Waste Management

NCCC restores grasslands in Plymouth County (03/15/10)
A team of 11 AmeriCorps NCCC (National Civilian Community Corps) members are serving with the Plymouth County Conservation Board and the Nature Conservancy this month. From March 7 to April 23, the group will work to help restore and preserve 15 acres of Five Ridge Prairie, Broken Kettle Grasslands, and Hillview Recreation Area...

County reminds recyclers to keep it clean (02/18/10)
Plymouth County citizens are being reminded to use the large metal recycling bin at the Plymouth County Courthouse responsibly. The large metal recycling bin on the Plymouth County Courthouse block is provided for the rural citizen of Plymouth County to deposit their recyclable materials...

Earth-friendly ECO Center may be finished within year (02/15/10)
The architect for the planned Education Conservation Opportunities (ECO) Center at Hillview Park near Hinton is getting down to the nuts and bolts. With ground-breaking slated for late spring, representatives from M Plus Architects are telling the Plymouth County Conservation Department it could be using the building for meetings, education and other purposes as soon as Jan. 1, 2011...

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...

Officials seek residents with yardsticks and rain gauges (02/08/10)
Needed: volunteers to measure snowfall, rainfall and other precipitation daily. In Plymouth County there are two National Weather Service Cooperative Observer stations, in Le Mars and Akron, where volunteers measure precipitation and temperatures daily...

Mike Donlin named 2009 Citizen of the Year (02/01/10)
Mike Donlin of Le Mars was honored as the 2009 Citizen of the Year at the Le Mars Area Chamber of Commerce Annual Dinner Saturday at the Le Mars Convention Center. "Some people seem to have natural leadership abilities. This year's recipient demonstrates such abilities both in the workplace and throughout the community," said Graham Forbes, 2009 Chamber president as he began to describe Donlin...

County declares Christmas blizzard a state of emergency (01/20/10)
The snowstorm that pummeled Plymouth County between Dec. 22 and 27, 2009 is officially a disaster. The Plymouth County Board of Supervisors approved a disaster declaration Tuesday, a formal step toward securing state and federal dollars to help pay for the blizzard cleanup...

Live Healthy Le Mars offers team approach to good health (01/11/10)
Get ready to get in shape in 2010 by participating Live Healthy Le Mars. The 100-day challenge promotes a team approach to weight loss and physical activity. Local sponsors for Live Healthy Le Mars are the Le Mars YMCA, Floyd Valley Hospital and ISU Plymouth County Extension...

Remember to recycle after Christmas (12/26/09)
Christmas wrap, cardboard boxes, holiday cards and envelopes -- they're all recyclable. "The residents of Le Mars can place it all in their blue containers and or blue bags," said Mark Kunkel, Plymouth County Landfill manager. Rural residents can take their Christmas recyclables to the landfill or put their blue bags in the dumpster at the Plymouth County Courthouse, Kunkel said...

Deadline looming for first look at closure of Mental Health Institutes (12/01/09)
The Iowa Department of Human Services will make its recommendation in two weeks as to which of the Cherokee, Independence, Clarinda or Mount Pleasant Mental Health Institutes should close. On Dec. 15, the Department of Human Services (DHS) will present its decision to Iowa Gov. Chet Culver and the Legislature...

U.S. wildlife leaders worry about future during Akron summit (11/16/09)
Leaders from national wildlife groups shared concerns about the future of clean water and conservation in the United States during a summit near Akron this past weekend. "This is a place where agricultural producers, conservationists and water quality advocates come together for a common program," Jim Martin said of the gathering...

LCS board appoints negotiating team, purchases vehicle (11/13/09)
Opening negotiation sessions between teachers and the Le Mars Community School District will be held in December. In a letter to the school board president, the Le Mars Community Education Association (LCEA) notified the board of its intent to bargain, with the first bargaining session for the 2010-2011 master contract to be held at 5 p.m. Monday, Dec. 7...

Recycle open house educates Le Mars residents (10/20/09)
Le Mars residents will have an opportunity to learn about recycling options during a Chamber of Commerce "After 5" event Thursday, from 5 to 6 p.m. at city hall. The "Recycle Open House" is a way to encourage Le Mars residents to recycle garbage items in an environmentally safe way, according to city staff members...

Program encourages weight loss and charitable giving (10/13/09)
Lu Rolfes lost 66 pounds through a healthy living program. Now she's giving that much away in food. Rolfes, who directs the local chapter of Weight Watchers, said her group is participating in Lose For Good, a project that combines losing weight with giving to people in need...

Pheasants' habitat dwindles by millions of acres each year (09/18/09)
Hunters may face a challenge this season -- the pheasant population is on a downward spiral in Plymouth County and throughout Iowa. Last year Iowa had 100,000 hunters and 383,000 birds, which is four birds per person in the field. Other years there have been 1.5 million pheasants, said John Linquist, Pheasants Forever regional representative. "From the early 2000s to now there has been a steady decline because of weather and habitat," Linquist said. The cold, damp spring this year affected pheasants' nesting habits, said Mike Slota, Pheasants Forever chairman for Plymouth County youth programs. "The weather has to be somewhat warm to produce the insects for the chicks when they're hatched," Slota said. "The hens can't keep the chicks adequately warm and they just die from exposure." The loss of habitat also affects pheasants' nesting because hens have less area to hide from predators, Slota said. Pheasant habitats, which usually require 5 to 10 acres, are areas with a mixture of tall and short grasses and flowering plants that attract insects, Slota said. A major reason that habitat is dwindling is that millions of Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) acres are going away each year, Linquist said. Last year alone 1.1 million CRP acres expired, according to www.pheasantsforever.org. With the price of grain, farmers are finding they can make more money planting their land than putting it into CRP acres, Slota said. "With this economy you can't blame any farmer for squeezing every dollar out of the ground they can," Slota said. "Their job is to produce grain and make money off the ground. We understand that." Farmers began enrolling their qualified land into CRPs to be planted into habitats 10 to 15 years ago and receiving federal compensation, Linquist said. "A lot of people's acres are expiring and there are no new signups," he said. Another 3.8 million CRP acres will expire this fall and 4.4 million acres next September for a total of 21 million acres gone from the program by the end of 2012 without a new signup. The USDA does not have a signup scheduled, according to the Pheasants Forever website. "It's hard to maintain a bird population when we're constantly taking conservation acres out of play," Linquist said. Pheasants Forever hopes to turn that around with its program, Reload Iowa. The intent of Reload Iowa is to establish 1 million acres of new habitat on Iowa landscape. That means $11.5 million will need to be raised and 50 employees hired to go door-to-door to work with landowners to create the habitat, Linquist said. "That program is going to have to pay enough money out to entice the farmer to want to do this," Slota said. "The farmer has to look at the bottom line." There are also national programs like Conservation Practice 38 or State Acres For wildlife Enhancement (SAFE) working to help conserve and create new habitat. SAFE started last year with 200,000 CRP acres that were divided among states. "We had 27,700 acres," Linquist said. "All of those acres have been used up and all within a year." The loss of habitat and dwindling pheasant population in Plymouth County and throughout the state has a trickle-down effect on economy and recreation, Linquist said. "When the population of the birds down so does the population of the hunters," he said. That means less dollars spent shopping, eating and staying locally by nonresident hunters. Fewer hunters also leads to a loss of revenue on licenses, which means less money to help support county and state parks, Linquist said. "That's what buys the land and sees to the upkeep," he said. "We're hurting ourselves by people not going out and hunting." A declining pheasant and hunter population is also detrimental for the next generation of would-be hunters, but Slota's optimistic Reload Iowa and similar programs will turn the numbers around. "I hope we start seeing an increase in the next couple of years," Slota said. "I would love to see it start going back the other way and hopefully we are doing the right things to make it start going the other way."

Scott retires from LCS board (09/18/09)
Le Mars Community School Board members gave thanks to a retiring board member and welcomed a new member at their Sept. 14 meeting. Dr. Leon Scott retired after serving 10 years representing District 1 on the board. Superintendent Dr. Todd Wendt presented Scott with a lifetime activity pass and a plaque in appreciation of his years of service...

Paper Collection (09/04/09)
Newspapers, magazines and computer paper for recycling by Le Mars Elementary School students. Paper will be picked up at the following times and locations: 8-9 a.m. dropoff available at Kissinger Elementary School, Merrill; 8-10 a.m. dropoff available at O'Toole Park drop point, 415 First Avenue N.E., Le Mars; 8:30 a.m. ...

City will offer free December trash pickup (09/02/09)
Le Mars Solid Waste Committee members are providing early news of a "Christmas present" for local residents, according to Assistant City Administrator Bill Cole. The gift, revealed during Tuesday's Le Mars City Council session, is a free trash pickup for the month of December...

Courthouse annex building in hands of architect (07/29/09)
The Plymouth County Supervisors Tuesday hired an engineering firm to oversee construction of an annex building near the courthouse to help with space needs. M Plus Architects Inc., of Sioux City, was hired at a cost of $36,400 to develop designs, prepare construction documents, oversee bidding and provide construction administration for the annex building...

Kehms' green project exceeds expectations (07/27/09)
Sometimes -- albeit rarely -- everything that can possibly go right does. Sometimes donations pour in and you get all three grants for which you apply. Such is the case for Le Mars Community senior-to-be Brian Kehm. Kehm and his sister Sarah, who will be a freshman at Iowa State this fall, have been hard at work with their 4-H club since last fall securing donations and grant money to help make the Plymouth County Fair a greener place...

Big Sioux River Cleanup scheduled for this weekend (07/14/09)
The Plymouth County conservation department will be holding the Third Annual Big Sioux River Cleanup July 18. The cleanup will start at the Big Sioux River Park north of Akron. Volunteers will then float, in canoes, down the river and end at a spot near Akron...

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...

Officials ready for emergency after training (06/29/09)
How would local health officials respond to a statewide outbreak of meat contamination? A training exercise covering that hypothetic scenario indicated Floyd Valley Hospital along with Plymouth County community health and emergency management would do well...

Ethanol plant grand opening draws curiosity, praise (06/05/09)
Hundreds of visitors donned hard hats Thursday to watch a plant just north of Merrill do its thing: produce ethanol at the rate of 103 gallons per minute. "You read about these things, but you don't actually get to see them up close," said one Le Mars woman, waiting in line for a tour of the Plymouth Energy Ethanol plant during its grand opening...

Gus Pech: Still producing drill rigs after 130 years (06/03/09)
A Le Mars business, owned by the Collins family since 1900, turns 130 years old this year. Co-owners Cris Collins, president, and Gregg Collins, vice president, are third generation Collins family members to own and direct Gus Pech Mfg. Co. Inc. "A lot of people don't know what we do here. We make truck-mounted water well drilling equipment," said Gregg...

Class invents dung scoops for zoo (05/27/09)
A group of fourth graders in Remsen-Union were presented with an unusual problem: how to scoop scat (animal droppings) at the Great Plains Zoo in Sioux Falls. Zoo workers wanted a way to scoop up animal scat without picking up too much gravel. The more gravel they throw away, the higher the cost for waste disposal, which is paid by weight. On top of that, they have to buy new gravel to replace the gravel thrown away with the scat...

County residents remain safe, officials ready for H1N1 Flu (05/04/09)
No suspected cases of Swine Flu have presented in Plymouth County, but the first case has been confirmed in eastern Iowa. Plymouth County health officials are prepared if the H1N1 influenza, which was previously called Swine flu, is found here. Deb Steffen, county public health nurse, has been in constant contact with the Iowa Department of Public Health (IDPH) to stay abreast of what's happening throughout the state...

Remsen habitat creation could spark statewide projects (04/29/09)
This spring, the first native grass seeds will take root in about 70 acres of land around the Remsen wells. Cropland on those acres was replaced with native habitat to help keep the water source below the surface purer. Now state officials are watching the success of this water quality improvement project in hopes that it will be the seed project for others across Iowa...

Live Healthy Le Mars challengers share success stories (04/24/09)
Patti Engle had a goal. She wanted to lose weight before her vacation in Canc�n at the end of February. "I wanted to fit into my summer clothes," Engle said. That's why she took on the Live Healthy Le Mars' 100 day challenge, which started Jan. 14 and ended Thursday...

Code Green: Recycling program takes off at FVH (04/22/09)
Floyd Valley Hospital is "going green" on Earth Day. The hospital is kicking off a new recycling program today (Wednesday). Tim Paul, FVH's chief engineer who also heads up the hospital's "Green Committee," said it's fitting to start the hospital's recycling program on Earth Day...

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...

Notify fire department of controlled rural burns (04/15/09)
Holding a controlled burn on your rural property? You need to notify your fire district. Le Mars Fire Chief Wayne Schipper said the fire chiefs of each district need to know the day people are burning and who is tending to the controlled burn at least within the same day of the burn...

Floyd Valley Hospital's Avera pre-diabetes program shows successful outcomes (04/10/09)
A program conducted by Avera McKennan's Diabetes Center at Floyd Valley Hospital and other regional partner sites shows education is successful in helping people with pre-diabetes lose weight, and prevent or delay the onset of type 2 diabetes. In 2006, the Avera McKennan Diabetes Center received a $6,000 grant through the Avera Health Community Service Fund for the development of a Pre-Diabetes Education Program over two years...

Calls to Quitline surge in advance of federal tobacco tax (03/31/09)
Calls to Quitline Iowa (1-800-QUIT-NOW) have surged by 20 percent since the price of cigarettes increased ahead of a new federal tax. With a 62-cent per pack increase in the tax on cigarettes going into effect April 1, Quitline Iowa is braced for even more calls. The sudden increase in calls is one of the most significant spikes since the Quitline began offering free nicotine patches and gum in addition to counseling by trained quit coaches in January 2008...

Supervisors check out new angle for courthouse space needs (03/26/09)
Could a modular building be the answer to space problems at the Plymouth County Courthouse? The Plymouth County Supervisors Tuesday decided to come up with ideas they would like to see on a modular building should that be the direction they choose to go...

Farmers can earn money per acre using soil conservation (03/24/09)
A grant will pay farmers per acre to implement conservation practices that improve soil quarity in Plymouth County. The USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) in Iowa is offering incentive payments through the 2009 Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) signup to row crop producers...

They're back: Bald eagles showing their faces around Le Mars (03/23/09)
Last week, Le Mars' airport manager Earl Draayer spotted seven bald eagles perched in the same tree. A driver reported seeing a dozen of the birds in trees along the Floyd River. We shouldn't be too surprised, according to Plymouth County Naturalist Victoria Shamblen...

Red Cross supplies cots, goods to help prepare local shelters (03/16/09)
In case of a flood, an ice storm, a heat wave, tornado or pandemic, victims who are forced from their Plymouth County homes will have a place to sleep. Friday, the Siouxland Area Chapter of the Red Cross delivered 80 cots, pillows, blankets and a supply of adult and youth comfort kits to the Le Mars Disaster Services building...

Newspaper added to Daily Sentinel's parent company (03/12/09)
The Le Mars Daily Sentinel's newspaper family is growing. Rust Communications, the Missouri-based media company which owns the Daily Sentinel, acquired The Monett Times and the Monett Shopper in Missouri from Cleveland Newspapers, Inc. The change in ownership was announced this month...

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...

Recycling on the rise, city residents fill totes (03/06/09)
City of Le Mars residents want to recycle. That's why city solid waste officials decided, starting Jan. 1, to add a second pickup day allowing residents to empty their blue recycling totes twice a month. "We were getting a lot of requests for that. People were filling up their blue recycle tote and wanting them to get emptied and start over," said Bill Cole, city administrator. "We saw a need based on consumer requests."...

American Bank president resigns (03/02/09)
American Bank's Le Mars president Richard E. Magnuson resignation was accepted Monday, Feb. 23 by the bank's board of directors. Magnuson's resignation was made public Friday through a press release from American Bank. Magnuson has served 12 years as American Bank's president...

American Bank president resigns (02/27/09)
American Bank's president Richard E. Magnuson resignation was accepted Monday, Feb. 23 by the Le Mars bank's board of directors. Magnuson's resignation was made public Friday through a press release from American Bank. Don Baker, current board member, was appointed interim president until a permanent president is named...

Pheasants Forever to offer scholarship (02/24/09)
At the Pheasants Forever annual banquet April 4, a new $1,000 scholarship will be announced. The scholarship is open to Plymouth County graduating senior's with a minimum of a 3.0 GPA. Applicants must be pursuing a career in conservation, natural resources, environmental education, conservation law enforcement, biology or related field...

Council approves study for Dean Foods drainage problem (02/20/09)
An engineering study on the causes of upstream runoff and resulting drainage problems impacting Dean Foods' Le Mars plant got the approval of Le Mars City Council at its Tuesday session. City Administrator Scott Langel said Dean Foods is making its own independent study of the problem and that he is agreeable to the city's working in conjunction with Dean Foods' officials' choice of the firm selected for the engineering report...

Nor-Am finalizes purchase of Harker's plant (02/18/09)
Nor-Am Cold Storage is the new owner of the former Harker's plant in Le Mars. Greg Brandt, Nor-Am president and CEO, said today (Wednesday) the company will be using the plant to repackage and manufacture some products serving area food companies. Opening day is not far for the new Nor-Am facility...

Siblings look to "go green" at the Plymouth County Fair (02/18/09)
Choosing to forgo a traditional sibling rivalry, Sarah and Brian Kehm have decided to team up instead. And their parents are not the only beneficiaries of their partnership. All of Plymouth County stands to gain from the collaboration, as Sarah, a senior at Le Mars Community Schools (LCS) and Brian, a LCS junior, are using a 4-H project to help make the Plymouth County Fair a greener place...

Local Pheasants Forever win top award for habitat and youth education (02/17/09)
The Plymouth County Pheasants Forever chapter and its local volunteers have been recognized as a top chapter in the nation for investing more than $500,000 on habitat improvements and youth education in Plymouth County. The award was announced at the recent state convention awards program. John Linquist, Regional Representative of Pheasants Forever came to Le Mars to present the plaque to chapter members...

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"...

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