Author: Yorke Prough

Iowans can be glad about the price of gas this week, as the price of both regular and diesel fell considerable amounts.

After falling 8 cents from last week, the price of regular unleaded gasoline averaged $3.15 across the state. This is a 22 cent drop from last year.

The national average on Wednesday was $3.45, down 5 cents from last week’s price.

Retail diesel prices in Iowa fell 5 cents this week with a statewide average of $3.49. One year ago, diesel prices averaged $3.64 in Iowa.

The current Iowa diesel price is 30 cents lower than the national average of $3.79.

Natural gas prices jumped up a whopping 28 cents at the Henry Hub reporting site and are currently priced at $3.01/MMbtu.

Tips for saving energy on the road or at home are available at energy.gov and fueleconomy.gov.

There was a fire in Mount Pleasant on Wednesday evening at the Mount Pleasant Motors building. The staff were working on a vehicle when it caught on fire, which quickly spread throughout the rest of the building. Thankfully, the fire department has a weekly meeting on Wednesday evening, meaning an abundance of firefighters were able to respond quickly. The fire was contained to just the auto shop side of the building and was under control approximately 5 minutes after the Mt. Pleasant Fire Department arrived.

15 firefighters, 2 engines, tower 1, command 1, and a brush truck, all responded. The fire chief would like to thank Mount Pleasant Police Department and Mt. Pleasant Utilities for their assistance.

A very warm day today may lead to isolated to scattered strong to severe thunderstorms late this afternoon and especially tonight. Large hail, damaging winds, and frequent lightning will be the primary threats. The Storm Prediction Center is forecasting a Marginal Risk, level 1 out of 5 for severe storms tonight, generally northwest of Iowa City to Dubuque Iowa.

Tomorrow, building heat and humidity will combine with near daily thunderstorm chances in the region from Thursday through the weekend. Some strong to severe storms will be possible from time to time. Locally heavy rain will also be possible out of any storm system. Thursday, the Storm Prediction Center is forecasting an Enhanced Risk for severe weather, level 3 out of 5 for areas south of Interstate 80.

A Riverside woman was sentenced yesterday to 600 months in federal prison for two counts of Production of Child Pornography, following a plea of guilty on an earlier date.

According to public court documents and evidence presented at sentencing, Abigail Margarete Knight, 36, produced child sexual assault material of two minor victims between July 2020 and May 2023. Knight used photos and videos of minors and sent the child sexual assault material to two men, one in Texas and the other in Missouri, through the use of cellular phones and internet chats.

After completing her term of imprisonment, Knight will be required to serve five years of supervised release. There is no parole in the federal system.

United States Attorney Richard D. Westphal of the Southern District of Iowa made the announcement. This case was investigated by the Washington County, Iowa, Sheriff’s Office, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Iowa Department of Criminal Investigations, and the ICAC Task Force.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit https://www.justice.gov/psc. For information about internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the resources tab.

Is your child good at art? RAGBRAI is coming through Mount Pleasant in July, and there is a kids art contest to help celebrate. “Make yourself at home” the theme for RAGBRAI in Mount Pleasant, must be incorporated into the art, and the art can be no larger than 11” X 14”. Children can get creative, with any sort of drawing, painting, or sculpture. All entries, regardless on if they win the contest, will be displayed for the event in Mount Pleasant. Ensure that the artists name, age, address, school, and a contact phone number is provided on the back of the entry.

Please submit all entries by July 5^th to the Mount Pleasant Library or City Hall. The winning entry in each age group will win a $10 gift certificate to Dairy Queen. The winner of the grand prize will receive 4 tickets to the Temple Theatre.

The Mount Pleasant Community School Board met in regular session Monday evening for their June meeting.

When it comes to RAGBRAI, the superintendent stated that things are moving ahead. There will be camping on central campus, as well as the practice field south of Maple Leaf, the baseball field, the field south of the High School, and Middle School will be used for a group of disabled riders. According to one board member, the cost to shower is $8, which will be a nice donation to the district.

Summer school began on Monday, and the principals of each school provided a brief report. In total, there are well over 200 students registered for additional education this summer. For high school students, there is a good mix of people finishing credits and exploring classes that they did not take during the school year. The Middle School is hosting grades K-8 right now, due to the transition to grade-alike elementary, and Mr. Adams pointed out that the first day went well. For the elementary school, 92 students are registered and are offered classes such as reading, math, and stem.

Summer school will continue for another two and a half weeks from 8:30-11:30 during the school week.

It’s official: Iowa is free from drought for the first time since June 2020.

According to the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, May’s preliminary statewide precipitation was 7.51 inches across the state, or 2.67 inches above normal. The increased rainfall has led to improved streamflow and soil moisture conditions across the state, with the spring months of March, April, and May ranking among the top 10 wettest on record.

A portion of the state still remains under “abnormally dry” conditions, one category below drought conditions.

June through August normally sees an increase in water demand, so having a recharged hydrologic system is important as the summer season begins.