You may want to start your commute a little early as Saunders St. from Broadway to Adams will be closed for construction starting today. This will be for the construction of storm sewers and replacement of paving.

The intersection of Main Street with Saunders will be completely closed.  No traffic will be possible through that intersection.

Access to Main St. north of Saunders will only be possible from Main St. north of the Railroad.  Traffic on Main St. will be directed onto W. Franklin St. a block north of the Railroad.  Only local traffic needing access to the residences between the Railroad and Saunders should cross the Railroad.

The project is to replace the paving on Saunders St. from Broadway to Adams in the next few weeks this Fall.

Your patience with this interruption of traffic on Saunders and the Main St. intersection will be appreciated while we complete this street improvement for the community.

Lee County Economic Development Group received a 2024 Excellence in Economic Development Gold Award from the International Economic Development Council (IEDC). Lee County EDG was named the economic development organization of the year in the 25,000 – 200,000 population categories.

“Lee County Economic Development Group is setting the standard of excellence for economic development with its organizational excellence. This award highlights Lee County EDG’s commitment to its community and demonstrates the transformative impact of economic development,” said Nathan Ohle, IEDC President, and CEO, “It is with great pride that IEDC presents this award to Lee County Economic Development Group, celebrating their leadership and innovation in the field of economic development.”

Lee County Economic Development Group received a 2024 Excellence in Economic Development Silver Award for innovative financing for the Lee County fiber project from the International Economic Development Council (IEDC) in the 25,000 – 200,000 population categories

The Lee County Fiber Project is a unique coalition led by Southeast Iowa Regional Planning. Key partners include the Lee County Economic Development Group, Southeast Iowa Regional and Economic Port Authority, the Lee County Board of Supervisors, and Danville Telecom. The  $5.4 million project will create a 14-mile fiber backbone, including a redundant fiber loop. TheLee County Fiber project will serve 134 previously unserved Lee County addresses. There dundant fiber ring has helped make another $20 million of outside investment possible to serve another 1500 or more Lee County addresses with fiber.

Every year, IEDC looks specifically for economic development organizations, government entities, initiatives, and programs that have demonstrated consistent, exemplary performance in the economic development profession, leading the execution of projects that have a significant impact on revitalizing communities and playing a major role in shaping and improving the practice of economic development.

The Henry County Board of Supervisors met on Thursday morning for their regular weekly meeting. The county engineer, Jake Hotchkiss, provided an update on the state of our county roads. The project at Franklin Avenue (W55) is moving “very well” right now according to Hotchkiss, and he asks that the public continue to avoid that area while crews are working. Currently, it is closed from 285^th St south to 300^th St. Hotchkiss appreciates the publics patience on these continued projects.

Caleb Waters chimed in with his monthly update for the conservation department. The dump station was a major talking point, as frustrations from Caleb were shared.  Initially, the conservation department was hoping to put in a new tank system, but after being told they could not go that route, spent just shy of $30,000 to hire an engineering firm. This allowed them to assess the situation and analyze the available routes. Now, they are looking into purchasing 8 large tanks which would be dispersed across two dump sites. They are working with Fairfield Precast and sharing rough information on the project. Unfortunately, the honor system of “pay to dump” was not working, and the rates of camping will have to go up.

A representative with The Daughters of the American Revolution shared a presentation and asked the board for permission to set up in the lobby of the courthouse on September 20^th. They will hand out united states flags and share information on the constitution. This coincides with Constitution Week, which is September 17^th-23^rd. Their goal it to bring awareness to the constitution and to share the importance of it.

Joe Buffington, Planning and Zoning Commission, gave his monthly update and mentioned the Planning and Zoning meeting which is scheduled for next Tuesday evening. The citizens in attendance at the supervisors meeting were very interested and asked multiple questions during the public comment section. The public was assured that there will be a PA system set up at that meeting, which will allow for those in the rotunda to hear. Supervisor board chair, Greg Moeller, said it was his understanding that those who sign up to speak at the meeting can float the remainder of their time to other individuals, if they choose to do so. The chair has control of the meeting, and the supervisors stated that the public needs to follow their rules. One citizen stated that he doesn’t need a filibuster, but he needs to be able to speak his peace at this upcoming meeting. This will be held in the Henry County courthouse courtroom at 6:00pm Tuesday, September 17^th.

On September 10, 2024, at approximately 8:37p.m. Des Moines County Sheriff’s deputies attempted to stop a vehicle for a moving violation near Division St. and Roosevelt. The vehicle pulled over and the driver ran from the vehicle. After a short foot pursuit, the driver was detained and identified as William Charles Cardoni, age 37, of Burlington, IA. Cardoni was found in possession of a drug pipe. During the foot pursuit a deputy sustained minor injuries to his leg.

A driver’s license check showed Cardoni has no driver’s license, and he had two out of county arrest warrants. Cardoni was placed under arrest for making an improper turn, no valid driver’s license, interference with official acts causing bodily injury, possession of drug paraphernalia, and the arrest warrants. He was transported to the Des Moines County Correctional Center. Cardoni was searched at the jail and methamphetamine was located inside of his sock. Cardoni was charged additionally with possession of a controlled substance methamphetamine and possessing contraband within a correctional institution.

There was a situation at Lincoln Elementary yesterday morning involving an empty ammo magazine, thankfully it was resolved quickly. Just after 8:00am on Thursday morning, an unloaded ammunition magazine was found in the backpack of a student at Lincoln Elementary.

That student was brought to the office and the school resource officer, Brad Gillis, was promptly notified. Thankfully, through investigation it was determined that the student had no ill intentions, but rather thought it might make for a nice show and tell item to their friends.

The Mt. Pleasant Chief of Police, Lyle Murray, believes it was handled appropriately by the school and the officer involved. There will be no charges placed on anyone. The school district would like to thank the para-educators and the school resource officer for their quick attention into this matter.

Annual Volunteer Day is right around the corner and if you’ve been looking for a way to get your feet wet, the Iowa DNR has the job for you. Iowans are invited to lend a hand at state parks and forests on Saturday, September 28^th. Join park staff to help care for Iowa’s natural areas, freshen up campgrounds and facilities, and spend time outdoors.

Clean-up efforts will be unique for each park depending on needs, and may include litter pick-up, staining or painting buildings, removing invasive species, rebuilding picnic tables, harvesting prairie seeds and more. In our area, Geode State Park, Lacey-Keosauqua, and Lake Darling are all participating.

Citizens interested in volunteering can find complete details on times, meeting locations, and activities, at www.iowadnr.gov/volunteer

As of Wednesday, the price of regular unleaded gasoline averaged $3.06 across Iowa according to AAA.

Prices fell 5 cents from last week’s price and are down 88 cents from a year ago. The national average on Wednesday was $3.25, down 7 cents from last week’s price.

Retail diesel prices in Iowa fell 5 cents this week with a statewide average of $3.39. One year ago, diesel prices averaged $4.26 in Iowa. The current Iowa diesel price is 26 cents lower than the national average of $3.65.

Natural gas prices rose 13 cents at the Henry Hub reporting site and are currently priced at $2.32/MMbtu.

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

The Mt. Pleasant City Council met on Wednesday evening for a regular meeting. The 3^rd reading of the ordinance appealing and replacing certain sections regarding animal control was approved. This new language removes the city council and police chief from the appeal process of a dangerous animal distinction. The mayor asked the Chief of Police, Lyle Murray, if any officer can write a ticket for an animal, to which he replied yes. However, they usually pass the distinction to the community service officer. Murray stated that he does not want to see anyone put their dog down and mentioned that there are plenty of other options first.

During the public forum, Police Chief Murray brought up the situation from last week which saw a Mt. Pleasant Police Officer fired upon. He said that it was a bad situation, but could have been much worse. He was thankful that no one was hurt on their end and encouraged the council members to thank the officers in our community for their work.

Councilmember Griffith, who is also involved with county elections, commented on the recent special election. With over 1000 absentee ballots submitted, these numbers were nearly historic. The general election is on November 5^th.