Residential Real Estate

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

LCS board hears request to sell Camp Quest property (06/11/09)
A Le Mars resident is asking the Le Mars Community School Board to consider selling property it owns east of Le Mars. Clark Goodchild asked the board to consider selling the property known as Camp Quest for several reasons. As he has passed by the property in the last few years, Goodchild said he sees it "as one big liability," referring to the terrain and condition of the facilities...

Tour highlights new life for two historic buildings (05/08/09)
(Fourth and final in a series) Two buildings, a former church and a former high school, have been converted to new uses while still maintaining their historical significance in the community. A church building at 401 First St. S.W. is now a residence for Eric Wong, who purchased it from the Assembly of God Church...

Historic tour offers look at pink granite Victorian home (05/07/09)
(Third in a series) Pink granite from quarries around Sioux Falls, S.D., and a location on the curve of Highway 3 West make the Victorian style home at 11 Sixth Ave. S.W. stand out. The house, now owned by Randy and Berdene Barta and home to Berdene's, a reservation-only dining establishment and the Bartas, is one of five stops on the 2009 Historic Tour of Homes and Churches this Saturday...

The grass is greener... Are you brutalizing your lawn? Here's how not to (05/05/09)
Lawn care with the best intention can still leave a yard looking abused. That's according to lawn experts Nicholas Peters and Al Vonnahme, of Le Mars. Both own lawn care and landscaping businesses. To grow a green, lush-looking lawn means getting to know your grass, Peters explained...

Historic tour takes look at cottage home (05/05/09)
(First in a series) A church, two houses, a church converted into a home and sections of the Plymouth County Historical Museum will be spotlighted in the Historic Homes and Churches in Le Mars tour this Saturday, May 9. Hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., with all tours starting at the Plymouth County Historical Museum. The last tour will leave at 4 p.m...

St. Joseph rectory needs new home (05/01/09)
It looks like any other home for sale, although maybe a bit larger. There's a kitchen, a dining room, a living room and more. But the two-story brick house is the St. Joseph rectory, a fixture near St. Joseph Catholic Church since 1970 and home to priests serving the parish and will need to be moved...

Remsen's apartments receive nearly $200,000 in Iowa Finance Authority Loans (04/14/09)
The Iowa Finance Authority's (IFA) Board of Directors recently approved loans totaling nearly $200,000 to St. Francis Apartments in Remsen. The project is an affordable housing property for families and seniors, owned by W&C Inc, and located at 315 Harrison Street...

Scammers take advantage of troubled economy (03/24/09)
Telephone, Internet and mail scams are everywhere and officials say difficult economic times might make people more vulnerable. Mortgage foreclosure rescue scams are on the rise targeting people desperate to keep their homes, said Bob Brammer, a spokesperson for the Iowa Attorney General's Office...

Requests for county LOST grants reach nearly half a million (03/16/09)
Twenty-two Plymouth County groups are putting their name in for money from the $180,000 Local Option Sales Tax (LOST) revenue grant pool. Asking for a total of $431,261, the 21 groups' applications range from buying a Wii exercise DVD -- a kind of interactive video game -- for special needs people to renovation of the Akron Opera House...

Assistance offered to qualifying local renters (03/13/09)
Money is available this year in Iowa to help low-income families and those who have experienced recent job loss make monthly rental payments, according to Tim Helmbrecht, USDA Rural Development Acting State Director in Iowa. "Our agency's rental assistance program can help residents living in USDA Rural Development-financed apartments pay their monthly rental agreements," Helmbrecht said. "These complexes can be found in nearly 400 rural communities across the state, including Le Mars."...

Postal Playhouse lobby refreshed (03/12/09)
Rich tones, luxurious fabrics, stately chandeliers. The lobby of the Postal Playhouse, home of Le Mars Community Theater, has an inviting new look. Thanks to a $9,450 grant from Hotel/Motel Sales Tax revenue, the Le Mars Community Theater's board began a project last fall to restore the 1914 building's front lobby...

Le Mars construction drops in 2008 (03/05/09)
New construction in Le Mars has returned to levels seen in 2000, according to a report Le Mars Code Enforcement Officer Jason Vacura presented to the Le Mars City Council this week. A total of 117 building permits, both commercial and residential, were issued in 2008...

Arson ruled cause of house fire (02/12/09)
Authorities ruled an arsonist set a house on fire last Sunday in southeast Le Mars. The fire, at 414 Fifth Ave. S.E., destroyed part of the house but caused no injuries. The house, a rental property owned by Chris DeRocher, of Le Mars, was vacant and unoccupied at the time, according to Fire Chief Wayne Schipper...

Sheriff sales spike in recent years (02/11/09)
In the past two years, more than 50 homes and properties have gone up for auction as sheriff sales. That's a lot for Plymouth County, according to Elizabeth Brent, the county sheriff's assistant. Foreclosures are on the rise in the area. "When I first started (in 2001) we didn't have 10 in one year," Brent said...

Fire roasts unoccupied house (02/09/09)
Flames tore through part of an unoccupied one-story house Sunday. Neighbors reported the blaze. The Le Mars Fire Department arrived at the rental house owned by Chris DeRocher at 414 5th Ave. S.E. at about 8 p.m., according to Fire Chief Wayne Schipper...

Sale of Pride 1 down the tubes, Pride Group will rent (01/09/09)
Pride 1 group home will remain in the hands of the county. The Plymouth County Supervisors Tuesday withdrew their offer to sell the property to Pride Group for $300,000, after the company declined its terms. The supervisors' initial offer was to sell the group home, 200 12th Ave. S.E., in Le Mars, for $300,000 at a 5 percent interest rate paid throughout 15 years with no down payment...

Iowa's health ranking falls, obesity a factor (12/11/08)
Iowa ranks 15th in the nation's health in the 2008 study by America's Health Rankings "A Call to Action for Individuals and Their Communities," down one from its 14th place rank in 2007. The report looks at four groups of health determinants that can be affected: Personal behaviors; community and environment; public and health policies and clinical care...

Grosenheider, Moir honored with Governor's Volunteer Awards (12/05/08)
Le Mars residents John Grosenheider and Margaret Moir were among those honored with the Governor's Volunteer Award in a ceremony held Nov. 20 in Storm Lake. Governor Chester J. Culver attended the special ceremony to present the awards. The ceremony was postponed from June due to the flooding in eastern Iowa...

What's the next step for museum's study hall? (12/03/08)
Room by room, hallway by hallway, volunteers at the Plymouth County Historical Museum repaired, renovated and brought new life to what was once Le Mars Central High School. Now attention is turning to the fourth floor study hall/library, a large room with windows and at one time, skylights...

County makes offer to sell group home to Pride Group (11/28/08)
An offer to sell Pride 1 to Pride Group Inc. is on the table. The Plymouth County Supervisors Tuesday approved a $300,000 offer, which would be paid over 15 years, with a 5 percent interest rate and no down payment. The supervisors approved the offer 4-1 with Supervisor C. Gordon Green voting no...

Pride Group presents plans to buy group home property (11/24/08)
Pride Group Inc. would like to buy Pride 1, a group home it now uses, from Plymouth County. Pride Group is considering transitioning that existing group home into a residential care facility. The Plymouth County Supervisors, Mike Porter, CEO of Pride Group, and Sharon Nieman, the county's central point coordinator for human services talked about that possibility Tuesday...

Open house set for LCS additions, renovation (09/30/08)
An open house at the Le Mars Community Middle and High Schools will be held from 5:30 to 7 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 2. The open house provides the public an opportunity to tour the new middle school gymnasium, the three new technology enhanced classrooms at the high school, and the renovations that were completed in the high school following the move of the superintendent's office...

Supervisors delay decision to repair floors at Pride Group home (09/17/08)
The Plymouth County Supervisors put the matter of restroom floor repairs at a residential facility operated by Pride Group Inc. on hold Tuesday. The supervisors directed Mike Porter, CEO of Pride Group, to obtain a firm cost estimate to fix floors in four showers and two bathrooms at the residential care facility (RCF) on Highway 3...

Questions answered on school levy issue (08/29/08)
Two public information meetings brought approximately 75 Le Mars Community School District residents out to learn about the Instructional Support Levy (ISL) Wednesday and Thursday evenings. A vote on whether to implement the levy will be held on Sept. 9, the same day as school board elections...

School board rebuts land purchase rumor (08/12/08)
The Le Mars Community School District has not purchased property, board members said at Monday night's meeting. Board member Cris Collins brought the issue to the table at the end of the board meeting as other business. Collins told the board he had received a call from a concerned citizen in the community about comments from another citizen who said their information came from a "very reliable" source that the Le Mars Community School Board "had bought the Hahn property just west of the stadium and the purchase involved an exorbitant amount of money.". ...

Pride Group fire in Primghar (07/18/08)
One man was injured after starting a fire near a Pride Group home for mentally ill individuals in Primghar, according to Pride Group CEO Mike Porter. The facility is owned and managed by Pride Group of Le Mars. The fire, according to Porter, was started with gasoline in a outbuilding near the group home, which houses 34 people. O'Brien County owns the outbuilding, Porter added...

Farrer says fair is five best days of summer (07/16/08)
When you think of livestock at the Plymouth County Fair, rabbits and poultry may not be the steer or swine you were imagining. Thirteen-year-old Grady Farrer would disagree. The owner of rabbits, chickens and pheasants, Farrer believes that poultry and rabbits are where the real livestock shows occur...

Blaze burned part of rural Westfield home (05/20/08)
A house fire in rural Westfield put a family out of their home on Sunday. Melissa Marlin called in the second-story fire at the home of her family of five at 3:51 p.m. Sunday. "The family was out working in the yard and noticed it," said Akron Fire Chief Shane Coyle. "There were no injuries."...

Schoenherr named Fireman of the Year (05/16/08)
Leonard Schoenherr loves being a fire fighter. Schoenherr was named Fireman of the Year for 2008 because of his work ethic, willingness to lend a hand and ambition. He started with Le Mars Fire Department as a reserve member in 2006 and even then began to shine...

Geiger house retains Italianate look despite remodeling (05/06/08)
Editor's Note: This is the second in a series featuring the stops on Le Mars' annual Tour of Historic Homes. A beautiful Italianate home, much remodeled for today's lifestyle but still retaining characteristics of its beginning, is one of four homes in the Foster Park area in the 2008 Tour of Historic Homes set for Saturday, May 10 in Le Mars. The tour is sponsored by the Le Mars Historical Preservation Commission...

Dull residence on Historic Tour of Homes (05/05/08)
Editor's Note: This is the first in a series featuring the stops on Le Mars' annual Tour of Historic Homes. This year's annual Tour of Historic Homes, sponsored by the Le Mars Historic Preservation Commission, features four homes bordering the Foster Park Historic District...

Related subjects