News Media

Law would take away guns from domestic violence offenders (03/18/10)
Convicted domestic violence offenders in Iowa could lose their right to own guns and ammunition if the governor signs a bill into law Monday. A person accused of domestic violence who has a protective order placed against them can be required to relinquish their firearms temporarily, the bill states...

Big Sioux Flooding (03/17/10)
The Big Sioux River rose over its banks and floodwaters closed a portion of road north of Akron near the bridge. A dike broke on the South Dakota side so water is going onto cropland, taking some of the pressure off the Iowa side by Akron. The Big Sioux will likely crest at 21.4 feet Thursday, according to the National Weather Service...

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...

Floyd River floods, Big Sioux still rising (03/16/10)
The Floyd River overran its banks Monday, rising beyond flood stage of 20 feet by mid-day. "The current stage is 20.8 feet," said Mike Gillispie, hydrologist with the Sioux Falls National Weather Service. "I would anticipate that probably you're looking at another half foot rise in Le Mars," Gillispie said. "That shouldn't cause any huge additional problems."...

Big Sioux flooding, Floyd River could be next (03/15/10)
The Big Sioux River spilled over its banks in Akron Sunday and the Floyd River is threatening the Le Mars area. "We just hit major flood stage there (Akron)," said Mike Gillispie, a hydrologist with the Sioux Falls National Weather Service. "Major is where we really start impacting buildings, roads and things like that."...

LOST dollars could rebuild laundromat, buy laptops for school (03/15/10)
Twenty-nine area groups are vying for grants from Plymouth County's $100,000 Local Options Sales Tax grant pool. The requests range from $50,000 to demolish and rebuild the fire damaged Kraft Kleaners in Kingsley to $1,928 for the Le Mars Fire and Rescue Department to buy rope rescue equipment to use with the aerial ladder fire truck...

Stelzer leads charge to gather donations for Haiti orphanage (03/11/10)
The congregation of St. John's Lutheran Church in Le Mars and member Kathy Stelzer are hoping they can make a difference for an orphanage in Haiti destroyed by the January earthquake. "After the earthquake, I wanted to find an orphanage in Haiti that needed some help," said Stelzer...

Vehicle drives into Education Station (03/11/10)
One employee said it sounded like a sonic boom. At about 4:15 p.m. Wednesday a van crashed into the glass front of The Education Station, according to the store's owner John MacGregor. "We were in the store, but no one was injured," he said. The driver, Bridget Ann Overman, 31, of Le Mars, was pulling into a parking spot in front of the education store and mistakenly hit the gas pedal instead of the brakes, according to a report from the Le Mars police...

No word from GM for Total Sales and Services (03/10/10)
A Le Mars auto dealership hasn't heard anything from GM regarding whether or not the business' Chevrolet franchise will be reinstated. Total Sales and Service is one of hundreds of dealers across the nation that lost GM franchise agreements in the automakers' bankruptcy dealings in May 2009...

Drug court could fall victim to budget cuts (03/10/10)
A program that has changed lives in Plymouth County may be threatened. Adult drug court, in which adults facing drug-related charges meet with a panel of their peers and follow its recommendations, could be cut in Plymouth County if a lack of money is available, according to Mary Buhman, drug court coordinator...

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...

I-JOBS pays for roads, bridges in Plymouth County (03/09/10)
I-JOBS, a state program using gambling dollars to pay for roads, bridges and other improvements, is funneling about $1.2 million into Plymouth County. Lt. Gov. Patty Judge shared that figure during her Monday stop at Plymouth Oil near Merrill. The dollars will help pay for proposed projects like Blue Diamond Drive in Le Mars, two bridge replacements and the Environmental Conservation Opportunities (ECO) Center at Hillview Recreation Park near Hinton, Judge said...

High snowfall means low frost depth for Plymouth County (03/04/10)
None. That's the amount of frost in the ground under the snow. That's the report Joel De Jong, crops field agronomist for the Plymouth County Iowa State Extension, has heard from a couple of farmers after they recently installed tile in their fields...

Cyclists hope bike safety bill pedals through Legislature (03/04/10)
Last year a Plymouth County woman was hurt after being struck by a beer can while riding her bicycle along a country road. Erin Schroeder still gets butterflies in her stomach when she climbs on her bike. She hopes a proposed bicycle safety bill in the Iowa House of Representatives moves forward to help protect cyclists on the roadways...

Fire rips through roof of Le Mars home (03/02/10)
No one was injured in a Le Mars house fire that left a 6-by-8 foot hole in the home's roof Monday night. Police notified the Le Mars Fire Department at about 10:15 p.m. after receiving calls about a smokey odor in the neighborhood and seeing smoke coming from a house at 315 Sixth St. N.W...

February's chilly temps set new local weather record (03/01/10)
As of Sunday, it's been 88 days since Le Mars residents have basked in 40-degree temperatures -- and that's a record breaker. The next longest streak with temperatures less than 40 degrees in Le Mars was 74 days set from Dec. 13, 1968 to Feb. 24, 1969, according to the Midwestern Regional Climate Center in Illinois...

Authorities release identity in rural Hinton suicide case (03/01/10)
The 28-year-old man found dead on a rural Hinton road has been identified as Wilson A. Shierk, of Kenosha, Wis. Investigators have not yet found a reason Shierk was in rural Plymouth County, but Plymouth County Sheriff Mike Van Otterloo said evidence still shows the man died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound...

Fire chief to hang up helmet after more than 40 years (02/26/10)
Le Mars Fire-Rescue Chief Wayne Schipper is about to start a new chapter in his life. Retirement. "I've had a pretty rewarding time," Schipper said. He will retire in June after 27 years as fire chief. He's been with the department 41 years. He started with the Le Mars fire auxiliary in the 1960s while still in high school, and since then rules for becoming a firefighter have evolved, Schipper said...

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...

Wisconsin man takes own life near rural Hinton (02/26/10)
Information released today (Friday) by the Plymouth County Sheriff's Department stated the man found on a rural Hinton road this week died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. The name of the deceased, who is a male, 29 years old, from Kenosha, Wis., will be released later, according to a report from the Plymouth County Sheriff's Department...

Complaints, citations, arrests down in Le Mars for 2009 (02/26/10)
Good news comes from the the Le Mars Police Department 2009 annual report. The report indicated numbers were down for six categories: accidents, arrests and juvenile charges, citations and warnings, complaints investigated by officers and calls for service...

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

Authorities work to identify dead man (02/25/10)
The name of a man found dead on a rural Hinton road and the cause of his death were still unknown as of 7 a.m. today (Thursday). The body was first found by a motorist traveling on 310th Street just east of K-49 Wednesday afternoon, about eight miles southeast of Hinton, according to a report from the Plymouth County Sheriff's Office...

Outlet malfunction likely cause of Remsen house fire (02/24/10)
A malfunction of electrical equipment in an outlet likely caused the fire that heavily damageda rural Remsen home last Friday. No one was injured in the fire at the home of Chad Homan, 45183 C-44 south of Remsen, but damages are estimated to be more than $100,000...

Fire chief retires this summer (02/24/10)
A man who has served 43 years with fire and rescue and 27 years as the Le Mars Fire and Rescue chief will be retiring this summer. Wayne Schipper, of Le Mars, submitted his letter of retirement in mid-January, giving his retiring date as June 30, 2010...

Outlet malfunction likely cause of Remsen house fire (02/23/10)
A malfunction of electrical equipment in an outlet likely caused the fire that heavily damaged the home of Chad Homan in rural Remsen last Friday. No one was injured in the fire at 45183 C-44 south of Remsen, but damages are estimated to be more than $100,000...

Basketball on the big screen: Local students play in new movie (02/23/10)
On Thursday, Skyler Higgins suited up for a Remsen St. Mary's district basketball game. On Friday, the RSM senior was shooting hoops on the big screen. "Winning Favor," a movie that captures the story of two Orange City teams and includes a cast of local ball players like Higgins, opened Friday for a two-week run at the Orange City movie theater...

Kingsley fire ruled accidental (02/23/10)
The fire that burned Kraft Kleaners in Kingsley Saturday was likely caused by a natural gas leak in a supply line to a heater, according to the state fire marshal. "The building is considered a total loss and all of the dry cleaning equipment and laundromat equipment may possibly be a total loss also," Deputy State Fire Marshal David Schipper said in a news release...

Kingsley fire ruled accidental (02/22/10)
The fire that burned Kraft Kleaners in Kingsley Saturday was likely caused by a natural gas leak in a supply line to a heater, according to the state fire marshal. "The building is considered a total loss and all of the dry cleaning equipment and laundromat equipment may possibly be a total loss also," Deputy State Fire Marshal David Schipper said in a news release...

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...

Kingsley cleaners burned but not beaten (02/22/10)
A 63-year-old Kingsley business went up in flames Saturday night but owners say they're staying in business. Fire crews were called to Kraft Kleaners and Laundromat at about 9 p.m. after a 911 call and were on the scene for about three hours. "There was a lot of smoke coming out of the building and you could see flames inside," Kingsley Fire Chief Scott Bohle said. "We had the main fire knocked down in about 30-40 minutes."...

Winter's snow melt may bring water in basements (02/22/10)
As icicles build up on gutters, it may be hard to see the significance of the damage that may be occurring behind them. Icicles are usually one of the first warning signs of possible ice dams on roofs which may result in excess water near the house and in the basement...

Branstad says it's time to clean house, Iowa (02/19/10)
Former Gov. Terry Branstad is OK with ice cream for breakfast, but he's not OK with Iowa's government the way it is now. That's what he told the crowd at the Blue Bunny Ice Cream Parlor in Le Mars Thursday morning on a campaign stop for the 2010 governor's race...

Potholes open up challenges for crews, drivers (02/17/10)
Warm winter weather does more than melt snow -- it helps create potholes. And they multiply every time the ground freezes and thaws creating more this year than ever. That's what makes it hard for street crews like Le Mars and the Iowa Department of Transportation (IDOT) to keep up with temporary pothole repairs...

Museum plans 'Spring Preview of Authors (02/16/10)
"Spring Preview of Authors" will put the spotlight on Kingsley during the Plymouth County Historical Museum's first 2010 program Sunday, Feb. 21. The book signing and program will begin at 2 p.m. in the museum's Music Room on the main floor. Doors to the museum will be open from 1-5 p.m...

Public employee bargaining: The reasons behind the raises (02/12/10)
(Editor's note: This story is the second of two stories taking a closer look at public employees' bargaining.) Le Mars City Employees Bargaining Unit: Pay freeze for six months, 3 percent raise starting in January 2011. Plymouth County Secondary Roads Bargaining Unit: 3 percent raise for each year of a three-year contract...

Public employee bargaining: Designed to protect citizens (02/11/10)
(Editor's note: This story is the first of two stories taking a closer look at public employees' bargaining.) In the business world, salaries and benefits of a business' employees are somewhat dependent on how well the business is doing. However, in the public sector, employees like teachers and city workers are given the chance to organize and bargain collectively based on Iowa Code Chapter 20...

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...

E-911 supplements IT coordinator's salary for 2011 (02/10/10)
Plymouth County E-911 Board members approved putting $5,000 toward the salary for Shawn Olson, county 911/information technology (IT)/GIS coordinator. The Plymouth County Supervisors took them up on that offer Tuesday for the 2011 fiscal year. Olson's new wage was OK'd in the supervisors' with their preliminary approval of the 2010-11 proposed $21,891,804 budget...

Snow days adding up for Le Mars Community and Gehlen Schools (02/08/10)

Officials seek residents with yardsticks and rain gauges (02/08/10)
Needed: volunteers to measure snowfall, rainfall and other precipitation daily. In Plymouth County there are two National Weather Service Cooperative Observer stations, in Le Mars and Akron, where volunteers measure precipitation and temperatures daily...

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...

Daily Sentinel places high among Iowa papers (02/08/10)
The Le Mars Daily Sentinel ranked high among Iowa's newspapers, earning an armload of honors in the Iowa Newspaper Association's 2010 Better Newspaper Contests. At an awards banquet Friday, the Daily Sentinel picked up 10 first place awards, tallying enough points to rank third in its class and sixth place among more than 100 Iowa newspapers in the contest...

Calling all newbies: Group welcomes people to Le Mars (02/04/10)
Newcomers to Le Mars -- you're not alone. Locals and other newcomers are waiting to meet you and welcome you to the community. Misty Szczech, a Le Mars transplant herself, started hosting meetings for newcomers in August 2008. Since then her ideas have grown and caught fire with others...

Sheriff's bargaining unit employees negotiate 6 percent raise (02/03/10)
The Plymouth County Supervisors signed 2010-2013 contracts with the sheriff and secondary road bargaining units Tuesday. After five months of negotiation and a four-hour mediation session in late December, 30 employees within the sheriff bargaining unit will receive a 6 percent salary increase in 2010 as part of the three-year contract...

Mike Donlin named 2009 Citizen of the Year (02/01/10)
Mike Donlin of Le Mars was honored as the 2009 Citizen of the Year at the Le Mars Area Chamber of Commerce Annual Dinner Saturday at the Le Mars Convention Center. "Some people seem to have natural leadership abilities. This year's recipient demonstrates such abilities both in the workplace and throughout the community," said Graham Forbes, 2009 Chamber president as he began to describe Donlin...

Now hiring: Census 2010 needs local workers (01/29/10)
The U.S. Census Bureau is looking for local workers to complete the 2010 Census. Census work will begin in Plymouth County communities within a month, according to Jim Meyers, local census office manager for western Iowa. "At that point we will be hiring people to visit those houses and leave the questionnaire at the household in person," Meyers said. "We still have lots of hiring to do throughout western Iowa."...

�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...

Le Mars dealership fights for Chevrolet franchise (01/28/10)
Total Sales and Service filed paperwork Friday with General Motors to reinstate the business' Chevrolet franchise. The Le Mars dealership is among 1,550 GM and Chrysler dealers across the nation appealing the loss of their franchise as part of the automakers' bankruptcy dealings in May 2009...

Sheriff seeks more inmates to help county budget (01/28/10)
The Plymouth County Jail has felt a drop of about $160,000 in revenue due to housing only half the number of federal inmates as in previous years. Currently, seven or eight federal inmates reside in the jail at $75 a day. But the jail was built to house six to eight more...

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