Whether you are an experienced driver of 30+ years, or this is your first winter as a teenage driver, driving during the winter can be intimidating and unnerving. Thankfully, with good preparation you can feel more at ease when you get behind the wheel even in the worst conditions. Here are just a few ways to help you arrive safely at your destination by getting ready beforehand.

First, prepare your vehicle. Make sure your tires have plenty of tread and are properly inflated. Tires lose air pressure when temperatures fall, and you never want to be stuck on the side of the road in the cold.

Check your windshield wipers and scrape snow and ice from the windshield to ensure good visibility. Also keep a scraper in an accessible spot. Turn on your headlights to help other driver’s see you better.

Next, prepare yourself and plan your route. Hills and valleys make it difficult to stop and start. Before you start your journey, plan the route you will take to avoid hills and valleys. Increase following distance. Give yourself more room to stop. Allow more time to reach your destination so you are not in a rush, add braking time when approaching stop signs or traffic signals, and be patient.

Always keep a heavy coat or blanket in your vehicle in the event of a bad storm. It’s never a great thing to be stuck on the side of the road, but at least you will be warm.

Accidents will still happen, but preparing yourself and your vehicle for winter driving decreases the chances that you will become a statistic.

Driving in the snow and ice is typically not enjoyable for anyone. Accidents tend to happen, cars get stuck, and frustration ensues. Thankfully, snowplows were created to clear the roads off all that is dangerous, allowing your daily commute to be stress-free. Snowplows need room to navigate and clear all that is in the way.

As an emergency plan, the City of New London has adopted a Snow Emergency Route. This allows the snowplows to get through the streets and quickly clear the way. If your vehicle is parked on the streets following, in the event of snow, freezing rain, or sleet, it will be towed at your expense.

Adams Street, Chestnut, Cleveland, Elm, Madison, Main, Pine, Thompson, Walnut.

A full copy of the ordinance is shown in the photos or can be found at https://www.newlondoniowa.org/code-of-ordinances

New London School Board were awarded the Team Achievement Award at the Iowa Association of School Boards Convention on November 16^th.

Great individuals make up a team, as Jesse Howard, Tasha Gipple, and Kyle Helmerson all earned the individual achievement award as well, which is presented to just 218 board members from 92 school boards in Iowa.

The awards are given each year to board members, board teams and superintendents/AEA chief administrators/community college presidents who are committed to improving their knowledge and skills by attending IASB-led learning events.

“This year, we have a record number of recipients for the Annual Board Awards program. In each of the three categories, the total number of recipients has nearly doubled from the previous year,” said Elizabeth Brennan, IASB Board President, “I am impressed with the high standard of service that these board members, superintendents/AEA chiefs, and board teams are setting for their peers across the state. They are modeling learning for students in their district, in addition to using that learning to improve education for those same students. Kudos!”

Individual Achievement Award certificates were presented to 218 board members from 92 PK-12 school boards, four area education agency boards and one community college board. Recipients completed a minimum of 15 hours of learning in one year.

Team Achievement Award plaques were presented to 30 school boards who had a majority of board members earn the Individual Achievement Award.

The Award of Honor certificates were presented to 29 superintendents and one AEA chief administrator who completed a minimum of 15 hours of learning in one year; and had at least two individual board members in the district, AEA or community college who earned Individual Achievement Awards.

See the full list of recipients here. Visit the Flickr album for photos with captions.

The new Mt. Pleasant Community School Board met for the first time in special session last night. During this organizational meeting, members were chosen for select committee’s and special positions.

Angie Blint was chosen by those around the table as the new school board presidents. Derek Mullin will serve as the vice president.

Finance committee meetings will be held on the first Friday of the month at 12:30pm, with the Site and Policy meeting on the first Thursday at 5:00pm. These meetings are held in the district office and are open to the public.

Representative Shipley, District 87, spoke in front of the new school board about what to expect from the new legislative session. Shipley noted that there are plenty of issues arising, and communication is key. He told the board that this next legislative session will focus on increasing teacher salary and streamlining teacher licensure, by reducing the limits it takes for a person to be “qualified” to fill in as a teacher.

Heads were turned in the room, as one board member stated that becoming a teacher is not an easy job, and not just everyone can do it. Mr. Henriksen, Superintendent, also spoke and provided a strong position on teacher wage increases. The proposed 3% increase is simply not enough, and teachers need a much higher rise in salary, according to Henriksen.

Only time will tell if teachers will receive the support they need. The legislative session begins in January, and Representative Shipley believes this is top priority.

Shortly before 6:00 AM this date, a burglary reportedly occurred at Horan’s Cabaret, at 1337 Avenue G. The owner stated that after she unlocked the establishment that morning, a male subject wearing a ski mask was encountered inside. He immediately fled, leaving with a substantial amount of cash taken from an ATM. Investigation revealed that entry was made through a secluded back door, and that the perpetrator was apparently inside a significant amount of time, evidenced by the effort taken to cut open the ATM with an angle grinder. The victim could only provide a preliminary clothing description, which included a puffy black ski jacket, silky looking black ski pants, and a black ski mask.

Officers attempted to locate the subject and canvassed the area for witnesses and surveillance video. A detective was called in to process the scene. It was noted that the circumstances bore similarities to the November 7th burglary at the Cottage Café, 5833 Avenue O, also involving the theft of cash from and ATM. The investigation continues to pursue various leads.

Again, assistance from the public is sought regarding information that may lead to the apprehension of the person responsible for this crime. Tips can be submitted anonymously to Lee County Crime Stoppers by calling: 319-376-1090, their website at: www.leecountytips.com , or via the P3 Mobile App, and may be eligible for a cash reward. Otherwise, information can be submitted directly to the Fort Madison Police Department via LeeComm (319)372-1310.

Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig commented on the Iowa Crop Progress and Condition Report released by the USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service. The report is released weekly April through November. Additionally, the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship provides a weather summary each week during this time.

“With this year’s strong harvest nearly complete and the snow beginning to fly, Iowa farmers are looking ahead to next year by considering input choices, conservation practices and marketing decisions,” said Secretary Naig. “Following three consecutive La Nina winters, this winter is expected to be impacted by a moderate to strong El Nino, which typically means warmer temperatures and more variability in precipitation. As we head into the 2024 growing season, replenishing soil moisture will be of utmost importance.”

The weekly report is also available on the USDA’s website at nass.usda.gov. This is the final Crop Progress and Condition Report of the season. Reports will resume in April 2024.

Crop Report
A relatively dry week with snow falling at the weekend resulted in 6.1 days suitable for fieldwork during the week ending November 26, 2023, according to the USDA, National Agricultural Statistics Service. Fieldwork activities started to slow down this week with reports of fertilizer and manure application wrapping up.

Topsoil moisture condition rated 22 percent very short, 45 percent short, 33 percent adequate and 0 percent surplus. Subsoil moisture condition rated 33 percent very short, 40 percent short, 26 percent adequate and 1 percent surplus.

Corn harvested for grain is virtually complete with farmers in the southern part of the State still running a few combines, 9 days ahead of the 5-year average.

Cattle grazing on stalk fields continued this week, while no reports were received regarding livestock conditions.

Weather Summary
Provided by Justin Glisan, Ph.D., State Climatologist, Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship

Unseasonably warm temperatures early in the reporting period were balanced out by a late-week cold snap that brought measurable snow across most of Iowa. Overall temperatures were generally near normal with the statewide average coming in at 31.9 degrees, 0.6 degree below normal. Several disturbances brought measurable precipitation, both rain and snow, to most of Iowa’s stations. Northwestern Iowa missed out on higher totals, receiving under 25 percent of normal weekly precipitation.

Light showers moved into western Iowa on Sunday (19th) afternoon as a large low-pressure center propagated from Oklahoma through Missouri. Winds shifted to an easterly direction as cloud cover increased with daytime temperatures in the upper 40s and low 50s. Rainy conditions continued through Monday (20th) as the disturbance pushed into Illinois with moderate showers spinning into eastern Iowa on the backside of the low. Event rain totals were highest in the state’s southwest and southeast corners as many northwestern stations missed out on measurable amounts. More than one-third of Iowa’s stations reported between 0.20 to 0.45 inch; Pacific Junction (Mills County) registered 0.51 inch while 0.60 inch was reported in Clarinda (Page County). Afternoon temperatures remained in the mid-40s as winds turned to the northeast. Overnight lows into Tuesday (21st) dropped into the low 30s northwest as a cold front swept southeast with winds shifting northwesterly. Cloudy conditions remained over eastern Iowa as wind speeds increased across the Upper Midwest; daytime highs varied from the low to mid 40s west to east, depending on where sunshine prevailed. Starry skies persisted into Wednesday (22nd) morning as temperatures dropped into the upper teens and low 20s. Afternoon temperatures rebounded under sunny conditions and strong southwesterly winds; stations in western Iowa observed highs approaching 60 degrees while temperatures on the eastern side were 15 to 20 degrees cooler.

A weak, fast-moving cold front moved through Iowa before daybreak on Thursday (23rd) with morning temperatures ranging from the mid-20s northwest to mid-30s southeast under cloudless skies. Blustery winds out of the north held daytime temperatures in the low 30s to low 40s north to south as sunny skies persisted. Single-digit temperatures were observed across northern Iowa on Friday (24th) with negative departures approaching 12 degrees; temperatures were in the 20s across the south with a statewide average low of 19 degrees, five degrees below normal. Cloud cover increased in southwestern Iowa as temperatures climbed into the upper 20s and low 30s. Iowans woke up to overcast skies and snowflakes in western Iowa on Saturday (25th) as another low-pressure center moved across the region. Snow showers spread over the state into the evening hours and continued overnight into Sunday (26th). Snow totals were highest in south-central and eastern Iowa while widespread one- to two-inch amounts were observed over Iowa’s southeastern two-thirds; Cedar Rapids (Linn County) measured 3.7 inches while Osceola (Clarke County) hit 4.0 inches. Low temperatures hovered in the mid to upper 20s over much of the state with upper teens in the southwest.

Weekly precipitation totals ranged from no accumulation at a few northwestern stations to 0.85 inch in Clarinda. The statewide weekly average precipitation was 0.33 inch, while the normal is 0.41 inch. Lamoni (Decatur County) reported the week’s high temperature of 63 degrees on the 19th, 14 degrees above normal. Estherville (Emmet County), Mason City Municipal Airport (Cerro Gordo County) and Swea City (Kossuth County) reported the week’s low temperature of nine degrees on the 24th, on average 11 degrees below normal.