Grace King

The City of Salem is adopting a new way to organize the books.At the prompting of city counselor Mary Hoyer, the Salem City Council approved switching from their current system to ClerkBooks to organize their finances during a meeting on Tuesday, Sept. 4.?It may not seem like we have the money, (but) we'll never figure out why we don't have the money unless we get our accounting system sorted out,? Hoyer ...

High school student Walfred Urizar is being ?financially adopted? by Iowa WINS after his father, Elmer Urizar, was deported to Guatemala earlier this month following his arrest by Immigration and Customs Enforcement in May.Elmer was one of 32 men arrested at their place of employment at MPC Enterprises on May 9. Since then, 24 have been released on bond while the others were deported back to their home countries....

Preparations for the upcoming Old Threshers Reunion -- just two weeks away on Aug. 30 to Sept. 3 -- are well underway. Marvin Johanson, president of Big Creek Tractor Club, will be driving five of his restored tractors to the grounds this Sunday. The tractors, a 1930 McCormick Farmall, a 1951 Farmall, a 1952 TO30 Ferguson, a 1954 Allis-Chalmers and a 1960 John Deere, have been proudly displayed on his front lawn ...

A new academic integrity policy is in place at Mt. Pleasant Community High School for the 2018-2019 school year after administration noted several instances of student cheating last year.The policy was approved by the school board during a meeting on Monday, Aug. 13. In the past, students were dealt with on a case-to-case basis if they were caught cheating. High school principal Todd Liechty wanted to change ...

Tick Ridge, a park in Wayland, will be back under the jurisdiction of the Conservation Department and made into a wildlife refuge.The 10-acre park, which sits between two gravel roads, was found no longer useful to the Conservation Department a decade ago. However, because of the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) Program the Conservation Department received for Tick Ridge in the 1970s, the land is in ...

The one-to-one technology program will be evaluated in the Mt. Pleasant Community School District this year.The School Improvement Advisory Committee (SIAC) suggested an assessment to determine if the district's one-to-one program is making a positive impact on student learning. The district spends approximately $250,000 for one-to-one technology devices.?It would be good to have an assessment like this as we ...

As temperatures once again creep into the 90s this week, the Fellowship Cup has options to help Henry County residents stay cool.Fans continues to be a hot-ticket item at the Quarter Maybe More Store at 112 N. Jefferson St. in Mt. Pleasant. Fellowship Cup Director Ken Brown said that the store is selling a lot of fans, with vouchers available through the Fellowship Cup for each household to get one fan per year ...

As the Midwest Old Threshers campground becomes a town of its own in the week leading up to the Old Threshers Reunion, John Reeves, with the Fairfield Kiwanis, feels like its mayor.For 30 years, Reeves has welcomed campers from near and far, veteran campers and new, to a relaxing week at the reunion. It's a place where strangers immediately become neighbors, friends and even as close as family.The atmosphere on ...

With the groundbreaking for the Henry County Law Enforcement Center imminent, the Henry County Board of Supervisors finalized yet more paperwork during their meeting on Tuesday, May 8.Supervisors Marc Lindeen and Greg Moeller approved two resolutions. The first appointed Bankers Trust Company, of Des Moines, as registrar and paying agent for over $8 million in loan notes for the jail.The second resolution ...

Awarding of construction contracts for the Henry County Law Enforcement Center was tabled Tuesday by Henry County Supervisors after they were served with a lawsuit by Prochaska and Associates, Inc., of Omaha, Neb., for an alleged breach of contract.Prochaska is suing the Board of Supervisors, the Law Enforcement Center contractor John Hansen (individually), and Midwest Construction Consultants for violating the ...

The Regional Utility Service Systems is continuing to work toward getting the ship up righted after they took over sanitarian services for Henry County when the previous sanitarian was terminated earlier this year.A part of ?straightening out the mess we've made? is reviewing permit applications for sewer systems, said Buzz Bezoni, chair of Board of Health during a meeting on Monday, April 9.Bruce Hudson, ...

The Henry County Conservation Department will be receiving some additional labor, free of charge, from inmates in the Mt. Pleasant Correctional Facility this spring.Department director John Pullis received a call from the Department of Corrections last week requesting projects inmates could take on in Henry County's parks and trails. So far, Pullis has supplied them with a list of 20 projects from clearing ...

Questions arose during the Board of Supervisors meeting Tuesday surrounding whether or not they have to include a city-mandated sidewalk in the construction bid of the jail project.Submitting a revised plan to supervisors that includes stipulations from the City of Mt. Pleasant, Construction Manager John Hansen said that originally, he was under the impression the city would cover half the cost of the sidewalk.T...

A proposal for a new housing development has prompted the city of Mt. Pleasant to review their ordinance regarding the City Code on Modular, Manufactured and Mobil Homes.During the Mt. Pleasant City Council meeting on Wednesday, Feb. 28, the council went through the first reading of the proposed amendments to the ordinance, which brings the city's ordinance up to date regarding these types of structures.Planning...

Ron Fuller was driving south on Iowa Ave. when a red car pulled out in front of his 2007 Dodge Ram at the corner of Harvest Dr.After colliding, both cars landed in the ditch. The front end of the red car was detached and sat against a telephone pole.There were three passengers in the red car, including two minors. The passengers said they didn't see the truck coming.Fuller leaned against the back end of his ...