Author: Allison Jacobs

Today is International Woman’s Day and March is Woman’s History Month.  “Give to Gain” is the theme for 2026!

Henry County Dispatch reported 3 area fires last night, involving two structure fires and a vegetation fire: The MP Fire Department and Henry County Sheriff’s Deputies responded to a structure fire in Westwood, west of Mt. Pleasant at about 7pm Friday evening.  The fire was reported in the 4000 block of Sycamore Dr.

At about 9pm, Mt. Pleasant Police Department and the MP Fire Department dispatched multiple units to a structure fire in the 400 block of S. Jefferson Street just south of Warren Street.

Around 9:30pm The Mt. Pleasant Fire Department extinguished a grass fire in the 300 block of East Henry St.  After the fire was out, crews remained on scene to monitor smoldering areas.

Mt. Pleasant Community School District School Board will meet in regular session on Monday, March 9^th in the high school media center at 2104 S. Grand Avenue.  The board will be voting on Phase One of the school district’s General Fund Budget Reductions for the 2026-27 school year.  A motion to set Monday, March 23 at 6:10pm as the Public Hearing date regarding the closure of Salem Elementary School at the conclusion of the 2026-27 school year is on the agenda for Monday’s meeting.  Citizens who want to make comments may contact Central Office on Monday to be added to the agenda: 319-385-7750.  Comments are limited to 3 minutes. There are many other items listed for the school board meeting: please find the complete agenda at MTPCSD.org/Board/Meetings or click:    Agenda

The Mount Pleasant Community School District Board of Education will take a key step Monday night as it considers setting a public hearing for the district’s tax levy rate and a series of potential budget reductions for the Fiscal Year 2027 budget.

The meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m. Monday, March 9 in the Mount Pleasant High School Media Center.

District officials say the proposed reductions come as the school system faces declining student enrollment, limited increases in state funding, and the end of federal COVID-19 relief dollars that helped support school budgets over the past several years. Those factors are expected to create growing budget gaps in the coming years if spending adjustments are not made now. School leaders are outlining a two-phase plan that could reduce spending by more than 1.7 million dollars over the next two fiscal years.

Under Phase One, the district is proposing approximately $936,000 in reductions, including about $713,000 in personnel cuts affecting both certified and non-certified staff in this coming FY2027.

Other proposed reductions include:

• Eliminating the VIBE program, which is a contract with Burlington Community School District for online education courses for families opting for an online option.
• Ending summer school at all grade levels (middle school and high school had been cut this previous year so this would cut the K-5 summer school program for this coming summer).
• Reducing a contract with Four Oaks which provides specialized, trauma-informed support for at-risk students, focusing on reducing suspensions, improving behavior, and bridging home-school gaps.
• Trimming services through the Great Prairie Area Education Agency, which provide literacy consultants and special education facilitators that help with Individualized Education Plans (IEP).
• Reductions in support staff time and overtime.
• Moving some non-instructional software costs to the district’s Physical Plant and Equipment Levy (PPEL).
• Lowering utility expenses tied to building changes.

Phase Two would focus on larger structural reductions totaling about $813,000. That includes roughly $290,000 in system-wide cuts across the district and a proposal to close Salem Elementary School, which could lead to an additional $523,000 in school-wide reductions.

If both phases are implemented, the total proposed reductions would reach about $1.74 million.

School board members are expected to vote Monday on whether to move forward with the public hearing process on the district’s tax levy and the proposed budget plan.

Residents will have an opportunity to provide input during the public hearing before any final decisions.  The board will be voting on Phase One at Monday evening’s meeting.

Maharishi International University in Fairfield has announced plans to close Utopia Park, a long-standing trailer park on the north edge of town.

University officials say the trailers—built in 1983 for visitors attending the “Taste of Utopia” assembly—have deteriorated to the point where repairs are no longer economically feasible.

MIU Vice President of Operations Jeremy Brenin says the park will be shut down gradually over the next two and a half years. Of the park’s 176 trailers, 146 are currently occupied.

To avoid overwhelming Fairfield’s housing market, the university plans to close the park in six phases, with between 15 and 21 trailers shutting down every six months. The first eviction notices went out February first, giving those residents six months to move out. The final phase is scheduled for August 2028.

The university will also provide $800 toward moving expenses for each trailer through an agreement with a moving company.

Officials say the phased approach is intended to give Fairfield’s rental market time to absorb the displaced residents. About half of the current tenants have ties to the university, while the rest do not.

MIU says the land is expected to be redeveloped in the future for new housing, potentially including townhomes, multi-plex units, or an apartment complex.

A state-licensed care facility for people with disabilities has been cited for improperly using residents’ personal money to buy furniture and supplies for the home.

According to the Iowa Department of Inspections, Appeals and Licensing, the Walton Group Home in Burlington used residents’ funds for items such as office furniture, kitchen supplies and bottled water—often without written permission from the residents’ guardians.

State inspectors say the practice may have continued for as long as nine years.

The issue came to light in July 2025 when a staff member reported that a dining table used in a staff office had been purchased using one resident’s money. During the inspection, officials also found a large pile of household items—such as cookware, dishes, storage containers and a vacuum cleaner—stored in a bathroom connected to the former administrator’s office. A worker told inspectors the items were believed to have been purchased with residents’ funds.

Records reviewed by inspectors showed that in April 2024, staff requested $1,750 from one resident’s account to buy “home décor.” Receipts later showed the money was used to purchase two dressers and a dining table, which was placed in a staff office. The same resident’s money was also used to buy bottled water and kitchen utensils.

Inspectors also found purchases made using another resident’s funds, including bowls, tumblers, baking pans, a vacuum cleaner and a griddle. When inspectors spoke with that resident’s guardian in December 2025, she said she had not authorized any of the purchases and felt “betrayed” by the actions of former administrators. Inspectors noted the resident had limited financial resources and could not afford to buy items for the group home.

Staff told investigators the practice had been going on for years. One employee said that if residents had extra money in their accounts, it was sometimes used to buy supplies for the facility. Another staff member said residents’ funds had been used at various times to purchase items such as dishes and storage containers for the home.

Inspectors also found that when residents received federal stimulus payments during the COVID-19 pandemic, staff reportedly asked them to pool the money to buy dining room tables and chairs for the facility.

The home’s own policies state that residents’ personal funds should not be used to purchase items intended for the benefit of others.

Although the facility has since introduced new procedures to prevent further misuse of residents’ money, inspectors reported that as of December 2025 none of the residents had been reimbursed.

State regulators fined the facility $500.

The home is operated by Imagine The Possibilities Inc., a nonprofit organization that provides services and housing for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities across Iowa. A representative for the organization said the matter has not been referred to law enforcement and described the violation as “very minor.”

Inspectors also cited the facility for additional violations that did not result in fines, including failing to treat residents with dignity. In one instance, a former administrator reportedly called residents “hogs” during a meeting after a group outing and threatened to restrict their access to personal spending money.