News

Northwest Iowa — Tuesday is city election day in Iowa. Several candidates are vying for several positions in northwest Iowa, and some cities’ residents are deciding issues as well.

In Sheldon, incumbent Greg Geels will be unopposed for his At-Large seat.  Peter Hamill will be the lone name on the ballot for the 1st Ward seat currently held by Ron Rensink.  Rensink is not seeking reelection.  In Ward 3, incumbent Brad Hindt will be running unopposed to retain his council seat.  In addition, Sheldon voters will be asked to approve a two percent increase in the city’s Hotel/Motel Tax.

In Archer, incumbent Mayor Karen Storm will be the only name on the ballot for the Mayor’s job.  For the Archer City Council, incumbent Leo Kuiper and Richard Luedke will be seeking the two seats that are up for election.

In Hartley, incumbent Clayton Pyle will face challenger John P. Lyman for the Mayor’s post.  Roxann Swanson and incumbent Jerry Olson are vying for the two available seats on the Hartley City Council.

In Primghar, incumbent Mayor Kurtis C. Edwards will be the only name on the ballot for the Mayor’s job.  For the Primghar City Council, incumbent Michael E. Wilbur will be running against challengers Doug A. Harms, Ken Miller, and Kevin Buck Smith for two available seats.  Vying to fill one unexpired term on the Primghar Council are Jack D. Black and Darin Logan.

In Sutherland, there will be a trio of Council seats available, and the three incumbents, Bruce Engelke, Steve Koch, and Jack L. Wallinga are the only three to file papers.

Voters in Calumet will elect three people to City Council positions, from among five people who are seeking the offices, including incumbents David Schmidt and Brandon Schueder, as well as Vickie Rausch, Tyler Sechler and Brian Williams.

The City of Paullina will have one name on the ballot for Mayor.  Justin Stamer is the only person to seek that seat.  On the Paullina Council there are three opening, but only one person seeking election.  Incumbent John Ihle has filed for reelection.

In Sanborn, Mayor Duane Van Veldhuizen will be running unopposed to retain his position.  There are four candidates for the three available City Council seats.  Incumbent Brian Visser is seeking reelection, along with David Marra, Denny Postma and Tim Devitt.

In Alvord, Incumbent Mark Nagel is running unopposed. For Council Member, Incumbent Joseph Kramer is running unopposed, and no one filed for a second position on the council, so the winner will be a write-in.

In Doon, Incumbent Mayor Tim Mantel is running unopposed. Two incumbents are running unopposed on the city council. They are Brian Denekas and Zach Mulder.

In George, two people are vying for the Mayor’s chair. They are James L. Cuttell and Katie Jane Koopman. For the council, there are six people running for three positions. They are challenger Ande Lynn Bruinsma, incumbent Kary Conaway, challenger William Koopman, incumbent Norman L. Riemersma, challenger Carola Oehmsen Vivian and challenger John Henry Vivian.

In Inwood, Gerald Brands is running unopposed for mayor. Three people are running for two positions on the council. They are Rebecca Bixler, Chad Evans, and Jennifer Jenson.

In Larchwood, incumbent Dean Snyders is running unopposed for mayor. Three incumbents and one challenger are running for three council seats. Incumbents Brian Meffert, Sharon Meffert, and Ted Underberg will face a challenge from Tanner Tracy. Larchwood voters will also be asked if the City should be authorized to establish a municipal gas utility by constructing the necessary facilities for the operation of a natural gas distribution system.

In Lester, incumbent Daniel R. Gerber is running unopposed for mayor. The three council members who are running are unopposed for their seats. They are Curtis Doorneweerd, Jeff Hoogeveen, and Ladell Kellenberger. Lester residents will also be asked the same question about establishing a municipal gas utility.

In Little Rock, incumbent Mayor Jeff Kruse is running unopposed. Two people are running unopposed for the council, but three chairs are open, so one winner will be a write-in. The incumbents are LeRoy Buss and Joe Schilling.

Rock Rapids Mayor Jason Chase is running unopposed. Four people are running for three positions on the Rock Rapids City Council. Incumbents Marlene Bowers and Scott A. Schneidermann are running, as are challengers Marcus Ditsworth and Steve Wells.

In Ashton, Patrick H. Devries is running unopposed for mayor. Doyle Trei and Kay Winkel are unopposed running for two council seats.

In Harris, Gregory Spaethe is running unopposed for mayor. Four people are running for three seats on the council. They are Pamela Kramer, Vic Mckenna, Amy Muftah, and Bobbie Kennedy Smith. Jon Sweet is running unopposed to fill a vacancy on the council.

No one filed papers for the position of Melvin Mayor. So the winner will be a write-in. The council will also have a write-in position because only Amy Baker filed papers, and two seats are up for election.

Arlyn Duane Pedley is the only candidate to file for the Mayor of Ocheyedan. Three people filed to serve on three seats on the council. They are Kevin L. Hertz, Mark Kruger, and Mike Schuck. However, two people have filed for one spot to fill a vacancy on the council in Ocheyedan. They are Gary Crandall and Kevin Heemstra.

In Sibley, Mayor Jerry L. Johnson is running unopposed, as are Janice Henningsen for a Councilmember At Large position and Tim Nobles for Councilmember, Ward 2.

In Alton, councilmembers Leon Keith Kleinhesselink and Steve Zenor are both unopposed for their council seats. Jerry Henrich is unopposed for his position of hospital trustee.

In Boyden, Tim Lammers is not running again for the mayor chair, and no candidates have filed, so the winner will be a write-in. Four people are running for three seats on the council. They are Laryl Koerselman, Robert J. Koerselman, incumbent Kim Ochsendorf and Arthur Van Bruggen.

In Chatsworth, no one filed papers to be the mayor, so the winner will be a write-in there as well. Incumbents Gregory Arens, Robin Falde, Virgil Lidgett, and Clifford Puhl are all running again for their council seats, but Nathan Lidgett did not file, nor did anyone else file for the chair, so the winner will be a write-in.

In Granville, Karl Kellen has filed for re-election as the town’s mayor. Council incumbents Curtis J. Christoffel, Kay Koob, and Christopher Stotz also filed papers and are unopposed. John Schuver is unopposed for a council position that is open, due to a vacancy.

Hawarden mayor Ricard R. Porter is unopposed for re-election. Three people filed for two seats on the Hawarden council. They are Derek Sharp Winferd Allen, John Feldhacker, and Travis Olson, who is an incumbent. Four people are running for three hospital trustee positions. They are Dan Cain, James Feldhacker, Matt Hummel, and Kathy Jacobs.

In the Hospers City Council race, four people are running for three seats. They are Mandi Kramer, Raul Martinez, Kelly LeRoy Schulz, and John Solsma. Schulz and Solsma are incumbents. Danielle Kleinhesselink is running unopposed to fill a vacancy on the council.

In Hull, City Councilman Roger Buys is unopposed running for Mayor of Hull. Council incumbent Mike Broek is also unopposed running for his chair, as is Kimberly A. Wielenga in her quest to fill Roger Buys’ chair, and Mark A. Kreun to fill a vacancy.

Ireton Mayor James Lewis is unopposed in his quest to remain the mayor. Four people filed papers for three positions on the Ireton council. They are Kevin Eisma, Craig Peterson, Devin Vander Brink, and Nathan Van Gorp.

Incumbent Matlock mayor Charles Schwebach is unopposed, as are councilmembers Scott Maggert and James D. Meendering.

In the Maurice City Council race, barring any surprises, three incumbents will remain on the council as they are running unopposed. They are Roger De Weerd, Randy Lee Hoekstra, and Isaac L. Holtrop.

In Orange City, Mayor Deb De Haan is unopposed. Four people are running for three available positions on the council. Rick Droog, Chad Oolman, Tony Vande Brake, and Earl Woudstra. Three people are running unopposed as hospital trustees. They are Kathy Alons, Randy Jacobsma, and Tim Zeutenhorst. Orange City voters will also be asked if the City should change the term of members of the Library Board of Trustees to four years.

Rock Valley mayor Kevin J. Van Otterloo is unopposed in his re-election bid. Incumbent Jeff Koldenhoven and Mark Faber filed for the two available council chairs.

In Sioux Center, voters will have only one option for mayor, barring any write-ins. That would be incumbent Dennis J. Walstra. Incumbent Verlyn Rozeboom and Eric Moerman filed papers for the two available positions on the council. Dave Krahling will not be running this year. Sioux Center voters will also decide if the City should issue $4 million in General Obligation Capital Loan Notes for “aiding, planning and undertaking an urban renewal project which will involve the study, planning, design and construction of the US Highway #75 Enhanced Four Lane Improvement Project.”

Election day is scheduled for Tuesday, November 3rd.

Rock Rapids, Iowa — This past week we told you that about 56,000 gallons of waste water discharged into the Rock River at Rock Rapids, according to the Iowa Department of Natural Resources.

We had a chance to talk with Rock Rapids Municipal Utilities General Manager Jim Hoye about the issue. He clarified the situation for us. He says that Waste Water Treatment Operator Tanner Vogl noticed there was no inflow to the Rock Rapids Waste Water Treatment Plant about 4 PM Tuesday, indicating a broken pipe or other problem.

Hoye says they found out that the problem was that sewage from most of the town of Rock Rapids hadn’t made it from one side of the Rock River to the other. Most of the city is on the west side of the river, and the Waste Water Treatment Plant is on the east side near the old Illinois Central Right of Way.

The DNR said that utility personnel had rerouted wast ewater to a holding basin used during high rainfalls. That statement was somewhat confusing as there are no holding basins on the west side of the river, and the force main under the river was broken. Hoye clarifies.

Hoye says that they made a temporary connection from the main going over the railroad trestle to the force main on the east side of the river — so instead of going under the river, all waste water is temporarily going over the river.

He says they are in the process of making permanent repairs by replacing the force main. Hoye says that the cause of the break was just old age. He says the pipe was probably about 65 years old. He says that if it had to break, it was a fairly decent time for it to happen.

Hoye says the Iowa DNR continues to monitor cleanup and repairs, but he has been told that since it was reported in a timely manner and there was no negligence involved, the DNR has told him that no fines will be levied against the Municipal Utilities or the City.

Northwest Iowa — A strategy for dealing with weeds that came out about 20 years ago has worked great for several years, but now farmers may have to do something else.

The strategy has more than one name, but is normally called “Roundup Ready.” Roundup is a glyphosate herbicide that when it was released by Monsanto in the 1970’s basically killed all plants including crops. The strategy changed when strains of crops were developed that were resistant to the glyphosate. Since the patent expired on Roundup in 2000, other companies have also made glyphosate.

Iowa State University Extension Crop Field Specialist Joel De Jong says that now the problem is, weeds are developing resistance to the product as well.

De Jong says farmers should consider diversifying their herbicide program.

He says the Roundup Ready and similar products have a history of good performance.

De Jong says the main weed that has become resistant is waterhemp, with some mares tail in this area. He says that sometimes experts suggest switching herbicides and sometimes they suggest adding additional herbicides.

He says some farmers are going back to increased tillage such as cultivating to manually defeat the weeds.

He says they’re also looking at reducing row spacing so there are more crop plants so the weeds can’t grow so easily. He says they’re talking about spraying a pre-emergence herbicide and then coming back later with a post-emergence one in a timely basis.

De Jong tells us how ISU Extension has been helping farmers make weed control decisions.

For more information about weed resistance and what farmers can do about it, contact your local extension office.