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DAILY NEWS FRIDAY, JUNE 24, 2016 • WHERE TO GO WHEN YOU NEED TO KNOW
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Artifacts, species present new challenge for $15M interchange
Mike Mendenhall/Daily News Larry Cleverley, an organic vegetable farmer near Mingo, drives his gator through a pasture on his 220 acre family farm. The pasture overlooks hills and ravines in a right-of-way planned for a $15 million diamond interchange on Highway 330/65 in northern Jasper County.
Former lawmaker requesting U.S. Army Crops public hearing By Mike Mendenhall Newton Daily News
M
INGO — When the Iowa Transportation Commission voted 4-3 in May to push forward with the Iowa Department of Transportation’s plan to build a $15 million diamond interchange at the intersections of Highway US 330/65, Highway 117 and county highway F17, Mingo organic farmer Larry Cleverley decided to put his fight with the IDOT behind him. The project calls for 60 acres of Cleverley’s 220 acre family farm to be put in the construc-
tion right-of-way, including 30 acres of timber and all of his USDA-certified organic fields. But a June 3 joint public notice from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Iowa Department of Natural Resources has gained the attention of a former Jasper County elected official who plans to request the federal agency hold a public hearing before issuing a permit to the IDOT. Former Iowa State Sen. Dennis Black first walked the Cleverley family’s property in 1968, while negotiating a 90-acre virgin timber acquisition adjacent to the Cleverley farm by the Jasper
NCSD board to meet in new building Administration to present on impact of salary increases By Jason W. Brooks Newton Daily News The Newton Community School District Board of Education is set to meet Monday evening at a place where area residents shopped for groceries for many Callaghan years. Monday’s regular meeting, set for 6:30 p.m., will be the first major public meeting in the board room of the newly remodeled E. J. H. Beard Administration Center, formerly the HyVee West building. After a one-year remodeling
effort that has cost the district more than $2.4 million, administrators and district staff have begun moving into the building recently, and the center will also house the district’s alternative programs beginning this fall. The agenda for Monday’s meeting only includes a handful of major action-only items. One of those items is consideration of approval of superintendent’s compensation. The board voted unanimously at its June 13 meeting to increase all administrators’ compensation in 2016-17 by 2.25 percent. Callaghan was paid about $167,000 in 2014-15. Callaghan will also present a report on 201617 teacher placements. Prior to Monday’s meeting, Callaghan and director of business services Gayle Isaac are set SCHOOL | 3A
County Conservation Board for what is now Ashton Wildwood Park. Black is a naturalist, once the conservation board’s director and has degrees in forest management and natural resource economics. Cleverley’s family and Black have found prehistoric Native American artifacts, including pieces of woodland clay pottery, arrow points and paleo atlatl dart points near a creek which dissects Cleverley’s property. Some of the pieces, Black says, are estimated at 7,000 years old. “I have walked the creek adjacent the property for 45 years, picking up an arrow point here and there, pottery shards, hammer stones and other lithic artifacts of a civilization that existed up to 9,000 years ago,” Black said via email. “I have been fortunate in finding several paleo points, which were propelled on a shaft using an atlatl.” The Iowa Department of Transportation has deemed the interchange the most viable option to increase safety on the one-mile stretch of Highway 330, which includes deadly intersections at Highways 117 and F17 in northern Jasper County. It’s the site of more than 121 crashes since 2003, and 11 deaths. The project is part of the IDOT’s fiveyear Iowa Highway Transportation Plan and is slated to begin construction in 2017. But first IDOT has to acquire the necessary federal and state permits. The Army Corps is responsible for regulating waterways under the Clean Water Act and protecting wildlife in the area under the Endangered Species Act before issuing permits for projects like the interchange. The IDNR also has an obligation under the Clean Water Act, and any certification of the project would INTERCHANGE | 9A
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Making an impact Newton Daily News honors 20 Under 40 recipients at luncheon By Kate Malott Newton Daily News If you look around, you’ll see that people of all ages give much of their time to help make their community a great place to live. Twenty individuals from Jasper County were awarded the 2016 Newton Daily News 20 Under 40 recognition, and award recipients celebrated at a special luncheon Thursday at Newton DMACC with keynote speaker “Iowa Nice Guy” Scott Siepker. Recipients are Rob Burdess, Rob Kahn, Chad Klein, Miranda Kulis, Brendan Lamont, Nicole Lindstrom, Jessica Lowe, Chantelle Lundberg, Brad Magg, Jeff Maki, Sveta Miller, Adam Otto, Abigail Pelzer, Jessica Petersen, Jeff Price, Danielle Rogers, Graham Sullivan, Natalie Umsted, Nathan Unsworth and Taylor Van De Krol. Family, friends and colleagues of recipients gathered for the luncheon to celebrate their achievements. The luncheon started with a welcome from Newton Daily News Publisher Dan Goetz and special remarks from Newton Development Corporation Executive Director Frank Liebl followed by the awards presentation by Goetz. “It’s humbling to be included in the inaugural 20 Under 40. The luncheon was an amazing showing of support. It was great to see so many people AWARDS | 3A
Kate Malott/Daily News Iowa Nice Guy Scott Siepker speaks to a crowd at the inaugural Newton Daily News 20 Under 40 luncheon Thursday at Newton DMACC. Recipients, family, friends and colleagues gathered to celebrate the recognition. See more photos from the event on 10A.
Newton CVB celebrates 20 years By Jamee A. Pierson Newton Daily News The Newton Convention and Visitors Bureau is celebrating 20 years of being the city’s “arm of marketing.” An open house celebration was held in honor of the anniversary on Thursday at Newton’s Visitors Center, 300 E. 17th St. S. “They are marketing the community to visitors, that has not changed in 20 years,” board member Annette West said. The CVB originally started in the mid1980s as the marketing source for the city of Newton. In 1996, the organization branched out on its own as a non-profit entity funded by a portion of the hotel/motel tax from the city. Jo VanGorp was named director of the CVB, having worked in a similar position
Jamee A. Pierson/Daily News City, business and community leaders were on hand to celebrate the Newton Convention and Visitors Bureau’s 20th anniversary at an open house on Thursday.
while it was under the city’s wing. In the years to follow additional directors Tiffany Menke, Dan Badger and Linda Bacon helped bring the organization to what it is today. The organization is currently without a director since Bacon stepped out of the position in April. Board
Member Margie Criswell said that the board is currently assessing the organization’s needs to determine how to move forward. “We do marketing and promotions, try to get people into the hotels and motels, to the attractions, to visit the speedway, Maytag Dairy or Centre for Arts and
Artists,” Criswell said. One major accomplishment of the CVB was to raise the funds received through the hotel/motel tax. In fiscal year 2006, a total of $215,497 was collected in taxes. That number increased to $339,545 10 years later, even with a CVB | 3A
FEATURE
WHERE IT’S AT Astrograph......................5B Calendar..........................5A Classifieds......................4B
HIGH
Comics & Puzzles...........6A Dear Abby........................6A Local News......................2A
Obituaries.......................5A Opinion............................4A State News......................7A
Youngsters on the stage
Newton Children’s Theatre to perform / 2A
Volume No. 115 No. 26 2 sections 18 pages
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