Author: Yorke Prough

The Henry County Farm Bureau hosted the 2^nd Annual Supermarket Sweep competition at the Mount Pleasant Hy-Vee on Thursday afternoon. With 5 teams competing, there could only be on winner. Congratulations to Farm Credit Services of America for coming closest to $250 collection of groceries at $256.50. Chem Gro and Iowa State Bank also participated and the Henry County Sheriff’s Office won the “best decorated cart.” The Mount Pleasant Noon Rotary were honored with “greatest grabber” after they collected just shy of $500 in groceries.

Collectively, all five teams contributed $1466.51 in groceries which were donated to the Fellowship Cup.

The Mount Pleasant Area Chamber of Commerce presented the Citizen of the Year award on Thursday’s annual banquet. The 2024 winner is one who has lived their life in service of others. Committed and devoted to the Mount Pleasant Community, this person is always there to lend a helping hand. As someone who volunteers at many community events; Midwest Old Threshers, Festival of Lights, Main Street and Chamber of Commerce Events, an Election official, a City Councilman, and a proud Rotarian, this person is a great servant to Mount Pleasant. Congratulations to the 2024 Citizen of the Year, Bob Griffith.

Chamber staff members also select the Volunteer of the Year to recognize an individual who has had a significant impact on the Mt. Pleasant community. Congratulations to Mark Hempen, the 2024 Volunteer of the Year. He has helped with many Chamber events, including ribbon cuttings, Alive after 5’s, and setting up for Craft’s in the Park and being an emcee.

Also announced at the banquet was this year’s Ambassador’s of the Year. John and Janet Roederer take the job of Ambassador seriously and can always be counted on.

The Special Events Committee revamped the Community Impact Award this year, asking Chamber members to nominate a business, non-profit, group, or event that made Mt. Pleasant and Henry County a better place to live, work, and play. This year’s Community Impact Award was given to St. Alphonsus Church after hosting a 5K Fun Run to help bring awareness to arthritis.  Congratulations to all of this year’s winners!

Central Lee schools went into a soft lockdown on Thursday morning as a precautionary measure after a potential threat was made to the school. At approximately 10:30 a.m. the Lee County Sheriff’s Department received information from an online suicide hotline that indicated there was going to be a shooting at Central Lee.

The onsite School Resource Officer coordinated with school staff and responding officers to place the schools on an immediate lock down. School staff and deputies searched and secured the school while students remained secured.

As a result of the investigation and interview, a 15-year-old juvenile was detained and charged with Threats of Terrorism, a Class D Felony. The juvenile was transported to the Southeast Juvenile Detention Facility and held.

As always, safety and security remain their top priority. The Central Lee Community School District urges you to have a conversation with your children about the serious consequences of making threats or engaging in similar behavior.

Through cooperation with the school staff and authorities, the lockdown was lifted shortly after 11 am.

The Board of Directors of the Harlan-Lincoln House, Inc. is pleased to announce four Mount Pleasant residents have recently been elected to its Board of Directors. They are Dr. John Bennett, Amy Franz, Debra Rodgers and Kimn Hassenfritz.

Located at 101 West Broad Street, Mount Pleasant, the Harlan-Lincoln House is an historical museum that showcases legacy stories and significant artifacts of the Senator James Harlan and President Abraham Lincoln families, their relationships and impact to this region and nation.

The heritage site, is now open for guests and tours March through October, Wednesday and Saturday 2:00 – 4:00 p.m. Other days and times are by appointment with 48 hours’ notice. Check the website harlanlincoln.org for additional information.

The Harlan-Lincoln House, Inc. is a designated 501 [c] (3) public charity and listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

A monthlong investigation led to a search warrant being conducted in Mount Pleasant on Wednesday. Executed at 602 N Cherry St, this came after recent thefts from a local factory.

During the warrant, items were located that had been stolen, along with documents indicating the sales of the stolen property.

As a result of the investigation, Tommy Mock (51) and Christine Arteaga (45) were arrested and charged with two counts of Burglary and one count of Theft 2^nd. They were transported to the Henry County Jail pending arraignment.

A criminal charge is merely an accusation, and a defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty.

Anyone with any information is asked to contact the Mt Pleasant PD

Anyone who sees suspicious activity is encouraged to contact the Mt Pleasant PD at 319 385-1450.

A truck was stolen from Mount Pleasant on Wednesday morning. Just after 12:30am, the Mt. Pleasant Police Department was advised of a stolen truck from the 1300 block of E Haynes Ct in Mt Pleasant IA.

Then, at 3:17am, a juvenile female from Cedar Rapids turned herself in as she had been separated from the other juveniles that had stolen the truck. Upon investigation it was determined that the group of juveniles from Cedar Rapids and Mt Pleasant had stolen the truck before heading to Winfield to partake in more car burglaries. The juveniles then stole a car from Winfield and came back to Mt Pleasant.

The juvenile was charged with Theft 1^st, a Class C Felony and transported to a facility. The others were not located yet and the investigation is ongoing and more charges are expected.

At approximately 7:45 hours, both stolen vehicles were located in Mt Pleasant and processed and turned back over to the owners.

The Mt Pleasant PD was assisted by the Henry County Sheriff’s Office and Winfield PD.  Once again, we remind citizens to lock their vehicles and buildings.