Author: Theresa Rose

Mount Pleasant Police Chief Lyle Murray took questions from the public in attendance at Wednesday night’s City Council meeting.  The questions dealt with the proposal to work with an outside company to provide Lidar speed radar equipment to detect speeding, bill the offenders and collect the fines. In answer to a question about who gets the revenues Murray said the outside company receives 40% and the rest goes into the city public safety account. One citizen expressed concern this would be a money grab like he believes it is for Cedar Rapids. Chief Murray insisted it was about deterring speeding to increase public safety.  In answer to another question the Chief said he was approached by the company about providing the service. There was also discussion about setting the limits and fines which the Chief are set out in the proposed ordinance.  Passage of the first reading was not unanimous. Kent White, Terry McWilliams and Bob Griffith all voted yes.  Jeff Batty and Matt Crull said “no”. And Council member Steve Engberg, while he did not seem in favor still voted yes.  He said he voted that way in order to see the ordinance move to the next reading and allow for more public discussion.

9-22-21 Henry County COVID-19 update:

14-day positivity rate for individuals: 16.0%

14-day positivity rate for tests taken (includes duplicate tests): 10.2%

# of cases last 3 days: 21

# of cases last 7 days: 71

# of cases last 14 days: 173

% of residents 12+ years of age fully vaccinated: 54.8%

% of all residents fully vaccinated: 46.7%

Think about who you interact with each day and if they are at a higher risk due to age or health concerns, please consider getting vaccinated to help protect them. This virus is continuing to spread throughout our communities. Public Health has walk-in vaccine clinics for Moderna or J&J at 106 N. Jackson St. Monday – Friday 8am-3:30pm.

Public Health is sharing these regular updates to hopefully provide the most helpful information to keep you informed. There is a lot of data out there so we are reporting data from our local public health portal, with the exception of the vaccinated % which comes from the CDC Data Tracker since they break it out by eligible residents instead of just all residents.**

James Joseph Cordes, 89, of New London, died Sunday, April 26, 2020 at Great River Medical Center, West Burlington. He was born September 27, 1930 in Howard County, Iowa to Joseph James and Florence Long Cordes. On January 5, 1979, he married Louise M. Laneville at St. Alphonsus Catholic Church in Mt. Pleasant.
Following high school graduation in Waterloo where he wrestled, he served in the Navy during the Korean War. He was a member of St. Alphonsus Catholic Church and New London VFW Post 7641. For many years, Jim provided all of the tomatoes for VFW Taco night. After leaving the service, Jim became a car salesman and eventually a car dealer owning a Pontiac dealership in Waterloo and GM, Dodge and Ford dealerships in Waterloo, Mt. Pleasant and New London. Besides work, he loved horses, all sports, cheering for the Cubs, Bears and Hawkeyes, and was an absolutely #1 devoted fan of the New London Tigers.
Besides his wife, Jim is survived by his children; Cathy Cordes of Dallas, Texas, Susan (Rick) Miller of Waterloo, Tony Cordes of Waterloo, Steven (Lori) Sproul of Ft. Madison, Mary (John) Phillips of San Tan Valley, Arizona and Joseph James (Kelsey) Cordes of Gilbert, Arizona; grandchildren; Jack Miller, J.W. (Blaire) Phillips, Shelby (Troy) Henning, Anika Sproul, Drew Nolting, Megan Nolting, A.J. Nolting and Hudson Cordes; great-grandson Dash Henning; one brother John Cordes of Waterloo; one sister Mavis Differding of Jesup; and nieces. He was preceded in death by his parents and an infant brother.
A graveside inurnment will be held at 12:30 Monday, September 27, 2021 at St. Alphonsus Catholic Cemetery in Mt. Pleasant with Father Paul Connolly officiating. Immediately following the service, a luncheon and Celebration of Jim’s life will be held at VFW Post 7641 at 802 E. McKinley, New London. A memorial has been established for VFW Post 7641. Elliott Chapel, New London is assisting the family with arrangements. Online condolences may be left at www.elliottfuneralchapel.com.

DES MOINES – Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate is helping Iowans register to vote. His office is mailing a postcard to approximately 50,000 Iowans who are eligible to vote, but not registered. The postcard includes instructions on how to register and a QR code the recipient can use to register to vote online.

The mailing coincides with National Voter Registration Month, which is celebrated every year in September. The postcards should arrive in mailboxes around September 28, which is recognized as National Voter Registration Day.

“Around 90 percent of Iowans are registered to vote. I want to hit 100 percent and this mailing will help us get there,” Secretary Pate said. “Voting is a civic duty and the best way to make your voice heard.”

The mailing to eligible but unregistered Iowans is conducted annually by Secretary Pate’s office.

Iowa is one of 31 states enrolled in the Electronic Registration Information Center (ERIC). Participation in ERIC helps Iowa election officials improve the accuracy of the voter rolls, register more eligible citizens, reduce costs, and improve efficiencies in the voting process.

More than 500,000 Iowans have registered to vote since Secretary Pate took office in January 2015.

A Watercolor Monotype Workshop to be held at the Mount Pleasant Golf & Country Club on Sept 25th, 2021. This workshop will be taught by Ann Klingensmith from 9am-noon. Cost is $25 for the general public and non-members of Iowa Artists. This class will available to the first 20 interested .

Class Description:

They will be experimenting with Monotype Print from Drafting Film or Mylar with Water Soluble Crayons and Watercolors on watercolor paper. Class size 5-20max

Suggested Materials (Bring what you have and we will share)

• Watercolors, Watercolor crayons
• Water containers, brushes, tape, Sharpie marker (dark color), paper towels
• Bar of soap or glycerin
• Watercolor paper (the inexpensive tablet kind is good)
• Wooden Spoon or something to use as a barren to rub the back of the paper so the image is trans-ferred to the w/c paper.
• Some drawing paper (just a few sheets) to protect the back side of the wet w/c paper
• Hairdryer (maybe an extension cord, too)
• Plexi plate, cookie sheet, drafting film (anything that you can put water on

for the image making) if the plate is larger than the paper, we can tape off

an area of the “cookie” sheet. Clean and not greasy.

Call 641-504-0141 to get signed up.

CONTACT Delayne Segar. iowaartistsofficial@gmail.com

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.

Henry County Jail

Date:   09-22-2021______

JAIL COUNT

   30       Henry County Inmates

   30       Out of County Contract Inmates              

  60       TOTAL

Current Hillsboro council members Chad Brousseau, Eric Sanderson and Michaeleen Kaeser are seeking re-election. There is a fourth candidate, Myron Helmers but residents can vote for no more than three. William Sanderson is running for a two year term, not for mayor as previously published.