Henry County Child Advocacy met with the Henry County Supervisors on Thursday morning. Here, they made a proclamation recognizing April as Child Abuse Prevention Month. Erin Jones, with Henry County Extension and Outreach, spoke about the importance of bringing awareness to the issue. If you see blue pinwheels on the courthouse lawn in April, it is because pinwheels symbolize a carefree childhood, which every child should have. April 5th is national wear blue day, where people are encouraged to wear their favorite blue in honor of their commitment to preventing child abuse.
IowaWINs “Welcome Home Center” Opening Next Week
IowaWINs is pleased to announce the opening of the Welcome Home Center in Mount Pleasant IA. The Welcome Home Center is available to all local residents seeking connection to community services. The center offers bilingual services for Spanish speakers.
IowaWINs conducted an outreach program in 2023 to learn about the needs of the immigrant community in Mount Pleasant. The greatest need was the creation of a trusted bilingual organization to provide advice, information, and support for the community.
The center will connect people with resources in our community and facilitate relationship development to benefit everyone in the community. They plan to host outreach sessions and workshops on a variety of important issues including skill building, literacy, cultural education, mental health services, immigration, financial literacy, and building new businesses. They also look forward to hosting community celebrations.
The Welcome Home Center is located at 217 W. Washington in Mount Pleasant. A grand opening is scheduled for April 4, from 11:00 to 6:00. Office hours are: Monday through Friday, 9:00-12:00 and 2:00-5:00.
The Welcome Home Center is open to all local residents regardless of where they are coming from. Please feel free to stop in during office hours. You can also follow up on our Facebook page. Search for “Welcome Home Center.”
The Welcome Home Center is possible in part through a grant from Enhance Henry County Foundation.
IowaWINs (Iowa Welcomes its Immigrant Neighbors) was originally established in the fall of 2015 in Mt. Pleasant in response to the global refugee crisis. Since its formation, the Commission expanded the Vision and Mission to include immigrants living in our community. The Commission is open to all community members.
RAGBRAI News On the Way: Upcoming Townhall
Mount Pleasant RAGBRAI Planning Committee is hosting a community town hall on April 8, 2024 at 6 PM, Heatilator Performing Art Center.
The community will be given updates and provide information for the July 26th overnight. Topics will include; food and non-food vendors, camping, festival, route, volunteer opportunities and what to expect.
The public is invited to attend.
For additional information, please contact the Mount Pleasant Area Chamber Alliance at 319-385-3101.
Collins Capitol Connection
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Sports, March 29th
High School Track and Field
The Mediapolis girls’ team hosted the Bullette Invitational yesterday with Fort Madison winning as a team followed by Danville. Mediapolis took fourth place, Van Buren County grabbed 10th place, and WACO finished in 11th place.
For Danville, Kenna Furnald won the 200 meter dash with a time of 27.85 seconds and the long jump with a leap of 16 feet and 10 inches. The 800 Medley Relay team took the win with a time of 1 minute and 56 seconds. Abby Arnett grabbed the win in the 3000 meter run with a time of 11 minutes and 50 seconds. Mediapolis will host a meet on Tuesday, April 2nd, with Danville and Winfield-Mt. Union also in attendance.
The Mt. Pleasant boys’ and girls’ teams had their Invitational yesterday and here’s the results.
For the Panthers, the top finish was the girls’ 4×200 meter relay team of Kiyah Sanders, Alex Scott, Andi Scott, and Kynlee White as they grabbed the gold with a time of 1 minute and 51 seconds. Savannah Slobodnik took first in the discus with a toss of 116 feet and 7inches. For the boys’, Avin Truong took first place in the long jump with a leap of 21 feet and 9 inches.
For the West Burlington girls’, the team of Ady Lamm, Logan Kelley, Hadley Augustine, and Kaitlyn Kipp finished in second place for the Distance Medley.
The Mediapolis boys’ team was led by the 4×200 meter relay team of Aedin Nelson, Henry Luttenegger, Noah Schmidgall, and Kyler Crow as they took first in the 4×200 meter relay. Logan Rosas also grabbed the gold in the 800 meter run with a time of 1 minute and 56 seconds.
Mt. Pleasant will travel to Williamsburg for a meet on Tuesday, April 2nd.
The Van Buren County girls’ and boys’ teams will participate in a meet on April 2nd hosted by WACO.
The Central Lee girls’ team will travel to Fairfield for a meet on April 2nd.
The Winfield-Mt. Union boys team will participate in a relay at Mediapolis on April 2nd.
The New London girls’ team will travel to WACO for a meet on April 2nd.
High School Soccer
The WACO boys’ team was tied with Fairfield after a half of play, but the Trojans netted three second half goals to win 4-1. The Warriors will face off against Burlington Notre Dame on the road on Monday, April 1st, at 5 pm.
The Columbus/Winfield-Mt. Union girls’ team took down Wapello last night 4-0 for their first win of the season. Iris Garza, Yaileen Miranda, Abby Acosta, and Lecet Quiroz each scored a goal. The Wildcats will take on Mt. Pleasant on April 1st at home with the girls’ playing first at 5 pm.
The Mt. Pleasant boys’ team played strong defense for 60 minutes but as Head Coach Rocco Russo talked about after the game the Panthers ran out of steam, losing 4-0. Zach LeBlanc totaled 10 saves in the loss. The girls’ team struggled on the road against the Clippers, falling 8-0.
The Mediapolis boys’ team snuck past Keokuk 2-1 in a road win last night. The Mediapolis girls’ team fell 4-0 to Fort Madison last night. The Bulldogs will take on Wapello on April 1st in a road matchup with the girls’ playing first at 5 pm.
The Central Lee boys’ team will host Centerville on April 2nd and the girls’ team will travel to Mid-Prairie on the same day with both games starting at 5 pm.
The Danville boys’ team will battle Mediapolis in a road matchup on April 4th at 5 pm.
High School Tennis
The Mt. Pleasant boys’ team dominated in their road matchup with Davis County last night, sweeping the Mustangs 9-0. Sawyer Fulton won his singles match 8-1, Phoenix Watson picked up an 8-2 singles victory, Elijah Rynders won 8-3, Dane Cook and Zach Johnson grabbed 8-4 wins, while Gavin Ross took his match 8-6. Watson and Ross teamed up for an 8-4 win in doubles, Fulton and Cook won 8-1, and Johnson and Rynders took their doubles match 8-6.
After the growing pains of last year, the Mt. Pleasant girls’ team picked up their first since 2022 in 7-2 fashion over Davis County in front of the home crowd. Picking up wins in the singles was Jana Isanta, Ellie Situmeang, Bethany Drury, Victoria Smith, and Audrey Richmond. The team of Isanta and Situmeang and Drury and Richmond each won their doubles match 8-4. Head Coach Martha Peterson was proud not only of their physical play, but their mental game.
Mt. Pleasant will take on Keokuk on Monday, April 1st, with the boys’ hosting the Chiefs and the girls’ hitting the road.
High School Golf
The Central Lee boys’ team will take on Holy Trinity Catholic on April 4th.
The WACO boys’ and girls’ teams will compete in a meet hosted by New London on April 2nd.
The Winfield-Mt. Union boys’ and girls’ teams will travel to Columbus to participate in a meet on April 4th.
The Mt. Pleasant girls’ team will travel to Washington Golf and Country Club on April 1st and the boys’ team will participate in a conference match at Fairfield Golf and Country Club on the same day.
Southeastern Community College
In baseball, SCC split their doubleheader against Des Moines Area Community College yesterday, losing game one 5-2 and smacking the Bears 10-1 in game two. Caleb Wulf and Kooper Schulte led the offensive onslaught in game two as they each registered a double and three RBIs. The Blackhawks will host Southwestern Community College in a three-game series starting tomorrow, March 30th.
The SCC softball team will face off against Iowa Western Community College today at home in a doubleheader.
College Basketball
The #1-seed Iowa women’s team will battle with the #5-seed Colorado in the Sweet 16 tomorrow, March 30th, with tipoff at 2:30 pm.
The #2-seed Iowa State men’s team’s title hopes were dashed last night in the Sweet 16 by #3 Illinois 72-69. The Cyclone’s uncharacteristic defensive play in the first half allowed the Fighting Illini to put up 51 points and the comeback wasn’t able to surmount the deficit. Curtis Jones led the team with 26 points off the bench. The Cyclones finished the season with a 30-7 record.
March Madness
The KILJ bracket challenge, sponsored by The Press Box and Wiley’s Interior Furnishings and Design, is officially underway with over 30 brackets submitted with the top three set to receive prizes.
Standings will be updated on Monday, April 1st.
This Day in Sports History
1976 – 38th NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship: Indiana beats Michigan, 86-68; first time 2 teams from same conference (Big Ten) play in title game.
1984 – NFL Baltimore Colts move to Indianapolis.
1996 – The Cleveland Browns choose new name for their relocated team – the Baltimore Ravens.
In Case of a Tornado – DUCK!
With Severe Weather Awareness week in full swing, now’s a good time to remember what to do during a tornado. Now, we know most Iowans like to sit on the porch and watch it go by, but we don’t condone that. Instead, we recommend that you DUCK. That’s right. DUCK. Go DOWNSTAIRS UNDER something at the CENTER of the building and KEEP AWAY from windows. Surely you won’t forget to DUCK during a storm.
2nd Reading of Moratorium for Wind Energy Discussion
The 2nd Reading of the Resolution to Establish a Temporary Moratorium on the Rezoning of Land to the Alternative Energy Overlay District was read on Thursday’s Henry County Supervisor meeting.
With a smaller crowd than last time, but still a sizable 20, citizens listened as Supervisor White read the resolution. According to the supervisors, this moratorium allows the Planning and Zoning Commission time to do their “due diligence” and make a comprehensive plan.
A citizen thanked the supervisors for slowing this process down. Supervisor Lindeen said that the moratorium is to make sure the facts are presented, not just speculation.
Currently, a solar energy resolution is being looked at as well by the County Attorney’s Office, which is responsible for the language in the moratorium regarding Wind Energy.
When it comes to citizen comments, the best way to communicate is still through the supervisors email supervisors@henrycountyiowa.us They read through these emails and send them along to the Planning and Zoning Director, who then sends them to the commission.
The 3rd, and final reading, will take place on Tuesday, April 2nd, at 10:00am.
Councilman and Fire Chief Last City Council Meeting
Two men sat through their final City Council meeting on Wednesday evening after years of service to our community. Jeff Batty, councilman, resigned effective immediately last night as he plans to retire soon.
Drew Schumacher, Fire Chief until the end of March, submitted his letter of resignation in January and will be transferring command in a formal ceremony to Anthony Blint on April 10th. He mentioned the upcoming Fire Department pancake and sausage breakfast this Saturday, from 6-10am. This is a free will donation and the public is invited. Maybe you will even get to see a firetruck up close!