Veterinary Care Facilities

Not just a wash: Groomer gives dogs the royal treatment (10/01/08)
She knows what kind of shampoo works well for your dog. She knows how to make doggie toothpaste from scratch. And she's even trained in pet CPR. Meet Monica Nilles. The Le Mars woman is the new dog groomer on Central Avenue, part of the Bow Wow Pet Shop and Bakery's new addition: Bow Wow Grooming and Day Spa...

Le Mars Area Dialysis focus is on fundraising, renovation (10/01/08)
Le Mars Area Dialysis Services is stepping up its fundraising efforts. Currently the not-for-profit group has two main focuses -- one is to continue raising money, and the other is to plan renovation of its newly acquired building in downtown Le Mars...

Wells' Dairy pays back $1.2 million to state (09/29/08)
Wells' Dairy has been asked to pay back $1.25 million of a nearly $3 million state award after they missed a job creation and retention goal by about 150 jobs. The debt to the state has already been paid, according to a statement from the Le Mars ice cream and frozen novelty producer's CEO Mike Wells...

Negotiations begin on new Wells' Dairy labor contract (09/22/08)
Negotiations are underway on a contract that impacts about 1,400 hourly manufacturing employees at Wells' Dairy in Le Mars. "A corporate team is sitting down and meeting with an employee team," said Dave Smetter, spokesman for the ice cream and novelty company...

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...

IML Container to expand in industrial park (09/09/08)
A Le Mars manufacturer that makes plastic containers for products like ice cream and butter will have its own permanent home in the industrial park. IML Containers Iowa, which has been leasing space in Le Mars since it began operation in 2006, is planning to build a 63,000-square-foot facility...

Farm Bureau honors Conley with Service to Ag award (09/03/08)
A longtime Le Mars area veterinarian was honored with the Plymouth County Farm Bureau's "Service to Agriculture" award Tuesday evening at the organization's 90th annual meeting. Dr. John Conley and his wife, Barbara, of rural Merrill, were called to the stage by President Mark Loutsch, who explained the award is given to those in Plymouth County who have contributed much of their lives toward the helping and development of agriculture...

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...

Harker's closes after 100 years in Le Mars (08/27/08)
A century-old Le Mars establishment is folding. Harker's, a food service company that began with a meat market started by George Harker in 1906, will have its last day Friday, according to Harker's president Jim Harker. Cardboard boxes fill the front lawn of the Le Mars corporate headquarters building at 801 Sixth St. S.W...

School board members answer questions about ISL (08/26/08)
On Sept. 9, voters in the Le Mars Community School District will decide whether to approve a tax levy that would raise money for LCS teacher salaries, books, programs and transportation fuel. That Instructional Support Levy (ISL) has proved the source of much debate. Two LCS School Board members -- Patrick Murphy and Mark Stelzer -- sat down with the Daily Sentinel editorial staff to talk through some of the questions about the levy...

Dream Program helps Happy Siesta earn governor's quality award (08/26/08)
A wish to ride in an airplane, watch a play in a theater, take a fishing trip, hear an auctioneer cry -- all came true for Happy Siesta Health Care Center residents. Happy Siesta's Dream Program and other activities earned the center, in Remsen, a Governor's Award for Quality Care in Iowa Health Care Facilities for 2008, presented Monday...

Council moves ahead four street project plans (08/20/08)
Le Mars City Council members Tuesday gave their approval to a professional engineering services agreement for four Le Mars highway and street projects. On the agenda are widening Highway 3 near Floyd Valley Hospital, improving Business 75 from Highway 3 to Airport Drive, curb and gutter work on Seventh Avenue Southeast (K-49), and curb and gutter work on Sixth Avenue West...

When mommy is arrested: Police plan for children on the scene (08/18/08)
Patrol cars pull up to a house, looking for an adult suspect. They enter the house to make an arrest. There, on the couch, an eight year old is reading a book. Suddenly, the plan changes. "Kids are so impressionable," said Le Mars Police Chief Stu Dekkenga. "It's a big deal, removing a parent. You don't want to traumatize the child."...

Construction marches forward on new Remsen Medical Clinic (08/13/08)
June rain delays can't stop construction of the new Remsen Medical Clinic. The clinic on Second Street west of the post office is expected to be completed Dec. 1, said Daryl Friedenbach, director of financial services at Floyd Valley Hospital (FVH)...

Remsen urban renewal district in the works (08/11/08)
Creation of an urban renewal area in Remsen could generate money to extend public utilities to a new business and tear down old buildings in its downtown. An urban renewal area is a district which designates where Tax Increment Financing (TIF) revenue can be spent. TIF is created based on taxes from designated structures built within the district. Those taxes can be collected for 20 years...

Senior Services Directory aims to aid senior citizens (07/24/08)
After several years of planning and hours of work, the dream of a comprehensive guide for services available for senior citizens in Plymouth County has become a reality. The Plymouth County Fair marks the launching of the long awaited Plymouth County Senior Service Directory. Free copies may be picked up during the fair at the Floyd Valley Hospital Auxiliary Booth in the Commercial Building...

Plymouth Oil may receive $1.2 million in tax benefits (07/22/08)
The State of Iowa pledged about $1.2 million in tax incentives to a plant near Merrill that will make corn oil for food and cooking. The $30 million Plymouth Oil plant is planned next to the 50-million-gallon Plymouth Energy LLC ethanol plant near Merrill. The projected completion date is July 31, 2013, according to an Iowa Department of Economic Development (IDED) spokesperson...

New first aid booth turns the page of history (07/21/08)
First aid at the Plymouth County Fair got a whole new look this year. The aging first aid booth was replaced by a new building just in time for the fair this year. "Last year there were concerns about the booth -- it was aging," said Tim Paul, chief engineer at Floyd Valley Hospital...

Program offers help in preparing for emergencies (07/09/08)
Where's your emergency kit? Don't have one? Just how prepared are you of a disaster should strike? If your emergency kit is lacking in supplies, or worse yet, you have no emergency kit, get yourself prepared by attending the "20 Weeks of Preparedness" program hosted by Floyd Valley Hospital at 6:30 p.m. Monday, July 14, in the hospital's Conference Center Room 1...

Corn oil plant seeks property tax relief from county (06/18/08)
A proposed $30 million corn oil plant near Merrill inched closer to reality this week. The Plymouth County Supervisors on Tuesday approved five years of property tax relief for Plymouth Oil L.L.C. The first year will be a 75 percent break declining to 15 percent in the fifth year...

You Docs Podcast: Wear your sunscreen (06/05/08)
The YOU Docs -- Mike Roizen and Mehmet Oz -- are authors of the best-selling "YOU: The Owner's Manual" and "YOU: On a Diet." var inlinePlayerParameters = {"f":"IALEM","mk":"en-ap","containerId":"inlinePlayerContainer","type":"ByUUIDS","prop1":"b7447592-1bfd-4262-919d-a8e88bde5b44","prop2":"IALEM","skin":"0","headlineColor":"#AB0110","borderColor":"#BBDDEE","padding":"4","sort":"Default","sortdir":"Descending"};. ...

Remsen Clinic steps closer to construction with bid acceptance (05/02/08)
Frank Audino Construction will build the new Remsen Medical Clinic by an expected Oct. 30 deadline. The Sioux City company submitted the lowest general contract bid of $567,502, which included a $29,503 deduction for vinyl siding on the exterior of the clinic. A masonry siding will be used instead...

Plymouth County's strengths surprising in uncertain national economy (04/25/08)
Plymouth County is ahead of the game when it comes to economic development, despite an unstable national economy. The county's economy is in good shape because of its low unemployment and property tax rates, high wages and property tax valuations and continued business and residential growth, according to Gary Tucker, Plymouth County's economic director...

Fewer graduating doctors make Medical Associates' recruitment challenging (04/24/08)
Family medicine doctors are in demand. Medical Associates, in Le Mars, is currently on the prowl to recruit two to three new family medicine doctors, but 2007 estimates indicate pickings are slim. Last year 3,038 family medicine residents graduated and 7,517 jobs openings were posted on the Internet, according to the Physician Recruitment Department at Avera McKennan Hospital in Sioux Falls, S.D...

Corn oil producer planned near Merrill ethanol plant (04/21/08)
Better together. That's what Dave Hoffman of Merrill says about the $30 million corn oil plant he and others are planning to build next to the Plymouth Energy ethanol plant near Merrill. The corn oil plant will produce up to 60 tons every day of the oil used for human food and cooking. Employing 25 people, the plant is slated to be in operation by the spring of 2009...

Iowans gamble: Jackson recovery can help addicts (03/24/08)
Editor's note: Victim's name has been changed to protect her identity. Statistics show 88 percent of Iowans gamble -- 3 percent of those become problem gamblers. For Sharon, what started as lunchtime social gambling, soon became a daily routine. Her gambling addiction started in July 2006 when she won a jackpot while playing the slot machines at The Argosy Casino in Sioux City...

LCS board waives early retirement requirement (03/20/08)
Le Mars Community School board members gave their approval to a waiver of Board Policy 405.1 concerning early retirement at their Monday meeting in response to a request from teacher Terry Lane. Lane, who will complete his 32nd year with the school district in May, requested the board waive the age 55 clause to allow him to retire at the end of the school year, even though he won't turn 55 until the second day of workshops for the 2008-09 contract year. ...