Natural Disasters

All aboard: Steam engine roars into Le Mars (10/02/08)
History came to town on the rail Wednesday Chugging and steaming and tooting the whistle, all one million pounds of the steam engine Challenger rolled into Le Mars for a whistle stop on its five-state tour. Dozens of people gathered at the tracks to catch a look at the 1943 Union Pacific (UP) locomotive...

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...

Minnesota woman escapes serious injury in truck, building collision (09/29/08)
A medical condition caused Stephanie Kay Allen to lose control of her pickup and crash it into the Meylor Chiropractic building Friday afternoon, police said. The 39-year-old woman, of Silver Lake, Minn., who was wearing her seat belt, suffered non-life threatening injuries during the 12:45 p.m. accident...

Minnesota woman escapes serious injury in truck, building collision (09/26/08)

Steam locomotive to stop in Le Mars (09/25/08)
Union Pacific's "Challenger" No. 3985 will steam into Le Mars next Wednesday for a brief visit The visit comes during the 1940s locomotive's round trip tour from Cheyenne, Wyo. to St. Paul, Minn., and back. People can take a look at the restored train engine during its half-hour stop Oct. 1 along Lincoln Street near the south Wells Dairy ice cream plant at Eighth Street Southwest...

Grant request denial puts brakes on building ECO Center (09/19/08)
Plymouth County Conservation's plans to build a proposed Education Conservation Opportunities (ECO) Center hit a roadblock Tuesday A request for a $400,000 Resource Enhancement and Protection (REAP) grant to help construct the center was denied by the Iowa Department of Natural Resources...

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...

Fire chief asks for flags at half-staff Sept. 11 (09/10/08)
The Le Mars Fire Chief is asking citizens to fly flags at half-staff Thursday, Sept. 11 in memory of those that died in the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks. "We're trying to honor those that gave their lives, respect those who died," Schipper said. "I think it's vital that we continue a remembrance."...

City works with IML Container to prepare for expansion (09/05/08)
The Le Mars City Council approved buying a piece of railroad equipment to assist an expanding Le Mars business that relies on rail for shipments. IML Containers is currently depending on rail to bring in materials for their planned expansion in southern Le Mars, according to City Administrator Scott Langel...

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...

Flood benefit showcases old-time country musicians (08/25/08)
Saturday night's Country Music fundraiser for flood victims in the Cedar Rapids area raised nearly $1,200. It also gave area residents and guests a taste of the music to be presented at the 33rd Annual National Old-Time Country & Bluegrass Festival and Contest at the Plymouth County Fairgrounds starting today (Monday) and running through Sunday, Aug. 31...

Leaving behind her comfort zone (08/21/08)
When Jaclyn Ver Mulm packed her bags for China this summer, she had two things on her mind: visiting her sister and catching some of the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. But more was in store for the young woman from Le Mars during her three-month stay in the country...

Bypass interchange work may light up next council agenda (08/21/08)
The probability of lighting the Highway 75 Bypass interchanges into Le Mars may well be among agenda items in the near future for the Le Mars City Council. Councilman Rex Knapp Tuesday shared with fellow council members the issue, which the joint urban renewal board addressed at its meeting earlier this week...

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...

Plymouth County cracks down on drunk drivers (08/15/08)
The Plymouth County Sheriff's Office announced it will join other police agencies throughout the country in support of an intensive crackdown on impaired driving now through September 1. "The state has several times they do these things," said Chief Deputy Craig Bartolozzi. "Labor Day is one of the worst holidays for this kind of thing because of last minute vacationers and such."...

Akron man receives lifesaving award (08/12/08)
An 18-year-old Akron man was honored by Iowa's governor at the state fair on Friday for risking his own life to save another's. Shawn Milbrodt received a 2008 Governor's Lifesaving Award for helping save a 19-year-old's life last July. On July 20, 2007, Jason Bumsted, 19, was involved in a head on collision with another vehicle where both cars caught fire. Shawn Milbrodt and Grant Krentz, 21, of Sioux City, drove upon the accident shortly thereafter...

Three injured in Merrill accident (08/12/08)
Three passengers and one driver were injured Sunday when a Sioux City man failed to stop for a car on Highway 75 in Merrill. Peter Volodja Boe, 70, of Sioux City was westbound on C-44 at 7:45 p.m. and came to the stop sign at Highway 75 in Merrill, according to the Plymouth County Sheriff's report...

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...

Rain doesn't dampen enthusiasm for fair (07/28/08)
Despite a burned extension cord at the Round Barn and a rainy start, the Plymouth County Fair went off without a hitch. Terry Reuter, fair board president, said there was a minor incident Friday at the Round Barn when an outside extension cord hanging in front of a spotlight lens heated up...

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...

Pride Group fire in Primghar (07/18/08)
One man was injured after starting a fire near a Pride Group home for mentally ill individuals in Primghar, according to Pride Group CEO Mike Porter. The facility is owned and managed by Pride Group of Le Mars. The fire, according to Porter, was started with gasoline in a outbuilding near the group home, which houses 34 people. O'Brien County owns the outbuilding, Porter added...

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...

Remsen man injured in grain explosion in Alton (07/10/08)
ALTON, Iowa (AP) -- One person has been injured in a fiery explosion at a grain elevator in Alton in northwest Iowa. Officials say Matthew Galles, 31, of Remsen, was unloading grain at the Midwest Farmers Cooperative on Wednesday when the explosion occurred about 3:15 p.m...

Siren testing runs late Monday afternoon (07/07/08)
The tornado alert sirens in Le Mars were tested Monday, July 7, the first Monday of the month at 3:30 p.m. rather than 1 p.m. There is not threatening storm. Switiching some of the radio and paging equipment at the county's communications center caused the delay, according to Le Mars Fire Chief Wayne Schipper...

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...

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...

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...

Council delays action on fire truck replacement (06/18/08)
Le Mars City Council members are expected to, as Mayor Kick Kirchoff put it, "meet at the trough" at their next meeting to discuss the city fire department's need for a new fire truck to replace an existing 1985 truck. Members voted to table the matter until Councilmen John Rexwinkel and Rex Knapp, absent at Tuesday's session, could be present to join in the discussions...

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...

Local Scouts join vigil for four boys killed in tornado (06/16/08)
No local Boy Scouts were directly involved in the tragedy at the Little Sioux Scout Camp near Blencoe last week, but the tornado that claimed four Scouts' lives affected all of them. "We didn't know the boys but in a sense we're all brothers -- we have the same background, the same morals, the same beliefs," said Dean Christoffel, the Scoutmaster for Troop 184 of Le Mars...

Big Sioux could flood again at Akron (06/10/08)
The Big Sioux river crested Sunday at four feet above flood level and is starting to drop, but more rain predicted this week could turn that around. As of Tuesday morning, the Big Sioux was hovering at about 18.9 feet, with flood stage being 16 feet for the area...

Disaster services plan open house Saturday (05/29/08)
When the weather turns dangerous, when there is a bio-emergency, the county disaster workers will be there. But they want to show people what they've got before disaster hits. Plymouth County Disaster Services will have an open house this Saturday at the facility on 231 Second Ave. N.E. in Le Mars...

Kingsley teen dies in crash (05/20/08)
A 15-year-old girl from Kingsley was killed in a one-vehicle accident north of Moville Monday. Monica Tejeda was thrown from the passenger seat of a vehicle when its driver, 17-year-old Jade Lalumendre, of Kingsley, apparently lost control of the vehicle, according to the Woodbury County Sheriff's Office...

Blaze burned part of rural Westfield home (05/20/08)
A house fire in rural Westfield put a family out of their home on Sunday. Melissa Marlin called in the second-story fire at the home of her family of five at 3:51 p.m. Sunday. "The family was out working in the yard and noticed it," said Akron Fire Chief Shane Coyle. "There were no injuries."...

Le Mars man injured in one-vehicle crash (05/20/08)
A 22-year-old from Le Mars was thrown from his car in a single-vehicle accident on Sunday. Charles Levi Hinh was driving on Highway 60 near 150th Street when his vehicle entered the median, rolled twice, and came to rest on its top on the highway. Hinh was ejected from the car...

Schoenherr named Fireman of the Year (05/16/08)
Leonard Schoenherr loves being a fire fighter. Schoenherr was named Fireman of the Year for 2008 because of his work ethic, willingness to lend a hand and ambition. He started with Le Mars Fire Department as a reserve member in 2006 and even then began to shine...

Kingsley resident dies in one-vehicle crash (05/13/08)
A driver from Kingsley was killed in a one-car accident Monday afternoon on Highway 140 south of Kingsley. Aaron Ronald Foster, 29, lost control of his pickup for unknown reasons and it veered into the west ditch, colliding with a utility pole about a mile from Kingsley at 12:38 p.m...

Rural roads see more fatal teen accidents (05/12/08)
A recent study found that teens driving on rural roads are more likely to be involved in a fatal accident than teens driving in metropolitan areas. Allstate Insurance Company's study analyzed federal crash statistics and their company's claims data to identify hotspots where fatal teen crashes are higher than others...

Former 4-H'er saddened by vandalism of fairgrounds model (04/22/08)
When Matt Giffrow, 27, visited the Plymouth County Historical Museum last Saturday, it was more like a funeral wake than a cultural experience. The Omaha resident returned to view his 4-H project, a diorama of the Plymouth County Fairgrounds he had created when he was 11. The exhibit was destroyed at the museum at approximately 2 a.m., Thursday, March 20, during a break-in...