Amid Controversy
The links of the people of the Pleasant Hill School District and Iowa Power and Light Company can be no more evident than in the town’s creation. The formation of the town was a direct outgrowth of the legal battles over consolidation. The people of Youngstown and Ipalco wished to avoid the school merger and resulting higher taxation by becoming a town.
During the first court battle over the legality of the consolidated school, the idea for incorporation was brought up. Prior to that a few citizens, Chick Chmura for one, had suggested incorporation, but they were not taken seriously. The people of Youngstown could see no reason for becoming a town. They paid the lowest school taxes in the county, and their county taxes were only 11 mills.
