Local displaced workers, as well as business and community leaders are invited to attend an Economic Development Luncheon, sponsored by the Benton Development Group and Kirkwood Community College on Thursday May 13. The luncheon will be held from noon to 1 p.m. at the Belle Plaine Museum.
The cost for the event is $10 and for additional information or to RSVP, contact Ranae Becker of the development group at bdg@bentoncountyiowa.com or call 319-472-5545.
The luncheon will cover Kirkwood training and outreach services for job training, career consortium, displaced workers and other programs available. There will also be a time for questions and answers.

Belle Plaine’s annual Clean-up Day is Monday, May 3. City crews will begin picking up materials from in front of residences at 8 a.m. Items for pick-up should be placed on the curb, where you normally place your garbage for pick-up, by that time.
Some items will require a sticker to be picked up. All televisions of any size will require a $20 sticker. A $10 sticker will be required per item for washers, dryers, dishwashers, water heaters, air conditioners, furnaces, stoves, microwaves, refrigerators and freezers (doors must be removed), humidifiers, computer monitors and tractor tires.
A $2.50 sticker is requires for each car tire (no rims).
A $5 sticker is required for each LP tank, butane cylinder, computer printers and towers, fax machines, copiers and semi tires.
Stickers are available at city hall and must be purchased before 5 p.m. today (Friday).
No stickers will be required for wire of all kinds, misc. metal, gutters, swing sets (broken down), bikes, grills, lawnmowers, car batteries and empty gas cans and furniture.
Items the city will not pick up include: tire rims, construction materials, plaster, brick, flooring, ceiling tiles, concrete, siding, garbage, junk vehicles, yard waste or brush, paint and liquids of any type.

Plainsman golfers notched another win Wednesday afternoon as the boys team rolled to a 165-185 win over North Mahaska at the Belle Plaine Country Club.
The meet medalist was Belle Plaine’s Logan Baburek with a 38. Scott Thenhaus was the runner-up with a 39. Other Plainsman scores included Mitch Jacobi, 40; Blake St. John and Austin Brown, 48 and Nick Bachelder, 51.
For the girls, Emma Northrop was the lone Plainsman golfer with a 49.

Jessica Dayton was found guilty of first degree murder this afternoon in the death of Curtis Bailey of Marengo. Dayton, 20, of Belle Plaine was charged in the July 18, 2009 death of Bailey in his Marengo home. Also charged in the case was Denise Frei, Bailey’s girlfriend and Jacob Hilgendorf, Belle Plaine, Frei’s son. Their trial has been scheduled for early next year.
The Iowa County jury returned the verdict shortly after 2:30 p.m. Tuesday after deliberating just over one day. Defense rested after not calling any witnesses. Dayton’s attorney maintained that the prosecution did not prove that Dayton had any direct involvement with Bailey’s death.
Dayton was taken from the courtroom back to the Iowa County Jail, where she awaits sentencing. A first degree murder conviction carries a mandatory life sentence in Iowa.

By Jeanne Duffy
BPCDC Executive Director
Can you imagine the excitement this week in Downtown Belle Plaine as not one, but two businesses share a grand opening.
With much pride, owners Matt and Timalee Clark will have their grand opening on both Friday, April 30th and Saturday, May lst at 823 on Main Street. Family owned and operated, their store contains a variety of interests. Within is Clark Soda Shop with old fashion drinks and shakes made from scratch, American Lazer Creations, and Paper Cuts and Other Stuff. Each area is managed by an individual in the Clark family. Opening is 7 am and seating is perfect for coffee clutch meetings any day of the week. And did I tell you, during the grand opening, milk shakes are 25 cents?
Just a few steps away, Double Take Design will celebrate their grand opening on Saturday, May lst from 10 am to 6 pm. Owner Jerilyn DeRaad will be showcasing both the downstairs which has furniture and home décor plus her upper design studio. Double Take Design is located at 823 on Main Street. Stop in and meet Jerilyn for a tour of her business and enjoy some delicious snacks.
Join Belle Plaine Community Development Corporation in welcoming these merchants to our downtown area.

Belle Plaine’s golf squad continued on its winning ways Monday as the boys rolled to a 166-234 win over Tri-County at the Sigourney Golf Club. Mitch Jacobi was the meet medalist with a 38 and teammate Scott Thenhaus was runner-up with a 41.
Other Plainsman scores included Nick Bachelder, 42; Logan Baburek and Austin Brown, 45 and Blake St. John, 49.
For the girls, Emma Northrop was a co-medalist with a 50.
“Tonight’s match was a little rough for us coming off a few days off with the weather,” Coach Brad Allen said. “166 is still respectable, but the golfers know they can do better. We got a chance to shake the rust off and are getting ready for an important stretch of our season.”
The Plainsmen are scheduled to host North Mahaska on Wednesday and their invitational on Friday.

A year ago, I set up shop in perhaps the most optimistic place in town – the offices of the Belle Plaine Community Development Corporation (BPCDC). In tough economic times, this was the place where the glass is always viewed as “half-full.” I have to keep that in mind when I tell you that this is my last day as editor of Belle Plaine Now.com.
They say you need to take chances to make anything good happen. About 15 months ago, a couple members of the BPCDC board approached me with an idea of creating an avenue for local news. The thought was that there’s enough happening in Belle Plaine that we really needed a news source devoted exclusively to what’s happening in our city. The first thought of printing a weekly newspaper was quickly discarded due to the ever-rising costs of newsprint and other associated printing costs. Besides, although I had more than 30 years of experience in the weekly newspaper game, I know that more and more people are growing impatient to receive their news. We live in a 24-hour news cycle, especially with national news, so why should local news take a back seat?
The BPCDC Board quickly embraced the concept, although I suspect some of the more conservative business people had their doubts. The site was launched with considerable fanfare and with one employee – me. I had little doubt I could find at least one story to post each weekday. Selling advertising in this economy was another matter.
But the initial response from local business people was wonderful. Most of the ads you see on our site represent business people who have been with us since the beginning.
Besides the financial support of those first advertisers, we received considerable moral support from folks who began to log onto our site in more and more numbers. I heard from people who lived far from Belle Plaine who still had an interest in what was happening in their home town. They began to rely on this site to keep them informed with local city and school news, local sports, obituaries, etc.
Unfortunately, while the news continued to flow, the ad prospects began to dwindle. Numerous attempts to add local advertisers fell short as we became more and more aware that the tough economy we are all facing individually is reflected in local business. Numerous attempts to convince regional and national advertisers to come on board did not bring results.
So after just over a year on line, the board made the tough decision to pare back expenses and eliminate the editor’s position, throwing yours truly into the growing ranks of the unemployed.
Quite often when an employee is separated from his work, there are hard feelings. Nothing could be further from the truth in this case. I was never really good at business, but the financial reality of the situation was impossible not to see. In order for the BPCDC to continue with its vital mission of bringing business to our city and the administer the wonderful Main Street Iowa program, some tough choices had to be made.
Online delivery of local news will increase over the coming months and years. At some point, advertisers who have relied on print ads will realize this. In fact, one the first ads I sold was to a local business whose owner said he knew the internet the coming thing.
So I still believe in online local news. I also believe in Belle Plaine. If my next career takes me back home to the Davenport area, I might be the only guy in Scott County walking around wearing a Belle Plaine Plainsman t-shirt. But if anybody asks me where Belle Plaine is, I will be glad to tell them. It’s a place full of great people who are excited about the future of their town.
Several months ago, as many of us began meeting to map out the future of this town, we were in a constant battle with a small group of people called “Cave people.” I recently heard a definition for cave people, “citizens against virtually everything.” As the months have passed and more local folks have seen the progress being made, the number of cave people in our town seems to be falling.
People are excited about the new aquatics center opening next month, about the new additions to our school buildings that will mean an enhanced learning environment for all of our children. Every day, people stop by this office to look at the designs for the streetscape project. Local officials hope to begin construction before the end of this construction season. Once completed, our downtown will be totally transformed and should be a place many people will want to come to shop and meet their friends.
I leave this position today with no bitterness, some sadness and a lot of appreciation to the people of the BPCDC board that had the courage and the foresight to give this venture a try. They hope to continue this site with the help of volunteers, so if you have some time and some interest, be sure to stop by and volunteer to keep this site going.

Robert H. Bernsten, 92, died Wednesday, April 14, 2010 at Northbrook Manor Care Center in Cedar Rapids following an illness. Funeral services will be Saturday, April 17 at St. Michael’s Catholic Church in Belle Plaine by Deacon Joe Behounek. Burial will be in Oak Hill Cemetery with Military Rites. Visitation will be 4-7 p.m. Friday, April 16 at the Hrabak Funeral Home with a Vigil Service at 6:30.

The Belle Plaine Rotary Club will host its annual Spaghetti Dinner on Thursday, April 22, from 5-7 p.m. at the American Legion Hall. The cost is $7 for adults, $3 for kids between the ages of 6-12 and five and under eat free.

Belle Plaine’s bid to receive a Community Attraction and Tourism (CAT) grant for its downtown revitalization project suffered a setback Wednesday, when the CAT board refused to refer the project for negotiations.
Meeting at the century old renovated Saints Center for Culture and the Arts in Stuart, the board reviewed eight applications for funding from across the state and referred two projects to the negotiations stage, the next step to grant approval.
City Administrator Bill Daily led a local contingent of Belle Plaine representatives at the meeting which also included Mayor Jim Daily, Councilman Marv DeRycke, Belle Plaine Community Development Executive Director Jeanne Duffy, community member Geraldine Norgaard and Jeff Orvis, editor of Belle Plaine Now.com.
This was the second time Belle Plaine representatives have appeared before the board requesting funding and the second time the city has submitted a grant for the project. The city had requested $513,000 toward the just over $2 million project. The CAT grant would be used for artistic enhancements for the project, which is also to include complete renovation of downtown streets and sidewalks and considerable renovation of the facades of many downtown buildings.
“It’s the piece of the puzzle that would bring people to town,” he said later.
Bill Daily briefly reminded the board what the city was hoping to do with a CAT grant, which would include public art, signs, etc.
Tammy Robinson, chair of the CAT committee, said she has struggled with the Belle Plaine project. She once again suggested that the city should demand more financial participation in the project from Main Street businesses. Daily replied that the businesses would incur considerable expense in upgrading their storefronts, as well as connecting on to new water lines that will be installed. Some businesses with canopies over the fronts of their storefronts will have the expense of shoring up their fronts after the canopies are removed. He added that demanding more financial participation was not realistic in the current economy.
Only 13 cities in the state currently have downtown tax assessments and none of them have populations similar to Belle Plaine, Daily said.
He also said the store owners have already responded favorably to the project. The community has shown its support for other projects in recent past, he said, pointing to the $600,000 raised toward the construction of the new aquatics center.
No other member of the board spoke during the Belle Plaine presentation. Robinson advised local leaders to continue working on the project and report back. In the meantime, the Belle Plaine project will be scored by CAT staff and then it will be determined if the proposal is still in the running for funding. Daily later said that the streetscape project is still on hold pending a final decision from the CAT board. But he added that it is hoped the project can get underway yet this year.
Seven other applications were reviewed during Wednesday’s meeting. Two of them, Buffalo Center’s request for just over $111,000 for a Heritage Town Center and Orange City’s request for just over $1 million for an events center were referred for negotiations. Historically, the board has granted up to 25 percent of a total project cost. In the negotiations stage, community representatives meet with CAT staff to determine a final grant figure that is then referred to the Vision Iowa Board for final approval.
Other projects reviewed included a Memorial Hall and Trail Head Welcome Center in Elma, recreation fields in West Union, downtown revitalization project in West Union, a downtown project in Kalona and the Hubbard Public Library.
The Belle Plaine project already has substantial funding from a variety of sources, including $2 million from the city, a Brownfield grant of $250,000, the first Community Development Block Grant for downtown revitalization in the amount of $500,000 and a $100,000 storm water management grant from the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, using I-Jobs funds.