Author: Theresa Rose

The Henry County Board of Supervisors are taking applications to appoint a member to the Henry County Conservation Board, beginning immediately.

Applications for this position are available at the Henry County Auditor’s Office.  Floor 2, Courthouse, Monday thru Friday 8 AM to 4:30 PM, also applications can be found on the county website under Job Openings at www.henrycountyiowa.us

Applications must be filed by Friday at 4:00 pm, April 15, 2022 at the Henry County Auditor’s Office.

If you have questions please call the Auditor’s Office at 319-385-0756.

Mount Pleasant High School is proud to announce the MARCH 2022 Students of Character, JOEY KEEVER & ANNELIESE SALLEE Both of these students have demonstrated Trustworthiness, Respect, Responsibility, Fairness, Caring, and Citizenship. Students are nominated by the MPCHS faculty each month. If you see these students at school or in the community, please tell them to keep up the good work! We are Panther Proud of you all!

Additional nominees:

Aiden Sayabath

Isabelle Meador

Moroni Sanchez

Eva Rounceville

Jayden Housh

Serenity Hudson

March 28 – April 3, 2022

DES MOINES, Iowa (April 4, 2022) – Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig commented today on the Iowa Crop Progress and Condition Report released by the USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service. The report is released weekly April through November.

“Late season snow last week, along with recent rainfall, has helped ease drought conditions across portions of the state,” said Secretary Naig. “While April precipitation outlooks point to the possibility of wetter than normal conditions, near term temperatures are forecasted to remain colder than average.”

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

Crop Report
Precipitation and cold conditions limited Iowa farmers to 1.6 days suitable for fieldwork during the week ending April 3, 2022, according to the USDA, National Agricultural Statistics Service. When and where possible, fieldwork activities included applying anhydrous and fertilizer, spreading manure and planting oats.

Topsoil moisture levels rated 9 percent very short, 25 percent short, 58 percent adequate and 8 percent surplus. Subsoil moisture levels rated 12 percent very short, 35 percent short, 49 percent adequate and 4 percent surplus.

Seven percent of the expected oat crop has been planted, 2 days behind last year but 2 days ahead of the 5-year average.

Pastures were still mostly dormant. Livestock conditions were generally good although feedlots were wet after the week’s rain. Producers report calving is continuing.

AGENDA

April 5, 2022

Approve Agenda

Approve Minutes

9:00 Jake Hotchkiss, Engineer Weekly Update

Resolution to Purchase New Salt Shed

9:30 Presentation by Hillcrest Family Services

Other County Business as time allows

Supervisors Sub-Committee

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

Unseasonably cold temperatures blanketed the state over the first reporting period of 2022 with negative departures of up to nine degrees in northwestern Iowa; the statewide average temperature was 36.1 degrees, 7.3 degrees below normal. Wetter than average conditions were reported in eastern Iowa, while precipitation deficits of up to 0.50 inch were measured in the southwest.

Northerly winds persisted through Sunday (27^th) afternoon as cloud cover increased in southwestern Iowa. Daytime high temperatures were unseasonably cool with 30s and 40s reported northeast to southwest; these readings were 10 to 15 degrees below normal. Overnight lows into Monday (28^th) morning varied from the upper teens in eastern Iowa to low 30s in the west. Winds shifted to an easterly direction as a dome of high pressure pushed into the Great Lakes region through the afternoon hours with temperatures rebounding into the mid to upper 40s under mostly sunny skies. Overcast conditions developed early Tuesday (29^th) as gusty southeasterly winds built in ahead of a strong low pressure center pushing into Nebraska. As a warm front lifted over southern Iowa, high temperatures rose into the mid 60s while upper 30s and 40s were observed north of the boundary. A few severe thunderstorms formed during late evening hours in southwestern Iowa and with showers overnight into central and eastern Iowa. The system continued northeast into Wednesday (30^th) morning as rain tapered off and gusty northerly winds returned. Event totals were highest across the state’s southeastern third with general amounts from 0.20 inch to 0.75 inch; three stations in extreme southeastern and northwestern Iowa measured over an inch with Chariton (Lucas County) observing 1.40 inches.

As cold air filtered in behind the low pressure system, snow showers formed over much of Iowa with most stations reporting light totals. Moderate snow fell across central Iowa with two to three inch accumulations measured at several stations; the statewide average snowfall was 0.8 inch with Indianola (Warren County) picking up 3.2 inches. Morning lows observed at 7:00 am on Thursday (31^st) ranged from the upper 20s northwest to low 30s southeast, where snowflakes were still flying. Gloomy conditions persisted through the evening hours with highs hanging in the low 30s statewide, well below average for the last day of March. Iowans woke up to starry skies and chilly conditions on Friday (1^st) morning though temperatures rose as southerly winds ushered in warmer air into the afternoon. Daytime highs registered in the upper 40s north to 50s west as cloud cover increased in advance of a fast moving disturbance that brought widespread rainfall to much of Iowa into early Saturday (2^nd) morning. Most of Iowa’s stations observed measurable precipitation, both liquid and frozen, with several locations picking up a few inches of snow; Dubuque Regional Airport (Dubuque County) measured 4.5 inches. Liquid-equivalent totals were in the range of 0.25 inch to 0.75 inch with Bellevue Lock and Dam (Jackson County) reporting 0.83 inch. Clear skies returned overnight into Sunday (3^rd) with lows at sunrise in the upper 20s and low 30s under variable winds.

Weekly precipitation totals ranged from 0.01 inch at Bedford (Taylor County) to 1.64 inches at Davenport Municipal Airport (Scott County). The statewide weekly average precipitation was 0.60 inch while the normal is 0.68 inch. Sioux City Airport (Woodbury County) reported the week’s high temperature of 67 degrees on the 29^th, 13 degrees above average. Algona (Kossuth County) reported the week’s low temperature of 11 degrees on the 1^st, which is 18 degrees below normal. Four-inch soil temperatures were in the upper 30s north to low 40s south as of Sunday.

Mount Pleasant Municipal Utilities Manager Jack Hedgcock recently informed his Board of Trustees that he plans to retire before the end of the year.  The Board meets Wednesday morning at 7:15 am to review the details of a transition plan and approve a recruitment strategy for a new manager.

A juvenile has been arrested in an investigation into shots fired west of Washington. Last Thursday at about 9:30 pm Washington law enforcement authorities received a report from a resident on Kiwi Avenue saying they’d heard what sounded like two or three gunshots when a vehicle stopped in front of their home. A Washington County Sheriff’s deputy located the vehicle at North 12th Avenue and East 2nd Street. As a result of the investigation the juvenile has been charged with “person ineligible to carry a dangerous weapon,” possession or purchase of alcohol by person under 18, assault while displaying a dangerous weapon, reckless use of a firearm, two counts of a minor armed with a dangerous weapon, and second-degree harassment.

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The Van Buren County School Board met in special session last week and voted to build a new activity center. The center is estimated to cost approximately 6 million dollars. The money will be borrowed against SAVE, the 1% state sales tax fund. This means the project will not impact property taxes. The activity center will be an addition to the existing school building. It will include a second gymnasium, a new wrestling room, 2 classrooms, an area for batting cages and turfed flooring for athletic practices, 2 restrooms and an office with a meeting room. Carl A Nelson and Company will be the project manager. S.V.P.A. will lead the architecture and design team. The project will begin late this summer and is expected to be finished by August of 2023.

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The Mt. Pleasant Municipal Utilities will be starting an underground electric replacement project in the area of Old Orchard and Baker Streets. Customers are being notified with a notice on their door or in their mail box. This project will take several months. During this time scheduled outages will take place and customers will be notified a couple days prior to any scheduled outage. The Utilities apologizes for any inconvenience during this time. For questions or concerns, please call MPMU at 319-385-2121 day or night.

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April is National Distracted Driving Awareness Month. The U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Region 7, that includes Iowa, is working with law enforcement agencies to ramp up enforcement of distracted-driving laws to raise awareness about the dangers of using your phone while driving. This annual campaign is part of a national high-visibility enforcement effort that runs from April 7 – 11. Between 2012 and 2019, 26,004 people died in crashes involving a distracted driver.  In fact, there were 3,142 people killed in motor vehicle crashes involving distracted drivers in 2019 alone. This represents a 10% increase in distracted driving fatalities from 2018. The distraction figure was the largest increase in causes of traffic deaths reported for 2019.

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The Fellowship Cup in Mount Pleasant will be starting up the weekly Wednesday Community meal.  Small groups of three to six individuals are needed to cook, serve and clean up after the meal is served.  The meal begins at 11 am.  The time involved would be from 9:30 am to 12:30 pm.  If you or your group would like to help please contact the Fellowship Cup at 319-385-3242.