Le Mars Daily Sentinel: News

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Snow days adding up for Le Mars Community and Gehlen Schools (02/08/10)

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...

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...

Steve King says time to stop spending (02/08/10)
U.S. Rep. Steve King thinks the biggest problem in government right now is overspending. He also doesn't believe President Barack Obama's $787 billion stimulus plan is working as it was set out to do. Neither does he favor a government-run national health care program...

Daily Sentinel places high among Iowa papers (02/08/10)
The Le Mars Daily Sentinel ranked high among Iowa's newspapers, earning an armload of honors in the Iowa Newspaper Association's 2010 Better Newspaper Contests. At an awards banquet Friday, the Daily Sentinel picked up 10 first place awards, tallying enough points to rank third in its class and sixth place among more than 100 Iowa newspapers in the contest...

City council to discuss golf course liquor license (02/08/10)
The Le Mars City Council will hold a special meeting at noon Tuesday to consider a liquor license and outdoor service area for a golf course. Mike Fiddelke of Willow Creek Golf Course filed an application for a new 12-month Class C liquor license and outdoor service area for the golf course bar and grille...

TIF: a powerful tool being overused? (02/05/10)
Out of all 99 Iowa counties, Plymouth County is ranked second for using Tax Increment Financing (TIF). About 15.2 percent of the county's taxable valuation is in TIF, according to the Iowa State Association of Counties. TIF is a taxing tool different than regular taxes, according to Plymouth County Auditor Stacey Feldman...

Catholic Schools Week (02/05/10)

Arts Center hosts tattoo, body piercing artists (02/05/10)
About 20 square feet of skin covers the average human body. And nearly every inch is the perfect canvas for the artists now on display at Le Mars Arts Center. This is the first time the Arts Center has displayed any type of body art. The exhibit includes about 60 drawings, paintings and graphic art pieces from five Sioux City body artists: George Owings, Tim McKenny, Rob Hill, Richard Jenkins and Emily Evans...

Rewind time at 1960s bash (02/05/10)
Ready to turn back time to the day of hippies, the Beatles and psychedelic grooviness? It's time to bust out your bellbottoms and love beads, the 1960s are making a comeback in Le Mars. The Le Mars Area Chamber of Commerce is inviting you to spend an evening in the '60s at 6 p.m. Saturday, March 27 at the Willow Creek Golf Course banquet hall...

Vander Plaats in Le Mars Monday (02/05/10)
Monday as part of his campaign trip, making appearances in every region of the state in the next week. Vander Plaats will be at the Le Mars Pizza Ranch at 6 p.m., Monday to talk about his bid to unseat Gov. Chet Culver and outline his priorities for the state...

Calling all newbies: Group welcomes people to Le Mars (02/04/10)
Newcomers to Le Mars -- you're not alone. Locals and other newcomers are waiting to meet you and welcome you to the community. Misty Szczech, a Le Mars transplant herself, started hosting meetings for newcomers in August 2008. Since then her ideas have grown and caught fire with others...

R-U fourth graders go back in time to the Middle Ages (02/04/10)
Sometimes to understand why we do the things we do today, we have to learn about the past. That's exactly what the fourth grade Talented and Gifted (TAG) students at Remsen-Union Community School have been doing. TAG instructor Vickie Hemmingson feels it is important to immerse students in a subject as much as possible in hands-on activities...

Number needing heating assistance expected to grow (02/04/10)
The number of people seeking help with their heating bills is lower than last year -- but there's still about two months left to catch up. Sue Reed, Mid-Sioux Opportunity outreach coordinator for Plymouth County, said she has taken about 607 applications as of January for the 2009-10 Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP)...

'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...

City officials ask for resident support during upcoming census (02/04/10)
Le Mars Mayor Dick Kirchoff has called on local residents for their cooperation in compiling accurate figures for the community as they receive their 2010 census letters. "Accurate figures are important to the city in that they can impact on future grants and funding," Kirchoff said...

Council gives first reading approval to code changes (02/04/10)
Le Mars City Council members Tuesday, following a public hearing, gave first reading approval to an ordinance amending the city's Fire Prevention Code from the International Fire Code 2006 edition to the 2009 edition. Members also gave first reading approval after a public hearing to the city's sign code ordinance to update terminology and incorporate the ICC Zoning Code, 2009 edition, into the present ordinance...

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...

Hotel/motel tax dollars may boost fairgrounds, chalk festival (02/03/10)
Twelve local agencies and organizations and the city are likely to be the beneficiaries of $36,033 in local option Hotel/Motel Sales Tax dollars this year. The Le Mars City Council received the requests for annual allocations of the sales tax revenue from the Hotel/Motel Sales Tax Advisory Board at its Tuesday session...

LCS hosts State Large Group Speech Contest Saturday (02/03/10)
Le Mars Community Schools will host the 2010 State Large Group Speech Contest this Saturday. Nearly 450 groups from 82 schools will be competing, according to Sherri Permeswaran, LCS language arts teacher and speech coach who also serves as contest manager for event...

Budget changes add dollars for cemetery roads (02/03/10)
Finalization of the city's budget for the fiscal year 2011 moved a step closer to reality Tuesday. Assistant City Administrator Bill Cole shared with Le Mars City Council members current changes in the $16.1 million spending package. Changes resulting from last week's Jan. ...

Sheriff's bargaining unit employees negotiate 6 percent raise (02/03/10)
The Plymouth County Supervisors signed 2010-2013 contracts with the sheriff and secondary road bargaining units Tuesday. After five months of negotiation and a four-hour mediation session in late December, 30 employees within the sheriff bargaining unit will receive a 6 percent salary increase in 2010 as part of the three-year contract...

'Year of the study hall' (02/03/10)

We need carriers! (02/03/10)

On the air: KLEM named 2009 Business of the Year (02/02/10)
We know the sights of Le Mars -- the ice cream parlor, the Veteran's Memorial. We know the smells of Le Mars -- the aroma of baking chocolate wafers from BoDeans. We know the tastes -- the Bob's dog and Bunny Tracks. But just as essential to Le Mars are the sounds. And those sounds are beamed out to homes, cars and businesses for miles around via KLEM's radio waves...