Recreational Cycling

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...

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."...

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...

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...

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...

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. ...

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...

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...

Loess Hills golf course plan denied permit (10/13/09)
Concern for Loess Hills preservation was at the top of a list of reasons why the Plymouth County Board of Adjustment denied a man's request to turn his land into a golf course. John Denney, of Rural Westfield, came before the board Monday seeking a conditional use permit to build and operate a nine-hole golf course on his 20.92 acres near North Ridge Road in western Plymouth County...

Pheasants' habitat dwindles by millions of acres each year (09/18/09)
Hunters may face a challenge this season -- the pheasant population is on a downward spiral in Plymouth County and throughout Iowa. Last year Iowa had 100,000 hunters and 383,000 birds, which is four birds per person in the field. Other years there have been 1.5 million pheasants, said John Linquist, Pheasants Forever regional representative. "From the early 2000s to now there has been a steady decline because of weather and habitat," Linquist said. The cold, damp spring this year affected pheasants' nesting habits, said Mike Slota, Pheasants Forever chairman for Plymouth County youth programs. "The weather has to be somewhat warm to produce the insects for the chicks when they're hatched," Slota said. "The hens can't keep the chicks adequately warm and they just die from exposure." The loss of habitat also affects pheasants' nesting because hens have less area to hide from predators, Slota said. Pheasant habitats, which usually require 5 to 10 acres, are areas with a mixture of tall and short grasses and flowering plants that attract insects, Slota said. A major reason that habitat is dwindling is that millions of Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) acres are going away each year, Linquist said. Last year alone 1.1 million CRP acres expired, according to www.pheasantsforever.org. With the price of grain, farmers are finding they can make more money planting their land than putting it into CRP acres, Slota said. "With this economy you can't blame any farmer for squeezing every dollar out of the ground they can," Slota said. "Their job is to produce grain and make money off the ground. We understand that." Farmers began enrolling their qualified land into CRPs to be planted into habitats 10 to 15 years ago and receiving federal compensation, Linquist said. "A lot of people's acres are expiring and there are no new signups," he said. Another 3.8 million CRP acres will expire this fall and 4.4 million acres next September for a total of 21 million acres gone from the program by the end of 2012 without a new signup. The USDA does not have a signup scheduled, according to the Pheasants Forever website. "It's hard to maintain a bird population when we're constantly taking conservation acres out of play," Linquist said. Pheasants Forever hopes to turn that around with its program, Reload Iowa. The intent of Reload Iowa is to establish 1 million acres of new habitat on Iowa landscape. That means $11.5 million will need to be raised and 50 employees hired to go door-to-door to work with landowners to create the habitat, Linquist said. "That program is going to have to pay enough money out to entice the farmer to want to do this," Slota said. "The farmer has to look at the bottom line." There are also national programs like Conservation Practice 38 or State Acres For wildlife Enhancement (SAFE) working to help conserve and create new habitat. SAFE started last year with 200,000 CRP acres that were divided among states. "We had 27,700 acres," Linquist said. "All of those acres have been used up and all within a year." The loss of habitat and dwindling pheasant population in Plymouth County and throughout the state has a trickle-down effect on economy and recreation, Linquist said. "When the population of the birds down so does the population of the hunters," he said. That means less dollars spent shopping, eating and staying locally by nonresident hunters. Fewer hunters also leads to a loss of revenue on licenses, which means less money to help support county and state parks, Linquist said. "That's what buys the land and sees to the upkeep," he said. "We're hurting ourselves by people not going out and hunting." A declining pheasant and hunter population is also detrimental for the next generation of would-be hunters, but Slota's optimistic Reload Iowa and similar programs will turn the numbers around. "I hope we start seeing an increase in the next couple of years," Slota said. "I would love to see it start going back the other way and hopefully we are doing the right things to make it start going the other way."

Cycling club adds bike racks downtown (09/16/09)
The Plymouth County Cyclists Club is installing more places to lock up bikes around downtown Le Mars this month. The club has ordered 12 bike poles to install downtown along Central Avenue. The bike poles are a metal pole with a ring on top that allows two bikes to be locked...

The tris that bind: Triathlon draws 18 teams, 117 individuals (09/14/09)
Usually, old college friends come together for things like reunions and weddings. Kelly Van Gelder, of Le Mars, and her friend Kris Merfeld, of Des Moines, got together for a triathlon. Together, they swam, biked and ran a total of about 18 miles during the third annual Le Mars Sprint Triathlon Saturday...

Triathlon will draw more than 150 competitors (09/10/09)
Rich Sudtelgte will swim, bike and run his first triathlon Saturday. In fact, the Le Mars Sprint Triathlon with be the his first race -- ever. What spurred him on? Siblings. "My brother and sister have done it for the last two years," the Le Mars man said. "I ran track in high school but haven't run since then."...

Holy rolling for hunger: Pastors cycle across U.S. (08/05/09)
A group of pastors are fighting hunger, but not from the pulpit. Instead of waiting for people to come to church, they're bringing the message to them on a bamboo bicycle built for three. Hitting every corner of the country, three Evangelical Lutheran Church of America (ELCA) pastors and their support team from West Virginia put thousands of miles behind them to raise awareness of world hunger and how people can respond...

Westergard and Schilmoeller reign as fair queen and king (07/30/09)
It may have been raining outside, but the smiles were shining bright in Century Hall as the 2009 Plymouth County Fair royalty court was announced Wednesday. Ben Schilmoeller was crowned king and Caine Westergard was crowned queen of the 2009 fair. Their royalty court includes Princes Ryan Schroeder and Brian Kehm; Mr. Personality Chris Erickson; Miss Congeniality and Princess Stephany TenNapel and Princess Angie Breuer...

Sweet 16 Lanes rolls into a new look this season (07/15/09)
The Sweet 16 Lanes bowling alley has been a staple in the Le Mars area for almost 50 years. This summer, that staple is getting a face lift. Gary Brady, who has owned Sweet 16 Lanes for five years, has decided to do some remodeling. "The remodeling should make our lives easier and make the bowling more enjoyable for the customers," Brady said...

Area golfers off to quick start shooting aces at Willow Creek (07/14/09)
It's arguably the most exciting play in all of individual sports. The shot, the landing, the roll, the possibility. The anticipation as it glides closer and closer, and then the roar of hundreds of fans that surround the green and line the fairway -- even if it's all in your head...

Big Sioux River Cleanup scheduled for this weekend (07/14/09)
The Plymouth County conservation department will be holding the Third Annual Big Sioux River Cleanup July 18. The cleanup will start at the Big Sioux River Park north of Akron. Volunteers will then float, in canoes, down the river and end at a spot near Akron...

Bicyclists can now pedal in marked roadway lanes (07/09/09)
Bicycle lanes are showing up on streets throughout Le Mars. The 5-foot-wide paths are part of the Safe Routes to School (SRTS) project to make city streets safer for bicyclists. Dr. Wayne Marty, a Plymouth County Cyclist member, and others worked to obtain support from the public and the City of Le Mars to create the bike lanes...

Swimming rules for the safety of all (07/02/09)
Of all of the things that represent summer, swimming is near the top of the list. There are few activities more fun than taking a refreshing dip in the pool with friends on a scorching day. But for everyone to enjoy this summer pastime, there are rules that need to be adhered to...

Hillview offers relaxation in nature, living history (07/02/09)
This is the fourth story in a series of places to have summer fun in Plymouth County. For more than 30 years, Hillview Recreation Area has been a nice getaway for those who want to escape into nature and relax. Whether it is camping, fishing, hiking, swimming or just spending a day with the family, Hillview, about 1 mile west of Hinton, has something for everyone to enjoy -- including observing the county's resident elk herd...

Le Mars United Way awards funding to area agencies (06/16/09)
The Le Mars United Way Board of Directors approved $76,957 to 14 local agencies for the 2009-2010 fiscal years. "The good news is that we raised more money than last year and were able to award more to our agencies," said Kathy Bartelli, volunteer chair of the Le Mars United Way's Board of Directors...

Plymouth County Cyclists sponsor Tour de Plymouth 2009 (06/12/09)
Plymouth County Cyclists announce their second annual invitational bicycle ride, Tour de Plymouth 2009. The ride will be held June 20 during Le Mars Ice Cream Days. Registration for the ride is from 7 to 8 a.m. in the Hy-Vee parking area at 1201 12th Ave. S.W. in Le Mars...

Skateboarder, rock band, more on the way to Ice Cream Days (06/05/09)
Professional free style skateboarder Tim Byrne, BMX pro biker Vic Murphy, hip-hop entertainer Heath McNease and rock band Me in Motion will be lighting up Olson Cultural Event Center Friday, June 19, during Ice Cream Days. The free show runs from 6:30 to 10 p.m...

Dance Studio plans performance Saturday (06/04/09)
The Dance Studio of Le Mars and Sheldon will be presenting their annual performance at 7 p.m. Saturday, June 6 and 2 p.m. Sunday, June 7 in the Le Mars Community Middle School Auditorium. This year's performance "The Best of 25+ Rockin' Years" represents The Dance Studio's past 25 years of performances in Le Mars...

Bicyclists plan Ride of Silence in Le Mars (05/18/09)
This week Le Mars area cyclists will have the opportunity to participate in the annual Ride of Silence Wednesday evening, May 20. The Ride of Silence is a slow-paced bicycle ride that will occur in hundreds of locations world wide to honor cyclists who have been killed or injured while cycling on public roadways...

Ride your bike: It's cheap and it's cool (05/13/09)
Biking is a realistic choice for transportation. And a cool one. Plymouth County Cyclists brought this message to students from Kissinger and Kluckhohn Elementary schools Tuesday. Club member Wayne Marty demonstrated the physics of how much less energy it takes to transport one person by bicycle versus by car...

Florida cyclist puts in $500 to help hit-and-run victim (05/04/09)
A Florida man is willing to put up $500 of his own money to help find the individual who threw a full beer can at cyclist Erin Schroeder and caused her bike to crash on a Plymouth County road. Joe Mizereck, an avid cyclist in Tallahassee, Fla., came across Schroeder's story online...

Bike club offers reward for information on cycle crash (04/27/09)
She remembers the car whizzing by her bicycle on K-64. She remembers a huge impact on her left side. She was struck by a full can of beer and maybe a car. Then her memory goes black. The next thing Erin Schroeder saw as she regained consciousness sprawled in the lane of oncoming traffic, was a full can of beer, spinning around on the pavement...

Thirty-five teams ready to take Live Healthy challenge (01/20/09)
This year, Live Healthy Le Mars has 35 registered teams with a total of 186 people involved in the program Live Healthy Le Mars started on January 14 and runs for 100 days, ending April 23 with a Poker Walk around Willow Creek Golf Course on the Maser Recreational Trail...

LCS students compete in national quilt block challenge (01/19/09)
Students in the textile arts class at Le Mars Community High School put their skills good use as they designed quilt square for the National Quilt Museum: Museum of the American Quilter's Society/Moda School Block Challenge Contest 2009. LCS family and consumer sciences instructor Rosemary Cronin obtained the entry information for the contest, based in Kentucky, and had the students put their creative energy to work in creating the 16-by-16-inch square blocks using the paper piecing method of construction.. ...

Goodchild does more than sing a sleighing song (01/16/09)
"Dashing through the snow in a one horse open sleigh." You might see Clark Goodchild doing just that this winter. For the Le Mars man, it's not just a song. It's a horse training tool. Goodchild, a real estate man who works with horses in his free time, built an open sleigh to be pulled by his palomino quarter horse Twister...

Live Healthy Le Mars: The 100-day healthy living challenge is back (01/05/09)
It's got a new name, but the former Lighten Up Le Mars is back in town. Meet Live Healthy Le Mars. It's the same 100-day challenge as last year with some fresh offerings. Live Healthy Le Mars is a team-based physical activity and weight loss challenge that aims to help people form better habits in nutrition and physical activity...

Ancient Chinese secret? Le Mars man sails with Chinese to re-make history (12/19/08)

Akron boat ramp done, recreational pond yet to come (12/16/08)
A new boat ramp near Akron is complete, but the recreational pond that was supposed to come with it is on hold until DNR permits come through. Digging the pond will take one summer's work, according to Justin Higman of Higman Sand & Gravel. "We're just waiting for the pond's permits from the DNR since the land is in both the flood plain and the floodway," he said during a Plymouth County Zoning meeting Monday. "We're waiting on them until we can break ground on the recreational lake."...

Gehlen Dance Team earns 'I' rating at state competition (12/11/08)
Members of the Gehlen Catholic Dance Team didn't let last Saturday's cold weather slow them down as they performed their way to a "I" rating at Iowa State Dance Competition and Distinguished Academic Honors for the eighth year in a row. The competition was held in Des Moines...

Bikers to deliver toys to local children (12/04/08)
A line of motorcycles stretched over the horizon, the rumble of a hundred V-twin engines made cattle in the fields wonder what could cause such a ruckus. The biker group traveled over 100 miles through farmland and winding roads of the Loess Hills -- followed the whole way by a truck loaded to the brim with children's toys...

LCHS students selected for Northwest Iowa Honor Band Festival (12/03/08)
Thirty-two Le Mars Community High School band members will join with students from 44 area high schools to combine their talents for the 55th annual Northwest Iowa Honor Band Festival. The festival will be held Jan. 10, 2009, with a concert at 7 p.m. in Eppley Auditorium on the Morningside College campus in Sioux City. Approximately 225 high school musicians were chosen through auditions held Nov. 1 in Storm Lake from among 450 entries...

LCS teachers group proposes salary, insurance increases (12/02/08)
Le Mars Community Education Association members are proposing increases in base pay and insurance for the 2009-10 school year. Members of the bargaining team for the LCED met with Le Mars Community Schools Board of Education members Monday to present their initial proposal...

Merrill: Heavy highway traffic could be golden egg (11/18/08)
Each day, more than 12,000 cars buzz through Merrill. The town of about 750 people is looking for ways to encourage more of those drivers to stop in town -- not just at the request of a law enforcement officer. In a town often seen by drivers as a speed trap, Merrill Mayor Rich Husman explained, local planners want to build Merrill a new reputation...

Think you can swim the Floyd River? These people do (11/14/08)
Yes, it snowed this week. That didn't stop locals from swimming their way down the Floyd River. The swimmers aren't actually doing the front crawl in the river water -- they're doing laps in Le Mars' indoor pool as part of a program designed by the Le Mars Family YMCA...

Dancers, volunteers will bring "The Nutcracker" to life (11/14/08)
"The Nutcracker" ballet will come to life in the Le Mars Community Middle School auditorium this Christmas season. About 100 dancers will do ballet, tumbling and jazz steps as part of The Dance Studio Performance Company and the Le Mars Art Council's 6 p.m. Dec. 13 presentation of "The Nutcracker."...

Group wants to address dangerous pedestrian spots (09/26/08)
Colleen Bortscheller spends a lot of time biking. She likes cycling to work or heading to the recreation trail for a ride. But one place she doesn't like to bike is 12th Street Southwest in Le Mars. "I think it's very hazardous, not only for students walking or biking to school, but also adults," Bortscheller said...

Roadblocks coming down on rec trail progress (09/23/08)
The completion of the 9-mile recreation trail around Le Mars is on the horizon after being pushed back more than a year. The walking and biking trail, which stretches from the south near Wells' Dairy's corporate campus north beyond the little league ball diamonds, then east around the golf course, still has a segment to be completed...

Le Mars Country Dancers encourage people to dance into lessons (09/08/08)
Steps, kicks, turns, counts, patterns -- ever wanted to learn country-style line or couples' dancing? If so, the Le Mars Country Dancers can help. Volunteers give beginner, intermediate and advanced dance lessons to singles and couples from 7-10 p.m. Wednesdays, September through May. They meet in the upper level dance hall at the Le Mars Eagles Club. All ages are welcome...

Triathletes race through Le Mars Saturday (09/04/08)
About 130 people are already signed up to swim, bike and run in the Le Mars Sprint Triathlon this Saturday. The number of participants in the second annual event is up from last year, according to event coordinator Angela Loutsch of the YMCA. "We have people coming from Iowa, Minnesota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas and Missouri," she said...

Actors wanted: Auditions for "The Turn of the Worm" coming soon (08/28/08)
Looking to make the stage in a live theater production? Come out and audition for the comedy "The Turn of the Worm," a production by the Le Mars Community Theatre with run dates at the end of October. Five actors, three men, two mature and one young, and three females, two mature and one young, are needed to help bring the characters to life...

Related subjects