News

LE MARS — It was, Plymouth County Auditor Stacey Feldman said, a “phantom.” Two narrow pieces of land that have been county property since 1950 had been incorrectly assessed with property taxes and late fees. In reality, the land has been part of a county road for more than seven decades...

LE MARS — A large crowd turned out Wednesday for the Le Mars Area Chamber of Commerce Ag Business Luncheon in celebration of National Agriculture Week. Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig was the keynote speaker for the event, which was last held four years ago...

LE MARS — A proposed pet care facility is one step closer to becoming a reality. The Le Mars City Council accepted an offer of $136,000 from Bobbi and DJ Kellen and their daughters Hailey Kellen and Brittany Lake for a lot in the planned Southview Industrial Park during its Tuesday, March 21, meeting. ...

LE MARS — The Plymouth County Board of Supervisors are nearing the end of the fiscal year 2023-24 budget process. On Tuesday, March 21, the board approved a resolution establishing maximum property tax dollars for both County General Services and Rural County Services. It was done quickly and unanimously after months of discussion and study...

MERRILL — Fire at a hog confinement at 27857 C-38 north of Merrill destroyed the three buildings at the site Tuesday, March 21. Merrill Fire Department along with Le Mars Fire-Rescue Department were called to the scene at 11:26 a.m., Tuesday. Le Mars Fire-Rescue Chief David Schipper said by the time his department arrived at the scene, there was heavy smoke spewing from the structures...

LE MARS — The 32 individuals who are part of this year’s Mission Honduras trip received a send off at Gehlen Catholic’s Deb Campbell Memorial Gym on Monday afternoon. Students from Gehlen Catholic, Remsen St. Mary’s and MMCRU are part of this year’s trip as well as adults from the community...

LE MARS — Twenty-eight Le Mars Community Middle School students participated in the National History Day (NHD) District Competition Tuesday, March 14, at Northwestern College in Orange City. At the end of the day, 10 Le Mars Middle School students in junior division had earned the privilege to advance to the NHD State Competition in Des Moines on April 24...

LE MARS — In documents filed in Plymouth County District Court Friday, March 17, James Dunn, 54, of Kingsley, entered a plea of not guilty to 19 charges in a case involving stalking of his former girlfriend and using his position as Kingsley Police Chief to access intelligence and criminal history data on several individuals...

LE MARS — Plymouth County Engineer Tom Rohe has been inspecting bridges for decades, but he said there are still things to learn about the process. Rohe attended a five-day class on bridge inspection in Ames from March 6-10. Although he has been checking on the stability of bridges since the 1970s, the Federal Highway Administration mandates professional engineers complete a recertification program every five years...

LE MARS — So far, so good. No “toxic material” has been dropped off at the Plymouth County Courthouse. That was in question last week after a Sioux City company threatened to return barrels filled with aggregate that contained lead paint air-blasted from the ceiling of the large courtroom in the courthouse. There are nine barrels that were collected during a remodel of the courtroom from 2021-22...

SIOUX CITY — Lane closures on U.S. 75 in Plymouth County may slow drivers down a bit beginning at 8 a.m., Monday, March 27 and continuing through Aug. 6, weather permitting. Starting April 12, if the weather cooperates, the Iowa DOT be switching northbound traffic on U.S. 75 between Hinton and Merrill onto the southbound lanes in a head-to-head traffic pattern, as reconstruction work will be done on the northbound lanes...

LE MARS — The Plymouth County Pheasants Forever chapter continued its tradition of presenting a Service to Wildlife Award at its 37th annual banquet March 4 held at the Plymouth County Fairgrounds Century Hall. Bob Puetz, a board member of the local chapter, presented the Service to Wildlife Award to Bruce Brock of Brock Auction Co...

HINTON — The 356 acres of Joy Hollow Girl Scout Camp have been acquired by The Nature Conservancy for $1.4 million on Dec. 2, 2022. The sale allows the Girl Scouts of Greater Iowa to use the camp, located at 14092 Butcher Road in western Plymouth County, long-term at no cost...

LE MARS — The Le Mars Community School District Board of Education had four resignations and 12 contracts on the agenda for the Monday, March 13 meeting. The four resignations are: Katie Driggs from her position as dance team coach, effective at the conclusion of the 2022-23 school year;...

LE MARS — The 2022-2023 Plymouth County budget was adjusted during Tuesday’s Board of Supervisors’ meeting. The supervisors held a public hearing on an amendment during their Tuesday, March 14, meeting. No citizens spoke, and the supervisors quickly approved an amendment showing an increase of $487,000 in revenue, with almost half of that coming from investments...

LE MARS — Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig will be the keynote speaker at the Le Mars Ag Business Luncheon Wednesday, March 22. The luncheon returns after a three-hear hiatus and is held during National Agriculture Week. Naig scheduled to speak at noon...

LE MARS — Le Mars United Way announces new members to its 2023-24 Board of Directors. New board members are Kristin Hausmann, Gehlen Catholic Schools; Judd Kopperud, Le Mars Community School; Ty Kurth, Midstates Bank; Peggy Sitzmann, Sitzmann Real Estate; and Melissa Tolzin, Wells Enterprises, Inc...

LE MARS — The Le Mars Community Theatre has set audition dates for its next production, “Southern Hospitality.” Auditions will held at the Postal Playhouse, 105 First Street N.E., at 7 p.m., Thursday, March 23, and 1 p.m., Saturday, March 25. The play has roles for five men and seven women...

LE MARS — A dispute over residue from a remodel of the Plymouth County Courthouse’s large courtroom has taken a toxic turn — literally. A contractor is threatening to drop off nine barrels of “toxic material” at the courthouse parking lot, according to Supervisor Mike Van Otterloo. It could happen as soon as today (Friday, March 17), Van Otterloo said during the Plymouth County Board of Supervisors meeting on Tuesday...

LE MARS — Students from Gehlen Catholic School and Le Mars Community Middle School have art work on display at the 34th Annual Juried Youth Art Exhibition: Middle School, 2023, at the Sioux City Art Center. This year marks the 34th year the Sioux City Art Center has coordinated a juried youth art exhibit. The focus this year, which changes annually, is on middle school students in grades 6, 7, and 8...

AKRON — U.S. Rep. Randy Feenstra (R-Hull) visited Akron-Westfield High School on Wednesday. Feenstra spoke about the Farm Bill, which is up for renewal in 2023, along with the importance of FFA (Future Farmers of America) and the future of farming technology...

KINGSLEY — The community of Kingsley will be the first town participants of RAGBRAI 2023 will stop at when the ride starts in July. RAGBRAI bicyclists will depart from Sioux City on Sunday, July 22, and travel east on Woodbury County Road D-12 to Highway 140 into Kingsley...

LE MARS — Friends of the Le Mars Public Library will be hosting author Tirzah Price at 1 p.m., Saturday, March 18, at the Wells Ice Cream Parlor and Visitor Center. Tirzah Price will discuss her experiences as an author as well as her popular teen series, the Jane Austen Murder Mysteries...

LE MARS — Less than a month after presenting initial bargaining proposals the Le Mars Community Education Association (LCEA) and the Le Mars Community School District have reached a tentative agreement for the 2023-2024 Master Contract with teachers receiving a 3 percent pay increase...