"Democrats Care About People"
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Summit
October 21, 2023
Noon to 4 p.m.
Machinists’ Hall
2000 Walker Street
Des Moines, IA
Featuring guest speakers Representative Dr. Megan Srinivas and West Des Moines DEI Director Audrey Kennis
RSVP at https://forms.gle.fwrqzaikyyeB9YtHA
Donate at iowademocrats.org
There was great food from Catalano’s. We thank Ryan Melton, Megan Srinivas, Rita Hart, and Rob Sand for coming and speaking with us. A shout out to the people who helped plan this event from Sioux, Plymouth, Woodbury, Osceola, and Lyon Counties.
On Saturday, March 25, 2023, the Plymouth County Democrats held their odd year caucus and biennial organizational meeting in the conference room of the Le Mars Public Library. In addition to other organizational activities, those present elected officers to serve a two-year term.
Julie Ford, of Akron, was elected to serve as Chair; Debra Kehrberg, of Hinton, was elected to serve as Vice Chair; Mary Milder, of Le Mars, was elected to serve as Secretary; and John Hines, of Le Mars, was reelected to serve as Treasurer.
Outgoing Chair Mark Sturgeon said he was happy to see new volunteers stepping forward to serve in these positions and believes this is the first time the positions of Chair and Vice Chair were both held by women.
The group acknowledged the many years of service of outgoing Secretary Dianne “Kay” Luckett by giving her a standing ovation and presenting her with a framed copy of “The ABC’s of Democracy,” quoting from part of Democratic House Leader Hakeem Jeffries’ January 7, 2023, speech introducing incoming House Speaker Kevin McCarthy.
The Plymouth County Democrats will be holding their regular monthly County Central Committee meeting at 6:30 p.m. on Monday, July 15, 2019, at Lally’s Eastside Restaurant, 125 Plymouth Street NE, Le Mars, Iowa. All interested Democrats are invited to attend. Come an hour early to eat with the group.
Plymouth County Democrats,
Iowa Starting Line recently started up a regular subscription-based email newsletter that is a roundup of all the Iowa Caucus/Iowa politics happenings – we list new endorsements, where candidates are traveling in the state, news scoops and photos from the trail. You can see an example of our latest one here.
Our subscribers have really enjoyed it so far. It’s a simple, quick read every Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings to keep you informed of what’s happening in the Iowa caucuses.
This has been subscription based, but we received an unexpected large donation recently and thought we would let some local county Democratic members sign up for free if they so choose. If you’ve been following Iowa Starting Line over the years, you know we are a left-leaning local news outlet that’s covers interesting and unique Iowa politics stories.
Thank you for your consideration,
Paige Godden
Iowa Starting Line
The Plymouth County Democrats will be holding their regular monthly County Central Committee meeting at 6:30 p.m. on Monday, April 15, 2019, at Lally’s Eastside Restaurant, 125 Plymouth Street NE, Le Mars, Iowa. All interested Democrats are invited to attend.
Come an hour early to eat with the group!
The Plymouth County Democrats will be holding their regular monthly County Central Committee meeting at 6:30 p.m. on Monday, February 18, 2019, at Lally’s Eastside Restaurant, 125 Plymouth Street NE, Le Mars, Iowa. All interested Democrats are invited to attend. Come an hour early to eat with the group.
This meeting will have a fairly lengthy agenda as we look forward to next month’s combined meeting/biennial organizational meeting/off year caucus and begin planning locations and volunteers for the 2020 Presidential caucuses a year from now. That caucus will be one of the most important in recent years, with multiple extremely qualified candidates, and there are some very exciting proposed changes to the caucus process that we will be discussing. Hope to see you next Monday.
In lieu of their regular monthly meeting of the county central committee Monday, January 21, the Plymouth County Democrats will be observing Martin Luther King, Jr., Day as a day of service.
Local Democrats will be joining other volunteers in a food drive at the Le Mars Fareway, located at 18 First Avenue NE, to benefit the Council on Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence (CSADV). Pending final confirmation with volunteers, this drive will operate from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.
In Kingsley local Democrats will be sponsoring a food drive all day at Chet’s Food, 128 Main Street, to benefit The Dwelling Food Pantry.
In Akron local Democrats will be sponsoring a food drive from 5 to 8 at Maynards, 200 Reed Street, to benefit the Akron Food Pantry.
All three locations will be accepting non-perishable food items and paper goods.
Greetings from Emerge Iowa,
In January, we are launching our first ever 6-month candidate training program for Democratic women in Iowa. We are still looking for applicants from across the state. As local leaders, you are uniquely positioned to connect us with women in your communities.
If you, or a woman you know, would be a strong candidate for public office, please share this information with her or feel free to send her information to me and I will reach out.
About our program:
The Emerge Iowa training program is a unique opportunity for Democratic women who want to run for public office. It is the only in-depth, six-month, 70-hour, training program that inspires candidates to run and gives them the tools to win.
Application:
Although the public application deadline has passed, I would like to extend extra time for any women in your communities who would be great fits.
We are looking for:
Learn more at https://ia.emergeamerica.org/training/signature-program/ Please don’t hesitate to reach out to me at anytime with questions!
Best,
Judy Downs
Executive Director, Emerge Iowa
Des Moines, IA 50322
C: (515) 314-5762
E: judy@emergeia.org
“Trump’s Tariffs: Global, National and Local Perspectives” is the title of the next Plain Conversation, an educational series sponsored by the Sioux County Democrats. Patrick Bass, a professor at Morningside College, and Lauren Kaemingk, a commodity futures broker from Sioux Center, will speak on the topic Tuesday, Sept. 18, at 7 p.m. at the Fruited Plain Café in Sioux Center.
Bass will discuss the recent tariff war from geopolitical, American institutional, national partisan, and local economic perspectives. Kaemingk will talk about the impact of tariffs on our local agricultural economy. A question-and-answer time with the speakers will follow their remarks.
Bass has taught history at Morningside for 27 years. His research centers on U.S. foreign relations. He holds a doctorate in history from the Claremont Graduate University. Kaemingk has been a commodity futures broker with Kooima & Kaemingk Commodities in Sioux Center for 33 years.
Plain Conversation is a regular series sponsored by the Sioux County Democrats to educate voters about issues facing the U.S. and world. It is free and open to the public.