The decision of Tom Mohrhauser to retire gave Allyson Dirksen an opportunity to work a little closer to home.
    Mohrhauser, owner of Tom Mohrhauser Law Firm has chosen to retire. That story will come in a couple weeks. Dirksen and her fellow partners at Heidman Law Firm in Sioux City saw an opportunity to expand their clientele. A much added bonus, Dirksen, who lives in Danbury with her husband, Matt and kids, William, Lauren, Kate, Leah, and James will be able to save some mileage three days a week with this much shorter commute.
    "Tom has been friends with one of my senior partners John Gray for many years," said Dirksen. As a result, Tom and my firm have collaborated on client matters over the years and have had a good working relationship. My partners were also obviously aware that my family and I reside in Danbury and are very invested in this community. Collectively, my partners and I felt it was a good opportunity to support clients who live on this side of Woodbury County or in Monona, Crawford, Ida and other surrounding counties, while at the same time helping to reduce some of my windshield time."
    Allyson, who has been practicing law since 2011, all at the Heidman Law Firm and a partner since 2017, will be bringing a multitude of law knowledge to the area.
    "I have practiced in many areas over the years from general business, estate planning and probate, and real estate to more specialized areas such as health law, school law, municipal law, employment law, and administrative law."
    With change of ownership sometimes comes changes other changes. One of those changes will be seen when walking into the building. Joann Treiber, Tom's assistant will also be retiring (that story will come in a couple weeks). Jen Ruth will be the office assistant in the Mapleton office. She has been working for Heidman in Sioux City for some time but lives in Sloan and is originally from Onawa.
    Dirksen added that Heidman intends to maintain the same open office hours in Mapleton as Tom had. This will mean that the Mapleton office is open Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday from 8 am to 4 pm. However, on days when the physical Mapleton location is closed, clients will still be able to get in touch with Heidman, as the phones will roll to the Sioux City office. Want to visit specifically with Allyson? She will be working from the Mapleton office location on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays and in the Sioux City office on Tuesdays and Fridays. They will be closed this week as they transition into the office.
    "At Heidman, we have twenty practicing attorneys and offer a wide range of legal services," Allyson concluded.
    More information about Heidman Law can be found at heidmanlaw.com.
    Photo by The Mapleton Press. Thanks, Jenna!

    DES MOINES, IA – Iowa's new hands free driving law prohibiting hand-held device usage while driving went into effect on July 1, 2025, with an initial warning period through December 31, 2025. Law enforcement and public safety groups, like the Iowa Department of Public Safety, Iowa Governor's Traffic and Safety Bureau, and the Iowa Bicycle Coalition, will be working to educate the public about the new law during this 6-month warning period. Governor Kim Reynolds signed bill SF 22 into law on April 2, 2025, making Iowa the 31st state in the nation to enact hands-free legislation.
    Familiarize yourself with the new rules, using online resources like BIKEIOWA, Iowa Department of Public Safety, Drive Smart Iowa, and GTSB, for details on the hands free driving law.
    Practice keeping your hands off your phone - identify your triggers, wrap up messages and call before driving, and rely on passengers.
    Turn your phone to "Driving Focus" or "Do Not Disturb" mode while driving.
    Install a vehicle phone mount, auxiliary phone cable, or bluetooth connected technology in your vehicle.
    Remember the risks and costs of driving distracted. Keeping your phone out of your hands will help save lives.
    Another goal of the program is also to highlight existing programs such as the Share the Road license plate program with the IDOT and Safe Routes to School program, as well as further policy measures that should be taken up in future legislative sessions to continue to put public safety first, such as a Safe Passing Law and combating Super Speeders legislation, like recently passed legislation in Georgia and Washington state.

    Last year Tim Treiber visited a Danbury City Council meeting to discuss a possible land acquisition to increase the physical size of town and to give an area in which people can building homes. The council tabled the conversation so that they could research to proposal a bit more. In the end, they decided that this land acquisition would indeed be a nice expansion to the town, but the city was not able to purchase the land and had to pass on the opportunity.
    The Treiber family was not to be dissuaded, though. They pursued a voluntary annexation. A voluntary annexation means that the landowner petitions the city to become part of the city. In this case, Austin and Steffany Bettin became the petitioners with the goal of building a home across from the Jean and Mike Barry home. The Bettins and along with Steff's parents Joann and Tim Treiber did the legwork to get the petition, resolution, and all needed in order. The group met with council a number of times, and the council discussed the pros and cons. While it seemed like adding more land to the town seemed like a no-brainer, potential costs needed to be addressed. Sewer and water were high on the list of concerns, and ordinances were researched by the Bettins, Treibers, council members, and by city attorney Allyson Dirksen.
    On June 24th, the council passed an annexation agreement with the Bettins. They also approved a building permit so that the Bettins could begin the building of their dream home. Soon, the Barrys will no longer be on the edge of the city property.
    The city is also considering annexing more of the land along Hawkeye as there is more interest in home building in that area.

    Danbury's citywide garage sales will be Friday and Saturday, July 18th and 19th.
    If you would like to have a garage sale in Danbury, please either call 712-893-2001 or text 712-840-0327 or email review@danbury.ia.com. Now's the time to clean out your house and hopefully make some cash for your once loved treasures.
    Map will be printed next week.