Grand Opening of the New Iowa Fire Museum in Perry Saturday
A local resident’s dream is coming true and he invites everyone to come celebrate this weekend.
Brian Eiteman has been working on the idea of opening the Iowa Fire Museum and Fire Prevention Education Center in Perry essentially since he was a kid.
“It’s a lifelong goal. Ever since I can remember I’ve been around the fire department, I played hide and go seek in the firetrucks. I don’t know any of the little children that I teach fire prevention to that don’t want to be firemen when they grow up. So it’s kind of the kid in me that still likes to play with the firetrucks. I’m trying to express that and show people what it’s like and maybe they’ll get excited about it a little bit too, and know what we go through every day.”
Saturday it all becomes a reality with a grand opening.
Eiteman says the mission is to preserve and protect the histories and stories of small town fire departments in the state of Iowa. The museum, located downtown Perry at 1122 2nd Street, houses fire equipment and uniforms, historic photos and memorabilia.
Saturday’s open house starts at 9am. There will be an antique fire truck vehicle show, water fights with the local firefighters and a ribbon cutting at 10am.
Perry to be Announced as the Home of a New Certified Site
Several Perry business leaders plan to attend Governor Terry Branstad’s weekly press conference at the state capitol next week as he’s expected to announce the next round of certified sites in the state, Perry being the home of one of them.
The Certified Site program is run by the Iowa Economic Development Authority. It helps companies looking to build new facilities know that the land at the certified sites is not only suitable for development but also relatively “risk-free”. The first set of certified sites was announced in April of last year, and two of the four are located in Dallas County.
Several local entities have been working together to obtain the certified site designation for more than a year.
Perry Schools Superintendent Disappointed Governor’s Veto of School Funding Bill
“Very disappointed!” That’s how Perry Schools Superintendent Lynn Ubben summarized her feelings about Governor Terry Branstad’s decision to veto the $56 million in one-time funding for schools that was approved by the legislature.
Ubben says the Perry School District would have received a $204,472 share of that funding, which would have been used to update curriculum, textbooks, library books and instructional materials needed in the classrooms.
“Unfortunately, 1.25 percent State Supplemental Aid does not cover increases in operational costs for school districts across the state” says Ubben. She adds that the decision contradicts the goal of having “World Class Schools” in Iowa and “Our students are our ‘greatest resource’ and they deserve better!”
Ubben added that the Governor talked about schools needing certainty and long term funding but she doesn’t see how his veto of the one-time funding gives schools any certainty. Overall, the Superintendent says the District’s only certainty from this year’s session is that Iowa’s legislature and Governor haven’t provided sufficient resources for educating students.
Light Rain Received this Week Locally
July is off to a relatively dry start here in the Raccoon River Valley.
According to the National Weather Service, Perry received just over half an inch of rain this last week, for a total of 0.53 inch so far this month.
Guthrie Center received 0.18 inch this past week for a total of 0.28 inches since the start of July and Jefferson received 0.16 inch or 0.2 inch so far this month.
Normal monthly rainfall totals for July are 4.4 inches for Perry, 4.6 inches for Jefferson and 4.8 inches for Guthrie Center.
Perry Chamber Helps Raccoon Valley Radio Officially Debut the New 99.7 FM
Around a dozen Perry Chamber members stopped by the Raccoon Valley Radio studios in Perry Thursday to celebrate the official debut of the new 99.7 FM.
General Manager John McGee, Sports Director Shawn Kenney, Program Director Chris Cohea and Perry Chamber Executive Director Bob Wilson all said a few works about the expansion of AM 1310 KDLS on the FM dial before the on-air ribbon cutting. Attendees were also able to learn more about the FM translator project, what it means for the local community and take tours of the station.
You can now hear all your Dallas County area news and information on the new FM 99.7 and AM 1310 KDLS.