There was a supposed case of arson this morning in Mount Pleasant. The Mt. Pleasant Police Department reports of a dispatch at approximately 4:53am on January 2^nd to a vehicle that was fully engulfed at N Harrison Street and E Madison St. Mt. Pleasant Fire Department responded and put the fire out.

The vehicle was totaled, and the investigation revealed that it had been intentionally set. This case is still under investigation and ongoing.

*If you have any information on this case, Please call the Police Department or you can always text-a-tip to 931-3667.*

Dr. Wendy Waszut-Barrett, founder and owner of Historic Stage Services LLC in Minneapolis, will spend a week in January at the Theatre Museum of Repertoire Americana in Mt. Pleasant, Iowa, where she will lead a group of volunteers in cataloging backdrops in the museum’s collection. The program will take place Monday, January 8-Friday, January 12, 2024, at the Theatre Museum on the Old Threshers grounds, and will culminate in a presentation to invited guests at 7 pm Friday evening. In addition, Dr. Waszut-Barrett will be available to meet with members of the press at noon each day. She is being hosted by the National Society for the Preservation of Tent, Folk and Repertoire Theatre.

The museum has an extensive collection of theatrical backdrops painted in the late 1800s and early 1900s, one of the largest such collections in existence in one place. According to Waszut-Barrett, the museum’s backdrops and flats are representative not only of the tent show and opera house experience but of a “shared aesthetic experience . . . a unifying element of American society” across the country  prior to World War I, and as such, they deserve not only to be stabilized but to be shared and to have their significance explained to a larger public whose interests overlap or coincide with those of the National Society for the Preservation of Tent, Folk and Repertoire Theatre: theatre and the arts, popular culture, community history including places and events where people gathered, and regional labor economics. During the 1920s, hundreds of companies employed thousands of actors to play to millions of viewers—more, combined, in each case than at the playhouses of America’s largest cities. Iowan Jesse Cox, whose worktable and samples of his work creating backdrops are on display in the Theatre Museum’s exhibit hall, went from playing accordion and bit parts in traveling companies to creating a paint and painting technique that led to the creation of a studio that produced thousands of theatrical backdrops that were sold across the country.

In the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, most communities, regardless of size, had an opera house for public events and entertainment, including performances by professional artists. During the summer months, many theatrical companies played under canvas because of the summer heat. In either context, they made use of canvas, and sometimes muslin, backdrops.

Waszut-Barrett is an expert in both the provenance and preservation of such artifacts. To read more, visit Drypigment.net: https://drypigment.net/.

For more information about the Theatre Museum or about the January program, including to volunteer or to arrange an interview with Dr. Waszut-Barrett, contact Dr. Monie Hayes at moniehayes@hotmail.com, or the Theatre Museum at theatremuseum@yahoo.net / 319-385-9432. The museum is located at 405 E. Thresher Rd., Mt. Pleasant, Iowa. [Below, one of the approximately century-old backdrops in the Theatre Museum.]

USDA Secretary and former Mt. Pleasant Mayor, Tom Vilsack will address the 2024 Iowa Renewable Fuels Summit on January 11, 2024. During the event, Vilsack will receive IRFA’s highest award. Attendance is free and open to the public.

“The IRFA Board is very excited that Secretary Vilsack can join the Summit,” said Iowa Renewable Fuels Association Marketing Director Lisa Coffelt. “As a state legislator, governor and now USDA secretary, Tom Vilsack has been an outstanding voice for farmers and the importance of biofuels to rural America. We are looking forward to hearing his vision for the future and for the chance to honor his many years of support.”

Nominated by President Joe Biden, Sec. Vilsack was confirmed as the 32^nd United States Secretary of Agriculture on Feb. 23, 2021 by the U.S. Senate. Vilsack was the longest-serving member of President Barack Obama’s original Cabinet. Prior to his appointment, he served two terms as the Governor of Iowa, served in the Iowa State Senate and as the mayor of Mt. Pleasant, Iowa. He received his bachelor’s degree from Hamilton College and his law degree from Albany Law School in New York.

The 2024 Iowa Renewable Fuels Summit will explore how to “Chart Our Course” for the future of biofuels. The summit will be held on January 11, 2024 in Altoona, Iowa. Attendance is free and open to the public, but registration is required. Register and find more information at IowaRenewableFuelsSummit.org.

At 11:10 am on December 30, 2023. The Burlington Fire Department responded to a report of a fully involved shed that was extending into the two-story house located at 1011 N 7th Burlington, IA. 52601. Burlington firefighters arrived four minutes later and located a fire coming from the rear of the residence.

1011 N 7th is owned by Pamela and Bruce Turner and contracted to Carla and Kenneth Wills. The Wills and other family members were home at the time of the incident, all residents, and several dogs made it out safely.

There were no working smoke or carbon monoxide alarms present.

The property was insured, and the property sustained approximately $20,000 in damages.

Five Burlington firefighters responded to the initial alarm. Burlington Fire Department was assisted by the West Burlington Fire Department, Burlington Police Department, Alliant Energy and Gas, and the American Red Cross.

There were no reported injuries by civilians or firefighters.

The fire has been ruled undetermined and is not considered suspicious.

###

At 11:46 am on December 29, 2023. The Burlington Fire Department responded to a report of flames coming from the kitchen ceiling located at 101 Melrose Ct. Burlington, IA. 52601. Burlington firefighters arrived four minutes later and located light smoke coming from the eaves of the residence.

101 Melrose Ct. is owned by Mrs. Lynn Young. Mrs. Young and other family members were home at the time of the incident, reported electrical issues just prior to the fire, and all residents made it out safely after attempting to extinguish the fire with a fire extinguisher.

There were no working smoke or carbon monoxide alarms present.

The property was insured, and the property sustained approximately $15,000 in damages.

Eleven Burlington firefighters responded to the initial alarm. Burlington Fire Department was assisted by West Burlington Fire Department, Burlington Police Department, Alliant Energy and Gas, and the American Red Cross.

There were no reported injuries by civilians or firefighters.

The fire has been ruled accidental due to faulty electrical wiring.