The Linn Valley City Council held its bi-monthly meeting at 7 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 9, 2023, with Mayor Cindy Smith presiding and all council members present.
Codes Enforcement Officer Don Hastings reported that the total number of permits issued in 2022 was 460, including 28 for new home construction. Last October, the council approved the 6-month moratorium on accepting new building permits, with the stipulation that the moratorium could possibly be lifted prior to April, 2024, if there was a significant reduction in the backlog of open building permits. Based on progress made to date, the council voted to approve Smith’s recommendation to lift the ban on building permits with the exception of permits related to water and wastewater hookups. Smith complimented Hastings and Codes Clerk Jenny Schooler for their efforts in reducing the permit backlog.
In a unanimous vote, the council adopted Resolution No. 119 updating the fees for permits and other services provided by the city. This resolution repeals Resolution 112 and will be posted on the city’s website.
Public Safety Director Corey Murrison reported on Police Department activity in the city during the past month, including one citation issued for Criminal Littering at the trash compactor. Murrison reported that two arrests were made for Possession of Narcotics; as well as, an out-of-county warrant arrest. On New Year’s weekend a routine vehicle stop led to the discovery of narcotics and a stolen handgun. The handgun was sent off for testing as it was believed to have been used in a shooting. In another incident, the report of a suspicious vehicle led to a stop of a truck from which the occupants had removed the gate at the golf course to gain entry. The vehicle was stopped while the occupants were attempting to leave Linn Valley, at which time the driver bailed out and ran. A female occupant remained in the vehicle and eventually identified the driver. When the registered owner of the truck was contacted it was discovered that the truck had been stolen from a business in La Cygne. The female subject was arrested for obstruction and an application for arrest warrant was issued for the runaway driver.
The Police Department had budgeted $8,700/year for new car and body video cameras. The system quoted required a subscription to an Amazon cloud storage account at an annual cost of $2,800, thus the five-year cost for the system was calculated at $57,500. Murrison was able to find a car and body camera system at a one-time cost of $12,036 which does not require cloud-based storage and simply downloads the video to the department’s server. The council voted to approve an additional $3,336 over the originally budgeted amount of $8,700 for the system.
Murrison reported that the Fire Department responded to 10 medical calls, one fire and two vehicle accidents in Linn Valley; as well as, seven medical calls and one vehicle accident in Miami County.
City Clerk Karen Siffring presented the December 2022 Financial Report which included General Fund income of $19,737 and expenses totaling $64,879. The total income received for 2022 was $782,333 with total expenses of $832,146. The Council voted to approve expense vouchers totaling $170,423 for the month of December.
In a unanimous vote, the council approved Resolution No. 120 exempting the city from compliance with the GAAP (“Generally Accepted Accounting Principles”) for the year ending December 31, 2023.
MEETINGS
LINN COUNTY COMMISSIONERS - Monday, October 23, 2023

The Linn County Commissioners met in regular session on Monday, Oct. 23, and began their weekly meeting with the approval of the minutes of the last meeting followed by the approval of claims in the amount of $272,818.97. Linn County Rural Fire Chief Randy Hegwald presented... [More]
LA CYGNE CITY COUNCIL - Wednesday, October 18, 2023

Among actions at the regular La Cygne council meeting last Wednesday, Oct. 18, was a split vote in which the city accepts a draft agreement for title search and warranty deed preparation of seven lots at 402 S. Broadway in exchange for absorbing a $16,400 house demolition bill.... [More]
LINN VALLEY CITY COUNCIL - Monday, October 23, 2023

The Linn Valley City Council held its bi-monthly meeting at 7:00 PM on Monday, October 23, 2023, with Mayor Cindy Smith presiding and all council members present. Following approval of the October 9th and October 14th meeting minutes, Mayor Smith opened the floor... [More]
More Meetings
- USD 362 SCHOOL BOARD - Tuesday, October 17, 2023
- LINN COUNTY COMMISSIONERS - Monday, October 2, 2023
- PLEASANTON CITY COUNCIL - Monday, October 2, 2023
- BLUE MOUND CITY COUNCIL - Monday, October 2, 2023
- LINN COUNTY COMMISSIONERS - Monday, August 28, 2023
- LINN VALLEY CITY COUNCIL - Monday, August 28, 2023
- USD 344 SCHOOL BOARD - Monday, August 14, 2023
- USD 346 SCHOOL BOARD - Monday, August 14, 2023
NEWS
Pleasanton PD makes drug arrest during domestic call

On July 24 officers with the Pleasanton Police Department responded to a call for an ongoing domestic issue at 605 E. 5th Street in Cabin 3 with the assistance of the Linn County Sheriff’s Office. During the ensuing investigation, it was found that the... [More]
Commissioners review departmental budgets

SEKMHC budget cut During the July 28 meeting, the Linn County Commissioners reviewed several departmental budgets. Discussions began with Linn County Sheriff James Akes. Sheriff Akes explained to commissioners that initially he had budgeted extra hours to cover... [More]
Wisdom appointed Pleasanton Fire Chief

Following the resignation of Jimmy Watts as Pleasanton Fire Chief after last week’s council meeting, the Pleasanton Council appointed Jeff Wisdom as the new chief of the city fire department. Wisdom took the podium Monday night and said he’d spoken to the fire fighters... [More]
More News
- Pleasanton Council cuts to get to revenue neutral
- Local residents warn of bad business practices
- Special: Resurfacing to begin on U.S. 69 in Linn County
- Pleasanton FD again at center of heated discussion
- La Cygne city to be below revenue neutral
- USD 362 files revenue-neutral exceedances
- Commissioners discuss airport future, request more information
- SPECIAL: Resurfacing on U.S. 59 in Anderson County to begin in August 4
SPORTS
Pleasanton trapshooting team shows grit at National Championship

Eight members of the Pleasanton Trapshooting Team traveled to Mason, Mich., last week to compete in the USA Clay Target League National Championship. Five members participated in the team event, and all eight competed individually. The team was among 264 qualified teams competing... [More]
Blue Mound softball earns second place at Crest

The Blue Mound girls’ coach pitch team 1 places second at the TRL girls’ coach pitch tournament at Colony. The tournament took place from July 7 to July 9.
More Sports
- Nobodys wins Blue Mound co-ed softball tournament
- Pleasanton 12-14 baseball wins championship
- Gratton at Nationals
- Summer Ball Tournaments
- Summer Ball Tournaments
- Pleasanton/Jayhawk trapshooting team places seventh at State, Wallace earns State championship
- Joey Ewalt impacting youth wrestling here and abroad
- Prairie View trapshooting competes at State