Jason Parrott

WASHINGTON, DC

A small delegation from southeast Iowa will spend the next two days meeting with federal lawmakers and representatives of various agencies.

Fort Madison City Manager Byron Smith says the group will push a series of regional initiatives including transportation, flood management, health care, and defense spending.

He plans to also bring up a few Fort Madison-centric ideas during his time in Washington D.C.

Jason Parrott’s guests are Keokuk Tourism Director Kirk Brandenberger and Wes Pohorsky, who is a longtime member of the Keokuk Tourism Board.

A Keokuk tradition is celebrating a major milestone this month as the 25th annual Civil War Reenactment will run from Friday, April 27th through Sunday, April 29th.

“It will probably hit after it’s over with,” says Brandenberger about the thought of the 25th anniversary.  “Right now, we are just working real hard towards putting on a great event for the area.”

The Keokuk City Council has signed off on a plan that could possibly lead to additional federal funding for Keokuk Area Hospital. 

It starts with the panel’s vote of 7-2 last night to contribute $100,000.

KAH CEO Wally Winkler says the city’s contribution will be paired with a $100,000 contribution from Lee County.  He says that money could result in roughly $510-thousand dollars for the hospital.

Winkler says additional state funding is also a possibility.

The city of Fort Madison is going to take its turn in trying to secure funding for a proposed sports complex.

The city has already pledged $500,000 over the next two years to the construction of three football/soccer fields and three baseball/softball diamonds.

The city council will write a letter to the Lee County Board of Supervisors to try to encourage the county to increase its contribution of $3,000 over three years.

Mayor Brad Randolph asked for the letter to be placed before the council.

The city of Fort Madison has a new mayor as the city council appointed Alderman At-Large Brad Randolph to the post during Tuesday night’s meeting.

Randolph served as Mayor Pro Tem under former Mayor Steve Ireland, who passed away last month.  Randolph has been serving as mayor since then.

Randolph says he is both honored and humbled to be Fort Madison’s new mayor.  He says one of his top priorities will be to complete a project near and dear to Ireland’s heart: the renovation of the Santa Fe Depot Complex.

The Keokuk City Council is ready to take the leap and go paperless.  The panel has reached a consensus to purchase 13 iPad 2’s for use during meetings.

City Clerk Barb Barnes says they should cost about $400 each, so the total price tag would be about $5,200.

The 13 iPads would be provided to each of the nine city council members along with Barnes, Mayor Tom Marion, Community Development Director Pam Broomhall and Public Works Director Mark Bousselot.

The Burlington School District is going back to the drawing board when it comes to reshaping school boundaries. 

Superintendent Jane Evans says the district’s elementary enrollment is out of balance.  She says, for example, North Hill has too many students while Blackhawk is running well below capacity.

The district estimates that 14% of its elementary school students do not attend their neighborhood school.  In response, it identified a neighborhood where students could change schools to help balance out the enrollment figures.