Please have items by the curb by 6am on your regular trash day.
DISPOSAL ITEMS MUST BE BAGGED/BOXED AND PLACED WITHIN 3 FEET OF THE ROADWAY/CURB ON YOUR REGULAR PICKUP DAY BY 6:00 AM
ITEMS ACCEPTED – Unwanted miscellaneous household bulk items that are simply otherwise too large for a cart. Volume is limited per household and cannot exceed a pickup bed truck volume.
ITEMS NOT ACCEPTED – Construction debris, dirt, stumps, railroad ties, wet paint, hazardous waste, automobile/mechanical parts, no appliances, no tires, nothing from businesses, etc.
Loose piles of trash thrown out at the curbside will NOT be picked up. The garbage collector will not rake or scoop up loose waste. Items MUST BE BAGGED OR BOXED.
APPLIANCES – Such as refrigerators, freezers, washers, dryers, stoves, water heaters, microwaves, air conditioners, furnaces, etc. for curb pickup must have a receipt from City Office, fee $15.00.
TVs – Televisions and computer monitors will NOT be picked up curbside and must be taken to the Des Moines County HazChem Center for disposal. There may be a fee required for disposal, please contact the HazChem in advance for costs/drop off times, 319-753-8758.
Mary Kay Lampe, 78, of Macon, Missouri, passed away on Sunday, March 30, 2025, at Samaritan Hospital in Macon.
Mary Kay was born on April 17, 1946, in Fort Madison, Iowa, the daughter of Maurice and Arlene (Sooy) Lampe.
She is survived by her three children: Christina (Jason) Rak of St. Peters, Missouri, Keith (Kristin) Lampe of Macon, Missouri, and Alex Lampe of Salt Lake City, Utah; five grandchildren: Korbin, Brayden, Madison, Kinsley, and Aubrey; six siblings: Mark Lampe, JoAnne Greubel, Wayne Lampe, Craig Lampe, Theresa Freeman, and Linda Wahlgren; cousin: David Spiekermeier; and other extended family members. She was preceded in death by her parents.
Mary Kay was raised in West Point, Iowa. As a young adult, she moved around the Midwest to Independence, Missouri and Macomb, Illinois before moving back to the West Point area. She later settled in Macon, Missouri while continuing to split her time between Macon and her family farm in Iowa. She worked as a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist at Samaritan Hospital in Macon and as a traveling CRNA at many hospitals throughout the country. She was involved with the American Heart Association serving as the regional president for the Macon area for a time. Mary Kay was an active member of the Catholic church and schools in both Iowa and Missouri. She was involved in the community: serving as the American Legion Auxiliary president in West Point, volunteering backstage with the local community theater in Macon, and visiting the senior center in Macon to play games with friends. She was enthusiastic about traveling, going on many regional tours in her later years. She had a multitude of hobbies including: crafting, quilting, shopping for unique items and bargains, and baking sugar cookies. Above all, she was a caring and providing mother and grandmother. She will be greatly missed.
A celebration of life visitation will be from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m., Wednesday, April 23, 2025, at the Hutton & McElwain Funeral Home in Macon, Missouri with a reception following at West Winery from 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.
Family will receive friends from 9:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. Thursday, May 8, 2025, at St. Mary of the Assumption Catholic Church in West Point, Iowa.
A Mass of Christian burial will be held at 10:30 a.m. on Thursday, May 8, 2025, at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in West Point, Iowa with Father Dan Dorau as celebrant.
Burial service at Calvary Cemetery in West Point with lunch following at the West Point American Legion.
In lieu of flowers, the family suggests memorials to the American Heart Association.
Schmitz Funeral Home of West Point is assisting the family with arrangements. Online condolences may be made to the family at www.schmitzfuneralhomes.com.
At 2pm this afternoon (05/02/25) A traffic accident was reported on Hwy 218 Northbound at the Winfield turn off (Hwy 78). HCSO, ISP, Winfield, Old, and Wayland Fire Departments, and HCHC EMS responded to this accident with injuries. Traffic was delayed on Hwy 218 North of Mt. Pleasant.
Wapello, IA- Wapello golf has been on a tear for both the boys’ and girls’ teams with the boys’ team having won their past three showdowns, while the girls’ team has put together six wins out of seven matchups after both teams picked up the win against WACO last night.
Girls’ Meet
The Arrows put together their third best score of the season in their 215-283 final. Emma Gerhardt continues to be the anchor for this squad as her 47 led the team. Emmalin Marshall has proved to be an excellent battery mate as she posted a 52.
Boys’ Meet
The Wapello boys’ team cruised to a 30-stroke win over the Warriors 179-209 behind Wyatt Marlette’s 43 led the squad. Barrett Garrison, who typically has turned in the best score of the bunch, finished with a 45, the third best score of the team as Carter Ball carded a 44.
Up Next
The next team matchup for Wapello will be May 9th at New London, while the WACO girls’ team will take on Burlington Notre Dame on the road on Monday, May 5th. However, the boys’ teams will meet back up on Wednesday, May 7th, for the Southeast Iowa Super Conference Tournament.
Donald Riley, 84, of Mt. Pleasant, died Monday, April 28, 2025 at New London Specialty Care in New London.
Cremation rites have been entrusted to the Kimzey Funeral Home, 213 North Main Street, Mount Pleasant. All other arrangements are pending at the Kimzey Funeral Home. On line condolences may be directed to www.kimzeyfh.com
Charles Lawrence Haffarnan, 67, was born in Henry County, Iowa, June 19, 1957 and died April 21, 2025, in Promise House, Hiawatha, Iowa, after 6 years of complications from a heart attack.
After H.S. graduation in Mount Pleasant, IA, Chuck served in the U.S. Army as a helicopter mechanic, including in Germany during Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm. He retired from active duty with the rank of Sergeant. He then served in the U.S. Army Reserve and National Guard for a total of 23 years.
Chuck worked at the Mount Pleasant Correctional Facility as a Correctional Trades Leader, including the supervision of employees and workers. He also worked at Ruan Trucking and Heatilator Fireplaces. Chuck could fix anything, including his beloved 2005 Harley Davidson Ultra Classic Electra Glide.
Work and fishing were his passions.
Chuck was preceded in death by his father, Lawrence Joseph Haffarnan, his mother, Helen Louise (Miller) Haffarnan, half-brother John Bennage, half-brother Jerry Joseph Haffarnan and brother Michael Joseph Haffarnan.
Chuck will be greatly missed by brother James William Haffarnan (Susan) and sister Carolyn Arthur (Alan), sisters-in-law Carol Bennage and Donna Haffarnan, nieces Joslyn Bryant (Dalton), Emmily Pfleiderer (Blake), and Chloe Marks (Cameron), nephews Travis Thatcher (Ann) and Ian Arthur (Jessica), and many grand nieces and nephews, friends, and co-workers.
Visitation is scheduled for Friday, May 9, 2025, from 9am to 5pm at Kimzey Funeral Home in Mount Pleasant, IA. A private family graveside service will be held at Forest Home Cemetery in Mt. Pleasant.
Those considering an expression of sympathy may, in lieu of flowers, direct memorials to the Brain Injury Alliance of Iowa, 201 Scott Court, Iowa City, IA, 52245 or the American Heart Association.
The sixteenth week of the legislative session has come to a close. Although May 2 is the last scheduled day of the 2025 legislative session, the Iowa Legislature still has much important work to finish. Therefore, we will be back again next week to work on budget compromises and wrap up other issues to finish out the year. As with every session, there will be some bills that will not come to completion this year, and those bills might possibly be brought back up again during next year’s session. Although our clerks will no longer be there to assist us with secretarial tasks , I anticipate that we will most likely be in Des Moines for at least a couple more weeks.
The Senate debated Monday and Tuesday this week. Bills that had already been passed by the House were sent to the governor’s desk for her signature and those that had only been passed by the Senate were sent over to the House for their consideration. The Appropriations Committee also met this week to discuss some important sections of the overall budget. Once passed out of committee, these budget pieces will then be brought before the entire Senate before being sent on for House approval. No Eminent Domain for Private Gain
One group of senators are totally committed to ensuring that the property rights of Iowans continue to be protected from eminent domain. For this reason, I along with eleven other Senate members have signed a pledge to vote against remaining budget bills until a vote is held on HF 639. This is the bill that addresses eminent domain associated with the carbon sequestration pipeline in Iowa. Our objective is to pass both HF 639 and HF 943. These bills complement each other and both contain language specifically preventing eminent domain for carbon dioxide pipelines. Both bills have already passed out of the House with votes of 85-10 and 82-12 respectively. It is our hope that the Senate can also come to agreement on this soon. Click below to see an article containing details about this pledge and the twelve Senators who are fighting for your rights.
PBM Reform to Protect Iowa Patients and Help Rural Pharmacies Across the State
For the past few years we’ve been hearing from our local, smaller pharmacies about the unregulated stronghold they were under due to Pharmacy Benefit Managers and asking for reform to this system that has caused many to close their doors. In the past years the legislature has passed legislation to start bringing more transparency to this complicated system and to help protect patients. This week the Senate passed Senate File 383, implementing additional protections for Iowa patients, cost-saving measures, and practices to help rural pharmacies.
Senate File 383 enacts a series of regulations on PBMs, including prohibiting them from restricting patients from using the pharmacy of their choice and from designating a prescription drug as a specialty drug to prevent or limit access to the drug by a patient. Under this legislation, PBMs also cannot require a patient to solely use a mail order pharmacy. This bill also ensures 100 percent of all rebates received by a PBM are passed on to the health carrier or the plan sponsor for the purpose of reducing premiums. Another major provision reforms current PBM reimbursement practices, which cause a pharmacy to operate at a loss when dispensing a prescription, by setting a dispensing fee be paid to certain retail pharmacies in Iowa. Lastly, this provides a platform for pharmacists and pharmacies to directly appeal any matter to the PBM to eliminate red tape in the system.
A majority of states across the country have implemented PBM reforms to help control costs for patients, ensure network access, and to help their local communities, especially in rural areas. The measures passed this week move Iowa in line with those states. SF 383 implements sound regulation on pharmacy benefit managers, while providing opportunities to support network adequacy, consumer choice, and provide further transparency on reimbursements and costs. This bill passed the Iowa Senate with a vote of 36-14 and has been sent on to the Iowa House for consideration.
Establishing a Specialty Court with a Focus on Business
We also passed Senate File 639 this week. I mentioned this bill in a previous newsletter, and its goal is to establish a business court in Iowa. This special court will be based on a pilot program that was initially begun in 2012, and has reported great success in a variety of districts across the state including our own District 7. We can attribute a large amount of the growth and success of Iowa to our local businesses that were started by Iowans to serve the needs of their communities, to people across the state, and even across the world. Therefore, we must continue to seek ways to encourage more and more businesses across the country to relocate from unsafe, high tax, overly regulated states like Illinois to the pro-growth, pro-jobs state of Iowa. As an employer-friendly state, it is important that we ensure a fair system to make Iowa more hospitable for potential investment or future business development. SF 639 intends to do just that. This bill establishes a business court for the purpose of resolving complex commercial and business litigation. Having a business court that is staffed by judges who have particular experience in business litigation and that is dedicated to those complicated issues, along with the pro-growth environment Republicans have created in Iowa, will help make our state even more attractive to business owners who are looking to find a competitive home to grow their business in. Having a Plan for Administering Seizure Rescue Medication at School
A bill to help students who may face seizures in school and ensure they have the support they need when it is the most crucial passed the Iowa Senate this week and is headed to the governor’s desk for signing. House File 835 will require a least one employee at each school be trained to administer or assist self-administration of seizure rescue medication during a time of need. This preparation reduces the risk of injury or harm to the student, ensures timely administration of emergency protocols, and creates an environment that is supportive of students with epilepsy or other seizure disorders. This bill also helps to alleviate the stress of parents, students, and staff who otherwise would not actively be able to administer potentially life-saving medication. This is a proactive measure we can set into place to ensure continued safety and security for Iowa’s students. The Importance of Conservative Budgeting
Senate Republicans announced this week a budget deal with Governor Reynolds, moving us one step closer to a budget agreement to close out the legislative session. The agreement is an overall budget of $9.417 billion, an increase of nearly $470 million or 5.25 percent from Fiscal Year 2025. This includes the $240 million increase in education funding, meeting the state’s Medicaid need, supporting our correctional officers, institutions, and troopers, and sustaining our commitments across state government.
A budget of $9.417 billion continues our conservative budgeting practices, remains sustainable for future years, and puts Iowa taxpayers first. This budget implements the policy that one-time spending means one-time spending. Senate Republicans understand that federal, one-time pandemic dollars cannot be sustained indefinitely by Iowa taxpayers. As hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars are returned to hard working Iowans this year due to fully implementing the 3.8 percent flat tax, our budget is built to keep Iowa on pace for new growth.
The first year Senate Republicans were in the majority, our first task was to pass a de-appropriations bill because the Democratic legislature had pushed spending too far. Since then, with careful, targeted spending, we have been able to pass multiple bills to put money back into the pockets of Iowans. We started bringing down the number of tax brackets Iowa had and lowered Iowa’s complicated 8.98 percent income tax rate to a simple, flat 3.8 percent income tax. We eliminated the inheritance tax, the tax on retirement income, and provided tax relief for small businesses. We reduced the corporate tax rate to keep Iowa competitive, and limited tax credits for special interests. All of these achievements have been possible with a consistent and unwavering commitment to responsible budgeting.
Charles Lawrence Haffarnan, 67, was born in Henry County, Iowa, June 19, 1957 and died April 21, 2025, in Promise House, Hiawatha, Iowa, after 6 years of complications from a heart attack.