On January 7, 2022, Kenneth James, 41, of Coralville, Iowa, was shot as he was sitting in
his car in a parking lot in the 600 block of West Adams Street in Washington, Iowa.
As a result of the investigation law enforcement learned Jaden Miller, 17, of Columbus
Junction and Mya Wright, 19, of Iowa City conspired to commit a robbery against James
after inviting James to Washington for a drug deal. During the course of the attempted
robbery, Miller shot James one time in the torso.
Both Wright and Miller were arrested on Thursday, January 27, and face charges of
Attempt to Commit Murder and Robbery First Degree. Both charges are Class B Felonies
and may be punishable by up to 25 years in prison on each charge. Both remain in
custody on $500,000 cash only bond.
The investigation continues and additional charges are possible.
The Washington Police Department and the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation
were assisted in the investigation by the Washington County Sheriff’s Office,
Washington County Attorney’s Office, and the Columbus Junction Police Department.

NOTE: A criminal charge is merely an accusation, and the person charged is presumed
innocent until and unless proven guilty in court.

The Mount Pleasant High School Show Choir InMotion will get their first taste of competition this Saturday at The Big Dance Invitational at Davenport North High School. InMotion will be among 17 groups attending and is scheduled to perform at 12:15 pm.  The competition begins at 9:00 am, with the top six ensembles from the daytime round performing again in the finals that begin at 8:15 pm.

On February 5 InMotion will be hosting 19 groups coming to Mount Pleasant for the “Music in Motion” Invitational.

The Henry County Board of Supervisors received a letter from Mike Prottsman announcing that March 26, 2022 will be the last day his company, Prottsman Sanitation, will handle collection of rural residents’ trash.  Supervisor Marc Lindeen said Thursday morning the County will be sending out Request for Proposal in order to find another company to take over management of county refuse and recycling. Lindeen also said the Supervisors don’t know how long it will take to replace the services provided by Prottsman for approximately the last 10 year. He warns there may be a brief period of time when trash and recycling services are unavailable.

Winfield Mt. Union is experiencing an issue with the HVAC system. The current issue affects the middle floor on the east side of the building. The district continues to work on fixing the issue. Please make sure students dress warmly for school on Friday. Classes in rooms that are too cold have been relocated in the building and instruction continues. The district will provide updates.

In the interest of keeping Henry County residents informed, the Henry County Sheriff’s office has requested KILJ post the daily jail count. During the jail referendum campaign it was publicized that the jail would be able to house additional inmates from surrounding counties and this would generate revenue for Henry County.

Date: ____1-27-2022_____

JAIL COUNT

28_ Henry County Inmates

56_ Out of County Contract Inmates

84 TOTAL

CASES CONTINUE TO RISE

14-day positivity rate for individuals tested: 39.2%

14-day positivity rate for tests taken (includes duplicate tests): 20.5%

# of cases last 3 days: 48

# of cases last 7 days: 201

# of cases last 14 days: 452

These numbers do not include home tests taken. Please keep practicing safety measures to help slow the spread!

52.2% of residents are fully vaccinated

50% of those have received booster doses

More than 240 million people in the U.S. have received at least 1 dose. Getting vaccinated and boosted is proven to be effective and is your best protection against hospitalization and death! Henry County Public Health is offering walk-in clinics Wednesdays 1-3:30 and Thursdays 9-3:30 with Moderna, Pfizer, and J&J. Anyone age 5 and older is eligible for the vaccine. Find more information at healthyhenrycounty.org/covid or call us at 319-385-0779.