Author: Yorke Prough

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Rock Island District, in collaboration with the Lee County Conservation Board, invites the public to attend an open house June 3 to learn more about an ecosystem restoration project planned in Lee County on the Mississippi River. The event will take place from 5:15-7:00 p.m. at the Lee County Conservation Center located at 2652 US-61 in Montrose, Iowa.

Pool 19 in Lee County, Iowa, has seen significant habitat degradation over time, resulting in diminished aquatic diversity. The ecosystem restoration project aims to restore island habitat and increase aquatic plant diversity.

Doors will open at 5:15 p.m. A team of subject matter experts will provide an overview of the plan proposed for the project at 6 p.m. and representatives will be on hand afterwards to answer questions and gather feedback from the community.

For more information visit: www.mvr.usace.army.mil, contact the USACE Rock Island District at (309) 794-5729 or email cemvr-cc@usace.army.mil.

The Burlington Fire Department was dispatched at 5:57pm for a report of a stove on fire at 920 Park Avenue, Burlington, on May 29^th. Firefighters arrived at 6:02pm to find smoke coming from the structure.

The single-story residence is owned by Ry Lardi LLC and operates as a rental. The rental unit was occupied by Barb Cannaday who was alerted by multiple smoke alarms.

The home was insured at the time of the incident with damages to the structure and contents being assessed at this time.

The Burlington Fire Department was assisted by Alliant Energy and Gas. The scene was turned over to the tenant at 7:30pm.

There were no civilian or firefighter injuries reported during this incident, and the cause of the fire is considered accidental.

The Henry County Supervisors met on Thursday morning for a packed schedule, which included an update from Sarah Berndt, the 3^rd Reading of EMS Essential Service, a road department update, and others.

The 3^rd and final reading for the consideration to approve the adoption of EMS as an essential county service was approved. David Muhs, CFO of Henry County Health Center, echoed a supervisor saying, “now the work begins.” Muhs ensured that once the final hurdle is cleared next week, he will be busy with meetings in attempts to inform the public about what they will be voting on come September. KILJ will be in attendance at these future meetings to inform the public.

During the update from Sarah Berndt, speaking about general assistance, an agreement was approved to continue their monthly support of the Fellowship Cup. This is a monthly sum of $500 which goes towards the Fellowship Cup for food.

Now that it’s summer, roads are more likely to close with the nice weather as construction can be completed. Jake Hotchkiss, county engineer, mentioned the closure of W55 from 282^nd St south to 300^th St as of yesterday. There is also a job opening for an office assistant, which you can find on their website. The deadline to apply is June 12^th.

Enid Mortland, a local resident who passed away at the beginning of 2023, was a local celebrity known for her exquisitely decorated and delicious cakes. Before she passed away, she requested that her memorial funds be used to purchase baking equipment for the MPCHS Culinary Arts program.

Recently, Culinary Arts students in Marjorie Beckman’s class at Mt. Pleasant High were able to use the new equipment that was purchased with Enid’s memorial funds. The equipment will be sure to help students as they continuing their journey in cooking and baking.

A report was made of a vehicle driving erratically in the 800 block of W Henry in Mount Pleasant on May 30^th, with the vehicle driving on people’s yards and over objects. The van was located and found to be stolen in the 400 block of N Van Buren St.

The juvenile suspect, 17 years old, was located after initially fleeing the scene on foot. They were taken into custody and transported to a juvenile detention facility.

The juvenile was charged with Theft 2^nd, and Criminal Mischief 2^nd. Additional charges are expected. If you suffered property damage through this incident, you are encouraged to give those estimates to the Police Department.

After numerous vehicle thefts in the past few weeks, the Mt. Pleasant Police Department wants to remind drivers to lock their vehicles and take their keys inside.

On May 23^rd, the Mt. Pleasant Police Department began to investigate a large theft of tools from the Midwest Precast Concrete Facility. It was determined that a male subject had been stealing numerous tools with a value of almost $14,000.

Subsequently, the subject identified as William Motta, age 29 of Mt. Pleasant, was located and found to be in possession of more stolen property valued at over $4000. Additionally, he was in possession of fraudulent documents for employment. A search warrant was conducted at his residence located at 417 N Adams St. in Mount Pleasant.

Motta was arrested and charged with Theft 2^nd, Theft 5^th, and Forgery. He was transported to the Henry County jail pending arraignment.