News

LE MARS — Grace Kellen, a seventh grade student at Gehlen Catholic School, has been notified she has won a national honor in the American Legion Auxiliary Poppy Poster Contest. Kellen won the National Poppy Poster Contest for Central Division in Grades 6 and 7...

LE MARS — Stars and hearts with words of support and thanks graced the east and west entrances at Floyd Valley Healthcare Oct. 15-19, a gift from Le Mars Community Middle School students. LCMS Guidance Counselor Kari Kopperud said the project came out of the middle school’s 9/11 Remembrance Assembly in September, where she talked about the events of 9/11 and the New York Says Thank You Foundation...

LE MARS — A great community project is coming to Le Mars from noon to 2 p.m., Tuesday, Oct. 27 at the Le Mars Convention Center. The USDA Fresh Box project offers anyone a free box of fresh food with no questions to answer and no criteria to meet. Reach box weighs about 25 pounds and contains bags each of potatoes, oranges and apples, as well as frozen meat, a gallon of milk, block of cheese, yogurt and cottage cheese...

LE MARS — The Gehlen Catholic Jaywalk-a-thon proved to be a great success on Friday. The fundraiser generated about $50,000 for the school, well past the $30,000 goal for the event. “We never, ever expected to be where we’re at today,” Gehlen Development Director Amy Jungers said. ...

LE MARS — The Le Mars City Council approved filling a vacancy to the Floyd Valley Hospital Board of Trustees at their meeting Tuesday. Bill Young announced he would be stepping down from his spot on the board effective Dec. 31, 2020, one year before the expiration of his term. The appointee will finish out Young’s current term before the seat comes up for election in 2021...

PLYMOUTH CO. — Werewolves, skeletons and witches, oh my! These are just a few of the things visitors to Tom Ruhland’s haunted farm south of Le Mars will have to be on the lookout for. Ruhland has turned his property into a frightful display of all things Halloween. He explained that he has been collecting and displaying these Halloween items for at least 15 years...

Over the past year, the Iowa DNR has partnered with Iowa Safari Club International and several other organizations to create a free, online video series that provides new hunters or existing hunters wanting to try something new, the information, skills, and resources needed to get out in the hunting field!...

LE MARS — At around 12:30 p.m., Tuesday, Oct. 20, the Le Mars Police Department received information on a Siouxland Most Wanted person, Carter Brinkerhoff. The information provided indicated Brinkerhoff had entered a RV camper on a commercial lot in the southwest part of Le Mars...

LE MARS — Demolition of the former J&J Cafe has been completed and now there’s a blank slate for developers to erect the new KwikStar neighborhood grocery/c-store in Le Mars. It was in July when KwikStar, a parent company of Wisconsin-based KwikTrip, announced its plans to build one of their 9,100-square-foot stores at 321 Fifth Ave. S.W...

LE MARS — Floyd Valley Foundation’s fifth annual Wine and Craft Beer Tasting event will take on a different look this year. For the first time the event will go virtual with a focus on a House Party Style-fundraiser on Saturday, Nov. 14. “With the recommendation from our foundation board and concerns as to how the pandemic would affect large group events this fall, the decision was made to move to a virtual format for the fall event this year,” said Amy Harnack, foundation manager...

LE MARS — The Le Mars Area Chamber of Commerce recently recognized Chris Carey, general manager of Holiday Inn Express & Suites in Le Mars, as their 3rd Quarter Boss of the Quarter. In the nomination letter written by the Holiday Inn Express staff, it stated, “He has accomplished this position with more than 20 years of experience working almost every area in a hotel. ...

ORANGE CITY — The I-29 Moo University webinar series continues with a presentation by Minnesota Extension Ag Business Management Specialist Megan Roberts on Wednesday, Nov. 4. The webinar will be live from noon to 1 p.m., and there is no registration...

LE MARS — As colleges and students across the country grapple with the best way to offer classes and keep students safe, it may be even more difficult for freshmen, who saw their senior year of high school end in no classes or activities. For Drake Oswald, a 2020 graduate of Le Mars Community High School, music has kept him balanced...

LE MARS — The Le Mars Area Chamber of Commerce isn’t forgetting about Halloween this year, even though the downtown event will not be held due to COVID-19. This year, they are offering an alternative, the “Chamber Bone Chillin’ Costume Contest.” “The Chamber of Commerce looks forward to gathering with the community and seeing the kiddos every year,” said Heidi Nemmers, Chamber Operations Manager. ...

LE MARS — A love of cooking, collecting recipes and the COVID-19 pandemic turned into a new cookbook for Michaela Brown of Le Mars. “Seasons,” which features recipes for spring, summer, fall and winter, went on sale in late June. “This has actually been in the works for two or three years,” Brown said...

LE MARS — The Le Mars Community Schools Board of Education approved classification changes for 15 certified staff members at its Oct. 12 meeting. The changes mean an additional increase total of $38,645.69 will be paid out for salaries for the 2020-21 school year...

SIOUX CITY — The Betty Strong Encounter Center is looking forward to the Facebook performance of the Lincoln, Nebraska based trio “Crabgrass” at 2 p.m, Sunday, Oct. 18. The group will will take you back in time to the songs of the Grand Ole Opry as they perform songs of the Carter Family, Bob Wills, Patsy Kline and more...

DES MOINES — The number of initial claims in Iowa, filed between Sunday, Oct. 4, and Saturday, Oct. 10, was 4,644. There were 4,006 initial claims by individuals who work and live in Iowa, and 638 claims by individuals who work in Iowa and live in another state. The number of continuing weekly unemployment claims was 46,577, a decrease of 4,983 from the previous week...

Annual KC Phonothon exceeds expectations

AKRON — There’s a new look to the Akron-Westfield High School gymnasium. In September, new bleachers were installed to replace the brown metal bleachers that had been there since 1974. A-W High School Principal Derek Briggs said, “The bleachers we had were original to the building. Close to 15-17 years ago, we had them motorized, and that was a much cheaper option than replacing them completely at that time.’...

LE MARS — Le Mars Community School District building principals gave presentations about their plans for teacher professional development for the 2020-21 school year. Elementary principals Scott Parry and Neal Utesch said one of the goals at the elementary buildings is in the winter of 2020, 80 percent of the students in grades K-5 will be at benchmark on the FAST Reading Assessment...

PLYMOUTH CO. — The stretch of Highway 75 between Hinton and C-80 is on its second year of reconstruction with this year seeing the southbound lanes worked on. The work began back in late March and is expected to wrap up by Thanksgiving according to Dakin Schultz, Iowa Department of Transportation District 3 transportation planner...

SIOUX CITY — The Sioux City Lewis & Clark Interpretive Center will present an online video for kids “Captains the Builders” to explore the construction of the expedition’s winter forts. Kids will also learn how to construct a do-it-yourself “marshmallow fort” with materials available at home...

ALTON — While autumn in the U.S. features pumpkins, apples and scarecrows, the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg celebrates the season with a nut festival in Vianden. That’s some of the history the Luxembourg Heritage Society of Northwest Iowa is sharing. Vianden, a picturesque town of about 2,500 people 33 miles northeast of Luxembourg City, is a major tourist attraction, primarily due to its famous castle. ...