Author: Theresa Rose

AGENDA

May 4, 2023

Approve Agenda

Approve Minutes

9:00 Monthly Department Head Meeting

10:00 Resolution to Sell Tax Sale Certificate for

202 E Sphar St   Mt Union

Other County Business as time allows

Supervisors Sub-Committee Updates

NHTSA Reminds Drivers and Riders That May is Motorcycle Safety Awareness Month

Motorcyclist Safety Is Everyone’s Safety

Kansas City, MO — This May, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) Region 7, which includes Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, and Nebraska, would like to remind all motorists that Motorcyclist Safety Is Everyone’s Safety. May is Motorcycle Safety Awareness Month, and the end of May ushers in the unofficial start of the summer road-travel season. Safe riding and driving practices will help reduce the number of fatalities and injuries on our nation’s highways. It’s everyone’s responsibility — both the motor vehicle driver and the motorcyclist — to practice safe habits on the road and, ultimately, to Share the Road.

“There were 5,932 motorcyclists killed in traffic crashes in 2021, a 7.7% increase from 2020 (5,506),” said NHTSA Regional Administrator Susan DeCourcy. She continued, “Motorcyclist deaths accounted for 14% of the total highway fatalities in 2021 Sadly, motorcyclists are significantly overrepresented in traffic crashes and fatalities each year. In fact, motorcyclists were about 28 times more likely than passenger vehicle occupants to die in a motor vehicle crash and were 4 times more likely to be injured. We want to change that, and it starts with everyone on the road understanding that motorcyclist safety is everyone’s safety.”

One of the primary contributing factors to motorcyclist fatalities is speeding. According to NHTSA, 34% of all motorcycle riders involved (killed or survived) in fatal crashes in 2020 were speeding, compared to 22% for passenger car drivers, 16% for light-truck drivers, and 7% for large-truck drivers. Motorcycle riders 25 to 29 years old involved in fatal crashes had the highest speeding involvement at 45%.

Alcohol impairment also plays a significant role in motorcycle-involved crash fatalities: 41% of the 2,158 motorcycle riders who died in single-vehicle crashes in 2020 were alcohol-impaired. In 2020, motorcycle riders involved (killed or survived) in fatal crashes had higher percentages of alcohol impairment than any other type of motor vehicle driver (27% for motorcycle riders, 23% for passenger car drivers, 19% for light-truck drivers, and 3% for large-truck drivers), and those killed were almost three times more frequently found to be alcohol-impaired at night than during the day (40% and 14%, respectively).

Like seat belts, helmets are a simple and effective way to reduce the likelihood of injury or death during a crash. However, helmet use has declined from 69% in 2020 to 64.9% in 2021. In contrast, helmet use continues to improve in states that require all motorcyclists to be helmeted. Additionally, it’s important to understand that both motorcyclists and their passengers should always wear a helmet. Among riders with passengers, helmet use among riders with passengers continued a sharp decrease at 52.1% in 2021, down from 65% in 2020 and 79.7% in 2019. In contrast, riders wearing DOT-compliant helmets saw their passengers’ helmet use increase significantly from 84.5% in 2020 to 91.1% in 2021.

Safe driving and riding practices by all road users — drivers and riders alike — will help reduce the number of fatalities and injuries on our nation’s highways. Motor vehicle drivers and motorcyclists should keep the following tips in mind when on the road:

• Observe all traffic laws and always obey the speed limit.
• Drive and ride alcohol- and drug-free.
• Avoid distractions that place other road users at risk.
• Yield to motorcyclists, especially while turning at intersections.
• Wear high-visibility personal protective gear and DOT-compliant motorcycle helmets. NHTSA data estimates that helmets saved 1,872 motorcyclists’ lives in 2017 and that 749 more lives could have been saved if all motorcyclists had worn their helmets. Learn how to identify a safe, DOT-compliant helmet at nhtsa.gov/motorcycle-safety/choose-right-motorcycle-helmet

This May, let’s commit to safe driving and riding, and to our role in ensuring a safe motorcycle-riding environment. To ensure a safer riding experience, NHTSA recommends that all riders complete a rider education and training course. For more information on motorcycle safety, visit www.nhtsa.gov/road-safety/motorcycles. For additional statistics please visit https://cdan.nhtsa.gov/ and search “motorcycle” under Crash Data Publications.

Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig commented today on the Iowa Crop Progress and Condition Report released by the USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service for the past week. The report is released weekly April through November. Additionally, the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship provides a weather summary each week during this time.

“The cooler and drier conditions allowed many farmers an opportunity to get back into the fields, which led to a jump in both corn and soybeans acres planted,” said Secretary Naig. “The weather outlook suggests warmer temperatures and near-average amounts of rainfall, which should help to increase statewide planting activity and gradually reduce the flooding along the Mississippi River.”

The weekly report is also available on the USDA’s website at nass.usda.gov.

Crop Report

Cool and relatively dry weather offered farmers 4.8 days suitable for fieldwork during the week ending April 30, 2023, according to the USDA, National Agricultural Statistics Service. While planting progress continues at a decent pace, the colder than normal temperatures and dry weather have not done any favors for crop emergence. State level moisture supplies are still tightening up with the lack of precipitation. Corn, soybean, and oat planting continued this week.

WINFIELD – MT. UNION COMMUNITY SCHOOL

REGULAR BOARD MEETING

LIBRARY, W-MU 6:00 p.m. ~ May 10, 2023

1. Call to Order
2. Roll Call
3. Public Comment
4. Consent Agenda

D1.  Minutes, Bills, Financial Reports

D2.  Personnel Hirings/Resignations

1. Reports

E1.  Building Reports

E2.  Superintendent Report

1. General Business

F1.  Policy Review:  IASB Updates – Edwards:  200.4 Board Member Social Media Engagement, 210.5

Meeting Notice, 401.5R1 Employee Records Regulation, 401.9 Credit Cards, 407.2 Licensed

Employee Contract Release, 501.2 Nonresident Students, 604.6 PSEO Instruction, 701.2 Transfer of

Funds, and 708 District Records

F2.  Consider Shared Librarian Agreement with AEA for 2023-24.

F3.  Consider Transportation/Travel Regulations

F4.  Consider Ad Hoc Study Committee for 4 Day School Week

F5.  Consider Graduating Senior List

1. Adjourn

Henry County Engineers Office announces a culvert replacement project on Ash Avenue (W-46), south of Hillsboro. The road will be closed starting Monday, May 22nd for approximately 2 months, weather permitting. There is a posted detour route, please drive with caution. Questions can be answered at 319 385-0762.

Weather Summary

Provided by Justin Glisan, Ph.D., State Climatologist, Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship

A quieter weather pattern tamped down on widespread precipitation events in Iowa through the reporting period, though a late-week disturbance produced scattered showers and thunderstorms. All of Iowa’s stations measured below-average totals with departures of an inch or more over much of the state. Cooler conditions also prevailed with temperatures ranging from four to ten degrees west to east across Iowa; the statewide average temperature was 48.0, which is 6.2 degrees below normal.

Partly cloudy skies persisted through Sunday (23^rd) afternoon with high temperatures in the low 40s north to upper 40s south as winds became variable. Generally clear conditions were reported around sunrise on Monday (24^th) with morning lows in the upper 20s and low 30s with areas of patchy frost in northern Iowa. Temperatures rose through the day and settled into the upper 50s and low 60s under partly to mostly cloudy skies. Several bands of rain formed across western Iowa and moved quickly southeast over the daytime hours. Multiple stations in southern Iowa measured a few tenths of an inch, though most stations picked up under 0.10 inch; a station in New London (Henry County) observed 0.38 inch.

Clouds hung around southern Iowa into Tuesday (25^th) morning with clear skies north, allowing temperatures to fall near to below freezing. Skies cleared up through the day with highs generally in the 50s. Winds shifted to the east overnight and then to the southeast on Wednesday (26^th) with warmer daytime conditions in the mid-50s to low 60s, under mostly sunny skies. Southerly winds kept morning lows on Thursday (27^th) in the mid- to upper 40s in northern Iowa, with some northwest stations in the low 50s. Afternoon conditions were pleasant with daytime temperatures in the upper 60s to mid-70s; the statewide average high was 69 degrees, which is five degrees above normal.

Winds shifted to the northwest after midnight Friday (28^th) as a cold front began sweeping east through Iowa. Light rain showers formed in western Iowa as the front advanced. High temperatures ahead of the front reached into the low to mid-70s while mid- to upper 50s were registered behind the boundary. Skies cleared west to east as rain showers tapered off into Saturday (29^th) morning with rain totals at 7:00 am highest in western Iowa. Totals were in the 0.30 to 0.60-inch range with Primghar (O’Brien County) receiving 0.31 inch while 0.59 inch was observed at Logan (Harrison County).

Locations that received rain across the rest of Iowa generally measured at most a tenth or two with many stations registering a few one-hundredths. Additional showers spun in on the backside of a large low-pressure center over the Great Lakes through the afternoon and evening hours; a narrow swath of rainfall totals in the 0.25 to 0.50-inch range was found from west-central to southeast Iowa. Temperatures remained cooler where clouds and rain were present, though the upper 50s and low 60s were reported in western Iowa. Strong northwesterly winds built in early Sunday (30^th) morning as cloud cover persisted in eastern Iowa with lows in the upper 30s and low 40s.

Weekly precipitation totals ranged from no accumulation at several stations across Iowa to 0.64 inch at Little Sioux (Harrison County). The statewide weekly average precipitation was 0.14 inch while the normal is 0.94 inch. Several eastern Iowa stations reported the week’s high temperature of 75 degrees on the 28^th, on average nine degrees above normal. Battle Creek (Ida County), Stanley (Buchanan County) and Vinton (Benton County) reported the week’s low temperature of 20 degrees on the 24^th, on average 17 degrees below normal. Four-inch soil temperatures were in the upper 40s north to low 50s south as of Sunday.