Mount Pleasant School District Superintendent John Henriksen has shared the first version of the five phase timeline for moving Harlan, Lincoln and Van Allen Elementary buildings to a grade-alike configuration. Planning will take place between now and September 1 of 2024. The Superintendent is meeting with the elementary principals today, Thursday, 4-13-2023 to add more exact dates to the action items in each phase. Between now and June 30 they hope to assign grade levels to buildings and determine any needed construction or remodeling. Other action items during this first phase include assign principals, first pass at transportation logistics, and having a discussion on technology needs. In June the placements and schedules for the school counselors, title reading and math interventionists and the teachers for music, PE and art will be tentatively decided. Phase 2 will deal with packing dates and food service. Phase 3 focus is section numbers and room assignments, special education teacher assignments, moving logistics and calendar creation. Phase 4 from February 1 to May 31 will be the time for meetings with future building leaders and staff, special education decisions and in May teachers will begin packing. Of course, the final phase in the summer of 2024 is the actual move and then the implementation and adjustments.
Mt. Pleasant Begins Search for New Volleyball Coach
Mt. Pleasant, IA- The Mt. Pleasant school board has approved the resignation of Panther’s head volleyball coach David Streeter.
Streeter was at the helm for back-to-back conference championship runs in 2020 and 2021 as he accumulated a 35-32 record over the two year span.
Last year’s squad was led by All-SEC 1st team senior setter Tristian Shull and honorable mentions Andrea Lopreato and Addison Clark. The season’s crescendo appeared in the first round of the playoffs against conference foe, Burlington. In a 5-set thriller, The Panthers won the final set 15-7 to stop a 5-game skid against the Grayhounds.
Coach Streeter had a simple message at the end of the season for his team,
“I’m proud of these girls, the way they finished.”
The Panthers will be graduating five seniors as they look to improve on their 9-27 season.
New MP School Board Director District Alignment
Following the approval of the Mount Pleasant School Board this week, there is a new alignment for district representation. The 2020 Census results led to a slight change in director district boundaries but also gave the Board the choice to make changes to the composition of the Board. It was decided to continue with seven Board members. However, the Board just approved a resolution to change from five individual director districts and two at-large districts to three at large districts and two director districts each represented by two directors. Josh Maher, and Jennifer Crull will remain at-large. District 3 will no longer exist and the director, Angie Blint, will take the newly created third at-large seat. Chuck Andrew and Melinda Huisinga will now represent Director 1. Derek Mullin and Kevin Sandersfeld will be the two directors representing District 2.
From the Mount Pleasant City Council Meeting
The Mount Pleasant City Council passed the fiscal year 2024 budget at the regular meeting held Wednesday. The tax asking will be $12.55 per $1,000 of taxable valuation.
The first reading of an amendment to the Ordinance code increasing the cost of the Recycling/Hazchem center fee that the City is charged by Des Moines County Regional Solid Waste Commission. The increase would be ten cents from $4.15 to $4.25 cents beginning July 1.
Several contracts were approved…Johnson Controls will continue to provide technical support for the Library/Civic Center HVAC system. The Air Advantage contract for management of the Municipal airport was approved for another year and the agreement with the Mount Pleasant Benefitted District was renewed for another two years.
Dustin Thomas was appointed to the fire department as a fire fighter on the recommendation of Chief Drew Schumacher.
The Council approved the site plan for Whaley Auto Works at 915 West Washington.
Red Flag Warning Continues
The National Weather Service Red Flag Warning continues until 8 pm Thursday, 4-13-23. This warning is for Eastern Iowa, Northwest Illinois, and Northeast Missouri. Several conditions exist that are creating this extreme fire weather danger…strong southwest winds gusting 25 to 35 miles per hour, unusually warm temperatures, very low relative humidity levels and dry vegetation. Avoid outdoor burning, as well as any other activities with open flames or sparks, don’t use vehicles or equipment on dry grass.
IF YOU FEEL DIFFERENT, YOU DRIVE DIFFERENT ‘420’ ENFORCEMENT
DES MOINES, IA — Marijuana laws are changing across the country. What hasn’t changed are the legalities behind impaired driving. In Iowa, recreational consumption and possession of cannabis is illegal. On April 20, also known as ‘420’, there may be an increase in cannabis consumption. To help keep drug-impaired drivers off the road, the Iowa Governor’s Traffic Safety Bureau is partnering with law enforcement to remind drivers; drug-impaired driving is dangerous and illegal. If You Feel Different, You Drive Different.
In Iowa, from 2020-2022, preliminary data shows 36% of impaired driving fatalities involved drug use. If you think being high won’t affect your driving, you’re wrong. It has been proven marijuana can slow reaction times, impair cognitive performance, and make it more difficult for drivers to stay in their lane.
GTSB’s Todd Olmstead, coordinator for Iowa’s Drug Recognition Expert (DRE) Program, says, “High, stoned, or wasted: it doesn’t matter what term you use, if you are impaired, do not get behind the wheel. Our DRE Experts assist local law enforcement in the detection of drug-impaired drivers. If you think you can get away with driving high, you’re mistaken.”
Those who plan to consume cannabis on ‘420’ (or any day) should not drive. If you find yourself drug-impaired and stranded with your vehicle, give your keys to a sober driver. If you have a friend who is about to drive high, take the keys and help them get home safely.
By working together, we can save lives and help keep Iowa’s roads safe.
Sports, April 13th
High School Track and Field
The girls teams of WACO and Danville will compete at the Winfield Girls Invite tonight.
The New London girls team will compete in the Horton Relays today.
The boys and girls teams of Mt. Pleasant, and Central Lee, while the boys teams of WACO, Danville, New London and Winfield-Mt. Union will be competing in the Denny White Relays tonight.
High School Soccer
The Mt. Pleasant girls team will travel to take on Burlington today.
The Mt. Pleasant boys team will face off against Burlington at home tonight.
The WACO boys team will host Mediapolis tonight.
The Central Lee girls team will look to get back in the win column tomorrow, April 14th, against West Branch.
The Central Lee boys team will look for their first win of the season against Highland tonight at home.
High School Golf
Winfield-Mt. Union will be facing off against Wapello this afternoon.
The New London boys and girls will compete in the English Valleys Invitational tomorrow, April 14th.
The Mt. Pleasant boys team will host while the girls team will travel to compete at Keokuk today.
The Central Lee boys team will compete in the Lee County Invite tomorrow.
High School Tennis
The Mt. Pleasant girls team will host Burlington tonight.
The Mt. Pleasant boys team will take on Maharishi at home on April 18th.
Southeast Iowa Playbook
Blaise Porter and Kade Benjamin joined us for the first episode of the Southeast Iowa Playbook last night and they talked about their favorite memory from playing at New London.
“Kinda hard, obviously, getting to state that was awesome, but I think the best moment I had was being on the floor when we beat WACO freshman year,” said Porter. “I think they were ranked #2 or something like that and we beat them. I think it was a semifinal game, we were definitely supposed to lose that game. I think we were predicted to lose by like 15 or something like that, but you know we came in and we really shocked everybody that game. So, that was probably my favorite moment.”
Benjamin’s favorite moment came during their run to the state tournament,
“My favorite moment definitely has to be the substate game from this past year. I don’t know, the energy in the gym was just crazy and we finally made it to state like we were supposed to, we finally did what we were supposed to. So, it’s just a great feeling. So, that’s definitely my favorite memory.”
Iowa Wesleyan Athletics
The Tiger softball team will face off against Clarke University today in a make-up game with game one at 2 pm.
The Tiger baseball team will be back in action on April 18th against Culver-Stockton College with game one at 3 pm.
The outdoor track and field teams are competing at the Cornell Invitational on April 15th. Logan Lucas will be joining us on Tiger Nation this morning at 9 am.
This Day in Sports History
1940 – American athlete Cornelius “Dutch” Warmerdam, using a bamboo pole, becomes 1st man to pole vault 15 ft, at University of California, Berkeley.
1986 – The Boston Celtics ended the season with an NBA record 40-1 home win record.
2003 – 67th US Masters Tournament, Augusta National GC: Mike Weir wins his only major title in a 1-hole playoff over Len Mattiace; only Canadian to win the Masters and first left-handed Masters champion.