Guthrie County Supervisors Meet with State Jail Inspector, Conservation Board Director

The Guthrie Board of Supervisors met Thursday and discussed numerous items.

State Jail Inspector Delbert Longley began the meeting with an update on the status of the Guthrie County jail.  He says it is outdated and not meeting certain state classifications, though only about 10% of jails in the state of Iowa do meet such classifications.

If the Guthrie County jail completely fails Longley’s inspection, it could be shut down and Longley could force the county to build a new facility.  Such a possibility is remote, as Longley says the county “has a pretty decent jail,” though the way it operates does open the Sheriff’s Department up to some liabilities.

Sheriff Marty Arganbright acknowledged that his jail isn’t perfect, but he does take pride in having a “great staff of professionals that keep the jail clean and take good care of prisoners.”

Longley says he has only forced one county jail to shut down in Iowa during his near decade as the state jail inspector.

To conclude yesterday’s meeting, Guthrie County Conservation Board Director Joe Hanner met with the Board to discuss the county’s gravel bike trail crossings.

Hanner asked the Supervisors for their approval to apply for a state recreational trails grant that would help pay for the paving of the county’s 14 trail crossings.  Hanner says there is $5 million available in state funding through this program and he expects the application process to be very competitive and challenging.

It is estimated that the cost to pave a trail crossing is about $5,500 apiece according to Hanner.  He says the grant is a 75-25 matching grant, whereby his Conservation Board and the county would be responsible for 25% of funding.  The application deadline for the state trails grant is July 1st.

Ultimately, the Supervisors gave Hanner the go-ahead to apply for the grant with the stipulation that the Conservation Board will do all the maintenance on the crossings, subject to the availability of department funds.

Stuart Fire Department Receives Another Local Grant

The Stuart Fire Department has received another grant from a local source. 

After the department secured a little more than $4,000 from the Guthrie County Community Foundation earlier this year, Chief Mike Renslow tells Raccoon Valley Radio that Stuart Fire has now been awarded a grant of almost $4,400 from the Flint Hills Resources ethanol plant near town.

Renslow says the funds will be used to purchase four new rescue harnesses and a tripod and winch system that can be used for confined space rescues.

Renslow thanks Flint Hills for the grant funding, saying it will “allow Stuart Fire to continue serving the Stuart community to the best of its ability.”

Stuart Chamber Meets to Discuss Upcoming Good Egg Days Celebration

Members of the Stuart Chamber of Commerce met Wednesday for their June session.

To begin the meeting, Treasurer Shannon Behnken went over the organization’s May financials.  The Chamber experienced a net loss of a little more than $550 last month after paying its annual insurance bill.

The Chamber’s net ending balance still sits at more than $6,100.

After briefly discussing this weekend’s Whitepole Road garage sales, the Chamber spent much of its meeting talking about Stuart’s Good Egg Days Celebration coming up in a week in a half.

Event coordinator Shannon Behnken says the schedule of events for Good Egg Days has been finalized, though she says the Chamber is still looking for an area business or resident to sponsor the Friday meal on June 13th.  If no sponsors are found, Behnken says the Chamber itself will host the supper but she will need volunteers.

The Chamber has nominated Jeff Howard to receive this year’s Citizen of the Year Award in Stuart, while Cozette Harris has been selected as the Grand Marshall of the Good Egg Days Parade.

There is one time change to note in relation to Good Egg Days–the Boy Scouts flag presentation during Saturday’s National Anthem will now begin at 12:30 instead of noon.  Festivities for the town’s big celebration begin at 5 o’clock on Friday evening the 13th.

The Stuart Chamber will next convene on Wednesday, July 2nd at Country Kitchen.

Unofficial Primary Election Results for Guthrie County

Unofficial primary results are in in Guthrie County after a small portion of eligible voters cast their ballots during Tuesday’s elections.

According to the Guthrie County Auditor’s Office, the two incumbent Republican Supervisors in the county have received the nomination from their party and are moving on to the November election.  In District #2, Clifford Carney received 133 votes to challenger Todd Hambleton’s 86 votes.  Then in District #4, Tom Rutledge received 154 votes compared to the 57 votes for challenger Bruce Lauritsen.

In the third Supervisors district, Republican incumbent Everett Grasty ran unopposed Tuesday and received 133 votes.  He will now face Democrat Kathi Miller in November’s general election.

Guthrie County Treasurer Marci Schreck, County Recorder Jacki Sloss and County Attorney Mary Benton all retain their positions after running unopposed Tuesday.

In the U.S. Senate race for the Republican nomination, Guthrie County voters overwhelmingly supported Joni Ernst with 559 votes compared to Sam Clovis’ 103 votes, and the 83 votes apiece from Mark Jacobs and Matt Whitaker.

One other race of note, in the race for the Republican nomination in Iowa’s 3rd Congressional District, Guthrie County chose Monte Shaw with 317 votes, while Robert Cramer was second with 149 votes.  Brad Zaun, Matt Schultz and David Young also had solid showings in Guthrie County.

That race will now be decided by a district caucus.

All primary results are unofficial until canvassed by the Guthrie County Board of Supervisors.  To see a detailed list of the results from Tuesday’s primary, CLICK HERE.

Main Street Iowa Officials Visit Guthrie Center to Discuss Design, Project Financing

Officials from Main Street Iowa were in Guthrie Center all day yesterday to meet with community members and city leaders, and also take an official tour of the town’s downtown district.

During their meeting with City Hall officials and members of Guthrie Center Revitalization, Main Street Iowa’s Tim Reinders and Katelyn Rutledge discussed a variety of different program topics such as project financing and design. 

With Guthrie Center about to enter into its facade improvement project through a Community Development and Block Grant, Reinders encouraged Main Street Guthrie Center to next apply for a grant through the Iowa Economic Development Authority called a Main Street Iowa Challenge Grant.

The grants are likely to come available in July with an application deadline around September 1st.  $75,000 is the maximum amount of state funding that Guthrie Center could see in these Challenge Grants, though they are matching grants.

If Main Street Guthrie Center does pursue this grant, Reinders recommends they utilize funds after the City’s $500,000 facade project is completed in November.

According to the IEDA, $951,000 in funding was distributed to 14 Main Street Iowa communities through the Challenge Grant program during last year’s grant cycle.