Civil and Municipal - Jan 2024

of life to economic development opportunities.With ongoing tourism initiatives and expansions in both the industrial and housing sectors, the city of 10,571 people is moving forward with purpose and intent. RECREATION AND OUTDOOR CHARM Le Mars offers a range of recreational amenities, including 11 miles of trails, bordering the north and west boundaries. Plans for the Plywood Trail, named after the counties of Plymouth and Woodbury, will connect Le Mars to the communities of Merrill, Hinton, and Sioux City, parallel to Highway 75.“Once complete, I believe the end result will be nearly 100 miles of trail interconnected,” relays Community Development Director Mark Gaul. The city also boasts a variety of indoor and outdoor opportunities, including a pool, an aquatic center, a YMCA, a Little League program, and pickleball courts. Le Mars Municipal Park is home to Willow Creek Campground, where campers can enjoy park facilities including a swimming beach and a 3.6-acre spring- fed fishing pond. The campground is located next to the Willow Creek Golf Course, one of two 27-hole courses in the state. INDUSTRIAL PARKS AND COLLABORATIONS With three additions over the years, Le Mars Industrial Park is the location of Wells Enterprises, which employs 2,700 people and is the main employer in the city. “There’s a lot of synergy in our industrial park of support businesses for our largest employer,” says Gaul, naming BoDeans part of the Joy Baking group, IML plastic containers, and Schuster Trucking as examples. He emphasizes the strong rail infrastructure in the business park, which is heavily used, sharing that to enhance these rail capabilities the city is engineering an additional switch on its own rail system, connecting to the CP (Canadian National) and Burlington main lines. Future development is in the plans, as Gaul recounts, “The city recently purchased an additional 230 acres directly south of our industrial park, and we’re opening up the first phase of that for our larger industrial businesses. That’ll be Le Mars Industrial Park’s fourth edition.” He explains that phase one 193 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL VOLUME 5, ISSUE 01 LE MARS , IA