Thursday, Nov. 28, 2024
Vol. 6, No. 15
PCMExplorer Local People. Local Stories.
City council seat open in Monroe
City looking to fill position by appointment at Dec. 9 meeting By Jamee A. Pierson PCM Explorer The City of Monroe is currently looking to fill a recently vacated city council seat. Following the resignation of council member Jean Goemaat, one of the five positions is available to a Monroe resident. Under Iowa Code, the city council can either appoint a person to fill the vacancy until the next election, which for this seat would be November 2025 or there can be a special election held with costs for the one-time event incurred by the city. Any resident interested in serving on the council can drop off a letter of interest to Monroe City Hall, 206 Sherman St., or send to Monroe City Hall attn: Mayor Douglas Duinink at P.O. Box 370, Monroe, IA 50170. Letters need to be received before 4:30 p.m. Dec. 5 to be considered. Those interested must be 18 years old to hold office. All interested parties will be considered by the city council. An appointment will be made by Dec. 9 at the regular monthly city council meeting. Following the appointment,
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 PCM Explorer
Jamee A. Pierson/PCM Explorer Papers to be considered for the open Monroe City Council seat can be dropped off at Monroe City Hall, 206 Sherman St., or sent to Monroe City Hall attn: Mayor Douglas Duinink at P.O. Box 370, Monroe, IA 50170.
Monroe residents will have 14 days to file a petition to call for a special election for the position.
For more information or any questions, contact Monroe City Hall at 641-259-2319.
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 ambiguous before.” According to the winter operations policy, services are limited only to roads accepted by the county board of supervisors by resolution and/or WINTER | 3
Nearmyer sworn in as Jasper County supervisor Former Republican Party chair gets a head start on board duties By Christopher Braunschweig PCM Explorer Thad Nearmyer has spent the past few months sitting in the spectator sections to watch the Jasper County Board of Supervisors meetings, but this past week after a successful election and subsequent canvass he took his seat at the board table, next to the chairman, as the latest county supervisor. Nearmyer was officially sworn in at the start of the Nov. 19 board of supervisors meeting, taking over the seat previously appointed to Denny Stevenson after supervisor Denny Carpenter’s death a month after he was re-elected in 2022. Stevenson would serve until the next countywide election in 2024. Previously serving as chair of the Jasper County Republican Party, Nearmyer officially announced his campaign in February 2024. He ran against independent candidate Randy Ray. Results from the county auditor’s office show Nearmyer earned 12,125 votes, or 66.81 percent of the vote. Ray earned 5,864 votes.
Upon his swearing in, Nearmyer was given a chance to say a few words. He thanked everyone who supported him, and he was ready to get to work. “I’m honored to be here,” Nearmyer said. Since Nearmyer was elected to fulfill the remaining two years of Carpenter’s term, he will have to run again in 2026 if he wants to retain the seat. Newton News previously interviewed Nearmyer followed his presumed win against Ray. He told the newspaper he was feeling good about the results, but it was not a huge shock to him to see that he had won. He has seen how organized Republicans can be in Jasper County elections. Still, it was a different dynamic to be waiting for the results to see if he had won. “Throughout the campaign it’s been different because I felt like I was having a hard time adjusting to being a candidate and balance campaigning versus working,” Nearmyer said. “That was a challenge for me … But I’m ready for the challenge of being a county supervisor. I look forward to working for
Christopher Braunschweig/PCM Explorer Thad Nearmyer, right, gets sworn in to the Jasper County Board of Supervisors before its meeting on Nov. 19 in the Jasper County Courthouse.
the people.” Throughout his campaign Nearmyer praised the board of supervisors for working closely with the county engineer to address gravel roads main-
tenance. He also vowed to keep property taxes in check and to improve the county’s working relationship with city governments throughout the county to ensure future growth.
BOND ISSUE MAY GET A SECOND CHANCE
Jasper County wants to wait until 2026 to reintroduce public measure on ballots By Christopher Braunschweig PCM Explorer
Provided by Jasper County The $6.4 million bond issue failed to meet the 60 percent threshold it needed to pass, leaving the Jasper County Board of Supervisors to decide what to do next.
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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
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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 BOND | 3
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