Professional Sports Administration

Haak raises beetle cleaning crew (03/18/10)
Some people keep collections of preserved bugs as a hobby. Derek Haak, of Maurice, keeps live ones. Thousands of them. But the colonies of dermestid beetles Haak raises aren't just to look at. They've got a job -- a messy one. The beetles clean off animal skulls and bones so hunters like Haak can preserve them...

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."...

AKC dog show comes to fairgrounds in July (03/12/10)
Dogs of all breeds will take the stage this summer as the American Kennel Club Dog Show comes to Le Mars July 3 and 4. The show, arranged by Sioux Valley Kennel Club, will be held at the Plymouth County Fairgrounds. Organizers expect between 750 and 1,000 dogs to participate in the show, according to Jennifer and Sue Holtgrew, who are local kennel club members and show participants...

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...

Museum to preview all-school reunion (03/09/10)
"Decades of Excellence," a preview of the Le Mars Community High School All-School Reunion, will be 2 p.m. Sunday, March 14 at the Plymouth County Historical Museum. Carolyn Vance, director of the Le Mars Community School District's Alumni Association, will share details of the coming reunion. Some reminiscing by alumni is also planned...

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...

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...

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...

LCHS dance exhibition Friday (02/24/10)
Dozens of dancers will light up the floor in the Le Mars Community Schools Dance Exhibition Friday. The exhibition will be held at the Le Mars Community High School Gymnasium. The show will include performances of the LCS dance team's dances from this year, a co-ed dance with boys from the high school, solos performed at the state solo contest, and dances from four other teams...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

Local jazz bands qualify for Iowa Jazz Championships (02/12/10)
Jazz bands at Le Mars Community High School and Gehlen Catholic High School qualified for the Iowa Jazz Championships April 13 in Des Moines. Both placed second in their respective classes at the NW Iowa District Jazz Competition in Sioux City Feb. 3. LCS will compete in Class 3A and Gehlen Catholic in Class 1A...

Rewind time at 1960s bash (02/05/10)
Ready to turn back time to the day of hippies, the Beatles and psychedelic grooviness? It's time to bust out your bellbottoms and love beads, the 1960s are making a comeback in Le Mars. The Le Mars Area Chamber of Commerce is inviting you to spend an evening in the '60s at 6 p.m. Saturday, March 27 at the Willow Creek Golf Course banquet hall...

Are we sending bald eagles back to endangered list? (02/01/10)
Bald eagles are being attacked by an emerging predator. It's in the food they eat. Eagle protection agencies have been seeing eagles that are oddly sick, explained Plymouth County Naturalist Victoria De Vos. "They started testing the blood and they are finding out that they had very high levels of lead -- a neurotoxin," De Vos said. "It was basically paralyzing them in different ways."...

RAGBRAI to start in Sioux City (02/01/10)
It was close but no banana seat bike for Le Mars for the northwest Iowa overnight stop of RAGBRAI. Announced Saturday, the route of this year's Register's Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa will kick off from Sioux City and run 442 miles with overnights in Storm Lake, Algona, Clear Lake, Charles City, Waterloo, Manchester and the final overnight in Dubuque...

�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...

Together we can beat the winter blues (01/28/10)
Around 5:30 on Tuesday evening, I was speed walking up the sidewalk to Gehlen, my face staring at the sidewalk in an attempt to keep the cold wind at bay, and all of the sudden I realized - it's still light out! The days are getting longer, the sun is shining (as of Wednesday afternoon) and February is just around the corner...

Job training program revision, could limit local businesses (01/28/10)
One-half million dollars for Plymouth County business could be at stake as the State of Iowa discusses adjustments in funding to the Iowa Industrial New Jobs Training Program. Plymouth County businesses that received job training funding in 2009 were Plymouth Energy - $250,612, Plymouth Oil - $153,000, Wells Dairy - $25,000 and Bodeans Baking Company - $63,403...

Kissinger parents, teachers bring concerns to LCS board (01/22/10)
More than 80 people, including Kissinger Elementary parents, teachers and community members attended a public meeting on elementary class reduction Thursday at the school in Merrill. They addressed the Le Mars Community Schools Board of Education with comments, concerns and questions as they stressed the importance of keeping Kissinger Elementary open in their town...

Cross country skiers head to Le Mars' parks (01/20/10)
Temperatures in the teens, no sun and 24 inches of snow on the ground isn't the ideal setting for most. But for Curt Strathman and Barb Becker, both of Le Mars, those conditions add up to the perfect setting for cross country skiing. Cross country skiing is a winter sport in which participants propel themselves across snow-covered terrain using skis and poles...

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...

YMCA's swim team makes a splash with local youth (01/14/10)
Eight-year-old Abigail Johnson has been swimming since she was 4. That's why she's happy to be a member of the YMCA's Le Mars Stingrays Swim Team. "I like to swim laps -- it makes you very tired," Abigail said after practice Tuesday at the Le Mars YMCA...

LCS board sets public meetings on elementary class, budget cuts (01/13/10)
Three public meetings have been set by the Le Mars Community Schools Board of Education to present information and hear comments on the proposed elementary section reduction and the 2010-11 budget cuts. Meetings on the elementary section reduction will be held at 7 p.m. Monday, Jan. 18, at Clark Elementary in Le Mars and Thursday, Jan. 21, at Kissinger Elementary in Merrill...

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...

Live Healthy Le Mars offers team approach to good health (01/11/10)
Get ready to get in shape in 2010 by participating Live Healthy Le Mars. The 100-day challenge promotes a team approach to weight loss and physical activity. Local sponsors for Live Healthy Le Mars are the Le Mars YMCA, Floyd Valley Hospital and ISU Plymouth County Extension...

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...

Rewind 2009: The good, the bad and the blizzard (12/30/09)
Editor's note: This is the first of two stories recapping 2009's top stories in the Daily Sentinel. Mother Nature put a wet (or white) blanket on Plymouth County's Christmastime plans, nailing northwest Iowa with more than a foot of snow and winds that lowered visibility and drifted roads shut. ...

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...

LCS board proposes no teacher salary increase for 2010-11 (12/22/09)
No increase in base salary. No step movement on the salary schedule. No changes in contract language other than date changes. That's the opening proposal put forth by the Le Mars Community Schools board of education negotiating team in response to contract talks with the Le Mars Community Education Association (LCED) for the 2010-11 teachers' contract...

Le Mars man injured hunting deer in Taylor County (12/22/09)
A Le Mars man was injured while hunting deer in Taylor County Sunday when a shot missed its target. A piece of slug ricocheted, striking him in the upper chest area. Mathew Fedders, 41, was taken to Clarinda Regional Health Center, then transferred to the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha, where doctors were removing the slug fragment...

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 negotiation team makes initial proposal Monday (12/18/09)
Negotiation teams from Le Mars Community School District and Le Mars Community Education Association will meet at 5 p.m. Monday, Dec. 21, at the Education Service Center at 940 Lincoln St. S.W. At this special meeting, the board's negotiating team will present their initial bargaining proposal for the 2010-11 contract to the teachers' association...

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...

Community Foundation award $142,169 in grants (12/14/09)
Twenty-seven organizations and groups in Plymouth County are recipients of grant money totaling $142,169 from the Community Foundation of Greater Plymouth County. The $142,169 represents the largest amount the foundation has been able to award in grants in the four years it has existed...

A story of dots and dashes: Navy radioman's story began with Morse code (12/11/09)
When Tom Leaverton was a boy, he and his friend used to follow that friend's older brother-in-law -- a telegrapher -- around and watch him send Morse code messages. When he gave the boys each a telegraph key, Leaverton and his buddy strung a wire down the one-block alley between their houses in Sioux City and tried their hand at Morse code...

Knock out king Gabel hits the cages (12/04/09)
When Matt Gabel stepped into the cage for his first official fight last December, his stomach was full of butterflies. But the 6-foot, 200-pound muscle man had little to worry about. In less than a minute, his opponent was on the ground. Now, with a 7-0 record, the Le Mars fighter is heading back to the ring Saturday in Sioux City, and this time for a championship...

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...

When life was simple: Fitzgerald recalls pony carts and hand-me-downs (12/03/09)
Editors Note: This story is the first in a weekly series looking back at life decades ago and remembering a time when people's lifestyle was very different than today. Was life simpler when $1 bought four gallons of gas or during the Great Depression when it cost less to use corn as fuel than sell it or when children played baseball instead of computer games?...

Winter day camp at Hillview (12/01/09)
A day camp for fourth through eighth graders will be hosted at Hillview Park in Hinton Dec. 30. Plymouth County Conservation is hosting the 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. camp, offering a range of activities including snowshoeing, cross country skiing, tracking, shelter building, ice fishing, Dutch oven cooking and more...

Fall All-Sentinel sports section today (11/30/09)
The Fall All-Sentinel sports section is included inside the Daily Sentinel today. The section features the All-Sentinel teams for football and volleyball as well as the athletes of the year for football, volleyball and cross country.

Local fitness business owners get building into shape (11/27/09)
Getting fit doesn't always have to mean jogging. That's the idea behind the two new fitness businesses opening up in a building on Business Highway 75. In The Rhythmz Health and Fitness and Raise the Bar Fitness began business this month in a building that was formerly home to Bomgaars and later Dollar General, just south of the Le Mars Truck Stop...

LCS board takes closer look at cutting sections (11/25/09)
Le Mars Community Schools board members have targeted reducing a section in grades kindergarten, first and second, including the possible closing of an elementary building, as one of three areas in which to cut expenses for the FY11 budget. This discussion came as the board checked off one of the dates on its timeline toward a decision on elementary section reduction at its Monday meeting...

Williams & Co. marks 80 years of business (11/17/09)
The staff of the Le Mars office of Williams & Co., P.C., joins with other offices of the firm in celebrating 80 years of service to the area. Jeff Peters is the shareholder in charge of the Le Mars office, which opened in 1972. Williams & Co. was started in 1929 in Sioux City by Charles A. Williams. His son, Robert "Bob" Williams later joined the firm, retiring in the mid-1980s...

LCS board appoints negotiating team, purchases vehicle (11/13/09)
Opening negotiation sessions between teachers and the Le Mars Community School District will be held in December. In a letter to the school board president, the Le Mars Community Education Association (LCEA) notified the board of its intent to bargain, with the first bargaining session for the 2010-2011 master contract to be held at 5 p.m. Monday, Dec. 7...

Related subjects