DES MOINES - The Governor’s Traffic Safety Bureau is urging Iowans to buckle up during the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s (NHTSA) Click It or Ticket high-visability enforcement effort. The National seat belt campaign, which coincides with the Memorial Day holiday, is May 22 to June 4, 2023.

On May 4, 2023, Governor Kim Reynolds signed House File 718, establishing a homestead tax exemption for claimants 65 years of age or older.

DES MOINES -- There's no better place to be a kid than the Iowa State Fair, and kids love the chance to win ribbons! Kids in all age categories have a chance to enter a favorite food, photo, art project, seed art and more at the Iowa State Fair. Learn about entering a new Ag Art Contest at the Fair, as well as your favorite competitions.

Tyler Moreland is our Jag of the Week!

Tyler is a great helper and hard worker both inside the classroom and out. He is willing to do anything asked of him and when one task is complete, he asks what can be done next.

He is very polite. Tyler is a great team player who works well with peers and adults alike.

By Courtney Sogard

Special to the Leader

The Dayton Community Club members met on Tuesday, May 9 at the Oak Park Golf Course for their monthly meeting.

This spring when driving through the countryside around the Brushy Creek State Park, don’t be alarmed if you see smoke plumes rising above the trees. This is more than likely a controlled burn than a bad PSA from Smokey the Bear on how forest fires can be preventable.

The Harcourt American Legion will meet at 10 a.m. on Monday, May 29 for the Memorial Day Program at the Harcourt Community Center. A reading of the veterans laid to rest at Lost Grove Cemetery will be read. Memorial Day is a day of remembrance for those who died in battle or from injuries sustained in WWI, WWII, The Vietnam War, The Korean War, and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

By Karl Jones

karl@calhouncountyphoenix.com

On May 8, the Lehigh City Council discussed the leftover asphalt grindings from road and patching projects. The leftover grindings will be available for free to residents. In order to get the leftover grindings, residents must call City Hall in order to be placed on a list.

By Courtney Sogared

Special to the Leader

Members of the Community Club took part in a training on how to respond to an opioid drug overdose by counteracting the effects of the drugs to the opioid receptors through the inhalation of narcan or naloxone.

Why do amphibians need special recognition?

We all know of the adorable little tadpoles seen swimming around shallow creek beds and ponds in the early spring and summer, but why should we care about them? Well, amphibians are unique in the fact that they are born in water, but then spend most of their life on land afterwards.

There's a pretty good chance that, in the next several weeks, Northeast Iowa will be visited by a few wandering black bears coming down from Minnesota and Wisconsin ahead of the breeding season. It's been an annual occurrence in this region each spring since 2014.

DES MOINES ⎯ Several state parks and forests will be hosting family-friendly programming and activities as part of Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) new Summer Kick-Off event, June 9-11.

A free, one-day workshop designed to help local communities redevelop brownfield sites on June 6 in Cedar Rapids and June 7 in Des Moines. The type of properties for consideration are where environmental contamination or concerns about hazardous materials, such as asbestos or lead-based paint in building materials, have hindered a community's interest in acquiring and redevelopment.

Video and other marketing innovations on the rise

By: Chris C. Nelson, Publisher/Owner

By: Chris C. Nelson, Publisher/Owner

Maybe you sing her praises daily and never forget to say thank you. Perhaps she’s always on your mind but it only takes an occasional call or visit to remind her of just how important she is to you.