There was a fire in Burlington on Thursday evening that required the assistance of multiple fire departments. Preliminary reports suggest this fire started between 5pm and 6pm on November 16^th in the 200 Block of Barrett St in Burlington. At that time, West Burlington Fire Department, Mediapolis Fire, and Danville Fire responded to fight the flames.

Then, around 3 in the morning on Friday, the fire rekindled and required the Fire Departments to come back to the scene. KILJ will have more information on this later.

Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig announced on Thursday that a successful Water Quality Initiative (WQI) project in Lee, Henry, Van Buren, Des Moines, and Jefferson Counties is accelerating toward a new phase with an added focus on edge-of-field conservation practices.

Since the Lower Skunk River and Big Sugar Creek Partnership started 9 years ago, more than 54,000 acres of cover crops have been seeded in the project area and nearly 238,000 feet of terraces have been built. The next stage of this project will continue to emphasize the use of these conservation practices. However, the project will also now include an added focus on the installation of edge-of-field practices such as saturated buffers and bioreactors as well as nutrient reducing grade stabilization structures. These proven practices help to keep nutrients from entering our waterways.

“Accelerating our water quality progress requires us to continually do more, and that’s exactly what the next phase of this southeast Iowa water quality project is all about – more farmers and landowners, more partners, more practices, more technical and financial resources, and more Iowa acres and waterways positively impacted,” said Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig. “We make participating easy and accessible, so if you are a farmer or landowner in this area, we invite you to help us build upon our growing water quality momentum.”

Through the WQI, the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship is investing approximately $245,736 in the next phase of this project. Partners on the project include the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS), Iowa State University Extension and Outreach, Center for Rural Affairs, Mount Hamill Elevator, Chem Gro, Beck’s Seeds, Iowa Farm Bureau Federation, Iowa Pork Producers Association, Land Improvement Contractors of America (LICA), The Nature Conservancy, Pathfinders Resource Conservation and Development (RC&D), Practical Farmers of Iowa, Liquid Gro, Iowa Corn Growers Association, Henry County Soil and Water Conservation District, Jefferson County Soil and Water Conservation District, Lee County Soil and Water Conservation District, Des Moines County Soil and Water Conservation District and Van Buren County Soil and Water Conservation District.

Jeremy Goodale has been sentenced to life in prison with the chance of parole after a minimum 25 years behind bars.

Goodale plead guilty in April for the murder of Fairfield High School Spanish teacher, Nohema Graber, in November of 2021. Goodale and his friend, Willard Miller, decided to kill the Spanish teacher due to a bad grade given to Miller, who was attempting to spend a semester in Spain. Due to the bad grade, he was deemed ineligible. Miller was sentenced in July to life in prison and 35 years before the chance of parole.

Due to their age, neither of the two convicted of first degree murder were subject to mandatory life in prison without parole.

Two days of court proceedings led to the ultimate decision, that Goodale would spend his life in a cell. Revealed through trial, Goodale did agree to participate in the murder. He and Miller were lifelong friends, and he did not want to “disappoint” Miller by not helping him out. They were both just 16 years old at the time of the murder, in November of 2021.

It was argued that Goodale, although young, fully knew the difference between right and wrong. Several members of Nohema’s family believed that Goodale could have prevented the murder. There were many avenues to do that, such as alerting authorities, yet he chose not only to allow it to happen but participated in it. He was the last face that Nohema Graber saw, as he walked past her and said “hi”, the last words she would hear. Miller snuck up behind her during this interaction and struck her multiple times with a baseball bat.

Judge, Shawn Showers, believes that Goodale still has the chance to turn his life around. He believes that he showed remorse and regrets his actions. “Unlike your codefendant [Willard Miller] it is clear to me that you have regretted this role in the murder, and you’ve been remorseful.” The judge mentioned how Miller was much more “sinister” in his planning and execution. Others in the courtroom told Goodale that they will be praying for him.

Jeremy Goodale spoke in front of the courtroom, sobbing and at one point, bleeding so much through his nose that they had to put the hearing on pause. “Everyday I wish I could go back and stop myself, prevent this loss. Today as a young man, I can begin to pay for that.”

The son of Nohema Graber, Christian, told Goodale that he forgives him, and believes that his mother still loves and wants the best for his former student.

The Mt. Pleasant City Council met for a work session on Wednesday, November 15^th, where solid waste collection in the city was the topic on the table.

The City Council believes that the current system of trash pickup, with trash stickers, is a waste and is hurting more than it is helping. It was revealed that only 1/3^rd of residents in Mt. Pleasant use trash stickers, with the majority seeking the services of private companies. Due to this, the City Administrator has spoken with WEMIGA Waste and Lance Refuse to explore a route that would benefit the citizens of the city.

The City Administrator mentioned “we can’t continue to operate the way we operate.” The city is losing precious taxpayer dollars due to the current system, and the council believes that the private sector could better serve the people.

WEMIGA Waste and Lance Refuse were in attendance, able to answer any questions that came their way. The proposed plan is that both companies will work in conjunction, with WEMIGA servicing the north side of town and Lance Refuse servicing the south side. As part of this proposed contract, two containers would be offered to every household: a 65 gallon and a 95 gallon. The price would be $16 and $19.75 a month respectively. There would still be a utility fee as well.

A concerned citizen in the crowd charged the council with the question “why is garbage pickup [price] not based on usage?” Explaining that he believes it is unfair to charge the same price for a 65-gallon garbage can to a family of four versus a person who lives by themselves and doesn’t fill it up as often or as much. The city administrator battled back, commenting that there are over 4,000 households and switching to a system like that would require manpower that the city simply doesn’t have.

A proposed contract has been drawn up, yet both parties believe there is more discussion to have before moving forward.

It seems that they would like to resolve this issue by January 1^st and have answers for the public. Again, the discussion on Wednesday was regarding a proposed contract and is in no means final.

There have been multiple meetings over this issue, and there will be more. These are meetings that are open to the public. Please direct all questions to the Mt. Pleasant City Council.

The Southeast Iowa Narcotics Task Force has been working tirelessly for the past several months on an investigation involving the trafficking of narcotics at 1404 Lucas Ave in Burlington. On November 15^th, the hard work paid off, as a search warrant was obtained and executed at the residence. Once inside, officers found evidence of narcotic trafficking.

Two men were arrested as a result of the search warrant and investigation. Marcus Steele was placed under arrest and charged with Possession of Controlled Substance 1st Offense, a serious misdemeanor.

Emmanuel Davis was placed under arrest for Possession of Controlled Substance 3rd Offense a D Felony, as well as an Illinois Warrant for Delivery of Controlled Substance – Cocaine.

The Southeast Iowa Narcotics Task Force was assisted by the Burlington Police Department, Des Moines County Sheriff’s Office, West Burlington Police Department, Lee County Narcotics Task Force and the Henry County Sheriff’s Office.

All suspects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

Jeremy Goodale, 18, who plead guilty in April for the murder of Fairfield High School Spanish teacher, Nohema Graber, was sentenced to life in prison. The jury found him guilty on November 15th, 2o23. Goodale has the chance of parole after 25 years behind bars.

Both Goodale and Miller have now been sentenced to life in prison.