The Henry County Supervisors met on Tuesday morning for a long meeting.

First on the agenda was Jake Hotchkiss, who presented the IDOT budget and the 5 year program.

With over 30 people in the room, and plenty more packed like sardines in the hallway, board chair Greg Moeller read the 1^st Reading of the Resolution #5-2024 Establishing a Temporary Moratorium on the Rezoning of Land to the Alternative Energy Overlay District.

This moratorium, if fully passed, will expire on Sunday, March 2^nd, 2025. It can be extended or terminated earlier depending upon satisfactory resolution of the issues laid out in the resolution.

It seems all three supervisors agreed that they would like the wind energy discussion to slow down, and believe this temporary moratorium will allow the Planning and Zoning Committee time to do what they need to do.

There will be a 2^nd and 3^rd reading for this, on March 28^th and April 2^nd respectively.

Below is a photo of the resolution…

The Mount Pleasant Community School Board met yesterday evening for a packed schedule. One board member was absent. Starting things off was a Public Hearing for the FY25 Certified Budget, which was largely spearheaded by Ed Chabal.

Contrary to previous years, there must be two public hearings, so unless you were one of the few in attendance last night, you’ll have another chance to listen on April 8^th.

Revealed during the public hearing, for FY25 the district is collecting over $260,000 less than the prior year. This is partly due to the fact that the district is currently in a good financial situation.

During the special session, the board discussed a contract with AFSCME, American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees. After a proposal was accepted by AFSCME on March 1^st, changes for FY25 are coming for paras, custodians, and maintenance. Para-educators will see a $1 raise, as well as seeing the para-education stipend increase from $0.50 to $0.70. Custodians and maintenance will also see a $1 an hour raise thanks to a step increase.

The 2024/2025 calendar has seemingly caused headaches, as the board and superintendent have tried to concoct the best schedule. State law requires school districts to begin no earlier than August 23^rd. As a result, the proposed first day of class will be a full day on Friday, August 23^rd. According to Superintendent John Henriksen, “everything else generally looks the same.” Christmas break will end on a Thursday, with students coming back for a full day on Friday, January 3^rd. This helps to make sure that the last day of school will be in May, which currently is set for Thursday, May 29^th. A full week of Spring break is during the week of March 17^th-21^st.

Henry County Public Health is making their immunization room more sensory friendly with grant funding from the University of Iowa Health Care. The first thing everyone will notice is an underwater themed mural painted on two of the walls by local painter Annie Guldberg. The colorful mural full of sea creatures should help distract all kids by giving them something fun to focus on. In addition, parents will now have the option to ask for sensory aids on the health questionnaire. So far options include dimming the lights, using a sound machine, weighted lap blankets, plush vibrating ball pillows, or fidget toys. The waiting room has also been enhanced with light filters and an activity table. More items will be added based on patient feedback and available funding.

“We know that getting shots can be scary for children, especially children with disabilities, so we hope these changes will help improve the overall experience,” states Kelly Carr, Community Outreach Coordinator.

Public Health is located at 106 E. Jackson Street in Mt. Pleasant and immunization clinics are held Tuesdays 9-11am, Wednesdays and Thursdays 1-4pm, and the 1^st and 3^rd Thursday 1-6pm.

This project is funded by a mini grant from the ON TRAC project of Iowa’s University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities (UCEDD). This project and these mini grants are funded by the Administration for Community Living’s (ACL) Community Based Transition Grants. If you have any questions call 319-385-0779, email publichealth@henrycountyiowa.us, or visit Facebook.com/HealthyHenryCounty.

The  Keokuk Community School District was awarded a $250,000 School Safety Improvement Grant from the Iowa Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management.

“I am pleased that we are able to upgrade our security cameras,” Dr. Kathy Dinger, KCSD superintendent, said. “Through this grant we will be able to add this additional level of security to our district for the safety of our students and parents.”

The Grant has been approved for $50,000 per school building and the district plans to use the funds for new security cameras for each building. To be awarded the grant, KCSD provided the scope of work, milestones and the budget, which was then approved by the Iowa Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management.

“It is important to continue to make improvements on our security measures for the safety of our schools,” Clint Wray, Keokuk School Board president, said. “Another improvement that we’ve made recently is through our agreements with local law enforcement that provides remote access to the KHS security cameras for the officers in case of an immediate concern or emergency.”

The funds come from the Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Fund (SLFRF) and is awarded by the U.S. Department of Treasury. Funding through this federal program is for minor capital improvements for security enhancements from the approved categories. 

PHOTO CAPTION: The door cameras are among the security cameras that will be updated within the scope of work that will be completed through the School Safety Improvement Grant.