Author: Theresa Rose

Here is the official list of Henry County mayoral and city council candidates for the coming General Elections.

As expected, Mount Pleasant Mayor Steve Brimhall and three incumbent council members are seeking re-election. All will run unopposed in the November 2 general elections.  Bob Griffith, Jeff Batty and Terry McWilliams are each hoping to serve another 4 year term on the council.

In Salem there are three people running for mayor..James Tomson, Mary Hoyer, and Kelly Anderman.  There are six people running for the two seats on that council that will be open…. John Wagner, Haley Swinscoe, Tarrant French, Justin Traman and incumbents Gary Tedrow, and Christina Feehan.

In Westwood Mayor Brant Knudsen is running for re-election unopposed. There are four people running for three seats on the council.  They are Eric Peterson, Monte Knudsen, Darrel Rodgers and incumbent Gary Lane.

New London’s incumbent Mayor Kirk Miller is running unopposed.  Incumbent council members Dan Berner, Scott Campbell and Brad Helmerson are each running unopposed for four year terms.  Travis Benz is running for a two year term without opposition.

In Wayland Mayor Chet Fort is the only candidate for that position. Incumbents Caylon Devaul and Jamie Roth wish to repeat four year terms on the council. A third council member, Melinda Ullery, is seeking re-election to a two year term.  No one else has thrown their name into the hat for the Wayland City elections.

There are five names on the Winfield ballot for city council. Voters may vote for no more than three. Randy Redlinger and Jennifer Wade are the incumbents. The other candidates are David Pieart, Robert Quinn and Scott Jennings.

There is one candidate for mayor in Olds. That’s Jason Waterhouse. Voters can for no more than three council members. And there are three candidates on the ballot….incumbents Candice Curry and Fred Roth.  The third candidate is Timothy Breuer.

Frankie Nupp is the only candidate on the ballot for mayor in Coppock. Voters there may vote for no more than three council members.  The candidates are Dakota Knerr, Jennifer Stoderl, Ananna Knerr, Shelby Gier and incumbent Dustin Palmer.

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.

Congratulations to the 2021 WACO Homecoming King and Queen! King is Jonah Clark, son of Bill and Joni Huisenga. Queen is Jaicey Miller, daughter of BJ and Jana Miller. They will reign over Homecoming activities on Friday.

The rest of the court includes Lilly Clark the daughter of Kevin and Lisa Clark.  Maggie Rinner, the daughter of Ty and Diane Rinner. Zach Schmitz is the son of Todd and Laura Schmitz and Jonah Egli, the son of Jason and Gail Egli.

The Homecoming Parade will begin at 5 pm on Main Street. The football game will begin at 7 pm against the Iowa Valley Tigers.

14-day average for positive cases: 14.5%

Number of cases last 3 days: 35

Number of cases last 7 days: 68

Number of cases last 14 days: 129

Percentage of residents 12+ years of age fully vaccinated….54.2%

Henry Public Health is seeing more and more positive cases each day, especially in children. PLEASE help protect yourself and others and wear a mask in public places, social distance, wash your hands, stay home if you are sick, and get vaccinated if you are able! Visit healthyhenrycounty.org/covid for information on walk-in clinics, updated quarantine guidance, and more.

Henry County 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 they are reporting from their local public health portal, with the exception of the vaccinated percentage which comes from the CDC Data Tracker since that breaks it out by eligible residents instead of just all residents. Some places report the average positivity percentage based on positive tests instead of cases, but people may take multiple tests so that number will be different.

In 1981, several community members were led by the Holy Spirit to open a space for non-denominational Christian fellowship. Initially a social gathering with coffee and music, the mission soon turned to acts of service and outreach. “Offering a Little Help Along the Way” became the adopted motto, and The Fellowship Cup, located in Mount Pleasant, was born. Support quickly grew as contributions began to flow from local churches, businesses, and individuals to finance the vision. Through a great volunteer effort, The Fellowship Cup grew to be the hands and feet of Christ, distributing food, clothing, and offering shelter to individuals and families in need. On Saturday, October 23rd we will celebrate 40 years of service to the community.

Both New London and Winfield Mt. Union School Districts held bond referendum votes Tuesday.  Unofficially the proposition put before the New London voters passed by 68%. 485 votes were cast…328 yes and 157 no.  Voters were asked to approve general obligation bonds in an amount not to exceed $5,375,000. The funds are to be used to turn the Clark Elementary gym/multipurpose room into classrooms and then to construct a gym addition to the High School building.

The WMU proposition does not appear to have succeeded. A total of 371 votes were cast…210 no votes and 161 yes votes.  WMU district residents were asked to approve $3,255,000 to provide funds for a combination performing arts/athletic competition facility as well as additions to the Industrial Tech building and the High School.

DES MOINES –  Today (Tuesday), Governor Reynolds and the Office of the Chief Information Officer (OCIO) are proud to announce the recipients of the State of Iowa Broadband Grants Program. Two local companies are included in the recipients.

Thirty-nine applicants have been awarded a total of $97,500,000 for broadband infrastructure as part of the latest Empower Rural Iowa Broadband Grant Program. OCIO received 178 applications from broadband providers for the Grant Program with requests nearing $300 million.

Danville Mutual Telephone Company is receiving a total of $5,220,175.00 for two projects. Farmers and Merchants Mutual Telephone of Wayland will receive $717,011 for a project near Pekin.

“Expanding broadband across our state continues to be a top priority,” said Gov. Reynolds. “It is clear by the shear volume and scope of applications that the need is there. Today’s award announcement will go a long way toward meeting that need, and we won’t stop here.”

Due to the overwhelming amount of interest and success of this program, the State of Iowa will expedite a new grant opportunity utilizing ARPA federal funds to build upon the $100 million in state funding for this grant program. Details on this new grant opportunity will be released in the near future.

The Salem City Council met last week, and the mayor, with the unanimous approval of the City Council,  appointed the following as the new Library Board of Trustees:

Dora Benter (County)

Christine Hatfield (City) – (she is the special education teacher at the Salem Elementary School)

Robin Henriksen (County)

Samantha Koontz (City)

Janeene Porter (City)

There will be a basic Introductions Workshop on Thursday, Sept. 16, 2021 at the Salem Public Library, at 6:00.  The meeting is open to the public, but there will not be an opportunity for comment. The new library board will first have to develop bylaws, elect officers, etc..

The Salem City Council was happy to have had so many people interested in serving as more individuals applied than there were positions available for. The Council was also extremely pleased with the diversity in experience and skills that the people appointed  will bring to the Library.