Religious Issues

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...

Budget cuts limit low income housing for Plymouth County (03/01/10)
Assistance for low income housing in Plymouth County and surrounding areas will be cut back in 2010. It's a result of lower budgets for the Siouxland Regional Housing Authority (SRHA) which provides low income housing support for Plymouth, rural Woodbury, Cherokee and Manona counties, and the area north of Highway 20 in Ida county...

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...

Johnson, Albus prepare for Nigeria mission trip (02/16/10)
A commitment to global missions by members of United Methodist Church of Le Mars (UMCL) will be realized this summer as two members travel to Nigeria. Barb Johnson of Merrill and Chelsea Albus, 18, of Le Mars will be part of the Iowa United Methodist Conference's Iowa Volunteers in Mission group in June, working in a southern area of Nigeria in partnership with the United Methodist Church there...

Trees Please! Grant awards $2,000 for Le Mars trees (02/15/10)
Le Mars is receiving $2,000 worth of trees thanks to a donation from MidAmerican Energy. "We'll use it to plant trees along the rec. trail and in the city cemeteries to replace some of the dying spruces," said Steve Hansen, Le Mars public works superintendent...

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...

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...

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

Ten Le Mars scouts honored with Pope Pius XII emblem (02/08/10)
Ten local boys will be receiving the highest emblem in Catholic boy scouting. Michael Brandenburg, Tim Burwitz, Mitchel Christoffel, Preston Freking, Matt Klein, Kyle Mangerson, Zack Nemmers, Jonathan Puhl, Ryan Sitzmann and Andrew Theisen were honored Sunday at a Mass in Le Mars for earning the Pope Pius XII Emblem...

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...

'Feed the Need' grocery project continues (02/04/10)
A successful food collection project started at the Christmas holiday season will continue on an as-needed basis. "Feed the Need for Christian Needs" was started by the United Church Women (UCW) organization at the Presbyterian United Church of Christ in cooperation with Fareway and Hy-Vee grocery stores in Le Mars...

Water for Life Honduras (02/03/10)
A local group is about to change the lives of people of five villages, plagued with parasites and other water-borne diseases. The Le Mars Rotary Club spearheaded fundraising for water projects in Honduras, pulling together more than $35,000. That's enough to build a water system in each of those five villages, bringing clean, potable water to more than 1,000 people's homes...

New Honduran president good news for mission group (02/02/10)
Will the inauguration of new Honduran president Porfirio Lobo Sosa mean restoration of the country's international aid, and with that return funding to Mission Honduras Le Mars programs? That's what Richard Seivert, director of Mission Honduras Le Mars and Gehlen Catholic Mission Honduras, believes...

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 speech groups advance to state (01/27/10)
Four groups from Gehlen Catholic School are advancing to the State Large Group Speech competition. They earned a spot at state after competing in Saturday's Large Group Speech District Competition at East High School in Sioux City. "It went real well, even though we missed a lot of practice for snow days," Coach Elizabeth Rogers said...

LCS board cuts back early retirement policy (01/26/10)
A revision in the Le Mars Community School District's early retirement policy will be financially beneficial to the district while trimming some benefits to staff as well. It will continue to offer retiring certified staff with a contribution to the individual's medical insurance coverage...

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...

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...

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...

Senator fears program, tax credit cuts loom to balance budget (12/29/09)
Iowa Sen. Randy Feenstra predicts the $1.1 billion budget deficit is the most important issue legislators will face come January. "There's going to have to be a lot of decisions made on how to either cut programs or cut tax credits to make a balanced budget," Feenstra said...

Demand increases, dollars shrink for preschool scholarships (12/26/09)
A group that helps Plymouth County residents at or below 200 percent of the poverty level send their children to preschool is feeling the pinch. Last year Northwest Iowa Community Empowerment offered 114 preschool scholarships -- 74 full-tuition and 40 half-tuition -- for eligible low-income families in Plymouth County...

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...

Groups rush to bring cheer to families in need (12/17/09)
The Christmas packages are coming in at the Christian Needs Center in Le Mars. The food and clothing pantry is staying just ahead of families' needs this Christmas season. "We're doing okay," said director Jess Larson. As of Monday, all the families and individuals on the center's adopt-a-family list had been adopted...

County injects $2,500 into drug court to sustain program (12/16/09)
Plymouth County's drug court is receiving a $2,500 boost from the county coffers. On Tuesday, the Plymouth County Board of Supervisors approved giving that sum of money to the program to keep it going through June 2010. Drug Court, which brings adults and juveniles facing drug-related charges in front of a panel of their peers for goal-setting, encouragement and enforcement, is low on money...

Cherokee Mental Health Institute escapes DHS chopping block (12/15/09)
The Iowa Department of Human Services is recommending closing the Mount Pleasant Mental Health Institute -- not Cherokee's -- in a proposal today (Tuesday) to the Iowa Legislature. Last spring, the Legislature asked the DHS to recommend closing one of Iowa's four mental health institutes without cutting services...

St. Lucy Day: Celebration of lights and sweets (12/14/09)
As the girls enter the classroom, children's eyes light up. Dressed in all white with a golden sash and a unique crown -- a wreath of evergreen with four candles in it -- the eighth grade girls of St. Catherine-St. Mary's Catholic School in Remsen are playing the role of St. Lucy...

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...

Cherokee Mental Health Institute not on chopping block (12/14/09)
The Iowa Department of Human Services is recommending closing the Mount Pleasant Mental Health Institute, not Cherokee's institue, in a proposal today (Tuesday) to the Iowa Legislature. Last spring, the Legislature commanded the DHS to recommend closing one of Iowa's four mental health institutes without cutting services...

The stimulus dollars and you: Have you been touched by recovery money? (12/10/09)
More than $8 million worth of federal stimulus dollars has been quietly sliding through the IV of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and into Plymouth County's veins. That injection meant some schools could keep a teacher one more year. It meant replacing a worn bridge and repaving some roads. It meant some families will have money to weatherize their homes...

LCS teachers seek 3% package increase (12/08/09)

R-U students meet people from the 1800s (12/08/09)
Nikki Schubert grew up near a small Norwegian cemetery in Holstein and helped her parents maintain it. "I've always been fascinated with the history there -- who were these people?" she said. While Schubert is now a teacher at Remsen-Union High School, those childhood questions remained with her and recently helped spark a social studies class project for her freshmen...

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...

Your letters matter, soldier tells students (12/03/09)
After writing letters to a soldier in Afghanistan for months, elementary students at Gehlen Catholic School got to meet him face to face. Army Specialist Scott Tillman, of Le Mars, spent Wednesday afternoon speaking in classrooms a few days before returning for a second tour of duty in Afghanistan...

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

Deadline looming for first look at closure of Mental Health Institutes (12/01/09)
The Iowa Department of Human Services will make its recommendation in two weeks as to which of the Cherokee, Independence, Clarinda or Mount Pleasant Mental Health Institutes should close. On Dec. 15, the Department of Human Services (DHS) will present its decision to Iowa Gov. Chet Culver and the Legislature...

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...

Juvenile center's client number down, budget tighter (11/13/09)
Plymouth County juveniles charged with serious crimes are sometimes ordered to go to the Youth Emergency Services Center by judges to await their fates. It costs the county $150 per day, per person to house an individual at the detention center, which rents space on the campus of the Cherokee Mental Health Institute...

Gehlen, LCS students selected for Opus Honor Choir Festival (11/09/09)
Students from Le Mars Community Schools and Gehlen Catholic School have been chosen to participate in the 23rd annual Opus Honor Choir Festival. Gehlen Catholic eighth grade student Sara Roder will make her fourth appearance in an Opus Honor Choir. She also received the high honor of being chosen as a solo finalist for the song, "Benedictus" in the 7th & 8th Grade Girls Honor Choir...

Gehlen Catholic hosts Veteran's Day Prayer Service (11/09/09)
Gehlen Catholic School will host a Veteran's Day Prayer Service at 8:45 a.m. Wednesday in the Gehlen Catholic gym. Members of the community, past and present servicemen and women and their families are invited to attend the service. Guest speaker will be Gary Tillman, nurse anesthetist at Floyd Valley Hospital in Le Mars. Gary and his wife, Elaine, are the parents of Michelle ('98), Jake ('01) Scott ('03) and David, a senior at Gehlen Catholic...

Student takes a seat in the UN (11/03/09)
Along with students from around the world, Sarah Gengler filed into the United Nations' General Assembly Hall -- the meeting place of nations -- and took her seat. Her place card read: United Arab Emirates. The Gehlen Catholic School alum isn't a United Nations (UN) delegate, at least not yet, and she's not from the United Arab Emirates, but she did serve on her university's National Model UN delegation...

Domestic violence: Men can also be victims (10/27/09)
In reported cases of domestic violence, men are more often found to be abusers and women victims -- but that's not always the truth. "Can men be victims? Yes they can," said Cathy Van Maanen, Council on Sexual Assault & Domestic Violence (CSADV) outreach coordinator for Plymouth County...

Local Pheasants Forever build on top chapter status (10/19/09)
Plymouth County Pheasants Forever, recognized as the No. 1 chapter in the nation, is working hard on habitat projects in the county while also promoting safe hunting. The chapter is celebrating this fall that top designation for national support which includes programs, habitat projects, youth efforts and national expenditures...

Hand sanitizer pumps up locals against germs (10/16/09)
Free standing automated hand sanitizer dispensers for shoppers to use greet customers in the Le Mars Hy-Vee dairy section. That's just one precaution local stores and facilities are taking to combat the spread of germs in the wake of H1N1. Hand washing along with hand sanitization is the No. 1 prevention against the flu, other than vaccination, according to the Centers for Disease Control...

Two earn Eagle Scout rank with service, leadership (10/16/09)
Mitch Christoffel and Matt Klein were honored at a Court of Honor celebration Sunday, Sept. 27 for earning the highest rank in scouting, the Eagle Scout Award. Christoffel's Eagle Scout service project involved helping design and build a brick border and landscaping around Gehlen Catholic School's electronic sign...

Drug court: It's not about being judged (10/15/09)
Editor's note: This is the second story in a two-part series about Plymouth County's drug court, which celebrates its second anniversary this week. Jerry Haack was homecoming king in his class at Gehlen Catholic School. He set records on the track. He grew up in a healthy family environment...

St. Paul Lutheran Church, Remsen, celebrates 125th anniversary (10/15/09)
Congregation members of St. Paul Lutheran Church in Remsen will celebrate its 125th anniversary Sunday, Oct. 18. St. Paul Evangelical Lutheran Church, the oldest Christian congregation in Remsen, traces its history back to the 1880s. The missionary workers from the Evangelical Synod of North America visited the Remsen vicinity and occasionally conducted services in private homes...

Food supply low at Christian Needs Center (10/13/09)
The shelves in the food pantry at the Christian Needs Center have some bare spots. Director Jess Larson is hoping donations will pick up again soon so families in need won't have to worry about putting food on the table. "We've seen quite an increase in the people who use our services," Larson said...

Sheriff hopes company can save jail money (10/12/09)
Plymouth County Sheriff Mike Van Otterloo hopes a company that provides jail health care programs can help curb rising inmate medical and prescription costs. Otterloo told county supervisors Tuesday he plans to contract with Advanced Correctional Healthcare, of Illinois, at $2,417 a month for its "cost saving" services...

Students may still travel to Honduras despite political turmoil (10/09/09)
For the first time in Gehlen Catholic School's history, two student teams, instead of just one, will travel to Honduras this spring to help connect communities to fresh water supplies. At least that is coordinator Richard Seivert's hope. Honduras has been pummeled by political unrest since June when the country's president, Manuel Zelaya, was deposed after he tried to hold a vote about re-writing the nation's constitution, according to international news reports...

Remsen schools receive money for security (10/09/09)
Remsen schools will be adding $22,490 in safety and security features, thanks to a federal grant. The award, announced recently, will be used at both Remsen-Union Community School and Remsen St. Mary's School. The Remsen Police will be administrating the grant to the schools. The police department partnered with the schools in the grant application...

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