Thursday, Feb. 6, 2025
Vol. 6 No. 25
PCMExplorer Local People. Local Stories.
Monroe native opens shop in downtown
UnWilted by Dani Sue offers variety of services at space in Salon Essence
School calendar for 2025-26 selected
School breaks, start and district improvement days similar to 2024-2025 calendar By Jamee A. Pierson PCM Explorer
Jamee A. Pierson/PCM Explorer Dani Tool, owner of UnWilted by Dani Sue, makes her business opening official at a ribbon cutting ceremony Feb. 1. UnWilted is located inside Salon Essence in downtown Monroe.
Seal coat and microsurfacing plans near Neal Smith approved Jasper County First phase of the project covers parts of W. 129th St. S. and S. 96th Ave. W. By Christopher Braunschweig PCM Explorer Plans to apply seal coat and microsurfacing to roads near Neal Smith National Wildlife Refuge were approved by the Jasper County Board of Supervisors last week, which is all part of the first phase of an accessibility project funded in large part through a Federal Lands Access Program (FLAP) Grant. According to county documents, the affected roads include West 129th Street South from Iowa Highway 163 to South 96th Avenue West and South 96th Avenue West from West 129th Street South to Pacific Street. County Engineer Michael Frietsch said the streets will be undergoing major upgrades. “We’re going to be taking the road and fixing some box culverts that have broken end sections RESURFACE | 3
Three slightly different calendar options for the 2025-26 school year were presented to staff with first option being the most popular selection. The favorite option looks similar to the 2024-25 calendar and was approved by the school board at its Jan. 20 meeting, setting the hearing date for the Feb. 17 meeting. “I worked to create four different calendars, which is kind of tough because there isn’t as many options as you think,” interim superintendent Art
Sathoff said. “The legislature doesn’t let us start until Aug. 23, which next school year is a Saturday. We have local things like spring break; people like to have kids done before Memorial Day. So when you start putting in these restrictions, including personal development days that work out to about one a month ... when you throw all the things together there is a lot less options than you would think.” The proposed calendar has school starting for teachers on Aug. 18 with CALENDAR | 2
Elected officials in Jasper County see salaries increase by about 3-5% Supervisors decide lower raises than what was suggested by compensation board By Christopher Braunschweig PCM Explorer Elected officials in Jasper County will be seeing a pay raise by the next fiscal year. Like in years past the board of supervisors used the recommendations from the compensation board as a foundation. The supervisors ultimately settled on salary increases that were less than what was suggested. Allison Udelhoven, the secretary of the Jasper County Compensation Board, attended the Jan. 27 board of supervisors meeting to speak on behalf of the recommending body. She presented the minutes of the Dec. 17 compensation board meeting and detailed rationales for each wage increase. The compensation board recommended the supervisors have their salaries increase by $2,500 and to maintain the $2,5000 stipend for the board chair. If approved, the supervisors would have an annual salary of $49,500, or $52,000 for
Christopher Braunschweig/PCM Explorer Jasper County elected officials had their salaries raised by the board of supervisors. After taking suggestions from the compensation board, the supervisors provided 3-5 percent raises for the county attorney, auditor, recorder, sheriff and treasurer.
the board chair. Typically, supervisors decline to give themselves raises. Unsurprisingly, the supervisors voted to not increase their own pay this year. In 2024, the board broke
tradition and did give themselves an almost $5,000 raise, increasing their annual salary from $42,020 to $47,000. Additionally, the board SALARIES | 3
Looking to help those who are hungry Community Health Needs Assessment identifies food insecurity as a top issue for county By Jamee A. Pierson PCM Explorer
Editor’s note: This is the fourth in a series of articles exploring the results of the Jasper County Community Health Needs Assessment. Food insecurities are a top concern for the residents of Jasper County with both survey and town hall respondents identifying it as an issue. According to the Community Health Needs Assessment (CHNA), Jasper County has
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a higher rate of households receiving Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) than the State of Iowa. Of those surveyed, 17.52 percent reported not having enough money to purchase healthy food and 17.17 percent said they have had trouble paying for food within the last year. Also, 86 percent of people who participated said they were not eating the recommended amount of two servings of vegetables and two
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servings of fruits each day. One reason healthy food is not on the menu is 82.48 percent of people said they do not have enough money to purchase more nutritious food. Along with food, which topped the list at 17.17 percent, people have a hard time paying for medical appointments at 16.9 percent and utilities at 15.51 percent. Of the food insecure population, 30 percent are ineligible NUTRITION | 3
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