Obituaries

By Grace King, Mt. Pleasant News County officials who worked tirelessly toward making the new Henry County Law Enforcement Center a reality broke ground on the lot at 800 S. Grand Ave. Wednesday, May 16.With construction beginning next week, county Sheriff Rich McNamee said that in the next month, the vibrant grass will be turned to a brown, ugly and muddy mess. A year from now, however, the county will have a ...

By Grace King, Mt. Pleasant News At 15 years old, Mt. Pleasant Community High School student Walfred Uriza considers himself orphaned by the immigration arrest that ended with his father locked up in the Linn County Jail, potentially awaiting deportation.His father, Elmer Uriza, is one of the 32 men who were arrested at MPC Enterprises in Mt. Pleasant Wednesday, May 9 by Immigration Customs Enforcement (ICE) ...

By Grace King, Mt. Pleasant News A week after his arrest in an immigration raid at a precast concrete manufacturing plant, Nelson Lopez Sanchez has returned home, for now, to his family, and was greeted by his sister, niece and nephews with hugs and a home-cooked dinner.He was one of 32 men arrested May 9 at MPC Enterprises by federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials following the execution of a ...

By Grace King, Mt. Pleasant News The Henry County Conservation Department is awaiting cost estimates as the deciding factor on whether or not Water Works Campground will be moved to grounds with higher elevation.The Conservation board has been considering the cost-effectiveness of moving Water Works for a few months now, comparing it to South Shore Campground, which floods less frequently.With the potential ...

By Grace King, Mt. Pleasant News Mt. Pleasant Community High School was ranked the 29th high school within Iowa in 2018, earning a bronze medal from U.S. News and World Report.The ranking is scored by college readiness; students who take Advanced Placement (AP) tests; students who pass AP tests; and math and reading proficiency.Mt. Pleasant Community High School (MPCHS) principal Todd Liechty told both ...

By Andy Krutsinger, Mt. Pleasant News Parking will be a little more tricky for fans of the Mt. Pleasant baseball and softball teams this summer, but the school hopes the end result will more than make up for the headache in the next few months.Construction began on the parking lot on Monday, May 14 with plans to have the parking lot fully ready to go by August 6, which would be less than a month before ...

Fifth graders in the Mt. Pleasant Community School District were the first to perform during the band concert in the middle school gym Tuesday, May 15. The gym was packed with parents, siblings and other loved ones as their director congratulated them on finishing fifth grade. Students are encouraged to pick up their instruments over the summer to practice and continue lessons as the school year draws to a close. ...

By Karyn Spory, Mt. Pleasant News Mt. Pleasant High School senior Austin Buckert came to the school board meeting Monday night prepared with more than a PowerPoint. Buckert, who was advocating the creation of agriculture education courses and the installation of a FFA (Future Farmers of America) chapter, brought along state chapter officials to help him make his case.Like many kids in Iowa, Buckert grew up in ...

By Gretchen Teske, Mt. Pleasant News With Rep. Heaton (R-Mt. Pleasant) vacating his seat at the end of the year, Republican challengers for the District 84 seat met for a candidate forum on Saturday, May 12. The forum, held at the Mt. Pleasant Golf and Country Club, was hosted by Iowans for Tax Relief (ITR), an organization founded in 1978 with the goal of decreasing government spending in order to increase ...

By David Hotle, The JOURNAL WASHINGTON - After searching for a missing Washington woman since the end of April, the Washington County Sheriff's office is asking the community for assistance in locating her.On April 30, the Washington County Sheriff's Office took a report of a missing person identified as Susan Marie Pacha, 51, of rural Washington. Susan was last seen Monday, April 30, in the morning hours and ...