Operating Systems

O'Keefe gets maximum sentence for stabbing death (09/10/08)
The man who pleaded guilty to stabbing another man with a butcher knife in a Le Mars downtown apartment will spend up to 40 years in prison. Jody Brent O'Keefe, 35, was sentenced Tuesday in Plymouth County District court for the death of Samuel Ray Toliver, 32...

O'Keefe pleads guilty to stabbing (09/05/08)
The man charged with stabbing another man with a butcher knife in a Le Mars downtown apartment in January pleaded guilty to four felony charges Thursday. Jody Brent O'Keefe, 35, signed a plea agreement that could land him in prison for up to 40 years for the death of Samuel Ray Toliver, 32...

No jail time required for Kingsley funeral director (09/03/08)
A Kingsley funeral director will have to pay nearly $180,000 in restitution to a former business partner for money he admitted to stealing, but he faces no prison time. Mark Francis Rohde, 49, who pleaded guilty in August to stealing about $179,000 and to tax evasion, both felonies, was sentenced Tuesday in Plymouth County District Court...

Work on GIS website puts Plymouth County on the map (09/02/08)
Plymouth County's success with owning and operating a Geographical Information Systems (GIS) website will soon be known around the world. Autodesk MapGuide Enterprise, owner of AutoCad Map 3D software used on the county's GIS website, wrote a customer success story that will be published in the company's trademark magazines, displayed at GIS conferences and on its website...

Saving lives one night at a time (08/11/08)
Keith Garner, once retired, has an interesting nightlife. He saves people's lives. Garner isn't a caped crusader or masked marvel, but when the M.D. slips on his white jacket and steps into Floyd Valley Hospital's emergency room, he becomes a man of action...

City searches for solutions to indoor pool problems (08/06/08)
alse alarms on the fire alarm system. Temperature spikes. Ventilation system running non-stop. Computer lock ups. Since it opened in March 2007, the Le Mars Indoor Aquatic Center has been plagued with heating/ventilation/air conditioning (HVAC) problems...

Merrill's before- and after-school program is a go (08/04/08)
Kissinger Elementary students will be able to enroll in a before- and after-school program at Merrill's First United Methodist Church when classes resume on August 21. Throughout the past year, the town has been working to develop a before- and after-school program to provide activities and supervision for students whose parents work longer than school hours...

Registration open at Gehlen until Aug. 13 (08/04/08)
Registration is underway at Gehlen Catholic Schools for the 2008-09 school year and will continue through Aug. 13. Families may stop at the school during regular office hours of Monday through Thursday, between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m., to purchase lunch tickets, bus passes, activities tickets and pay tuition...

Merrill's before- and after-school program on hold (07/31/08)
What began as a great opportunity for the Merrill may not be ready in time when classes resume this fall. Throughout the past year, the town has been working to develop a before- and after-school program to provide activities and supervision for students whose parents work longer than school hours...

Sign theft could mean jail time (07/29/08)
When Mark Sturgeon looked out his window Sunday morning, his lawn looked a little emptier. The sign he put up two days earlier, supporting a candidate running for office this fall, was missing. He was not alone. "We have had some energetic people taking signs from all over the place," said Le Mars Police Chief Stu Dekkenga. "We had a call this morning on missing real estate signs, too."...

Scouts use Eagle projects to help local churches (07/23/08)
For Boy Scouts, Eagle Scout is the highest rank they can achieve. To earn such distinction, scouts must demonstrate that they live by the principles of the Scout Oath and Law in their daily lives, earn a total of 21 merit badges, serve actively in a position of responsibility for six months, and plan, develop, and give leadership to others in a service project...

School's out forever (07/10/08)
A Le Mars landmark for more than a century was demolished Wednesday. St. Joseph School, completed in 1905, was torn down to make way for a new Catholic church. A handful of the more than 2,000 students that studied in the building's classrooms gathered Wednesday to take pictures and watch the school be reduced to a pile of rubble...

Officials say crippled highway system won't affect northwest Iowa (07/09/08)
The closest northwest Iowa got to this summer's flooding was photos and video clips in the news. But this region of the state is linked to the flood ravaged areas via a vital connection -- the state highway system. Now the already financially strapped Iowa Department of Transportation (IDOT) is hustling to fix the bridges and roads destroyed by floodwaters in central and eastern Iowa...

Meals packed in Le Mars reach Honduras (07/08/08)
Two containers full of dry meals, many packed at the Kids Against Hunger event at Gehlen Catholic School in May, are reaching their destinations in Honduras. The first container of 285,000 meals was delivered at the end of June to Montana de la Flor, a remote region populated by a group of native Hondurans...

Couple hopes musical notes carry in dollars for prison church (07/07/08)
Foot stompin' country and gospel music will be featured in concert this Sunday in rural Remsen to help raise money for The Church of the Damascus Road. The congregation of The Church of the Damascus Road Evangelical Lutheran Church of America ministers to inmates of any denomination within the prisons in Fort Dodge and Rockwell City...

Ministry pegs Le Mars as possible center for Bibles for Missions (07/01/08)
Bibles for Missions Thrift Center ministries would like to open a store in Le Mars to help convert merchandise into Scriptures. The store's profits would be used to purchase Bibles for people overseas. "We accept donations from the local community which are tax deductible," said Jessica Bruinsma, volunteer coordinator for the Bibles for Missions Thrift Center ministries. "Then we sell those donations to the local community at very affordable prices."...

SRTS considering 'fuel -saving' designated bus routes for Le Mars (06/18/08)
Le Mars residents could, if interest warrants, find themselves with a new fuel-saving transportation option in the future. Bill Cole, assistant city administrator, Tuesday shared with city council members that among "new ideas" under discussion by the Siouxland Regional Transportation System (SRTS) is the consideration of possible designated routes throughout the city. Such routes, Cole said, is being looked at as a means of continuing to increase SRTS usage...

Kingsley man arrested after threatening deputy (06/16/08)
A 52-year-old Kingsley man is in jail after lying to and threatening a deputy then trying to evade authorities while carrying a gun Friday morning. Christopher Steven Mills was arrested after Plymouth County Sheriff Deputy Aaron Leusink came to Mills' home, 220 Rutland Street, at about 9:30 a.m. and attempted to serve him civil papers on a small claims issue...

Our Dreams: Class of 2008 (06/12/08)
This is the fourth story in a series looking at what plans and dreams local members of the graduating class of 2008 hope to pursue. For Shahryar Naqvi, the desire become a lawyer isn't motivated by fame, fancy things, or even the money that is commonly associated with the practice. For this 2008 Gehlen Catholic High School graduate, the aspiration to become a lawyer lies in one, pure motive: To achieve equality for the little guy...

Le Mars United Way awards funding to area agencies (06/03/08)
A teen pregnancy prevention program, meat vouchers for families in need, a fine arts after-school program and addiction recovery services are among 14 projects receiving grant money from the Le Mars United Way this year. Fourteen local agencies will be receiving a total of $58,500 from the nonprofit organization to provide area families with basic needs and services...

Brunsville Area Veterans Memorial dedicated (05/27/08)
The sun shone brightly on Memorial Day 2008 and on the dedication of the Brunsville Area Veterans Memorial Monday morning. Just a year after the idea of a veterans memorial for Brunsville were first discussed, the memorial was put in place. Members of Brunsville Legion McHale-Heeren-Wilkens Post 724 put together the memorial, which stands across the street from the Legion Hall in downtown Brunsville...

American Legion Auxiliary announce winners of Poppy Poster Contest (05/21/08)
Sixth grade students at Gehlen Catholic School showed their support of veterans of all wars by participating in the American Legion Auxiliary's annual Poppy Poster contest. Poppy Week is usually observed as the week that ends on the Saturday before Memorial Day. However, Gehlen Catholic sixth graders learned about it earlier as part of a unit on good poster design in art class in preparation for the American Legion Auxiliary Poppy Poster Contest, under the direction of Beth Schlichte...

Angel Food Ministries hopes to soften blow of rising food costs (05/20/08)
Westfield Congregational United Church of Christ volunteers distributed 87 boxes of food Saturday as a part of Angel Food Ministries. The Westfield church has joined the national non-profit, non-denominational organization to sell food products for half their retail cost to help supplement budgets as food prices continue to rise...

Mayor observes School Board Recognition Week (05/16/08)
With May 11-17 set as Iowa School Board Recognition Week, Le Mars Mayor Dick Kirchoff made sure he did his part to honor the local school boards. On Monday, May 12, he signed and presented a proclamation to members of the Le Mars Community Schools board of education. This year's theme --"Helping Students Reach New Heights" -- recognizes that Iowa's volunteer school board members are local leaders working to help students succeed...

Meals packed in Le Mars will meet immediate need (05/12/08)
Three weeks ago, a national food crisis was declared in Honduras. On Friday, students, volunteers and staff at Gehlen Catholic Schools worked for 12 hours straight on a project that will put nutritious meals in the hands of Hondurans. At the third-annual Kids Against Hunger (KAH) food packing event, they bagged and sealed about 200,000 dry rice and protein meals that will arrive in Honduras within weeks...

Gehlen elementary present vocal concert (05/06/08)
Gehlen Catholic elementary vocal students will present their spring concert, "Kids on Broadway," at 7 p.m. tonight (Tuesday) in the Gehlen Catholic Gymnasium. Students in grades kindergarten through six will present selections from popular Broadway musicals including "The Sound of Music," "The Wizard of Oz," "Oliver," "You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown," "Snoopy," and "Mamma Mia" with narration by the sixth grade class...

Volunteers "join hands" to send military care packages (05/05/08)
Razors, toothpaste, beef jerky, gum, nuts -- all were items purchased and shipped to military men and women Saturday. As part of the national Join Hands Day, local volunteers and members of the Plymouth County chapter of Thrivent Financial for Lutherans and Modern Woodmen of America came together at Dollar Tree in Le Mars...

Police tie two to longer string of burglaries (05/01/08)
Police are pinning 11 more burglaries on an 18-year-old already accused of being part of five other break-ins. A new suspect, a 16-year-old, was also tied to five of the burglaries after police interviews. The 18-year-old, Alexx Leo Conyers of Le Mars, faces 12 more felony charges for allegedly breaking in, stealing cash and vandalizing property. Conyers was already booked in the Plymouth County Jail...

Gehlen Catholic spring band concert is Thursday (04/29/08)
With an eclectic mix of traditional concert band music and Disney tunes, Gehlen Catholic Schools' band students will present their annual spring instrumental music concert this week. All the band students in grades 4-12 will present their concert at 7 p.m. Thursday, May 1, in the Gehlen Gymnasium. The concert will also be a time to say "farewell" to 13 graduating seniors...

Volunteers needed for food-packing event (04/25/08)
Two hours of your life can translate into hundreds of meals for malnourished people around the world. Gehlen Catholic School is seeking volunteers and sponsors for this year's Kids Against Hunger food-packaging project, planned for Friday, May 9. Volunteers will work alongside students and staff to pack, weigh and seal bags of dried rice and protein meals which will be shipped overseas, mainly to Honduras...

Aerial seeding along bypass begins Monday (03/24/08)
Motorists driving on Iowa Highway 75 Le Mars bypass will need to watch for roadworkers as permanent seeding on that section of highway is scheduled to begin today (Monday) according to the Iowa Department of Transportation's Sioux City Construction Office...