Whitney Howell has accepted the position as ISU Extension and Outreach Regional Director.  She was hired after long-time Region 27 Director Janet Smith became Director of Field Operations for Extension. Whitney currently serves as the Louisa County Director and was formerly a 4H County Youth Coordinator. Her first day in the regional position will be May 1.

The Ultimate Warrior Pageant will be held Saturday, April 22nd, at 7 p.m. in the WACO High School gymnasium. 

Come for an evening of entertainment as some of WACO’s finest young men represent school activities in categories of teamwear, talent, and style & wit.  During intermission, there will also be a chance for the audience to vote with cash donations for the “people’s choice” pageant contestant.  Admission is $5 per person.  All funds raised support WACO activities.

Do you like dessert?  Do you want to support students in WACO HS Extracurricular Activities?  

Come to the Ultimate Warrior Pageant this Saturday. Bidding begins before the show and concludes at the end of intermission. Winners will be announced before the end of the show.  Desserts can be taken home with winners that night!

Apple Pie

Chocolate Peanut Butter Lasagna

Coconut Creme Pie

Decorated Sugar Cookies

Fresh Strawberry Pie

German Chocolate Cake

Lemon Meringue Pie

Turtle Cheesecake

On April 17th, 2023, at approximately 4:05PM, the Henry County Sheriff’s Office was notified of a single vehicle accident with injury. Having occurred in the 3100-grid of Lexington Avenue in the rural Mount Pleasant area.

Upon arrival and investigation, it was determined Jeremy Bitting of Mount Pleasant lost control of the motorcycle he was operating. Bitting was severely injured and transported from the scene.

Incident citations were later issued to the driver. Which included Failure to Maintain Control and Motorcycle License Violations. A state accident report was also completed for this motor vehicle accident.

The Henry County Sheriff’s Office was assisted with this incident by the Iowa State Patrol, Henry County EMS, and Mount Pleasant first responders.

Local community initiative takes important step towards opening animal shelter doors. Mount Pleasant, Iowa, April 19th. All God’s Creatures (AGC), a non-profit organization looking to connect the hands and paws of Henry County to build a happier, healthier community has hit an important and exciting milestone in their development. After an extensive search and interview process, the Executive Board recently selected Emily Davis to fill the essential role of Executive Director. Davis will join the team in early May and will work alongside the Board in coming months to solidify plans for both the animal shelter facility and the community programming components. When the shelter opens its doors and is fully operational, the Executive Director will lead a group of staff and volunteers to ensure that all facets of this project run smoothly and successfully. “Our Board has been working tirelessly to ensure that this vision comes to life in the most successful and sustainable way possible. We knew that hiring a full-time, paid Director would be essential to our success and we are all so excited to add Emily to our team. Her knowledge, experience, excitement and drive are going to be invaluable assets to our organization.” -Kate Ridinger, AGC Board Member
AGC encourages you to follow along with their progress, including an upcoming, extended introduction to their Executive Director by signing up for their newsletter at www.allgodscreaturesmp.org and following their Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/ AllGodsCreaturesMP.

A New London man was sentenced on Tuesday, April 11, 2023, to 24 months in prison for embezzlement and theft of labor union assets.
According to court records, James Darin Boatman, 53, the former president of the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 617 Union, embezzled and stole union funds for his personal use. UFCW Local 617 members include production workers and skilled trade
workers at the Conagra plant located in Fort Madison. Investigation revealed that Boatman, the president of the Union from 2010 until 2019, set up a credit card in the Union’s name, without authorization, and from at least May 2017 to August 2019 used the card for personal expenses,
including vacations to Florida, large repairs on his personal vehicle, and to pay for attorney representation for an unrelated matter. Additionally, Boatman wrote checks from the Union funds to cover personal expenses and to pay himself for unauthorized lost time for periods of time Boatman claimed he was conducting Union business. Boatman pled guilty and agreed to pay $74,231.34 in restitution to the Union. Following his prison term, Boatman was ordered to serve three years of supervised release. There is no parole in the federal system. United States Attorney Richard D. Westphal of the Southern District of Iowa made the announcement. The United States Department of Labor and Office of Labor-Management Standards investigated the case.