's opera house has weathered many changes since it opened in 1906. Now another phase is planned for the building that towers over the town's main street. "My head spun for two weeks just thinking about this," Akron Community Theater President Doug Olson said Monday evening while discussing upcoming plans for the theater...

Hinton residents debate future home for new elementary (07/17/08)
By a show of hands the majority of more than 100 Hinton residents expressed a desire Tuesday to build a new elementary adjacent to the town's existing school. The Hinton School Board met with the public Tuesday to receive comments from the people as to their thoughts concerning the district's plans to construct a new pre-Kindergarten through third grade elementary school and competitive gymnasium...

Foster Park district officially on National Register of Historic Places (07/17/08)
A warm summer evening with music in the air provided the backdrop for the official announcement that Foster Park and the surrounding neighborhood is now officially recognized as an historic district by the National Register of Historic Places Wednesday night...

'One-stop' visitor bureau a possibility for Le Mars (07/07/08)
Some local brainstormers are suggesting the idea of a new convention and visitor bureau for Le Mars. Being billed as a "one-stop-shop" for tourism, lodging, recreation and convention information, the proposed bureau could be paid for with part of the Hotel/Motel Sales Tax revenue...

Hinton school hosts public meeting on proposed expansion (07/01/08)
Hinton Community School is looking at building a new early elementary building and gym, and now officials want to hear what the public has to say. The school board will host a public meeting at 7 p.m. Tuesday, July 15 in the school gym to give an update on the proposed pre-Kindergarten through third grade building and competitive gymnasium, anticipated to cost more than $7.5 million...

Museum holds annual flea market on July 4th (06/30/08)
July 4th activities at the Plymouth County Historical Museum will include antiques and food this Friday. The annual Fourth of July Flea Market will be held in the "Old Central" Gym from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., with area antique dealers and vendors having a wide array of items for sale...

Flood damaged Iowa (06/19/08)
AMES, Iowa - June 18, 2008 - Ignoring or moving barricades and attempting to travel on closed roads can be extremely dangerous to motorists. The Iowa Department of Transportation (Iowa DOT) is receiving reports of motorists moving road blocks to travel on highways that may...

Kidz Cabin opens (06/11/08)
A little cabin tucked on the top floor hallway of the Plymouth County Historical Museum will make its debut during Ice Cream Days. "Kidz Cabin" features a front porch, complete with clothesline and clothes pins, and a one-room living space, just the right size for children to play at being pioneers on the prairie...

Ice Cream Days' events offer treats for everyone (06/09/08)
Shine up your smiles and classic cars and get ready for Ice Cream Days. The fun starts Wednesday and concludes Saturday. Starting the adventure Wednesday, for its second year, is the Smile Contest and Ice Cream Social hosted by the Good Samaritan Society-Le Mars at 2 p.m...

School the latest hit in string of graffiti vandalism (06/05/08)
Spray paint on the new construction at the Le Mars Community Middle School and the football stadium may cost the school nearly a thousand dollars. Le Mars Police Officers arrived on the scene to find graffiti on some of the new cement sidewalk and new brick of the middle school addition plus on the concession stand, ticket booth and stop sign near Jim Lorenzen Field...

Vandals strike museum again (03/26/08)
Fire extinguisher spray was just the beginning of the damages discovered at the Plymouth County Historical Museum this week after an unknown person or group broke in. Museum administrator Judy Bowman said staff found a trail broken lightbulbs and a few smashed artifacts on Monday and Tuesday, including a model of the Plymouth County Fairgrounds, which had been made by a student out of popsicle sticks and later donated to the museum...