At this week’s Dallas County Board of Supervisors meeting, they held a lengthy discussion about creating a pioneer cemetery ordinance.

A pioneer cemetery is defined by Iowa State Code as any cemetery where there hasn’t been more than 12 burials in the last 50 years. In general, these cemeteries are no longer active, but still need to be maintained. The majority of the pioneer cemeteries in Dallas County are overseen by local townships, but the Board is considering creating an ordinance that would bring them under the Supervisors’ jurisdiction.

Several representatives from the townships attended the meeting to weigh in on the topic. In the end the Board acknowledged the need for a pioneer cemetery ordinance, but fell short of actually creating one. They discussed using the ordinance used by Iowa County as a baseline for their own, and invited the township representatives back for when they next discuss it.