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Lynnville-Sully boys face Gladbrook-Reinbeck at the Well / 1B
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Thunderstorms, suspected tornadoes damage Iowa communities By Jamee A. Pierson Newton Daily News Straight-line winds and possible tornadoes caused sirens to sound and substantial damage across Jasper County Monday evening. Jasper County Sheriff John Halferty said there was significant structural damage in the areas north and west of Monroe and in the Sully area. The storm, which spanned the state of Iowa, rolled into the county after 7 p.m. on Monday bringing with it up to 90 mph wind in some areas, hail and rain. Halferty said there were no
calls for injuries due to the storm. According to the Associated Press, in eastern Iowa authorities said severe thunderstorms that raced across Iowa spawned tornadoes and left behind damage and power outages. The Muscatine Fire Department says several homes and businesses were damaged Monday night as power lines were knocked down. The department answered several medical calls, but it’s not yet clear whether they were related to the weather. STORM | 3A
Jamee A. Pierson/Daily News A building lays ripped apart, spread across two fields on Highway 14 north of Monroe as a result of the monstrous winds in the severe storm on Monday night.
City OKs up to $6M in TIF funds Hibbett Sports bringing athletic for DMACC Maytag campus apparel, equipment to Newton
By Justin Jagler Newton Daily News
Jamee A. Pierson/Daily News As DMACC continues to work to bring tenants to the Maytag campus it was gifted in October, the city is offering assistance by way of property tax rebates for commercial tenants and capital investments into the property.
By Jamee A. Pierson Newton Daily News Up to $6 million in city tax increment finance assistance was approved for the DMACC Maytag Campus on Monday. City council gave the go ahead to help DMACC make capital investments and renovations that enhance the long-term viability and economic relevance of the campus. “DMACC has been aggres-
sively looking at how to fill that campus with a variety of uses, both educational and business and the connection between those two,” city director of finance and development Bryan Friedman said. “I think the investment the city would be committing would greatly facilitate their ability to keep that campus a vibrant marketable place.” DMACC has taken responsibility for the ownership costs of maintaining and operating
the campus. The funds from the city would go toward the campus project but specifically not the operational costs. The assistance takes the form of tax rebates and reimbursement for capital investments. In January, council amended the Urban Renewal Plan for the North Central Urban Renewal Area to accommodate the potential large projects DMACC
Newtonians will soon have a new place to buy sporting goods. Hibbett Sports is setting up shop on First Avenue. The Birmingham, Alab..-based athletic retailer will open its 13th Iowa location this spring/summer on the east side of the Family Video building at 308 First Ave. E. Family Video will continue to occupy the west side of the 6,700-square foot building. Newton Development Corporation Executive Director Frank Liebl announced the new store’s arrival on Monday. “Economic Development team members have been working with Hibbett Sports for about three years,” Liebl said.
“Our first contact with them was at the National Retail Show in Las Vegas. Landing Hibbett Sports was a direct result of information gleaned from the Buxton Study which the City of Newton commissioned back in 2013.” The Buxton Study gave the city an idea of retailers that would be interested in communities the size of Newton. Liebl said attracting a national chain like Hibbett is important. “It’s been expressed by surveys that have been done within the community that people in the community would like more retail options,” Liebl said. Hibbett Sports has more than 1,000 stores in 34 states. HIBBETT | 3A
DMACC | 3A
Downtown Newton apartment project entering next steps By Jamee A. Pierson Newton Daily News A public hearing has been set for the sale of 224 N. Third Ave. W. and 224 W. Third St. N., the property where the former Newton Seed Store was located. City council scheduled March 20 to hear any public feedback or proposals of hte sale on the property scheduled to be sold to Miller-Valentine, the Ohio developer which plans to build a 48-unit income based apartment building. In September, council approved a preliminary development agreement with Miller-Valentine to support its tax credit
Submitted Photo A rendering by Miller-Valentine, a development group from Ohio, shows the proposed apartment building the company is hoping to build at the site of the former Newton Seed Store. The group was approved to purchase the property at the Monday city council meeting subject to the project receiving Iowa Housing Tax Credits from Iowa Finance Authority.
application to receive State of Iowa Housing Tax Credits. During the review of the applica-
tion, the Iowa Finance Authority insisted the public hearing process be completed prior to
any tax credit being awarded. The city had APARTMENT | 3A
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Justin Jagler/Daily News Part of the wall at Family Video is torn down to make way for a new door. Hibbett Sports will come to Newton and share the building with Family Video at 308 First Ave East this summer.
Comics & Puzzles...........6A Dear Abby........................6A Local News......................2A
Obituaries.......................5A Opinion............................4A State News......................7A
Introduction to beekeeping
Amboy Grange hosts special event / 2A
Volume No. 115 No. 203 2 sections 14 pages
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