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AROUND NORTH IOWA
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Lots of news from lots of towns
HUMBOLDT: The county supervisors were presented with a petition containing 800 signatures asking that a local road be improved. A tar seat coat was applied to the surface 20 years ago, and that material has now broken up, leaving many potholes. The supervisors said they would look into the matter.
LAKE MILLS: The city council approved the concept of a 40-foot mural to be painted on the wall of the grocery store. Special long-life paint would be used, costing about $9,000.
CLEAR LAKE: The city council voted to take over the ownership of the town's trolley. The vehicle had been owned by the chamber of commerce, which said it could no longer afford the insurance. Under the agreement, the city will own the trolley and the chamber will operate it. This arrangement lowered the cost of insurance from $6,000 to $600 per year.
GARNER: The new $4 million rec center opened this week. Now the city will spend $250,000 to tear down the old Memorial Building.
SHEFFIELD: Members of the Sukup family attended the dedication of the new Iowa State University Sukup Basketball Complex. The family made the lead gift to the new facility which is located off-campus in west Ames. It will be used by the men's and women's basketball teams.
CLARION: The city learned it is the owner of the baseball facilities in the north part of town. Hansen Park was established in 1958 by the Clarion Recreation Association. That corporation had a life of 50 years, which ended last December. The original documents specified that the city would then become the owner. The school district uses one of the diamonds at the park, while the city uses the other for little league. So the city and school have entered into a joint agreement for use of the property. A similar arrangement is in place for the high school football field, which is also owned by the city, not the school district.
NORTHWOOD: The city has asked residents not to burn leaves this fall. Damp conditions mean lots of smoke, and some citizens have breathing problems. Anyone who does burn must do so after 4 p.m.
HAMPTON: Property owners here have one month to burn leaves. The city has lifted the open burning ban (for leaves only) from October 25 through November 23.
OSAGE: The city has begun using its special baling machine to pick up leaves. Residents are asked to rake leaves onto the edge of the street by 7 a.m. each Monday morning. The city crews will come around every Monday and collect "tree droppings" for the next four weeks.
ALGONA: Animal Rescue officials told the city council they are running out of money and volunteers in their efforts to control the number of wild cats. Some wild cats are important, they say, to help control rodents, and those animals need to be spayed or neutered. The past year there has been a flood of kittens, and the rescue people urged the council to pass an ordinance requiring that people who feed wild cats be responsible for their spaying or neutering. Dumping animals in rural areas does not solve the problem.
HUMBOLDT: The city council again discussed the future of the town's 80-year-old water plant. An engineer reported that the city should plan on spending about a million dollars to keep the present facility running another five years while a new $13 million plant is being designed and constructed. An alternative would be to spend between $4 and $8 million on improvements to the present facility that would last 20 years. That would include a new $2 million water tower.
CLEAR LAKE: Citizens are raising $10,000 to buy a new drug detection dog for the police department. A previous dog died of cancer earlier this fall. Records show that the police dog dramatically helped increase the number of drug arrests, from 13 the year before the canine unit was started, to 113 the first year of the program.
CLARION: The Wright County CROP Walk was held at Lake Cornelia. About 70 people hiked around the lake and raised over $6,000 to fight world hunger.
STORY CITY: The city council received four bids for engineering work on a $1.5 million street and sewer project. The council accepted the second highest proposal, which was $30,000 less than the top bid and $20,000 more than the bottom bid.
FOREST CITY: The Winnebago County Sheriff and one of his deputies reached an agreement regarding the deputy's firing. The two men both ran for sheriff in the primary election last year. Dave Peterson, the chief deputy, won the primary but lost the election when Doug Jenson, a lower-ranking deputy, ran as an independent. "There's ill will between the two," said the county attorney. New sheriff Jenson fired Peterson in September, and the matter has been stewing ever since. Neither man would comment on the proposed settlement, which must be approved by the board of supervisors.
HAMPTON: The director of the county development group explained her efforts to attract new industry. The Franklin Development Association owns several empty "spec" buildings and has been working hard to fill them. One has never been used. It was built right before the September 11 terrorist attack, and industrial expansion has changed since then. The Winnebago plant was recently added to the list of vacant properties in town.
NORTHWOOD: The city council is pondering how to pay for bridges. The council just made the final payment on a $270,000 crossing, and at the same meeting, an engineer discussed problems he is having with the design of a second bridge expected to cost $350,000.
ALGONA: The hospital postponed its schedule of flu vaccine clinics after exhausting its supply of 700 doses. Officials say more will be coming, but for now, folks will just have to wait.
BLAIRSBURG: School officials are stressing hygiene more than ever after ten percent of the student body came down with the flu.
EAGLE GROVE: The city council debated how to handle the illegal closed meeting it held several weeks ago. One councilman said the group should apologize, but the city attorney disagreed. Several members said they are now more aware of the law, and an improper closed session wouldn't happen again. According to a news report, the councilman who wanted to apologize was treated disrespectfully by other councilmembers. He finally got up and left the meeting. Later, the council amended its minutes to give details about what happened during the closed session.
THORNTON: The Cerro Gordo County Supervisors gave preliminary approval to a tough, new teen drinking law similar to ones in other north Iowa counties. Teens who are found to have consumed alcohol -- even though no containers are present -- are guilty of possession. Adults who host parties are responsible for keeping alcohol away from teens.
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©Belmond Independent 2009
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