Oskaloosa Council Approves FY2024 Maximum Property Tax Dollars

Posted on February 23, 2023 by Sam Parsons

By Sam Parsons

The Oskaloosa City Council met earlier this week and held a public hearing on their Maximum Property Tax Dollars for the upcoming fiscal year. The total tax levy represents a 12.66% increase from the previous year and Mayor Dave Krutzfeldt provided some reasoning behind that.

The total tax levy in the amount of $5,351,633 was approved without objection.

The council also discussed an application from Clow Valve to the Iowa Economic Development Authority’s High Quality Jobs Program. The company is planning a major expansion to their Oskaloosa iron foundry on 17th Avenue East with an estimated construction cost of nearly $70 million. The application to the IEDA’s High Quality Jobs Program, which in this case incentivizes job retention for the planned upgrades, requires a local match, which will come in the form of a 10-year tax abatement estimated to total $1,157,142. The exemption will occur after construction is completed. The resolution approving the application was passed.

Osky Boys Fall at Newton in Playoffs

Posted on February 22, 2023 by Sam Parsons

By Sam Parsons

The Oskaloosa Indians’ boys team entered the 3A playoffs with a 3-18 record and a first round matchup on the road at the #6 Newton Cardinals on Monday as a heavy underdog. The Indians had lost to the Cardinals 61-39 in their first matchup this season and then 79-43 in their second, and the Cardinals had only lost one game to a 3A opponent all season (to #1 ranked Bondurant-Farrar). In short, expectations were generally low for the Indians’ first round game.

The team responded by playing like they had nothing to lose. And it worked.

The Indians gave the Cardinals a run for their money that they certainly weren’t expecting, but not without early adversity. The Cardinals jumped out to an early lead and were up 31-23 at halftime, leading by double digits for stretches of the first half. Once again, Osky was having a difficult time containing 6’5″ senior Cardinal forward Cole Plowman along with senior guard Brody Bauer.

But in the 3rd quarter, the Indians flipped a switch and got back into the game. A late-quarter rally saw the Indians shock the crowd as Waylon Bolibaugh and Max Roach started burying jump shots to tie the game. In the final seconds of the 3rd quarter, it was 43-43; at this point in the previous two meetings between the Cardinals and Indians, the game had already been decided.

The Cardinals responded with a heads-up play in the final seconds to go down the floor quickly and lay in a bucket to take a 45-43 lead heading into the fourth; and unfortunately, while the energy on the Oskaloosa side of the gym was now at a new high, the Cardinals would use that basket as a kick-start to put the game away.

That last basket of the 3rd quarter began a 13-0 run for the Cardinals to go up 56-43 early in the 4th. From there, Newton kept Osky at a safe distance. The Indians were unable to generate another rally to make it a game in the final minutes and their upset bid came up short, 70-56. It was an admirable display of effort for the team in their final game.

The Cardinals (15-6) will be hosting Fairfield in their second round game on Thursday. The Indians (3-19) graduate 3 seniors: Waylon Bolibaugh, Jakob Stek, and Brody Allman.

Stats

Jimmy Carter enters hospice care. What is it?

Posted on February 22, 2023 by Sam Parsons

PLAINS, GA (AP) — Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter has entered home hospice care after a series of short hospital stays. The Carter Center said in a statement Saturday that Carter, 98, “decided to spend his remaining time at home with his family and receive hospice care instead of additional medical intervention.” Hospice care is treatment designed to make patients comfortable and to reduce pain and suffering in their final days. It is usually home-based and reserved for those declared by two physicians to be terminally ill, with six months or less to live. Hospice care may include medicine but only to reduce symptoms, not with the intent to cure any illness.

Iowa Senate panel votes to reinstate limited form of death penalty

Posted on February 22, 2023 by Sam Parsons

By O. Kay Henderson (Radio Iowa)

A bill to reinstate the death penalty in a limited number of cases is eligible for debate in the Iowa Senate.

The bill would make those convicted of kidnapping, raping and murdering a person under the age of 18 eligible for a death sentence. Republican Senator Julian Garrett of Indianola, a retired attorney, would vote to make the death penalty an option in far more cases.

“Given how difficult it is to get a bill passed in this legislature, we’re narrowing it down as much as we possibly can,” Garrett says.

The bill cleared the Senate Judiciary Committee on a 10-8 vote. Senator Janice Weiner, a Democrat from Iowa City, says it’s an international embarrassment that some U.S. states still have the death penalty. “It puts us right in line with Saudi Arabia, Iran, China and North Korea,” she said.

Other Democrats, like Senator Tony Bisignano of Des Moines said if there’s a mistake and an innocent person is put to death, there’s no reversing that. “The state should not be in the business of killing people,” Bisignano said during committee debate this afternoon.

Garrett considers the death penalty a deterrent and he said a wrongful conviction is a worthwhile trade off. “If we make a mistake now and then and, as I say, mistakes under current technology are miniscule and we can save some innocent women’s lives down the road, that’s where the trade off is,” Garrett said.

The chairman of the House Judiciary Committee has said he could support the death penalty on moral grounds. But Republican Representative Steven Holt of Denison considers it impractical for several reasons. The drugs to administer a lethal injection are hard to find and Holt said the cost of sentencing someone to spend the rest of their life in prison is far less than the court costs associated with appeals to a death sentence and the expense of maintaining a death row in the state’s prison system.

Computer Basics Classes offered at Ottumwa Public Library

Posted on February 22, 2023 by Sam Parsons

OTTUMWA — The Ottumwa Public Library is happy to announce that they will be offering two free computer classes.

The first, Thursday, February 23^rd at 10:30 am, will be Computer Basics. It will teach the basic parts of the computer, how to minimize, restore, and close windows, and become more confident using a mouse.

The second class will be Thursday, March 2^nd at 10:30 am and will be on Email Basics. It will teach how to compose and send an email, log into email without assistance, attach a file to email and organize your email.

“We are so excited to be able to offer these classes. We are utilizing laptops purchased with Legacy Foundation Bright Idea Grant funds and will be able to offer a quiet classroom setting for this instruction,” Sonja Ferrell, Ottumwa Public Library Director said. “So much of our society relies on basic computer and internet knowledge today and it is necessary that we help educate our community with those skills.”

Participants are not required to attend both classes. Space is limited so registration is required. Please call 641-682-7563 to sign up.

Mahaska County Board of Supervisors Discusses Wind Turbines and Zoning

Posted on February 22, 2023 by Sam Parsons

By Sam Parsons

The Mahaska County Board of Supervisors met yesterday morning and had a discussion about wind turbines and zoning within the county. Mahaska County resident Micah Van Mersbergen spoke with the board about MidAmerican Energy’s proposed $3.9 billion wind and solar energy project called Wind PRIME.

Van Mersbergen said that while no potential locations have been made official, he guessed that MidAmerican would be looking into Mahaska County as a candidate for some wind turbines, so he gathered feedback from residents of Cedar Township and Harrison Township on that possibility. He said that he didn’t hear from anyone who would either approve of them or be neutral to them.

County attorney Andrew Ritland chimed in regarding the possibility of creating a zoning board to regulate wind turbines. He said that Mahaska County is in the minority of counties that do not have a zoning board, and that the vast majority of counties who regulate wind turbine development do so through a full zoning board. Ritland said that one idea for the county to regulate wind mill turbines would be to implement exclusion zones of either 1,500 feet or 2,500 feet, preventing wind turbines from being developed within those distances of another structure to ensure no turbines were being built too close to people’s residences. He called the regulation of wind turbines a “balancing act” between tax revenue and the amount of development they want in the county.

Ultimately, no action was taken, with board chair Mark Groenendyk saying he would like to see a more robust collection of community input before making a decision.

Former NBA, NFL team owner, businessman Red McCombs dies

Posted on February 21, 2023 by Sam Parsons

SAN ANTONIO, TX (AP) — A former owner of two NBA teams, an NFL franchise and a longtime businessman, Billy Joe “Red” McCombs has died at his home in San Antonio. McCombs’ family said in a statement Monday that McCombs died Sunday at age 95. A cause of death was not given, but the statement said McCombs died peacefully surrounded by his family. McCombs owned the San Antonio Spurs of the NBA on two separate occasions. He also once owned the NBA’s Denver Nuggets and the Minnesota Vikings of the NFL. McCombs also owned various businesses that included auto dealerships, the oil and gas industry, real estate, cattle ranches and radio stations.

IUB to hold meeting on logistics for Summit Carbon pipeline permit process

Posted on February 21, 2023 by Sam Parsons

By Dar Danielson (Radio Iowa)

The Iowa Utilities Board has issued a schedule for the permit application process for Summit Carbon Solutions’ proposed carbon dioxide pipeline.

The IUB order says it will hold a technical conference on March 15th at 10 a.m. at its Des Moines office to discuss logistics for the hearing and to help those who want to file opposition or support of the pipeline. The conference will discuss the schedule and provide information about how the IUB envisions the hearing will be conducted.

Specific dates for the hearing will be determined at the technical conference. Summit is proposing approximately 687 miles of pipeline in Iowa. For more information on the technical conference, go to iub.iowa.gov.

Mahaska County Community Foundation Grant Deadline Nears

Posted on February 21, 2023 by Sam Parsons

OSKALOOSA — The Mahaska County Community Foundation (MCCF) wants to remind local non-profit organizations and government entities that the deadline to submit grant applications is February 28, 2023.

MCCF has been in existence since 2006, and has awarded in excess of $1.5 million in grants since that time. $45,000 in grants were awarded the first year of the program; 2022 saw nearly $140,000 in grant monies going to 12 different organizations. These projects ranged from $5,000 to the Barnes City Fire and Rescue for improvements to the firehouse, $5,000 to the “Rocket Rampage” start-up Robotics program at the Eddyville/Blakesburg/Fremont high school, to $8,030 to the Oskaloosa Police Department for security cameras on the City Square.

Additionally, two Challenge Grants for larger-scale projects were awarded to local municipalities: $20,000 to the City of Oskaloosa for Edmundson Park enhancements and upgrades, and $20,000 to the City of Fremont for the replacement of light poles.

The MCCF Board encourages all those that are working on good projects within Mahaska County to apply for a grant, with the grant application found at www.mahaskafoundation.org.

Oskaloosa Schools Names Marcia Devore Director of Teaching & Learning

Posted on February 21, 2023 by Sam Parsons

OSKALOOSA, IA — The Oskaloosa Community Schools has named Marcia DeVore as its next director of teaching and learning.

DeVore has served as principal of Lincoln Elementary in the Charles City Community School District since 2013. Previously, she was an elementary associate principal and dean of students. DeVore began her career in education as a middle school reading teacher.

DeVore earned an Iowa Administrative Certificate in grades PK-12 from Viterbo University in La Crosse, Wisconsin, along with a master’s degree in education.

“My family and I are excited to be part of Oskaloosa Schools and the larger Oskaloosa community,” said DeVore. “Accepting this position was not just about a good career fit for me, but also a good school fit for our son and a community fit for our family. Oskaloosa checked all the boxes.”

As director of teaching and learning, DeVore intends to collaborate with the district leadership team to continue building a positive academic environment and foster success for all Osky students. She will focus on empowering teacher leadership throughout the district’s schools and across grade levels.

“We are delighted to welcome Marcia DeVore to the Osky Schools family,” said Mike Fisher, Superintendent. “I am confident that her leadership expertise and wealth of experience will provide immense value to our schools and the students we serve.”

DeVore will relocate to Oskaloosa with her husband, Justin, and son, Jonah, who is a current eighth-grade student at Charles City Middle School and will begin attending Oskaloosa High School this fall. DeVore’s daughter, Hannah, is now a senior at Charles City High School, with plans to attend college in the fall.

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