Jason Parrott

City leaders in Mount Sterling, IA started exploring the idea of discontinuing the small town in southern Van Buren County after no one ran for public office last fall.

Mayor Tom Allen says the incumbents were not interested in remaining in office and there was no one there to replace them.

If Mount Sterling is discontinued, it will remain on all maps of Iowa.

The changes would be that the city council would be disbanded and services like snow removal and dust control would be handled by Van Buren County.

Rep. Dave Loebsack (D-IA 2) says there is still work to do to make sure his state does not experience a repeat of the Flood of 2008.

It was four years ago, this month, when rivers throughout eastern Iowa overran their banks and caused billions of dollars in damage.

Some of the hardest hit areas were Iowa City and Cedar Rapids

Rep. Loebsack says there is still a need for money to help in the recovery.  He believes the funding is available in Washington D.C., if his colleagues can agree on how to divide it.

Some Lee County residents could soon pay more for sewer services.

The Board of Supervisors has signed off on a new monthly fee for households or businesses connected to Argyle’s sanitary sewer system.

The supervisors acted in their capacity as trustees for the unincorporated community’s sewer district.

The new flat fee has been set at just under $56/month.  It is expected to take effect within the next few weeks.

Sewer bills in Argyle were previously calculated based on the amount of water used by a property owner.  The average bill was less than $45/month.

Culver-Stockton College is looking for help in improving its campus and stabilizing its future.

President Dick Valentine says it has been 21 years since C-SC conducted a capital campaign. 

He says the timing is right based on the amount of work to do around its campus in Canton, MO.

The Board of Trustees agreed to begin the “silent” phase of the capital campaign last year.  The result has been more than $8-million dollars raised.

Valentine says that leaves roughly $2-million to raise over the next two years.

Burlington, IA

The Iowa Department of Transportation is recognizing Burlington’s public transportation system for increasing ridership and decreasing cuts.

The Burlington Urban Service (B.U.S.) has been named the “Most Improved Urban Transit System” for the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2011.

The agency says ridership is up about 18% while the cost is down about 15% per ride.

Van Buren County, IA

The Van Buren County Board of Supervisors says it will look into a proposal to designate all county roads as legal routes for all-terrain vehicles.

The former Clark County Courthouse in Kahoka, MO stood for roughly 140 years and it was starting to show its age.

Court proceedings had to be moved to a nearby building over safety and security concerns while the foundation was starting to shift.  There were also accessibility issues and limited space.

Talk of restoring or replacing the facility had been out there for years.  In fact, the Missouri Alliance for Historic Preservation started including the Clark County Courthouse in its list of Most Endangered Historic Places in 2005.

Safety and liability concerns led the city of Keokuk to replace the original “Rocket Slide” in Kilbourne Park with a newer model several years ago. 

There were aspects of the original slide that no longer met federal standards.

Nels Olson of Wisconsin bought the Rocket Slide in the hopes of restoring it and installing the slide on his own property.

With that, people in Keokuk seemed to lose track of the slide, until it ended up on the reality television show, American Restoration.

The Keokuk School Board could soon see a list of potential superintendent candidates.

Business Manager Greg Reynolds says applications will be accepted through July 9.  He says Ray & Associates (Cedar Rapids, IA) will review the applicants in the hopes of presenting a final list to the board by July 23rd.

“They are then going to interview (candidates) the following week,” says Reynolds.  “I believe the 30th and 31st (of July) is the plan.”

Keokuk hopes to have a new superintendent in place before the start of the school year.

The state of Iowa is recommending the Lee County Narcotics Task Force change some of its operating practices.

The recommendations are based on a report, released this week, by State Auditor David Vaudt.

The report was requested by the board that oversees the task force.

The most significant finding is the task force is carrying a $90,000 deficit from the time period of July 1, 2010 - May 31, 2012.

Burlington’s non-union employees are in a “wait-and-see” mode when it comes to their salaries for the upcoming fiscal year.

The city’s union workers are in line for 3.5% raises as part of the budget that takes effect July 1.  The raises are included in the current union contracts, which are in the fourth year of five.

In May, the city council signed off on a new employee manual for non-union workers.  The manual includes wage increases that are similar to the union raises.