Residential Construction

Pioneer Cemetery could put curve in reconstruction plans (03/19/10)
With each road reconstruction project, Plymouth County Engineer Tom Rohe faces obstacles like driveways to work around or cut through. But the 2011-12 project to reconstruct 4 1⁄2 miles of C-60 going west of K-49 may put a curve in his plans -- literally...

L-22 railroad intersection soon to be safer (03/19/10)
Railroad signals and cross arms will be installed in the near future at the intersection of county road L-22 and the Chicago Central Pacific Railroad. The Plymouth County Supervisors learned this week the county will pay 5 percent, or $8,750, of the $175,000 cost...

Council tables acceptance of Highway 3 project (03/18/10)
The Le Mars City Council put off accepting an engineer's statement to the Iowa Department of Transportation on the completion and owners contract for the Highway 3 widening project. City Manager Scott Langel acknowledged that the city had already, due to state legislative direction, in essence accepted the $721,701 project when the widened portion of the highway was opened last November...

Supervisors to take on mailbox versus road debate (03/18/10)
Are mailboxes sitting too close to county roads? The Plymouth County Supervisors decided Tuesday to look into the matter more thoroughly, after hearing concerns from local farmer Del Kellen. Kellen, who lives and farms south of Le Mars, said there's a problem with sight distance when it comes to rural mail carriers stopped along the K-49 and other county paved roads...

MidAmerican customers may help finance nuclear study (03/16/10)
The 7,184 MidAmerican Electric Company customers in Plymouth County may see a monthly increase in their payment due to a proposed law. The increase would come if Iowa Gov. Chet Culver signs a bill to allow MidAmerican to boost electric consumer payments throughout the state by $15 million to study the possibility of bringing a second nuclear plant to Iowa...

Merrill industry is model for Iowa's future, Judge says (03/09/10)
If Iowa is going to recover from the recession that has plagued the nation, recovery is going to come from the ground up. That's what Lt. Gov. Patty Judge said Monday during a visit to the Plymouth Oil, a food-grade corn oil plant just north of Merrill...

Apartments officially on national historic register (03/04/10)
A building which first was home to a hospital and is now apartments is Le Mars' newest listing on the National Register of Historic Places. Floyd Valley Apartments, at 110 Sixth Ave. N.E. has been named to the National Register of Historic Places. That confirmation was made Feb. 3, 2010, according to Iris Hemmingson, president of the Le Mars Historic Preservation Commission...

Fire rips through roof of Le Mars home (03/02/10)
No one was injured in a Le Mars house fire that left a 6-by-8 foot hole in the home's roof Monday night. Police notified the Le Mars Fire Department at about 10:15 p.m. after receiving calls about a smokey odor in the neighborhood and seeing smoke coming from a house at 315 Sixth St. N.W...

Ice cream parlor will bring life to historic Le Mars building (02/25/10)

Outlet malfunction likely cause of Remsen house fire (02/24/10)
A malfunction of electrical equipment in an outlet likely caused the fire that heavily damageda rural Remsen home last Friday. No one was injured in the fire at the home of Chad Homan, 45183 C-44 south of Remsen, but damages are estimated to be more than $100,000...

Outlet malfunction likely cause of Remsen house fire (02/23/10)
A malfunction of electrical equipment in an outlet likely caused the fire that heavily damaged the home of Chad Homan in rural Remsen last Friday. No one was injured in the fire at 45183 C-44 south of Remsen, but damages are estimated to be more than $100,000...

From field to table: Plymouth Oil begins production (02/22/10)
The food-grade corn oil plant just north of Merrill is making liquid gold. After weather and financial delays, the $30 million Plymouth Oil plant is completely constructed and pumping out gallons of crude corn oil, according to Dave Hoffman, chairman of the Plymouth Oil Company board...

County construction means less LOST money for grants (02/16/10)
The Plymouth County Supervisors set aside $100,000 in Local Option Sales Tax (LOST) money in their proposed budget to be used for grant requests. That's $80,000 less than last year -- but the county has two new major construction projects to pay for with LOST revenue in the next fiscal year...

Peters pays it forward with Habitat for Humanity homes (02/11/10)
Rob Peters knows how much a Habitat for Humanity house means to a family. He and his three children moved into their home, the first built by Habitat for Humanity in Le Mars, just before Christmas 2006. Now he's even more involved and paying forward what he has received, serving as construction foreman for Habitat houses going up in the Riverside area of Sioux City...

County working to make new disaster hazard plan (02/11/10)
The Plymouth County Supervisors is taking disaster preparation one step further in case of future disaster. The supervisors approved the county's participation in a Local Hazard Multi-Jurisdictional Grant Program Tuesday. "It's a FEMA requirement if we have a disaster and we're going to apply for state and federal assistance this plan has to be done," said Gary Junge, county emergency management coordinator...

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...

TIF: a powerful tool being overused? (02/05/10)
Out of all 99 Iowa counties, Plymouth County is ranked second for using Tax Increment Financing (TIF). About 15.2 percent of the county's taxable valuation is in TIF, according to the Iowa State Association of Counties. TIF is a taxing tool different than regular taxes, according to Plymouth County Auditor Stacey Feldman...

Online photo sales (02/02/10)
If you scroll down the left side of the home page you will find a very full gallery of many photo albums to purchase pictures from.

Akron senior living apartments to close (01/12/10)
An eight-plex of senior living apartments in Akron is closing. The Senior Village North Apartments, under the umbrella of the Akron Care Center, will be closed by the end of February due to a lack of interest and the money it would take to upgrade it for assisted living...

Fire damages Le Mars home (01/12/10)
No one was injured in a house fire in western Le Mars Monday morning but fire and smoke caused extensive damage to parts of the home. The Le Mars Fire Department responded to the fire at 105 Broadview Dr. in the Parkview Terrace subdivision near Highway 3 west after a passerby noticed smoke coming from the house...

Highway 3 west widening, city signs on 2010 project list (01/08/10)
Adding a lane to Highway 3 west of Le Mars will likely be one of the City of Le Mars' top projects in the works in the new year. Le Mars City Administrator Scott Langel sketched out the 2010 priority projects with the Daily Sentinel this week, noting the finalized list is yet to come...

Margaret Spies looks back at 100 years of living (01/08/10)
Margaret Spies of Merrill, who turns 100 years old Thursday, has packed a lot in her century of living, and her sharp mind recalls many of those experiences in vivid detail. She was born Jan. 14, 1910, in Custer County, Neb., the first child of Herman and Anna Pierce...

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...

Rewind 2009: The worst of times and the best of times (12/31/09)

Man catches Remsen house fire before too late (12/23/09)
By the time fire crews arrived, Will Peirson of Remsen already had the fire in his house mostly out. Remsen Fire Chief Doug Owens said the fire in Peirson's residence at 201 W. Fourth St. started before 6 p.m. Monday in a bedroom. Owens said the cause was a heater or an electrical short that started a fire...

The Bridge: When the water's too deep to cross alone (12/22/09)
There are three days until Christmas, and a blizzard is blowing its way toward northwest Iowa. Can you imagine having no warm, safe place to go? That's the reality two Plymouth County women and their children recently faced before they were introduced to The Bridge, a transitional living home in Orange City...

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...

Main Street gives downtown Le Mars renovation boost (12/09/09)
As a Main Street community, Le Mars businesses located in the Main Street designated area have the opportunity to improve their visual appearance. Main Street director Mary Reynolds explained the Main Street design aspect allows those qualifying businesses to improve their facades or new signage, with the local Main Street organization providing grant funds...

New airport funding requests being made (12/03/09)
Le Mars City Council approved an application this week for $204,476 in Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) money to house that snow removal equipment for the Le Mars Airport. This application, for Fiscal Year 2011, comes following a FY 10 application for $120,000 in similar federal dollars for snow removal equipment for the airport...

Merrill Fire Department to build a fire station that fits (12/02/09)
To fit a new fire truck in the door at the Merrill Fire Station, the truck has to be cut down in size. "For the last engine we bought, downsizing it cost us an extra $30,000," said Merrill Fire Chief Bill Merchant. That's the problem the Merrill Fire Department is working to fix by building a new fire station...

Finish date uncertain for Highway 3 bridge (11/30/09)
A Highway 3 bridge near Westfield is still under construction although the expected mid-November completion date has come and gone. "We're hoping we can get it open in the winter, but it's not likely," said Dwight Jenkins, Iowa Department of Transportation (DOT) construction tech. supervisor...

Family brings new life to former church (11/25/09)
The former St. Catherine Church in Westfield has a new calling -- to become a family's home. In September, Chris and Joni Vondrak purchased the former Catholic church and along with their children Emily, 14, Joe, 10, Frankie, 9, and Molly, 6, are working to make it into a home...

Train safety project Tuesday (11/23/09)
Watch the railroad crossings Tuesday. Law enforcement officers will be watching at the tracks in Le Mars for crossing violators during an "Officer on the Train" project with the Union Pacific railroad. Tickets issued to motorists for failing to stop at the red crossing signals will cost a total of $195...

Where do we grow from here? Moving forward with downtown survey results (11/20/09)
People have a lot of ideas for downtown Le Mars, according to recent results of a Main Street Iowa-directed survey and analysis. Requests from the about 350 people surveyed range from general, like add more stores downtown, to specific suggestions, like bring in Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant...

State rollback won't have big effect in Plymouth County (11/03/09)
This year's assessment limitations or rollback on Iowa property values announced by the Iowa Department of Revenue in October won't affect Plymouth County taxpayers much. That's according to Bob Heyderhoff, county assessor. Heyderhoff said even though it seems the difference is major between last years' statewide rollback on agricultural land of about 93.86 percent to this year's 66.27 percent, it's not going to be a big deal in Plymouth County...

New ruling gives county green light on annex building (10/23/09)
The Le Mars Board of Zoning Adjustment reversed its earlier decision Thursday and approved variances allowing the county to move forward with plans to construct a courthouse annex building. Zoning board members voted 3-0 to approve a conditional use permit to build in a residential district and within 17 feet 9 inches off Fourth Avenue Southeast instead of 25 feet...

Plymouth Energy seeks $10 million to position for future (10/20/09)

Council delays awarding bid on Blue Diamond Drive, white-topping (10/08/09)
While it appears Steve Harris Construction, is to ultimately be the successful low bidder for two future Le Mars street projects, the Le Mars City Council has delayed awarding bids until a special Oct. 13 council session. The delay is the result of the city's awaiting formal word on its RISE (Revitalize Iowa's Sound Economy) application for the Blue Diamond street construction and Harris's acceptance of a start date next year for the white-topping project...

Le Mars firefighters head into the danger zone (10/07/09)
Oct. 4-10 "Stay Smart! Don't Get Burned" In a house fire, the temperature can reach more than 1,000 degrees. Inside, smoke can turn a lit house pitch black in four minutes. Odorless toxic fumes can swirl through the rooms, making anyone inside sleepy, weak and confused...

Road construction in seasonal race against time (09/30/09)
The Highway 3 project in eastern Le Mars is behind schedule, City Administrator Scott Langel said. Officially, the completion date was supposed to be Aug. 31, Langel said. His prediction is the Highway 3 work will be finished in the next week. "It's definitely functional at this point," Langel said. "Everything that needed to be paved is paved."...

City approves adding lights at five intersections (09/17/09)
Five intersections will be somewhat brighter in the near future as the result of action Tuesday by the Le Mars City Council. The new lights will be installed at the intersections of Second Street Southeast and 14th Avenue Southeast, 12th Avenue Southwest and 12th Street Southwest, Lee Drive and Fourth Avenue Southeast, Schafer Avenue and 15th Street Southeast and North Lynn Drive and Seventh Avenue Southeast...

LCS board looks at Camp Quest financial implications (09/16/09)
The Le Mars Community School Board is mulling over what to do with 18.60 acres of property east of Le Mars owned by the school district known as Camp Quest. At the June 8 board meeting, a citizen asked the board to sell the property as it was no longer used by the school district...

Presbyterian UCC celebrates 125 years of sharing faith (09/11/09)

Singer, songwriter's career grows during CIA service (09/01/09)
Francis Hahn has worn many caps in his lifetime from CIA operative to shoe store repair owner to airport manager. His most fulfilling career -- his music. "I've enjoyed song writing more than anything I've ever done," Hahn said. The Mapleton man sang his tunes on the Church of Jesus stage at the 34th Annual National Old Time Country Bluegrass and Folk Music Festival Monday afternoon...

Face of the Phonothon: Brannan shares her Life Skills story (09/01/09)
The Annual KC Phonothon for persons with disabilities has benefited a number of Plymouth County residents who receive services at Life Skills Training Center in Le Mars through the years. The 30th annual phonothon this Wednesday will be no different...

Then and now: Remodeled building showcases 4-H projects (07/28/09)
Plymouth County 4-H members entering their 4-H projects got a good look at the new 4-H Display Building on the Plymouth County Fairgrounds Monday afternoon. Formerly the Hall of '84, the building has been remodeled to house all the 4-H static entries, from food and clothing, to mechanical arts and visual arts, and consumer management to home improvement...

Smoother ride ahead for rough railroad crossing (07/27/09)
Help is on the way for the Highway 3 railroad crossing next to Fareway. "Rough Crossing" signs went up recently to warn drivers. The Iowa Department of Transportation (DOT) and the Chicago Central and Pacific Railroad Company (CC) are aware of the situation and working together on a solution...

Repairs will close county roads (07/22/09)
Portions of four county roads will close this week. Bridge replacements with box culverts will close two roads Thursday: 270th Street from Polk Avenue east to Quest Avenue and 200th Street from Hickory Avenue east to Impala Avenue. Asphalt resurfacing will close C-12 from K-22 east to K-30 at Craig and K-30 from C-12 north to the Sioux County line Friday...

Ordination, consecration service set for new Lutheran clergy (07/10/09)
Three Lutheran congregations will celebrate together as their newly called pastor and diaconal minister will be ordained and consecrated in a 3 p.m. service Sunday, July 12, at St. John's Evangelical Lutheran Church in Craig. Sarah and Joel Nye have accepted a call to serve the three congregations of the newly-formed Plymouth Ministries. This includes St. John Evangelical Lutheran, rural Akron, St. John's Evangelical Lutheran, Craig, and St. John Lutheran Church, Merrill...

Road repair means detour for drivers (07/02/09)
A road resurfacing and bridge replacement will halt traffic on two county roads starting Monday. Plymouth County Engineering Department will close C-16 from K-22 east to Highway 75 for asphalt resurfacing early Monday morning. The road will remain closed through late August...

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