Thursday's trifecta

By BROOKS TAYLOR

Mt. Pleasant News

Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad and Lt. Gov. Kim Reynolds will be spending most of their day tomorrow (Thurs.) in Mt. Pleasant.

Branstad and Reynolds will be helping locals mark three events.

It all begins at 11:30 a.m. at 405 E. Threshers Rd. when Branstad and Reynolds join in the opening ceremonies for the Midwest Old Threshers Reunion which runs through Sept. 1.

Branstad and Reynolds will move a few blocks north from McMillan Park for the 1:15 p.m. ribbon cutting for the Union Block Building Renovation project at 111 W. Monroe St.

The three-year, $3-plus million project restored one of Mt. Pleasant?s grandest landmarks which was damaged in a fire in early 2011.

Arabella ?Belle? Babb Mansfield studied for her bar exam at the Union Block and in 1869 passed the exam, becoming the first woman admitted to the practice of law in the United States. Frederick Douglass, Sojourner Truth, Anna Dickinson and Sen. James Harlan and other notables presented lectures in the Union Hall.

Continuing their northward progression, Branstad and Reynolds will join in the James Harlan statue unveiling ceremony at 2 p.m. on the University Chapel lawn on the campus of Iowa Wesleyan College.

Some of the other dignitaries who will be at the unveiling include State Sen. Rich Taylor, D-Mt. Pleasant, State Rep. Dave Heaton, R-Mt. Pleasant, Mt. Pleasant Mayor Steve Brimhall, Iowa Wesleyan College President Steven Titus, Elizabeth Garrels, Iowa Wesleyan College Board of Trustees member, and Mary Cownie, director, Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs.

Finally, the Harlan-Lincoln House, located on the north side of the IWC campus (101 W. Broad St.), will be open for tours from 3-5 p.m.