Primary Elections

Principals work on transitions for Kissinger students, staff (03/16/10)
Le Mars Community Schools elementary principals are preparing for Kindergarten Round-Up and the transition from Kissinger Elementary in Merrill to attendance centers in Le Mars. Dave Horken and Scott Parry gave an update to the school board of education members at last week's board meeting...

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."...

College information night set for juniors (03/12/10)
It's not too early for high school juniors to be thinking about college plans. Le Mars Community High School will host a post-high school information night Monday, March 22, to help students and parents fill in the blanks to their questions. A presenter from College Planning Center will be available to give students and parents pertinent information regarding the decision-making process for the student's future choice...

LCMS students bring musical 'Honk! Jr.' to Le Mars stage (03/10/10)
The Le Mars Community Middle School Vocal Department will present "Honk" Junior," at 7:30 p.m. Thursday and Friday in the Middle School Auditorium under the direction of Nancy Ewing. "Honk! Junior" is a contemporary, comic adaptation of Hans Christian Andersen's "The Ugly Duckling."...

Plymouth County schools find ways to make cuts (03/10/10)
Editor's note: This is the second of two stories looking at budget cuts for Plymouth County schools. Plymouth County school districts are trying to figure out ways to reduce already lean budgets. Because Legislators haven't decided whether or not to cut the 2 percent allowable growth, each school district does not know yet if it will receive state funding...

LCS board will budget on anticipated allowable growth money (03/09/10)
Le Mars Community School Board of Education members gave their approval to a budget timeline that will culminate in a certified 2010-11 budget to be filed with the state by April 15, 2010. The board directed Superintendent Dr. Todd Wendt to develop the 2010-11 budget working under the assumption of a 2 percent allowable growth in state funding and a Cash Reserve Levy of $750,000...

Two supervisors seek re-election (03/09/10)
Two Plymouth County Supervisors have filed for re-election. Republicans Craig A. Anderson, of Merrill, and Don Kass, of Remsen, turned in their papers Tuesday morning to run again for supervisor. Anderson, who first took office in early 2006, is seeking to hold the District 4 seat for another term. Anderson was first elected in a special election, filling the unfinished term of Jack Spies. He was re-elected for a full term later that year...

Kessenich family calls Kissinger second home (03/08/10)

Plymouth County's lean school budgets may receive another chop (03/08/10)
Editor's note: This is the first of two stories looking at budget cuts for area schools. Lean school budgets throughout Plymouth County may receive yet another cut from the State of Iowa. And the possible cut -- taking away the 2 percent allowable growth -- would be deep...

Nominations sought for LCS Teacher of the Year (03/08/10)
The Le Mars Community School District Foundation and the Le Mars community School Alumni Association are seeking nominations for "Teacher of the Year." According to the two groups, the award is given to represent the many great teachers who exemplify the school districts and their educational goals...

Gehlen student removed from school after e-threat (03/04/10)
An 18-year-old Gehlen Catholic Schools student who allegedly authored a message threatening other Gehlen students was removed from the school immediately Thursday. The student, an 18-year-old female, sent the alleged message via an electronic communication, according to the Le Mars Police...

Candidates can file paperwork Monday (03/04/10)
Candidates wishing to file papers for the county's primary election can start Monday. Candidates must file paperwork with Cherie Nitzschke, Plymouth County deputy auditor, at the courthouse. The deadline is 5 p.m. Wednesday, March 31.

Local students excel at IE speech contest Saturday (03/02/10)
Le Mars Community High School and Gehlen High School students have advanced to the state level following competition in the Individual Event District Speech Contest Saturday. The district contest was held at Akron-Westfield High School in Akron, one of 16 sites in Iowa...

Work could begin in August on new Hinton elementary school (02/25/10)
Plans for Hinton Community School District's new pre-kindergarten through third grade elementary school are on track. "We would hope physical construction of the building would begin sometime in August with an eye for it being completed a year from then in August 2011," said Larry Williams, Hinton's interim superintendent...

Kids take the gold in Kissinger Olympics (02/24/10)
More than 1,350 miles away from the Vancouver Winter Olympics, another Olympic flame is "burning." The students at Kissinger Elementary School in Merrill are competing in their own Olympic games, complete with a torch made out of a lamp and construction paper...

LCS board votes to close Kissinger, cut $1 million (02/23/10)
Kissinger Elementary School in Merrill will close its doors to students at the end of the 2009-10 school year, after school board members voted Monday night to close the school. The decision was part of a $1 million budget reduction for the 2010-11 school year...

Students' move saves R-U dollars, increases teaching days (02/22/10)
Remsen-Union middle schoolers' move more than a year ago has saved the district thousands of dollars. Middle schoolers moved from their three-story building on Fulton Street in Remsen onto R-U Community School's main campus, at 511 Roosevelt St., in September 2008...

Few comment at LCS public meeting on budget cuts (02/19/10)
Only a handful of the 40 people attending the public meeting on proposed budget cuts for Le Mars Community Schools spoke to the Board of Education members Thursday night. Board president Patrick Murphy opened the meeting by explaining the areas where cuts have been proposed to meet the board's goal of cutting $1 million from the 2010-11 school year budget...

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...

Fifth graders aim to help the world -- one penny at a time (02/18/10)

Merrill residents apprehensive on proposed Kissinger closure (02/18/10)
Final decision time is nearing on the question of whether to close Kissinger Elementary School in Merrill. The Le Mars Community Schools Board is holding a special meeting 7 p.m. tonight (Thursday) for public input and comments regarding proposed budget cuts, which include shuttering the Merrill elementary...

Teaming at LCS: What it is and what it will mean to lose it (02/16/10)
A concept that teams middle school teachers at Le Mars Community Schools may be in its last year, due to budget cuts. In 2002, the LCS middle school teachers switched to "teaming." That means the students are divided into teams and each team has its own set of teachers: one each for math, one each for science, etc...

Branstad plans Thursday Le Mars stop (02/16/10)
Iowa gubernatorial candidate former Gov. Terry Branstad will be in Le Mars Thursday. Branstad is hosting a 9 a.m. Plymouth County "Iowa Comeback Tour" stop at the Blue Bunny Ice Cream Parlor. Branstad, who served as Iowa's governor from 1983 to 1999, is making five town hall stops as part of his campaign Wednesday and Thursday...

LCS board plans public comment meeting Thursday (02/15/10)
The Le Mars Community School Board of Education will hold a special public meeting at 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 18, at the Education Service Center, 940 Lincoln St. S.W. The meeting is a time for the board to receive public input/comment on expenditure reductions recommended for 2010-11 budget...

Huseman seeks re-election (02/15/10)
Rep. Dan Huseman (R-Aurelia) announced Friday he will be running for re-election to the Iowa House. Huseman represents Cherokee County, 10 townships in eastern and southern Plymouth County and nine townships in northern Woodbury County. "State government must manage Iowans' tax dollars wisely. ...

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...

Fourteen and on the job: Le Mars schools implement career planning at eighth grade level (02/10/10)
I have a plan, a career plan. That's the goal for each eighth grader in Le Mars due to the State of Iowa mandate that all schools must have a career plan in place. To fulfill this mandate, the state requires Le Mars Community Middle School (LCMS) to implement a web-based program called IHaveaPlanIowa.gov to aid eighth grade students in their career planning for high school and beyond...

Vander Plaats ready to put government on chopping block (02/09/10)
Gubernatorial hopeful Vander Plaats thinks he has some answers for Iowa's troubled economy -- and the top one is shrinking the government. Vander Plaats spoke Monday to about a dozen people at the Le Mars Pizza Ranch during a tour hitting all 99 of Iowa's counties...

R-U fourth graders go back in time to the Middle Ages (02/04/10)
Sometimes to understand why we do the things we do today, we have to learn about the past. That's exactly what the fourth grade Talented and Gifted (TAG) students at Remsen-Union Community School have been doing. TAG instructor Vickie Hemmingson feels it is important to immerse students in a subject as much as possible in hands-on activities...

Students' book sale brings in $100s for for Haiti (02/02/10)
Donations of used books and movie videos and DVDs turned into dollars for the Red Cross last Thursday as a group of eighth grade students hosted a used book and movie sale. When it was all counted, the students presented a check for $643.50 to American Red Cross...

Got a hobby? 75 students present favorite activities (02/01/10)
What do Legos, hamsters and cake decorating all have in common? They are three of the many hobbies presented by 75 fourth graders at Kluckhohn Elementary School during their annual hobby fair. The hobby fair, now in its 13th year, is organized by Kelley Johnson, one of the fourth grade teachers who brought the idea to Kluckhohn. She has actually been doing the fair 17 years...

Gehlen opens Catholic Schools Week with special Mass (01/29/10)
A Mass at Gehlen Catholic Schools gymnasium at 8:45 a.m. Monday will kick off Catholic Schools Week under the theme, "Dividends for Life." The week will celebrate the life-long impact of a Catholic education. Catholic Schools Week is observed Jan 31 through Feb. 6 and is celebrated by the National Catholic Education Association and schools throughout the Diocese of Sioux City...

Gehlen kindergarten, TK round up dates set (01/25/10)
Plans are underway at Gehlen Catholic School to welcome the classes of 2023 and 2024. Catholic and non-Catholic parents of children who will be 5 years old by December 31, 2010, are invited to an information meeting on from 7-8 p.m. Tuesday, February 23 in the Gehlen Library...

Practice, practice, practice for LCS large group speech students (01/21/10)
The winter weather has not been kind to Le Mars Community High School's large group speech students. "Given the number of times we've had to cancel for weather, I feel the kids have come through wonderfully, stepping up and practicing outside of our time together," large group speech coach Erin Ohrlund explained...

Public questions board about changes for elementary schools (01/19/10)
Approximately 60 people listened as Le Mars Community Schools administrators laid out information on the plan to cut a section of kindergarten, first and second grades for the 2010-11 school year. Currently, there are eight sections of those three grades. In the past two years, a section of third, fourth and fifth grades have been cut at Clark Elementary, with those students now attending Franklin and Kluckhohn Elementary Schools...

Iowa students must give CPR to graduate (01/15/10)
Freshmen at Le Mars Community High School are learning how to save lives -- skills students across the state are now required to master to graduate. That mandate was handed down last year by the Iowa Legislature as part of the Healthy Kids Act. The requirement is effective for the graduating class of 2012...

Spring construction set for Gehlen Wellness Center (01/12/10)
What started as a free-standing structure to house a wellness center at Gehlen Catholic Schools will now be an addition to the school's back gym. Construction on the addition is expected to start in the spring, according to Tony Gunter, the school's high school athletic director, teacher and coach...

County Republicans to hold caucus (01/11/10)
The Plymouth County Republican G.O.P. will be having a caucus at 1 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 23. At the caucus, the group will elect county Central Committee members and delegates to the County Convention that will be in March. Anyone with questions can call Scott Ihrke at 548-4778...

Remembering the decade: At home and beyond (01/04/10)
Ten years ago, as the decade turned, we were waiting to see if the Y2K threat was real. While that turned out to be the biggest non-news event of the Aughts (the first decade of the 2000s), there was plenty of headline material to come, tragedy and triumph alike...

LCS board OKs eight resignations (12/31/09)
The resignations of seven Le Mars Community School District teachers and one administrator, were approved by the Le Mars Community School Board of Education at their Monday meeting. They will leave the district with a total of 207 years of service to education...

Kissinger may close with LCS class reduction plan (12/30/09)
The reduction of a section of kindergarten, first and second grades in the Le Mars Community School District may result in closing Kissinger Elementary in Merrill. LCS Superintendent Dr. Todd Wendt presented information to the board of education Monday on enrollment and potential changes for the elementary buildings...

Gehlen band takes first at bowl competition (12/30/09)
The Gehlen Catholic School Marching Band swept the Class 1A field show competition at the 2009 Champs Sports Bowl this week. Even though the band barely arrived in Orlando, Fla. on time due to poor traveling weather, the Gehlen students took the field and claimed not only the overall title for the high school band competition but also all five category awards...

Supervisors to consider raise for elected officials at budget time (12/30/09)
The Plymouth County Compensation Board recommended a 2 percent salary increase for elected officials in 2010-11. The Plymouth County Supervisors said Tuesday they will take that into consideration as they prepare the new budget. The first work session on the 2010-11 budget will be Monday...

Gehlen band prepares for Champs Sports Bowl (12/21/09)
This morning (Monday) Gehlen Catholic's Competition Marching Band rehearsed one final time at the Le Mars YMCA before their planned departure early Dec. 26 for the Champs Sports Bowl in Orlando, Fla. The Gehlen marching band will compete against nine other schools from throughout the nation Dec. 28 in the field show competition...

LCS board receives budget cut ideas from teachers, staff (12/16/09)
Teacher and staff suggestions for Le Mars Community Schools budget cuts range from a salary feeze to dropping the orchestra program. That input is another item on the Le Mars Community Schools' board of education timeline for cutting expenditures for the 2010-11 school year which it crossed off its list at Monday's meeting...

Election may calm Honduras waters, allow more aid (12/07/09)
After more than four months of uncertainty, the people of Honduras elected a new president last week -- a move that will hopefully speed aid to the poor there, according to a Le Mars man with a close connection to the country. Richard Sievert, director of Mission Honduras Le Mars and teacher at Gehlen Catholic School, has been closely following the situation in Honduras, especially since June, when the country's president was deposed...

School enrollment issues felt across Iowa (12/04/09)
"Over the years we have seen many changes in our state, including shifts in population and demographics. Education does not happen in a vacuum, but within the context of these changes," said Judy Jeffrey, director, Iowa Department of Education Director...

LCS board honored for dedication to education (12/04/09)
The Le Mars Community School Board of Education was honored with a Better Boardsmanship Award by the Iowa Association of School Boards (IASB) at its annual convention last month in Des Moines. The Le Mars board is one of only eight in Iowa recognized with the Better Boardsmanship Award, taking home a team achievement plaque...

LCS, Gehlen students present holiday music concerts (12/01/09)

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