THURSDAY, NOV. 28, 2024 • VOLUME N0. 124 • ISSUE NO. 11 • 1 SECTION • 8 PAGES
Serving Colfax • Mingo • Baxter • Western Jasper County
Visit beautiful Colfax area residences on the Holiday Tour of Homes Sponsored by Colfax Main Street, the Holiday Tour of Homes is Dec. 6 and 7 By Stuart Patterson Special to the Jasper County Tribune A handful of Colfax area residents will be showing off their beautifully decorated homes for the Colfax Holiday Tour of Homes on Dec. 6 and 7. This year’s Tour of Homes features newly built homes in the Colfax area and a historic farmhouse
built in 1895. The Colfax Holiday Tour of Homes is a fundraiser for the Colfax Main Street program and their volunteer revitalization efforts in historic Downtown Colfax. Tickets for the event are $25 and can be purchased (cash or check only) at Colfax City Hall, Spring City Pharmacy and Bank Iowa in Colfax. You can also pur-
chase tickets online at www.colfaxmainstreet.com. Three houses will be open on Friday, Dec. 6 from 5 to 8 p.m. and all four homes will be open on Saturday, Dec. 7 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Visitors can travel to the homes on their own (carpooling is encouraged), and a free bus will be available at the Howard Street Christian
Jon Dunwell visited polls on Election Day, witnesses allege election misconduct HD38 Rep. says discussions with voters and poll workers were innocent, calls the allegations harassment from Democrats By Christopher Braunschweig Jasper County Tribune Iowa House Rep. Jon Dunwell visited a number of precincts on Election Day in order to get a feel for what the turnout was like, but a number of witnesses have told Newton News his conversations with poll workers and voters waiting in line may be considered election misconduct. Dunwell vehemently denies this. According to Iowa Code 39A.4, election misconduct primarily covers illegal acts that occur on Election Day, such as loitering, congregating and electioneering
within 300 feet of polling places. Electioneering is when a person tries to persuade others to vote for or against a particular political party or candidate. However, Dunwell said he was not wearing or distributing any election materials during his visits to precincts in Newton, Colfax and Kellogg. The Republican could not recall just how many precincts he visited on Election Day, but he insisted all topics of conversation were completely innocent. Dunwell said, “I didn’t campaign. I had nothing on me. Just shook hands and checked to see what the voter turnout looked like.
I asked poll workers questions and talked to a couple people about the weather and the rain. It looked like good turnout. In Kellogg, one city council member knew who I was so just said hello.” Witnesses at the Jasper County Church of Christ, the old Union Hall building, saw Dunwell speaking with two poll workers in the kitchen area, which is primarily only used for volunteers to store their food and have a more secluded area to enjoy a quick meal. The witnesses did not hear what they discussed. DUNWELL | 2
BOND ISSUE MAY GET A SECOND CHANCE Jasper County wants to wait until 2026 to reintroduce public measure on ballots By Christopher Braunschweig Jasper County Tribune While it was determined the failure of the $6.4 million Jasper County bond issue came down to around 32 votes, the board of supervisors have decided not to put the public measure on ballots in 2025, but officials have every intention of moving forward with another vote in 2026 and will go hard on messaging that same year. Results from the 2024 general election show 10,507 people voted in favor of the bond issue, which was about 58.75 percent of the votes. The county needed 60 percent in order to move forward with its Liberty Avenue Campus Bond Project, which would ultimately construct a secondary roads maintenance building.
Submitted Photo
Brauch home
Supervisor Brandon Talsma said during a recent work session that the county was short 1.25 percent, which the auditor’s office found that effectively amounts to 32 affirmative votes. Voting data also showed voters in a majority of precincts were generally in favor of the bond issue, which was positive news for Talsma. “One of the things that stuck out to me from the numbers was the rate of approval within city limits and the fact it was pretty consistent outside city limits by individual townships of approval-disapproval, with the exception of two, which were considerably lower than most of the other townships,” Talsma said. If the bond issue turnout had been closer to 50 BOND | 3
Church parking lot (101 N. Locust St.) at 5:30 p.m. on Friday and 10 a.m. on Saturday that will take guests to each the house. Barry Brauch 13792 HWY F-48 W., Mitchellville OPEN SATURDAY ONLY TOUR | 5
Winter operations for Jasper County clearly state the level, sequence of services Snow removal to occur in 12-hour blocks and end by 4:30 p.m. in most cases By Christopher Braunschweig Jasper County Tribune Winter operations policies for Jasper County’s secondary roads department have been revised and approved by the board of supervisors. The county engineer noted that in addition to some language revisions, the major changes include the time in which snowplow trucks and spreaders will be operating on roads. Prior to the revisions, crews were working 13 hours from 4:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. on paved routes. County Engineer Michael Frietsch said now crews will work in 12-hour blocks from 4:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. If a winter event prompts crews to start at noon or after noon, operations will continue until 5:30 p.m. “That is in there now and that wasn’t in there before,” Frietsch said of the new paved route policies. “…In Section 2, I was very clear on private roads versus county roads. I made sure that was a lot clearer than what was in there before. Because it wasn’t very clear. It was very ambigu-
ous before.” According to the winter operations policy, services are limited only to roads accepted by the county board of supervisors by resolution and/or ordinance. Private subdivision roads and field entrances and driveways to properties within the county do not meet this definition and are excluded from services. Other than plowing roads, winter operations in Jasper County can include snow and ice removal and sanding and salting roads. The county makes no assurances that the full width of the roadway will be cleared of snow, ice, compacted snow and ice or frost. Since snow removal in shoulders and ditches can pile up, the county urges drivers to be cautious of their speed and traffic in one-lane conditions. When it comes to mailboxes, the county will not replace or repair any mailbox destroyed or damaged during snow removal operations unless it can be WINTER | 3
Baxter lights up the stage for ‘The Addams Family’ Musical Students take the stage for two performances of the popular production
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