Sewage Treatment Systems

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...

LADS Valentine's Dance features live quilt auction, silent auction (02/09/10)
A king-size quilt, an afghan and a tie-blanket will be auctioned off as part of the Le Mars Area Dialysis Services Valentine fundraiser Saturday night at the Le Mars Convention Center. The three items were donated to LADS for the fundraiser. All three items can be seen in the window of Linda Mayrose Real Estate in downtown Le Mars...

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...

'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...

Children take a look at eye exams (01/28/10)
A visit to the eye doctor was a fun and informative outing for children at Noah's Ark Preschool Wednesday. Optometrist Dr. Becky DeRuyter of Advanced Eye Health located at Wal-Mart in Le Mars gave the students a tour of the exam rooms and explained what happens when someone gets an eye exam...

Sheriff seeks more inmates to help county budget (01/28/10)
The Plymouth County Jail has felt a drop of about $160,000 in revenue due to housing only half the number of federal inmates as in previous years. Currently, seven or eight federal inmates reside in the jail at $75 a day. But the jail was built to house six to eight more...

Le Mars Area Dialysis plans Valentine's Day Dance (01/18/10)
Get ready for music and fun at the Le Mars Area Dialysis Services Third Annual Valentine's Day Dance set for Saturday, Feb. 13, at the Le Mars Convention Center upper level from 7:30 to 11:30 p.m. "The Magnificent Board of Directors" return this year as the featured entertainment...

Keep your driveway shoveled without seeing the doctor afterward (12/29/09)
If you haven't noticed yet, the Christmas season left us all the gift of about 17 inches of snow last week. It was likely left in your driveway among other places. Unfortunately, a heavy snowfall can also be the gift that keeps on giving -- like a trip to the chiropractor or hospital from people trying to dig out...

Ruden's massage therapy flourishing in downtown Le Mars (10/26/09)
Feeling a little anxious, neck a little stiff, have a pounding headache? Licensed massage therapist Shel Ruden, owner of Heavenly Healing Massage Therapy, said she might be able to help. Heavenly Healing settled into its new digs in downtown Le Mars at, 109 Plymouth St. N.W., Aug. 1...

County hikes rates for inmates, work release participants (10/22/09)
Inmates at the Plymouth County Jail will be paying more for their room and board or participating in the work release program. Sheriff Mike Van Otterloo asked the Plymouth County Supervisors Tuesday to raise the rates for both groups. Starting Nov. 1, room and board will cost $40 per day and work release will be $35 per day...

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...

On the hunt: Geocachers storm Plymouth County in search of 'treasure' (09/28/09)
You might have bumped into them around town this weekend. People walking around looking down at a hand-held GPS unit in their palm. These 130 geocachers from across the Midwest were in a race against time. Competing in the Plymouth County Hike 'n' Seek Geocache, they had 24 hours to find as many tiny hidden objects at specific coordinates as they could...

A different kind of scavenger hunt in Plymouth County (09/23/09)
This weekend, Plymouth County will host an outdoor activity that maybe not too many people are familiar with. However, that is likely going to change as the sport of "geocaching" is gaining more and more popularity in the United States. Hillview Recreation Area near Hinton will host the Iowa Geocachers Organization's annual Hike 'n Seek event Friday-Sunday...

Dialysis project nearly ready to roll (09/03/09)
Months ago, supporters of opening a local dialysis center set a $1.2 million goal to reach before moving forward on the project, which began in June 2006. Tuesday, they reached that goal. A $200,000 loan from the Le Mars City Council puts the Le Mars Area Dialysis Services (LADS) past the $1.2 million mark...

City council OKs $200,000 dialysis center loan (09/02/09)
Efforts for a new dialysis services center in Le Mars moved another step ahead Tuesday as Le Mars City Council members approved a $200,000 unsecured loan to help the center become operational. The interest-free loan, coming from Local Option Sales Tax (LOST) money, is scheduled for payment "at the sunset" of the LOST program Dec. 31, 2016...

Journey is over but adventure is not for Morrow (07/21/09)
Le Mars native Hugh Morrow's journey from China to the United States and most of the way back is finished, but he's far from slowing down. From Xiamen, in the People's Republic of China, Morrow sent word of his latest venture -- book writing. "I will be publishing a series of children's adventure books that will introduce Chinese culture to the west. ...

Family, friends, Eagles host second fundraiser for LADS (07/21/09)
Le Mars Eagles Club, along with family and friends of Nubs Gotto, will host a second fundraiser in support of the Le Mars Area Dialysis Services (LADS) starting at 5 p.m. Friday at the Eagles Club, 104 First Ave. S.W. in Le Mars. The group is hoping to raise enough money to help push the opening of a dialysis center in Le Mars forward...

New library law reads: Sex offenders stay out (07/07/09)
People convicted of a sex offense against a minor will need permission to check out materials at Le Mars Public Library and libraries across the state. A new law, which became effective July 1, states sex offenders convicted of a sex offense against a minor cannot be on public library property without permission of a library administrator...

Council approves end of year fund transfers (06/30/09)
The Le Mars City Council last Tuesday cleaned up its finances in preparation for the end of the fiscal year. That meant transferring $2 million in Tax Increment Financing (TIF) money for the current year and $2 million for last year to make two years of bond payments...

Catch a ride for free next week (05/28/09)
Going shopping? Take a free bus ride to the store Monday. Instead of paying $1 to ride, passengers get a break June 1 when they can ride the fixed bus route in Le Mars all day for free. "It's to try and promote ridership," said Sandy Langel, Siouxland Regional Transit System transport director. "We're trying to get people used to using it."...

Supervisors look at new construction near courthouse (05/14/09)
A new chapter in the county's quest to solve the space needs issue at the courthouse has begun. The Plymouth County Supervisors Tuesday decided to pursue hiring an engineer to put together specifications for a proposed building to potentially be constructed at the site of the old jail in the southeast corner of the courthouse property...

New DNR water requirement may raise water bills (04/20/09)
A new requirement on treated wastewater pumped into the Floyd River may have a multi-million dollar impact on the City of Le Mars. And that cost may trickle down to residents. The Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) regulates allowable chloride levels flowing into rivers. Currently, the amount of chlorides coming from Le Mars wastewater is high, due to the number of home water softeners used by residents...

Rural Remsen man pleads guilty to animal neglect (03/31/09)
Andrew Vaske, 28, pleaded guilty Monday to animal neglect and six other animal-related charges. The judge sentenced Vaske to seven days in jail plus $750 in fines at the plea taking Monday in Plymouth County District Court. The animal neglect charge, a simple misdemeanor, stems from mid-March when the Plymouth County Sheriff's Office seized 28 head of Vaske's cattle from two locations...

Rohde headed to prison after probation revoked (03/27/09)
A former Kingsley funeral director is headed to prison after a judge revoked his probation for financial crimes this week. Mark Francis Rohde, 50, of Kingsley, was convicted last August of two financial felonies including stealing $179,000 from Mauer-Johnson Funeral Home where he had been part-owner. The judge at the time, Judge Duane Hoffmeyer, suspended a ten-year prison sentence and put Rohde on probation instead...

Developers look at piping methane from wastewater plant (03/11/09)
Waste not. That could be the motto of Le Mars' wastewater plant. The plant already makes 100 percent of what comes in into usable products. Now officials are talking with a local renewable energy developer about using the wastewater plant's methane to help fuel the Plymouth Energy ethanol and corn oil plants north of Merrill...

Rock and roll: Don't mess with the Roller Dames (03/09/09)
Someone's been skating in the basement of the jail. Stephanie Hoppe, married and the mother of two, works as a Plymouth County jailer. But in her off time, the Le Mars woman laces up her rollerskates and becomes one bad dude. Hoppe skates with the Sioux City Roller Dames, a full-contact roller derby team. Her skating name: Felony Convixen...

Jefferson Lines cuts out Le Mars service (02/26/09)
The daily bus service to Le Mars and Sioux Center run by Jefferson Lines will be eliminated as of Tuesday, March 3. "After providing daily bus service to Le Mars and Sioux Center for the past three years as an expirimental route project, this was a difficult decision for the company," stated George Keil, Jefferson Lines' regional sales manager in a press release...

Le Mars man awaits sentencing on firearms charges (02/24/09)
A 79-year-old Le Mars man faces up to 35 years in prison after reportedly selling more than 500 firearms without a license. Chester Douglas Pullen pleaded guilty last week to three charges: dealing firearms without a license, traveling interstate with the intent to engage in conduct that constitutes as dealing firearms without a license, and investing, spending and using proceeds of his illegal interstate firearms dealing to promote and carry on those crimes...

Wells' Dairy builds new station to monitor pH (02/16/09)
A $550,000 pH monitoring station is going up at 910 Prospect Street south of Wells' Dairy's south ice cream plant. The station will help prevent highly acidic or highly alkaline water from flowing into the City of Le Mars' wastewater plant. "If the pH swings too far, it could wreak havoc on the plant," said Le Mars Wastewater Superintendent Ron Kayser. "It could eat pipes, eat away cement and actually be a safety concern"...

Man arrested at meth lab near Hinton (01/12/09)
Investigators shut down an active meth lab on an abandoned farm site near Hinton and arrested the suspected meth cook last Thursday. Marlo Arthur Petersen, 34, of Onawa, was discovered upstairs in the house on the property at 30894 Kestrel Avenue -- the same house where Plymouth County Sheriff Deputies found a clandestine methamphetamine lab, according to a report from the sheriff's office...

City makes big cuts, makes department reorganization (01/06/09)
The City of Le Mars is eliminating its engineering department and cutting one person's job to help trim expenses. This decision, plus other cuts like not filling three other positions, will slash between $200,000 and $250,000 from the city budget. Mayor Dick Kirchoff announced the changes Monday afternoon in a press conference...

Velarde gets light sentence in stabbing trial (12/11/08)
Guilty... but not much. A Le Mars man on trial for stabbing another local man in a fight got a light conviction Wednesday in court. Christopher Velarde, 24, was found guilty of simple assault by a jury. That's a much lighter conviction than he originally faced...

Stabbing trial begins for Velarde (12/10/08)
When Josh Thompson first saw Christopher Velarde at a bar on April 27, 2008, Velarde complimented Thompson on his New York Yankees baseball cap. The next date the two men would see the hat was in court as a piece of crime scene evidence that would link them together...

Council members commended for work on bus route (12/03/08)
John Leonard and Ken Nelson received a pat on the back from the other Le Mars City Council members Tuesday for their efforts to help start a city public bus route. Nelson, meanwhile, praised cooperation of Siouxland Regional Transit System (SRTS) staff and bus drivers on the project...

Hike in city sewage rates forthcoming (11/20/08)
Le Mars city sewer rates are expected to increase for residential and industrial users. The Le Mars City Council will hold a first reading of a new ordinance initiating the rate changes Dec. 2. The rate hike, effective Feb. 1, 2009, is projected at 20 percent for residential users and a corresponding 5 percent increase for industrial users...

County sees more identity theft cases (11/10/08)
More identity theft cases are coming before a judge in Plymouth County. County Attorney Darin Raymond shared this news with the county supervisors Tuesday. "Identity theft and that business of working somewhere and not having proper identification and being an illegal worker in this country is creeping in," Raymond told the supervisors...

O'Keefe gets maximum sentence for stabbing death (09/10/08)
The man who pleaded guilty to stabbing another man with a butcher knife in a Le Mars downtown apartment will spend up to 40 years in prison. Jody Brent O'Keefe, 35, was sentenced Tuesday in Plymouth County District court for the death of Samuel Ray Toliver, 32...

O'Keefe pleads guilty to stabbing (09/05/08)
The man charged with stabbing another man with a butcher knife in a Le Mars downtown apartment in January pleaded guilty to four felony charges Thursday. Jody Brent O'Keefe, 35, signed a plea agreement that could land him in prison for up to 40 years for the death of Samuel Ray Toliver, 32...

No jail time required for Kingsley funeral director (09/03/08)
A Kingsley funeral director will have to pay nearly $180,000 in restitution to a former business partner for money he admitted to stealing, but he faces no prison time. Mark Francis Rohde, 49, who pleaded guilty in August to stealing about $179,000 and to tax evasion, both felonies, was sentenced Tuesday in Plymouth County District Court...

Work on GIS website puts Plymouth County on the map (09/02/08)
Plymouth County's success with owning and operating a Geographical Information Systems (GIS) website will soon be known around the world. Autodesk MapGuide Enterprise, owner of AutoCad Map 3D software used on the county's GIS website, wrote a customer success story that will be published in the company's trademark magazines, displayed at GIS conferences and on its website...

Saving lives one night at a time (08/11/08)
Keith Garner, once retired, has an interesting nightlife. He saves people's lives. Garner isn't a caped crusader or masked marvel, but when the M.D. slips on his white jacket and steps into Floyd Valley Hospital's emergency room, he becomes a man of action...

City searches for solutions to indoor pool problems (08/06/08)
alse alarms on the fire alarm system. Temperature spikes. Ventilation system running non-stop. Computer lock ups. Since it opened in March 2007, the Le Mars Indoor Aquatic Center has been plagued with heating/ventilation/air conditioning (HVAC) problems...

Merrill's before- and after-school program is a go (08/04/08)
Kissinger Elementary students will be able to enroll in a before- and after-school program at Merrill's First United Methodist Church when classes resume on August 21. Throughout the past year, the town has been working to develop a before- and after-school program to provide activities and supervision for students whose parents work longer than school hours...

Registration open at Gehlen until Aug. 13 (08/04/08)
Registration is underway at Gehlen Catholic Schools for the 2008-09 school year and will continue through Aug. 13. Families may stop at the school during regular office hours of Monday through Thursday, between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m., to purchase lunch tickets, bus passes, activities tickets and pay tuition...

Merrill's before- and after-school program on hold (07/31/08)
What began as a great opportunity for the Merrill may not be ready in time when classes resume this fall. Throughout the past year, the town has been working to develop a before- and after-school program to provide activities and supervision for students whose parents work longer than school hours...

Sign theft could mean jail time (07/29/08)
When Mark Sturgeon looked out his window Sunday morning, his lawn looked a little emptier. The sign he put up two days earlier, supporting a candidate running for office this fall, was missing. He was not alone. "We have had some energetic people taking signs from all over the place," said Le Mars Police Chief Stu Dekkenga. "We had a call this morning on missing real estate signs, too."...

Scouts use Eagle projects to help local churches (07/23/08)
For Boy Scouts, Eagle Scout is the highest rank they can achieve. To earn such distinction, scouts must demonstrate that they live by the principles of the Scout Oath and Law in their daily lives, earn a total of 21 merit badges, serve actively in a position of responsibility for six months, and plan, develop, and give leadership to others in a service project...

School's out forever (07/10/08)
A Le Mars landmark for more than a century was demolished Wednesday. St. Joseph School, completed in 1905, was torn down to make way for a new Catholic church. A handful of the more than 2,000 students that studied in the building's classrooms gathered Wednesday to take pictures and watch the school be reduced to a pile of rubble...

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