Road Cycling

Weinrich Truck Lines turns 50 (03/15/10)
Odds are you've bought or eaten something transported by Weinrich Truck Line. The Hinton trucking company turns 50 this year, marking half a century of transporting everything from oats for race horses to syrup for Coca Cola. The business started out with an agricultural focus and grew to meet needs with a fleet of 50 trucks, both dry vans for hauling dry goods and tankers for liquids...

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...

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...

Potholes open up challenges for crews, drivers (02/17/10)
Warm winter weather does more than melt snow -- it helps create potholes. And they multiply every time the ground freezes and thaws creating more this year than ever. That's what makes it hard for street crews like Le Mars and the Iowa Department of Transportation (IDOT) to keep up with temporary pothole repairs...

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...

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. ...

Couple plans to build semi trailers at former grain site (11/10/09)
A Le Mars couple will be transforming a former grain mill site west of Le Mars into a manufacturing business for semi trailers. Clint and Leslie Chapman, now owners of the 3.59-acre property about 2 miles west of Le Mars on Highway 3, received approval Monday from the Plymouth County Board of Adjustment for a conditional use permit to manufacture live-bottom trailers at the site...

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...

Council approves work on Business 75 north, Blue Diamond Drive (09/16/09)
Le Mars City Council members continued with the next step for two city road projects: curb and gutter along Business Highway 75 north and the creation of Blue Diamond Drive. The first project, improving current curb and gutter problems along Business Highway 75 from Highway 3 north to the Floyd River Bridge, is scheduled to get underway next year...

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...

Highway 3 work to close main hospital entrances (07/10/09)
The two main entrances to Floyd Valley Hospital will be closed during Highway 3 road work likely starting Monday. To get in and out of the hospital, as well as Medical Associates, Park Place Estates and Park Village, traffic must come from the south...

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...

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...

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...

Fighting fires whets the appetite of five generations (05/15/09)
Fighting fires has been in Wayne Schipper's blood more than 100 years. The Le Mars fire chief's great-grandfather Henry Schipper started the tradition in the 1890s with his great uncle Hy (Harold) Schipper following in the early 1900s. "They just came and participated in the fire department to help citizens," Wayne said of his ancestors. "We just continue that tradition they established."...

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...

Work on Highway 3 and Business 75 move forward (05/07/09)
Moving ahead on roadwork projects this week, the Le Mars City Council members set public hearings on two of them: the widening of Highway 3 East near the Floyd Valley Hospital and curb, gutter and sewer improvement of Business Highway 75. The hearings have been set for noon June 2...

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...

City must backpay for signs (04/23/09)
"We're going to have to pay or remove the signs." That was the comment Councilman Ken Nelson offered when Le Mars City Council members agreed this week to reimburse the Iowa Department of Transportation (DOT) for the Business Highway 75 signs posted just off the Highway 75 bypass...

LOST money to renovate storefronts, new firehouse (04/22/09)
Four community projects are in line for Local Option Sales Tax (LOST) dollars as a result of action Tuesday by the Le Mars City Council. Council members approved the following: Prior to this, the council had planned to use LOST dollars to first repay debt for the new jail (the reason the LOST was put into effect) and for bonding to pay for the earliest LOST projects, according to City Finance Director Bill Cole...

Dust, noise, concern neighbors about proposed gravel mining (02/24/09)
A proposed gravel mining operation near where Highway 75 hits the southern Plymouth County line is one step closer to digging up sand after a close vote by the county zoning board. About 20 members of the public came to the meeting to hear Mel Crawford, of Sioux City, request to rezone 62 acres just east of Highway 75 from commercial to industrial so he can open a gravel mining operation...

Le Mars United Way Campaign exceeds $85,000 goal (02/11/09)
The Le Mars United Way annual campaign has exceeded their goal this year by raising $92,200. "We are extremely happy with the community support we have been given. After raising nearly $70,000 last year we are thrilled to have raised $92,200 in a year filled with economic challenges," stated Kathy Bartelli, Le Mars United Way Board Chair. "This goes to show the true commitment of the Le Mars community."...

Think safety when snowplows are out (12/26/08)
Plowing snow, whether on city streets, highways or county roads, is no easy job, and drivers need to take safety precautions for both themselves and the snowplow drivers. "Keep back and give us some room," advised Steve Hansen, Le Mars public works director...

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...

Vehicle title fees increase soon (11/14/08)
The cost of titling your vehicle will increase Jan. 1, 2009. As part of a state law designed to raise more money to pay for roads and road improvements, vehicle title fees and registration fees for trailers and trucks will rise starting at the beginning of next year...

Minnesota woman escapes serious injury in truck, building collision (09/29/08)
A medical condition caused Stephanie Kay Allen to lose control of her pickup and crash it into the Meylor Chiropractic building Friday afternoon, police said. The 39-year-old woman, of Silver Lake, Minn., who was wearing her seat belt, suffered non-life threatening injuries during the 12:45 p.m. accident...

Minnesota woman escapes serious injury in truck, building collision (09/26/08)

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...

Trail paves the way for recreation (08/08/08)
Delores Lancaster regularly walks on a recreation trail looping around Le Mars. And she's not the only one. People jogging, walking, biking, exercising dogs, in-line skating -- all use the trail. Even though it isn't complete yet, officials are working to finish its final section, which will complete the nearly 9-mile circuit...

Pedal power: How bike-friendly is Le Mars? (08/08/08)
Around the nation, store managers are reporting that more people are picking up bikes to get around. At Wal-Mart in Le Mars, demand has increased for bicycles lately, according to Don Terry, toy department manager. "More people are wanting to get a bike to bike to work and do in-town riding," he said...

Wanna catch the PIGS? (08/06/08)
A group of tandem bikers will hit Le Mars this weekend. More than 35 duos are signed up for the Paired Iowans Going Somewhere (PIGS) Le Mars rally. If you want to see them pedaling along, you might catch them on these days: Friday, Aug. 8th 5 p.m. depart Holiday Inn Express in Le Mars along bike trail heading toward Ice Cream Capital of the World ice cream parlor...

Iowa athletes compete in Beijing for 2008 Olympics (08/05/08)
Iowa may be about 6,000 miles from Beijing, China, but starting this week, Iowa will have a presence in the 2008 Olympic hub. More than 10 athletes from Iowa or with Iowa connections are arriving in the Chinese capital this week to compete in the 2008 Summer Olympics, which run Aug 8-24...

Bike group will make Le Mars see double (08/04/08)
Daniel and Donna Pond enjoy biking together. On the same bike. The Le Mars couple bought a tandem bike three years ago and liked it so much they joined a tandem bike club dubbed Paired Iowans Going Somewhere, or PIGS for short. This month they are inviting PIGS to Le Mars for a three-day bike tour...

Officials say crippled highway system won't affect northwest Iowa (07/09/08)
The closest northwest Iowa got to this summer's flooding was photos and video clips in the news. But this region of the state is linked to the flood ravaged areas via a vital connection -- the state highway system. Now the already financially strapped Iowa Department of Transportation (IDOT) is hustling to fix the bridges and roads destroyed by floodwaters in central and eastern Iowa...

Smoking in most public places will be extinguished Tuesday (06/30/08)
No Smoking signs started going up last week in preparation for the Iowa Smokefree Air Act which goes into effect Tuesday. Lally's East Side Restaurant, in Le Mars, sported homemade signs Friday telling customers the establishment, which previously allowed smoking, will be smoke free July 1...

Flood damaged Iowa (06/19/08)
AMES, Iowa - June 18, 2008 - Ignoring or moving barricades and attempting to travel on closed roads can be extremely dangerous to motorists. The Iowa Department of Transportation (Iowa DOT) is receiving reports of motorists moving road blocks to travel on highways that may...

Delivery pains: Trucking industry crunch hits home (06/05/08)
High fuel prices are taking semis off the road. With diesel surpassing $4 a gallon, trucking operations as small as one person and as large as 1,000 drivers are closing down and parking their semis. "In the first quarter of 2008, more than 1,000 companies declared bankruptcy," said Steve Schuster, the president of trucking company Schuster Co. in Le Mars...

Local business reacts to scam artists (06/02/08)
There's a new sign at the Le Mars Truck Stop cash register. "We are NOT a bank." General Manager Kent Hanstein posted it after a scam artist asking for change walked away with $90. A quick thinking clerk caught the man's license plates and tipped off the police, who arrested the man and a friend...

Two caught after scam at truck stop (06/02/08)
Two Minnesota men were caught for scamming a Le Mars business just hours after pulling a similar scam on a Sheldon store Thursday, May 29. Scott Richard Coxworth, 30, of Houston, Minn. and Christopher Wayne Swinger, 24, of Minneapolis, Minn. pulled a scam at the Le Mars Truck Stop, stealing $90, before heading out of Le Mars...

Two men caught after scamming Le Mars Truck Stop (05/30/08)
Two Minnesota men were caught for scamming a Le Mars business just hours after pulling a similar scam on a Sheldon store Thursday, May 29...

New truck owners will pay higher registration fees (04/22/08)
People buying pickups trucks 2010 models or newer will be paying more to improve Iowa's roads. According to a new bill passed by Iowa legislators last week, registration fees for owners of those new trucks will jump -- one of several vehicle registration changes that would take effect Jan. 1, 2009. Governor Chet Culver is expected to sign the bill into law this week...

Aerial seeding along bypass begins Monday (03/24/08)
Motorists driving on Iowa Highway 75 Le Mars bypass will need to watch for roadworkers as permanent seeding on that section of highway is scheduled to begin today (Monday) according to the Iowa Department of Transportation's Sioux City Construction Office...

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