Author: Allison Jacobs

High School Show Choir Competition kicks off next weekend and the MP School District Vocal Departments are presenting a preview of this year’s show on Sunday, January 12^th at 2pm.  MPCHS’s InMotion Show Choir, under the direction of Mackenzie Kauffman-Ho and MPCMS’s Chain Reaction, under the direction of Brooke Smith invite all to attend this event in the High School gym, 2104 Grand Avenue.  The first competition for InMotion will be next Saturday, January 18^th at the Benton Show Choir Invitational.

The Mt. Pleasant Music Department is hosting the 31^st annual Music in Motion Show Choir Competition on Saturday, February 8^th at the Mt. Pleasant High School.  This event starts at 8:00am, Daytime Awards at 6:00pm, Finals at 7:15pm with awards at 10:30pm.  Mt. Pleasant’s Chain Reaction will perform at 2pm with InMotion performing in exhibition at 10:15pm.  Admission for the day is $10.

Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig commented on the 2024 Iowa Crop Production Annual Summary this week, saying:

“Iowa’s resilient farmers battled another year of rollercoaster weather conditions.” Spring started with the lingering historic drought and a record number of tornadoes, summer brought devastating floods and other severe weather, and dry conditions led to an uninterrupted fall harvest. Despite those challenges, Iowa’s farmers once again produced another robust corn and soybean crop,” said Secretary Naig. “Strong productivity must be met with strong market demand. Naig remains committed to building new and expand existing markets for Iowa products.

With the Iowa legislative session beginning on Monday, January 13^th.  Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig named  a few other issues that the Department of Agriculture will be focused on including the environment: like soil conservation and water quality, promoting the Choose Iowa Program and animal diseases.

The Mt. Pleasant School District School Board will meet in regular session Monday, January 13^th at 6:00pm.  This meeting is being held in the media center at the MPHS, 2104 S. Grand Avenue and is open to the public.

The New London City Council will meet in regular session at 6pm on Monday, January 13, 2025.  The meeting is held in the city office, 112 W. Main Street.  This meeting is open to the public.

During winter weather, the Iowa State Patrol sees a lot of action on Iowa’s roads during winter weather and all types of collisions.   Law Enforcement officials advise one of the biggest keys to driving safe during winter weather is to allow extra room between your car and the car in front of you.  Slow down and use caution on ramps, overpasses and underpasses and consider if you absolutely need to be on road during snow, fog or icy conditions.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has some preparation tips for winter driving.  Remove snow and ice from your vehicle, warm up your vehicle, check the tires, have an emergency kit and know your route.  NHTSA.gov has a complete list of life saving information and what to do in an emergency when you are on road during the winter months.

The Iowa DNR Deer and Turkey Harvest report has been posted for the end of 2024. There were a total of 90,506 deer and 16,088 turkeys harvested in the state, which was down from last year for deer by about 500. Last year, there were over 100,000 deer harvested. The number of turkeys is up from last year by over 1,200.   Henry County reported 1,284 deer harvested and a total of 79 turkeys.  Jefferson County: 1,239 deer and 86 turkeys.  Lee County: 2,116 deer harvested and 152 turkeys were reported.