Mt. Pleasant News

By Grace King, Mt. Pleasant News A two- to three-foot increase in elevation could be the difference between the flooded Water Works Campground and grounds that are able to be used well into the summer months.The Henry County Conservation Department campground, surveyed by French Reneker Associates Inc., will move from an elevation of 567 feet inland to an elevation of 569 to 570 feet cost dependent. This could ...

By Grace King, Mt. Pleasant News The Mt. Pleasant Community School District expelled two middle school students whose threatening remarks prompted investigations in May.The school board agreed to expel the students during two separate closed sessions to discuss what happened to prompt the conversation and the details of an expulsion consent agreement during the board meeting on Monday, June 11.The first ...

By Alma Gaul, Quad-City Times DAVENPORT ? As her father sat shackled in a courtroom chair, 2-year-old Frida played with a gold-colored rosary, climbing over the lap of her mother, who was quietly weeping.That was the scene Monday morning in Davenport's U.S. District Court, as Ricardo Macias Saucedo, one of 32 men arrested May 9 during an Immigration and Customs Enforcement raid in Mt. Pleasant, appeared before ...

By Grace King, Mt. Pleasant News Henry County is proactively preparing in case of disaster.Emergencies start local and end local, Emergency Management Coordinator Walt Jackson counseled during a Board of Health meeting on Tuesday, June 12.?The state and FEMA may come in, but they're going home,? Jackson said. ?We're the ones who have to live with everything in the end.?Jackson was invited to the Public ...

By Grace King, Mt. Pleasant News Henry County is on the map ? the flood plain map that is.Thanks to a grant from FEMA following the flood of 2008, Henry County was chosen to be mapped for flood risk by the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (Iowa DNR). While the preliminary map can be viewed online, it does not go into effect until the fall of 2019.?It's a good planning tool for us to keep people out of the ...

By Grace King, Mt. Pleasant News Just two weeks into summer, the Mt. Pleasant Community School District is focused on making improvements for the 2018-2019 school year.During the school board meeting on Monday, June 11, the board discussed progress on paving the Mapleleaf Athletic Complex parking lot, support for pickleball courts at the middle school and various improvement projects at the schools.If the ...

By John Butters, The Mt. Pleasant News SALEM ? For those who love the sound of traditional music, East Grove Farm provides a must-hear summer concert series.Its latest offering, a Saturday night gig for folk musicians, brought a large, enthusiastic crowd to the 1837 farmstead. Located a few miles outside of Salem, the festival attracts dedicated artists eager to share their talent and love for the music ...

By Gretchen Teske, Mt. Pleasant News The library isn't just for books, it's also for snakes, science and explosions; at least it was on Thursday. As part of the summer reading program, Jordan Walker of the Bluedorn Science Imaginarium in Waterloo brought science to life with his program, Mad Mix science.On Thursday, June 7, over 50 kids packed into a conference room in the Mt. Pleasant Public Library to watch ...

By Gretchen Teske, Mt. Pleasant News The Harlan-Lincoln House is seeking volunteers to keep its history in Mt. Pleasant alive. Director Anna Villareal says it's the volunteers who really keep the museum thriving.?When you are invested in your history, you are the best advocate for your history,? she says. Villareal thinks getting locals who know the history and are willing to tell the story helps to keep the ...

The ?libraries rock? summer reading program launched Monday, June 4 with free hot dogs, rock painting and games on the lawn outside of the Mt. Pleasant Public Library. Before engaging in some summer fun, students signed up for the program with their name, age, school and how many hours of reading they think they can complete this summer. Youth services librarian Rebekah Hosford expected over 100 students for the ...

By Grace King, Mt. Pleasant News John Pullis recalls standing in the parking lot of the Henry County Court House when an attorney approached him with the news that the Conservation Department was named as a beneficiary to a large estate.Pullis, the Executive Director of the department, said he first received a $5,000 check, and upon first thought considered it a sizable memorial from George and Imogene Nuding ...

By Grace King, Mt. Pleasant News Nuisance properties continue to plague the Salem City Council agenda.Years of discussion surrounding Dillon Haynes' property at 205 W. Van Buren St. in particular led Chris Feehan to plead with the council to make a plan.?I'm tired of looking at it every month,? Feehan said during the Salem City Council meeting on Wednesday, June 6.Feehan said she and council member Mary ...