Mt. Pleasant News

By Grace King, Mt. Pleasant News Supervisor Marc Lindeen wants the county to consider moving up the transition of Public Health to county operations by Jan. 1, 2018, rather than waiting until the end of the fiscal year on June 30, 2018.Public Health currently resides under the Henry County Health Center (HCHC) umbrella, a relationship they have held for 30 years. Because of financial hardship, HCHC is ending ...

Mt. Pleasant's Central Park becomes a little more festive each day. Although the holiday lights won't be turned on until after Thanksgiving, decorations have been placed along the fountain and street lights, ready to dazzle Mt. Pleasant residents.

By Grace King, Mt. Pleasant News As families plan Thanksgiving in their homes this year, Alicia Lemon was tasked to plan the now 14-year tradition of Wayland's Community Thanksgiving.It was back in 2004 when Greg Stacy was starting a church plant in his barn that he was ?inspired by God? to further the endeavor by hosting an all-community Thanksgiving. Looking for a neutral location, he approached the WACO ...

By Ed Tibbetts, Quad-City Times UnityPoint Health said Wednesday that it may not renew its contract with Amerigroup of Iowa, one of the two remaining Medicaid managed care organizations in the state.The decision could affect 54,000 patients.?We are disappointed that our contract issues with Amerigroup are not yet resolved and know the announcement of a possible change may cause confusion for our Amerigroup ...

By David Hotle, The JOURNAL WASHINGTON ? While the basic design of the proposed Wellness Park to be constructed on 46 acres along Fifth Street and North D Avenue is complete, builders still want input from the people of Washington on the amenities to be constructed into the park.During a public meeting Monday evening in the Washington Public Library, MSA developers, who are working with the city to design the ...

By Morrgan Bouler, Mt. Pleasant News Intern Mt. Pleasant High School seniors are currently building a house from the ground up, while gaining some valuable skills along the way.Dressed in sweatshirts, hats, and gloves to combat the winter cold, nine seniors are getting a bird's-eye view of a small suburban neighborhood as they work on the roof of 1812 S. Meadowview Ave. As they work, echoes from their tools ...

By Karyn Spory, Mt. Pleasant News WAYLAND ? The city of Wayland will soon have two fewer buildings in its skyline as the city council approved a building demolition bid Wednesday night.City Clerk Beverly Conrad said the city only received one bid for the project, which will demolish the buildings at 211 and 213 W. Main St.The buildings, Conrad said, have not been in good shape for several years. ?This is our ...

Kids and those young in heart enjoyed a performance of the Southeast Iowa Symphony's performance of ?Peter and the Wolf.? The performance was part of Kidsymphony. The performance on Saturday, Nov. 11, was a great introduction to all the instruments of the orchestra. Following the performance, families were encouraged to join the musicians on stage to meet their instruments, up close and personal.

Several Mt. Pleasant students were selected to participate in the All-State Music Festival. Back row: (left to right) Cara Canby, Meagan Sutherland, Wyatt Carlston and Lucas Lee. Front row: Callie DePriest, Charles H. Greene and Paige Stater. Participants will rehearse in Ames on Nov. 17 and 18, and the Festival Concert is Saturday, Nov. 18, at 7:30 p.m. at Iowa State University. Iowa Public Television will ...

Several students were selected to participate in the 32nd annual Opus Honor Choir Festival, which will perform on Thursday, Nov. 16, at 4 p.m. Students were back row: (left to right) Andrew Rauenbuehler, Kionna Parrish and Katie McCormick. Front row: Evelyn Nygren and Natalie McCormick. They will perform in the Iowa State Center in Ames. Almost 3,000 students in Iowa were nominated by their music directors to ...

By Erin Murphy, Lee Des Moines Bureau DES MOINES ? The state's largest public employee union is appealing a district judge's ruling that denied the union's challenge to Iowa's new collective bargaining law.AFSCME Council 61, which represents roughly 40,000 public workers in Iowa, made the announcement Tuesday afternoon.?From day one, we have recognized the likelihood that this case would end up in the Iowa ...

By Grace King, Mt. Pleasant News Rumble strips and two-foot shoulders will be added to a six-mile stretch of County Highway J20 thanks to funds from the State Office of Traffic and Safety.Henry County engineer Jake Hotchkiss said that the county applied for and was awarded $440,000 to continue their safety improvement plan. Hotchkiss said that studies have shown adding a safety edge and rumble strips drasticall...