THURSDAY, APRIL 3, 2025 • VOLUME N0. 124 • ISSUE NO. 28 • 1 SECTION • 8 PAGES
Serving Colfax • Mingo • Baxter • Western Jasper County
Spanish Mission Revival style featured in new Colfax-Mingo Daycare building Designs paying homage to Hotel Colfax and structures throughout the community By Jamee A. Pierson Jasper County Tribune Exterior designs for the Colfax-Mingo Childcare building were recently shared by the Colfax Economic Development Corporation. CEDCO is currently working to bring the daycare to life following the community receiving a $1.7 million grant from the state. The design includes architectural features from Hotel Colfax in the Spanish Mission Revival style at the entrance of the building. It also has window styles that match structures throughout the community. The building will be red brick with light features and use the same font as Hotel Colfax on the front. The quick moving project started when CEDCO received a $1.7 million Child Care Business Incentive Grant from the State of Iowa as a part of an initiative to create and expand child care options. The development corporation was notified in early January it was a recipient which kicked off fundraising efforts to match the grant funds. “There’s a lot happening fast,” C-M Superintendent Tim Salmon said. “I think it was a combination of luck and timing. We have been talking about opening up a childcare center in this district for years, preceding my time here. About a year-and-a-half ago we purchased some property adjacent to the elementary school for future planning for DAYCARE | 3
Atura Architecture Designs for the new Colfax-Mingo Childcare Center feature Spanish Mission Revival touches in honor of Hotel Colfax and area buildings.
Sheriff’s office forms agreement with Baxter for advanced life support services
Jasper County Sheriff ’s Office will be providing advanced life support (ALS) services to the City of Baxter for the foreseeable future. The board of supervisors voted 3-0 to approved a 28E agreement between the small town and the county, which will allow for consistent paramedic-level services for emergencies. Lt. Mike Gunsaulus noted an extra paragraph was added to the agreement under the section titled “obligations of parties.” This entry states that in the event Baxter only has a driver available and Jasper County provides the only EMS provider on a transport, then Baxter
Agencies like NRCS and SWCD help farmers extend the life of their land by helping them reduce soil erosion, improve water quality and enhance wildlife habitat By Christopher Braunschweig Jasper County Tribune
BAXTER | 3
Farming is not a straight forward profession. The day-to-day chores ensure some level of monotony, and farmers might have some idea how their crops will turn out come harvest, but it is truly a job full of unpredictable factors. Challenges are plentiful, and sooner or later they might have to turn to someone else for help. Which may explain why the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) lives by a straight forward motto: Helping people help the land. When NRCS sees a problem, they work with landowners to fix it. Help can be as simple as providing general advice or as complex as working with NRCS’s engineering staff to survey a site and then design a structure that can fix the problem. Financial programs can also be utilized when appropriate. In Jasper County, NRCS shares office space with representatives from the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship (IDALS) and the local Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD). So if there is a program or service that is a better fit to a specific farmer’s needs, they’re close by to respond.
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Provision allows county to reimburse city if non-provider transport responds By Christopher Braunschweig Jasper County Tribune
HELPING PEOPLE HELP THE LAND
authorizes the county to bill for services. If Jasper County receives payment, then the county will reimburse Baxter $150. Gunsaulus told the board of supervisors that Baxter specifically requested this obligation be added to the 28E agreement because there have been a few incidents where Baxter EMS is only showing up with their non-provider driver. “Then they’re out billing and they can’t do anything with that, so we’ve added that so they’re allowing us to bill for that call,” Gunsaulus said. Supervisor Brandon Talsma said the agreement essentially reverses the process by making
Metro Creative In addition to finding solutions to soil erosion, Natural Resources Conservation Service also works with farmers on improving water quality and increasing wildlife habitat through conservation efforts.
Aaron Sande, a district conservationist for NRCS, said in addition to finding solutions to soil erosion — which is the main issue his department encounters on a regular basis — the agency also works with farmers on imMedia provingShaw water quality and increasing wildlife habitat through conservation efforts. Financial assistance toward land conservation projects is another service NRCS can provide est. 1851
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farmers. Some programs provide funding for total acres. Other farmers have issues that go beyond a dollar-amountper-acre solution. For instance, Sande said if a farmer has a horrible gully cutting through their field, then NRCS may work with that individual to reshape the eroded area, make a smooth grass waterway, seed it down LAND | 3
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