City of Le Mars unveils new, updated website today

The site carries the same address, www.lemarsiowa.com, but offers much more than its 10-year-old predecessor, said Jessica Lingren, manager of the Le Mars Convention & Visitors Bureau (CVB).

"I'm so excited about it. We've been working so hard on it," Lingren said, of the new site. "It's a million times better."

The site is all-inclusive meaning it is a combination of city government, the CVB and the Le Mars Area Chamber of Commerce, said Christy Collins, city administrative assistant.

Both the chamber and the city worked together on paying for design of the new website, said Mary Reynolds, Main Street manager.

Other city departments including public safety -- fire, police and ambulance -- will also be accessible through the new site, Collins said.

There will also be links to the Le Mars YMCA and the Le Mars Public Library's websites as they will keep their own addresses, Collins said.

The site also includes links on its home page to news media including the Le Mars Daily Sentinel and KLEM radio station. It also has links to both Le Mars Community Schools and Gehlen Catholic Schools along with Floyd Valley Hospital and the Plymouth County website.

The purpose of the newly designed site is to showcase what Le Mars has to offer both citizens and visitors, Lingren said.

"We're the Ice Cream Capital of the World so we're really trying to capitalize on that," Lingren said. "We want to get people interested and excited to come and see all the things we have to offer."

In a statement, Le Mars Mayor Dick Kirchoff offered much the same idea.

"The new website is our way of telling the story of Le Mars and inviting people to come and experience firsthand, everything we have to offer," Kirchoff said. "It is a work in progress and there are many more enhancements forth coming."

Collins said she sees the initial roll out of the website as just the starting point.

"It's a work in progress with many enhancements to come," Collins said. "You just need to have a beginning and you build from that."

One of those future services will be offering city residents the option of paying city utility bills online -- that won't be available initially, Collins said.

City, CVB and chamber of commerce officials made up the website committee sharing ideas as to services the site should provide, what it should look like and how to entice users.

"I want them to use the site and make it their home page," Lingren said. "When they log on, bam! It's right there."