Author: Theresa Rose

The Mount Pleasant City Council has approved a site plan for construction of a commercial building at 1208 West Washington.  The plan includes the development of a portion of the existing parking lot that was previously part of the McWhirter car sales business.  Ryan Barton of Jim Barton Construction plans to build a 6000 square foot building to be used for a shop and an office.  Two entrances off the current frontage road are also part of the site plan so that drives are not coming out directly onto West Washington Street.

The Mount Pleasant City Council gave it’s blessing to sharing a police officer with the Mount Pleasant School District.  Before it’s a done deal, the school board will have to give its’ final approval at the November 14 school board meeting.  The City has agreed to pay 30 percent of the officer’s salary and the School district will be responsible for 70%. Chief Murray said the number of police calls to the High School and Middle School warrant putting a School Resource Officer in place.  Chief Lyle Murray has tapped Brad Gillis for the job. As the district’s school resource officer, Gillis would still be a City employee.  He will not be a school disciplinarian but if the building principal believes an incident is in violation of the law then the SRO will be contacted and he will determine if law enforcement action is appropriate. The SRO should establish a rapport with students and could be involved in programming for students, conferences with students, staff and/or parents.  This position should have knowledge of resources that could benefit students in need like mental health resources. The SRO will also work with the building principals and the police chief to determine other ways he can benefit the district. It is likely the School Board will give final approval and then Officer Gillis will begin his SRO duties on January 1.

In the interest of keeping Henry County residents informed, the Henry County Sheriff’s office has requested KILJ post the daily jail count. During the jail referendum campaign it was publicized that the jail would be able to house additional inmates from surrounding counties and this would generate revenue for Henry County.

Date:   11-10-2022______

  22_    Henry County Inmates

  43     Out of County Contract Inmates              

  65     TOTAL

AGENDA

November 10, 2022

Approve Agenda

Approve Minutes

9:00 Caleb Waters, County Conservation Monthly Update

Other County Business as time allows

Supervisors Sub-Committee Updates

DES MOINES – Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate announces the unofficial turnout for the November 2022 general election was the second highest in state history for a midterm. More than 1,220,000 Iowans voted. The all-time high for an Iowa midterm election was 1,329,930, set in 2018.

“My thanks to Iowans from every corner of the state who made their voices heard by voting,” Secretary Pate said. “I also want to thank the poll workers and county election officials across Iowa for their hard work and dedication. However, our work is not finished.”

Every county will now conduct post-election audits in randomly selected precincts to help ensure the integrity of the vote. Secretary Pate added another layer of protection to Iowa’s electoral process this year by ordering a second race to undergo hand count audits in every county. The audits will ensure the numbers match the totals reported by the ballot tabulators. The gubernatorial race and constitutional amendment ballot measure will be audited.

“Post-election audits add another layer of integrity to the election process,” Secretary Pate said. “I want all Iowans to know their vote counts, and it will be counted correctly.”

All election results remain unofficial until canvassing is complete, and results are certified. The deadline is December 5.

Unofficial totals are available at sos.iowa.gov.

It looks like Republicans Adrian Dickey and Jeff Shipley will return to Des Moines in January.  Dickey has previously served in the Senate.  He will return to represent Senate District 44.  He came out ahead of his challenger, Rich Taylor who also brought experience as an Iowa Senator to the race. Dickey received 66.49% of the vote. That’s 15,311 votes from a district that encompasses Van Buren, Jefferson, and Keokuk Counties and portions of Mahaska and Henry Counties. 7,695 voters cast their ballots for Rich Taylor. That’s 33.42% of the vote.

Democrat Mike Heaton ran in his first campaign but came up short against Republican Jeff Shipley.  Shipley previously served in the Iowa House of Representatives but not representing this exact district, now identified as House District 87. This district, as a result of re-districting covers Van Buren, Jefferson and a portion of Henry County. Shipley garnered 6,437 votes, that’s 55.46%. Heaton received 5,151 votes, 44.38%.

Incumbent Mindy Fitzgibbon lost her bid to keep her job as Henry County Recorder to newcomer Lynnae Buffington. Buffington received 4,183 votes and Fitzgibbon received 2,534 votes.

Henry County saw almost 50% voter turnout.  There are 14,113 register voters. 7, 025 cast votes in these midterm elections.  Of that number 2,845 people voted absentee or early.

On November 4, 2022, at approximately 2:26AM, the Henry County Sheriff’s Office was notified via 911 of a barn on fire at 1584 335th Street, Salem, Iowa. The Salem Fire Department, along with other fire departments responded to assist, as the fire spread to fields nearby.

At approximately 7:44AM, (November 4, 2022), the Henry County Sheriff’s Office was notified of a rekindling at the fire scene and the Salem Fire Department responded again.

The fire was reported as suspicious and the Henry County Sheriff’s Office, along with the Iowa State Fire Marshall’s Office subsequently investigated.

As a result of the investigation, James Cleere, 18 of Salem, Iowa, was arrested and charged with Arson 2^nd (class C felony).