Jennifer Jones was sworn in as Jackson County's newly elected county recorder at the Board of Supervisors' Jan. 2 organizational meeting.

'2I will support the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the state of Iowa,'2 Jones repeated during the oath administered by Chair Don Swicker.

The board moved quickly through routine organizational business that followed. Supervisors reappointed Don Swicker as board chair and Nin Plago as vice chair for the 2026 calendar year after a motion by Supervisor Mike Sinez and a second by Plago; the motion passed by voice vote.

The meeting also included a slate of reappointments to outside boards. The supervisors voted to reappoint the county's representatives to the Seventh Judicial Department corrections board and to the Jackson County Economic Alliance Board, extending the economic alliance appointments through Dec. 31, 2026, as staff clarified those are two-year terms. Names in the transcript include Don (Swicker/Swankert variant) and Ryan Kilper (transcript variant); the board approved the reappointments by voice vote.

Supervisors debated how to designate the county's official newspapers for 2026 and whether doing so could reduce printing costs for statutorily required public notices. One participant said the county spent about $55,000 on publications in a six-month period and suggested considering a single official paper or rotating the designation to save taxpayer dollars. Jackson County Auditor Lisa explained state rules still require certain printed notices and sample-ballot information, though some electronic posting has reduced other printing needs.

After discussion, the board adopted a motion to designate the county's official 2026 newspaper as "the paper with the largest circulation," directing staff to verify circulation figures and to revisit the designation if needed. The motion was made and seconded and carried by voice vote; no roll-call tally was recorded in the transcript.

The supervisors also approved the 2026 outside committee assignment list and named Jack as the primary representative to the county's Disability Access Point (DAP) with Ned as alternate, subject to compliance with state code. A separate conservation-board appointment was held for a later meeting.

The session concluded with a motion to adjourn, which passed by voice vote. The board's next regular meeting was announced for Tuesday, Jan. 6, at 9 a.m.

Details recorded in the meeting transcript are verbatim where noted; where the transcript presents variant spellings of names, the article preserves the names as they appear in the record and notes appointment expirations and statutory requirements as stated by staff.