Stories from Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Floyd Valley Hospital in Le Mars will celebrate Breast Cancer Awareness Month with its annual "Pink Ribbon Night" Thursday, Oct. 27. The evening of shopping, food and information focuses on breast cancer awareness and health care and will be held at the Le Mars Willow Creek Country Club. Proceeds from the event stay at Floyd Valley Hospital and are used by the oncology department for education resouces...

Le Mars voters will decide next month whether they'll keep or change the way the majority of the city's council members are elected. Currently, three of the five council members are elected from specific geographic areas of the city divided equally in population. The areas are known as wards...

Fiberglass body armor, colorful Japanese garments and Victorian-style clothes greet visitors to the Le Mars Arts Center gallery this month. The October exhibit fittingly named "Halloween All Year: the Art of Costuming" features 14 costumes along with props from medieval reenactment, Japanese anime and gaming videos...

The just-opened Maurices clothing store in Le Mars features a new look and more space for the latest fashions. The store is in an all-new building, recently completed at the southwest end of the Wal-Mart parking lot. It features 5,000 square feet of women's clothing, footwear and accessories in a modern setting, according to manager Carla Murphy...

Applications for the "Adopt-a-Family" program are now being accepted, said Barb Waltz, director of the Christian Needs Center in Le Mars. Families who qualify for the program may fill out applications at the Christian Needs Center, 900 Sixth St. S.W., or at the Mid-Sioux Opportunities office in Remsen...

Laura B. Schroeder, 98, of Le Mars, died early Saturday, Oct. 15, 2011, at Park Place Estates Assisted Living in Le Mars. Funeral services will be 10:30 a.m. Wednesday at the Carlsen Funeral Home in Le Mars with the Rev. Tim Geitz of Grace Lutheran Church officiating. Interment will be at St. Paul Lutheran Cemetery, rural Hull. Visitations will be from 9:30 a.m. until service time Wednesday at the funeral home...

Last week, the Public Broadcasting System (PBS) ran Prohibition, the latest film from documentarian Ken Burns. The three-part film explored the root causes of the "dry" movement, the enactment and enforcement of the law and its eventual repeal. The temperance movement was a reaction to excessive drinking that was commonplace in the United States. The movement, driven primarily by women, raised awareness of excessive drinking and the problems it caused...

Bernard and Dorothea DeBoer of Le Mars will observe their 70th wedding anniversary Oct. 22, 2011. The couple will celebrate with a family dinner on their anniversary date. Bernard DeBoer and Dorothea Zenk were married Oct. 22, 1941. Their chiildren are Bernette and Dennis Clark of Kansas City, Jim and Peggy DeBoer of Sioux Falls, S.D., Donna and Steve Jester of Le Mars, and a daughter-in-law, Sally DeBoer of Le Mars. A son, Jerry, is deceased...

LE MARS -- The road to Cedar Rapids begins today (Tuesday) for Class 2A schools across the state. Some Class 1A teams began postseason play on Monday while the majority get going on Wednesday, including second-ranked Gehlen Catholic. The Lady Jays were challenged by War Eagle Conference rival Hinton in their regular season finale last Thursday in preparation for a regional tournament that has been on the minds of eight seniors since practice began in August...

ALTON -- Just two weeks ago, Kingsley-Pierson was in a two-way tie for first in Class 8-man District 1. Now after two consecutive close district losses, the Panthers were in fourth. Even after those losses put K-P down in the district standings, the Panthers would not get down on themselves. K-P showed it still has a powerful team in its district game against Spalding Catholic in Alton Friday. The Panthers took a 59-0 lead into halftime en route to their 65-0 win...

WHITING -- After the game the week before, Remsen St. Mary's coach Brad Gralheer thought his guys played well enough to beat Laurens-Marathon, but lost by eight points. He wanted his players to keep playing strong, like they have in the past few weeks...