Thursday, Feb. 8, 2024
Vol. 5, No. 25
PCMExplorer Local People. Local Stories.
IT’S THE ‘TEA’ BOMB
Mustang Nutrition opens in downtown Monroe, serving area favorites like shakes and mega tea bombs
Local school leaders not in favor of AEA changes
Area schools would face a “significant impact” should bill be passed by the Iowa Legislature By Jamee A. Pierson PCM Explorer
Jamee A. Pierson/PCM Explorer Colorful mega tea bombs, delicious shakes and many more tasty treats are available at Mustang Nutrition on the west side of the square in Monroe.
By Jamee A. Pierson PCM Explorer Monroe community members don’t have to travel far to get their fill of mega tea bombs and shakes anymore. Mustang Nutrition, located at 102 N. Commerce St. on the square, has a wide variety of drinks from refreshers and coffees to wildly popular teas and shakes in so many flavors it will be hard to pick a favorite. “For shakes the salted caramel crunch cone is my favorite. It is absolutely amazing; the best ever,” owner Kenzie Cordes said. “For teas, I
can’t decide sometimes. I like sweet, sometimes I like sour. I can’t tell you one.” Cordes opened the doors of Mustang Nutrition in early 2024, her third nutrition club. She started in West Des Moines after owners of an already opened club were looking for move on and branched out to neighboring Pleasantville last year. “My first one was in West Des Moines in 2020. It was a crazy year to open a business. It was already an existing club and they were looking for a new owner, so I offered. I took it over and it went really well,”
Supervisors revise policy for department head salaries
Cordes said. “I wanted to get closer to people that I know so I started venturing out down here.” Monroe caught her eye after a family member mentioned it would be a good spot for her business. A native of Knoxville, she liked the idea of being closer to home. “My brother lives here (in Monroe) and he gave me the idea to look here,” Cordes said. “I just love small towns so I am used to the small-town feel. It kind of gave me the idea of Monroe and it is just MUSTANG NUTRITION | 3
With a potential upheaval to Iowa’s Area Education Agencies working its way around the Iowa Legislature, area superintendents share the affects proposed changes would make at their schools. Baxter’s Mickolyn Clapper and Colfax-Mingo’s Tim Salmon both said their schools would face a significant impact should the AEA be reorganized as proposed. “Potential changes that are proposed would be detrimental to Colfax-Mingo,” Salmon said. “We would lose services, take on additional responsibilities and lower the educational programming in our district. We would have to hire staff, supervise, which would be difficult as they would all be part-time positions. The flow-through money would not support what we currently have. Our staff and students would suffer. Less services and more work for our district.” Clapper said with the changes in the bill Baxter would have to remove educational services, media/tech-
nology services and professional development from the district’s access. She also explained funds they are currently receiving would be rerouted and no longer available to the district. “The flow-through dollars that previously supported these services would be absorbed into the state general budget, making them unavailable for use by the district,” Clapper said. “This would lead to a loss of access to consultants, services and resources crucial for the district’s educational support. This would be a major loss for our district.” Both districts utilize the AEA if a variety of ways that enhance the experience for students and assist the staff. Salmon calls the relationship with Heartland AEA a “tight partnership” where they receive resources they do not have internally. “In addition to special education, we rely on AEA to help our leadership team move forward, provide professional development, provide printing services, curriculum support, Crisis AEA | 3
READY FOR TRIVIA TIME The PCM Foundation Trivia Night is held at Sacred Willow Farms event center for the first time Feb. 5
Talsma said the change was needed to save money and retain employees By Christopher Braunschweig PCM Explorer In an effort to save money and retain its department heads, the Jasper County Board of Supervisors have spent considerable time this past year tying to get a handle on salaries. For some that means increasing their pay to be more in line with their duties, but for most it means negotiating their raises. Jasper County Supervisor Brandon Talsma told Newton News at the conclusion of a recent budget session that most department heads have responded well to the board’s change in policy. Supervisors revised the policy on Jan. 23 and it no longer allows individuals in managerial positions to be on a pay scale. Since the updated policy will become effective July 1, the board of supervisors have been discussing department head salaries over the past few weeks during budget workshops. The Jan. 30 budget workshop gave a glimpse into how pay increases for department heads would proceed in the future. SALARIES | 3
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Jamee A. Pierson/PCM Explorer More than 20 tables were filled during the 2024 PCM Foundation Trivia Night fundraiser Feb. 5 at Sacred Willow Farms event center in Prairie City. Answering round after round of questions, laughs were heard throughout the evening as guesses were found out to be right and firm answers turned out to be wrong for groups with names including Phone a Friend, No Clue Crew and Team Bleacher Butt. Through the foundation, thousands of dollars have been given in scholarships to PCM seniors for many years.
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