MT. PLEASANT, Iowa — The former Iowa Wesleyan University campus in Mount Pleasant, Iowa is getting interest from outside buyers including a neighboring school district.

The university officially closed its doors in May due to financial troubles, which is raising questions about what will happen to the vacant campus.

This week, the Mount Pleasant Community School District moved forward with plans to acquire a large portion of the property, including the Howe Student Activity Center, University Chapel and practice fields.

KTVO spoke with Mount Pleasant Superintendent John Henriksen about the benefits of taking over the extra space.

“We felt like for the purchase price of Central Campus, which is $1,135,000, we will, once our due diligence period is done, we can put that gymnasium and the activity center to use right away. We can have our kids practicing in that facility. We can host games in that facility, it's something that we can use right away because we really are short of gym space in our district. The other building that we thought we could put to use immediately is the chapel. We do not have an auditorium here in our school district and so to have our fine arts have a facility that they could use right away for music or drama or whatever it might be. That's something that we can we can put to use right away," Henriksen said.

The proposed agreement also includes plans to acquire practice fields across the street from Mapleleaf Athletic Complex.

"We use city-owned facilities for some of our practices, Henriksen said. "We also use city owned fields to play and practice soccer in the spring. That happens out of East Lake Park just east of town and what we envision is bringing our boys soccer team into town and putting them on those practice fields right away, so they don't have to travel out to East Lake Park."

Henriksen said he hopes the district can get the deal closed soon so they can start using the additional facilities as early as November 2023.

KEOKUK COUNTY, Iowa — A small business owner is hoping fellow southeast Iowans will aid him in repairing a disabled veteran’s Hedrick home.

Alex Dix has organized the GoFundMe called "Join Alex in Repairing a Hero's Home" for veteran Steven Hunt.

Hunt served in the U.S. Navy and lost his sight from an explosion during the Vietnam War.

Dix started working on Hunt’s lawn last year, which is when he noticed the home was beginning to fall apart.

Repairing the roof is the main goal of the fundraiser, especially a hole that Hunt says allows quite a bit of water to get into the house.

Hunt says he has been having trouble getting a contractor to come to the house for an estimate.

Dix says that Mr. Hunt can get around pretty well despite his disability and has even done some construction on his own.

However, his wife passed away about seven years ago who Dix says was his main advocate.

Now, Dix hopes the community will help him advocate for the veteran.

Mr. Hunt does not know about the fundraiser and Dix would prefer to keep it that way to surprise the veteran with the community support.

Dix is willing to match up to $3000 in donations made.

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To donate or share, the GoFundMe can be found here.

OTTUMWA, Iowa — On July 1, House File 2605 will place new regulations on consumable hemp products in the Hawkeye State.

KTVO spoke with Ottumwa CBD / Delta-9 store, Mad-Zen, on Friday about the repercussions of the legislation on business.

Ottumwa's Iowa House Representative Hans Wilz (R-District 25) says that although he voted for the bill, he is amongst a handful of Republicans who were against the original proposal, fearing it would hurt the industry.

Rep. Wilz explained that he agrees with the portion of the bill that prohibits marketing consumable hemp products to young people and raising the legal age limit to purchase 21.

He further explained that getting an amendment passed to allow up to four milligrams of THC per serving rather than zero, allowed him to vote for the bill.

“We also worked as a caucus, several of us, to change it from a zero, to get it back to, we wanted five milligrams and ended up at four, which, you know, the beverage side of the industry could work with per serving," said Wilz. "The consumable side made it much more difficult. You know, it's a packaging issue. It's a labeling issue. The intention for us, honestly, is to go back next session and work very hard for the growers, work very hard for the retailers, to make it so that it's more fair.”

Wilz says that this compromise was the best they could do given how quickly the legislation came up.

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Wilz says they plan to work with businesses and industry experts to have those solutions ready for the next legislative session.

LEWIS COUNTY, Mo. — Northeast Missouri investigators are asking for your help to identify a couple of people who may be connected to multiple car thefts and car break-ins.

During the early morning hours of May 25, 2024, several vehicles in Lewis County were stolen and/or entered.

The sheriff’s office took approximately 15 reports in Ewing, Lewistown and La Belle.

The following weekend the La Grange Police Department also investigated several incidents.

While all of the vehicles have been recovered, investigators are still seeking information about potential suspects.

Two people were caught on camera, and authorities would like to know their identities.

Anyone with possible information should contact the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office at 573-767-5287.

Or you can go to lewiscosheriff.org and submit an anonymous report on the crime tips hotline.

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Officers remind you to remember to lock your cars and trucks and take all valuables out of your vehicles at night.

KIRKSVILLE, Mo. — If you live near North Osteopathy Avenue in Kirksville, you may face some traffic delays Wednesday morning.

That's because city crews will close the southbound lane near Spur Pond for sewer work.

The closure is expected to last from 8 a.m. until 12 p.m.

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City officials encourage all drivers to pay attention to road signs and use alternate routes if needed.