Join the Friends of the Harlan-Lincoln House for an Open House on Saturday, May 14, from 1 pm to 3 pm. During this event, guests will have the chance to view “The Women of the Harlan-Lincoln House,” a brand new exhibit showcasing the four generations of Harlan and Lincoln women who once called Mount Pleasant, Iowa, their home.

Along with the new exhibit, the Harlan-Lincoln House will have several new artifacts on display, including a signed Abraham Lincoln letter, a newly discovered James Harlan portrait, and the Harlan-Lincoln dollhouse.

This event is free and open to the public, and food and drinks will be provided! The Harlan-Lincoln House is located on the Iowa Wesleyan University campus. For more information, go to https://harlanlincolnhouse.org/events/

Iowa Wesleyan University: As Southeast Iowa’s regional comprehensive University, Iowa Wesleyan University is a transformational learning community whose passion is to educate, empower and inspire students to lead meaningful lives and careers.

The Mount Pleasant School Board met in regular session Monday night (May 9). May is School Board Recognition Month. Supt. John Henriksen took the opportunity to thank the Mt. Pleasant board and presented certificates of appreciation to Jennifer Crull, Angie Blint, Josh Maher, Willy Amos, Kevin Sandersfeld, Derek Mullin and Chuck Andrew.

Mullin reported to the rest of the board on his tour of the Kirkwood Career Academy in Washington County. Mullin liked what he saw and would like for Mount Pleasant to consider working with Southeastern Community College to establish a similar facility for Henry County Students.

Supt. Henriksen let the Board know that the final report from a recent traffic study at the High School site will be ready this week. He did say that if any facilities would be constructed at the site the entrance at Grand Avenue and Harvest drive would have to be improved and an additional drive would need to be constructed south from the student lot.

The Board voted to renew the district’s lease agreement for office space for another three years at a total yearly cost of $43,200.  That’s up from $42,960.

The district received four bids for phase one of the HVAC Retro Commissioning project.  Mr. Henriksen explains the work to be done…..HENRIKSEN. The bid was awarded to Brockway Mechanical and Roofing in the amount of $124,561 coming in right at the engineer’s estimate.  Federal ESSER funds will be used to pay for the project.

May 2 – 8, 2022

DES MOINES, Iowa (May 9, 2022) – Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig commented today on the Iowa Crop Progress and Condition Report released by the USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service. The report is released weekly April through November.

“A noticeable shift in the cool and wet weather pattern appears to have given farmers a much-needed window for planting this week,” said Secretary Naig. “In the days ahead, unseasonably hot temperatures and isolated chances of thunderstorms should allow farmers to make good progress.”

The weekly report is also available on the USDA’s website at nass.usda.gov.

Crop Report
The week began with rain and colder than normal temperatures, but Iowa farmers found the end of the week fair enough to resume planting row crops with 1.8 days suitable for fieldwork during the week ending May 8, 2022, according to the USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service. Fieldwork activities also included spraying, when windy conditions allowed, and spreading manure.

Topsoil moisture condition rated 1 percent very short, 9 percent short, 73 percent adequate and 17 percent surplus. Subsoil moisture condition rated 4 percent very short, 19 percent short, 67 percent adequate and 10 percent surplus.

Farmers made little progress last week, with just 14 percent of Iowa’s expected corn crop planted, at least two weeks behind both last year and the 5-year average. Seven percent of soybeans have been planted, 12 days behind last year and 11 days behind average. Seventy-two percent of the expected oat crop has been planted, 17 days behind last year and 11 days behind the 5-year average. Thirty-two percent of the oat crop has emerged, 12 days behind last year and 8 days behind normal.

The first hay condition rating of the season was 1 percent very poor, 5 percent poor, 36 percent fair, 51 percent good and 7 percent excellent. Pasture condition rated 43 percent good to excellent. Pasture and hay growth improved with slightly warmer temperatures. Livestock conditions were good, with calves growing well despite muddy feedlots and pastures.

Provided by Justin Glisan, Ph.D., State Climatologist, Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship

The stretch of unseasonably cold reporting periods continued through the first week of May with temperature departures ranging from four to eight degrees below normal across Iowa; the statewide average temperature was 51.3 degrees, 5.2 degrees below normal. Rain fell at all reporting stations with pockets of slightly above average totals in west-central and eastern Iowa, though the remainder of the state experienced below average totals of near an inch along the Iowa-Minnesota border.

Overcast skies continued through Sunday (1st) afternoon with a northwesterly wind shift into the evening hours. Daytime temperatures held in the upper 40s north to low 50s south with slightly warmer conditions in the southwest corner where skies were clearing. Light rain began pushing into southwestern Iowa just after 7:00 am on Monday (2nd) in advance of a large area of low pressure. Sunny skies were observed in eastern Iowa allowing afternoon highs to push into the upper 50s as thick clouds and rainfall held temperatures in the 40s over the rest of the state. The disturbance, along with pockets of moderate rainfall, continued to propagate through Iowa overnight into Tuesday (3rd) as the backside of the low held light showers in eastern Iowa. Overcast conditions persisted even as the low moved out of the region, accompanied by light northeasterly winds and highs in the 50s. Event rain totals varied from 0.50 to 0.75 inch across a broad swath of the state with only the northwest corner missing out; the statewide average rainfall was 0.65 inch with 25 stations measuring at least an inch. Breaks in the clouds began to form over northern Iowa during the late night hours with patchy fog reported just before sunrise of Wednesday (4th). Clear skies did not last long in western Iowa but held on in the east where upper 50s and low 60s were reported. An upper level disturbance brought light showers into western Iowa overnight into Thursday (5th) morning with totals generally between 0.10 and 0.25 inch, though heavier pockets were observed in the northwest; Remsen (Plymouth County) measured 0.40 inch.

Spotty showers remained across parts of southern and eastern Iowa with easterly winds and temperatures in the mid to upper 50s. Rain showers finally dissipated along the Iowa-Missouri border very early on Friday (6th) as skies cleared through the afternoon. Warmer conditions were present over the state’s western half with mid to upper 60s observed while eastern Iowa held in the low 60s. Saturday (7th) was the most pleasant day of the week with southerly winds, brilliant sunny skies and near-seasonal temperatures in the 70s; the statewide average high was 71 degrees, three degrees above normal. Clouds increased into the nighttime hours as another disturbance brought showers and thunderstorms into Iowa’s western half early Sunday (8th) morning. Totals reported at 7:00 am showed moderate rainfall in west-central to northwest Iowa and lesser amounts farther east; Sac City (Sac County) measured 0.63 inch while general totals were a few tenths of an inch at a majority of stations receiving rain.

Weekly precipitation totals ranged from 0.05 inch at Knoxville (Marion County) to 1.75 inches at Sac City. The statewide weekly average precipitation was 0.91 inch while the normal is 0.96 inch. Spencer Municipal Airport (Clay County) reported the week’s high temperature of 77 degrees on the 7th, 10 degrees above normal. Several northern stations reported the week’s low temperature of 29 degrees on the 4th, on average 13 degrees below normal. Four-inch soil temperatures were in the low 50s east to upper 50s west as of Sunday.

Warner Engineering has put out an update on the progress of the Oakbrook Street construction project in Mount Pleasant.  On Monday Kinney and Sons completed installing a new sanitary manhole. Today (Tuesday, May 10) crews will replace the storm intake on the west side of the cul da sac and on Wednesday will start removing concrete and drive-way approaches.

Hickey Contracting plans to start prepping for pouring concrete on May 16. Homeowners on the Oakbrook who need to can park on the vacant lot east of the Hassenfritz property as long as conditions remain dry.  If it does rain they will get those that they can back into their drives.  If crews are placing concrete in front of their house then those residents need to park out on Oakbrook Drive.

Weather permitting this project should move along fairly quickly according to Warner Engineering. If anyone has questions or concerns you may call Mount Pleasant Public Works Department or Warner Engineering at 39-385-4180 ext 103.