10/06/25
Owen Wibstad (9)
10/07/2025
Etta Banks
10/11/2025
Greyson Miller (7)
10/11/2025
Rick Mabeus
10/5/25-10/11/25 Fire Prevention Week!
Fire Prevention Week 2025 is Sunday, October 5 through Saturday, October 11th. The week in October commemorates the Great Chicago Fire which began on October 8, 1871, and killed over 250 people, left 100,000 homeless, destroyed over 17,400 structures and burned more than 2,000 acres.
This year’s theme is “Charge into Fire Safety: Lithium-Ion Batteries in Your Home”. This campaign is sponsored by the National Fire Protection Association, and the goal is to educate the public on how to safely purchase, charge, and recycle lithium-ion batteries to prevent fires. Other things to keep in mind: have a home fire escape plan, test and replace batteries with smoke detectors, and practice natural gas safety. Area Fire Departments have the opportunity to focus on fire safety education.
4-H Open House Next Week
The ISU Extension office in Mt. Pleasant is holding an open house/kickoff event for 4-H Kids and families on October 7th and 8th. These events are open to all Henry County families: new and returning, and give people the opportunity to see what 4-H is about. Tuesday, October 7th, is Clover Kids Night for grades K-3 from 6-7pm and Wednesday, October 8th is Welcome Night for grades 4-12. Explore what 4-H has to offer, meet your local clubs and leaders, get enrolled for the year, explore activity stations. The Henry County ISU Extension office is located at 127 N. Main Street in Mt. Pleasant.
High Temps Contribute to Risk of Field/Machine Fires
The National Weather Service has issued a severe weather outlook for Southeast Iowa for today and tomorrow: Breezy conditions and unseasonably warm temperatures combined with dry cropland will lead to a risk for field fires that could spread quickly today. Winds could gust up to 25 to 30 MPH. Outdoor burning is strongly discouraged. Fire danger is elevated again on Sunday. There is a chance for thunderstorms Sunday night through Monday.
Henry County reported over a dozen field fires in October a year ago due to dry conditions. The ISU Extension and Outreach Department reports that the primary factor related to field fires is the higher air temperature.
With dry conditions, the risk of machinery fires increases. The Iowa State University Extension Office advises farmers to keep machinery clean of caked-on oil, grease, and crop residue. Stay on top of maintenance by checking air filters, coolants, and oil levels. Keep fire extinguishers on hand.
Danville City Council to Meet Next Week
The City of Danville City Council will hold two meetings on Tuesday, October 6th. A motion to meet in closed session will begin at 5:15pm. There will be no action taken during this meeting. The council will then meet in regular session at 5:45pm. This meeting is open to the public.
Fuel Prices Fall
Gas prices continue to trend down in the latest fuel report from the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship and AAA Iowa The price of a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline in Iowa fell five cents from last weeks prices and is down 13 cents from a year ago.
The state’s average remains 30 cents below the national average. Retail diesel prices remained unchanged throughout Iowa at $3.50 cents, which is an increase of 19 cents from prices reported in 2024. Iowa prices remain below the national average for diesel by 21 cents. Federal reporting will now begin on retail heating oil and propane prices, which will be released in upcoming fuel reports.
Sports, October 4th
High School Football
It felt like Mt. Pleasant was taking years of frustration out on Fort Madison last night as the Panthers demolished the Bloodhounds on their Homecoming night 61-0. The offense was firing on all cylinders with Grayson Walker finding Brody Clark, Kaden Schadt, and Merrick Lamm for touchdowns through the air and the three-headed attack of Ryan Helling, Griffen Jones, and Ramzy Davis collected nearly 300 rushing yards and four touchdowns on the ground. Panther head coach John Bowlin talked about his three talented running backs,
“All three of them have kind of a little bit of a different style of running as well you know, Ramsey is kind of our kind of our bruiser. Helling, he’s got a little bit of both in him. He’s got some speed, but he runs the ball really hard and Jones, he runs the heck out of the ball when he gets on the edge. It’s extremely tough to stop him. He’s obviously our fastest kid on the field so trying to find some ways to get him the football other than just between the tackles as well. So, we worked on a little bit of that tonight and he broke one on a jet tonight. That was good to see.”
For the final score of the game, Charlie Syfert connected with Carter Gehling for a 27-yard touchdown. The Panthers will stay on the road to take on Keokuk on Friday, October 10th, at 7:30 pm. KILJ 105.5 FM, kilj.com, will be on the call with the pregame show at 7:15 pm.
Fairfield fell to Washington last night 42-30. The Trojans will travel to Fort Madison on Friday at 7:30 pm.
West Burlington/Notre Dame was no match for Wilton last night, losing 36-14. The Falcons will look to regroup for their road showdown with West Liberty at 7 pm on Friday.
Central Lee was shutout last night 56-0 by #8 Mid-Prairie. The Hawks will compete against Wilton at 7 pm on Friday on the road.
Mediapolis snuck out with a 16-14 victory over West Liberty last night. Parker Holsteen captured 166 rushing yards and two touchdowns in the winning effort. The Bulldogs will tangle with Mid-Prairie on Friday at 7 pm on the road.
Wapello defeated Columbus last night 40-27. Rowen Atkinson tossed four touchdowns in the win with three of them going to Justyn Faulkner. Van Buren County will welcome Wapello to town on Friday at 7 pm.
WACO’s 45-point second half nearly saw the Warriors complete the epic comeback, but the effort ended two points short, resulting in a 54-52 loss to English Valleys last night. WACO will host Springville on Friday at 7 pm.
Winfield-Mt. Union outpaced HLV/TC last night 50-34. The Wolves are on a bye week.
Danville will take on Pekin on Friday at home to celebrate their senior night at 7 pm.
High School Volleyball
New London will host a tournament today with Burlington Notre Dame, Winfield-Mt. Union, and West Burlington making the trip.
Mt. Pleasant and Fairfield will be gearing up for day one of the Southeast Conference Tournament slated to start on Monday, October 6th.
#2 Holy Trinity Catholic will face off against Van Buren County at 7:30 pm at home on Tuesday, October 7th.
Wapello will tangle with Hillcrest Academy at home on Tuesday at 6:30 pm.
Central Lee will take on Danville on Tuesday at 7:30 pm on the road.
WACO will host Lone Tree on Tuesday at 7 pm.
Columbus will travel to Highland on Thursday, October 9th, at 7:30 pm.
High School Cross Country
Columbus will run at the Steve Johnson Invite today.
Mediapolis will host their Invitational on Thursday, October 9th, with Notre Dame/West Burlington, Central Lee, Danville, Holy Trinity Catholic, Mt. Pleasant, and Wapello participating.
Southeastern Community College
The volleyball team split their first two matchups yesterday at the tournament in Rock Valley, getting swept by the hosts before bouncing back to take down Highland Community College in five sets. The Blackhawks will continue the tournament today against Harper College and College of Lake County.
The men’s and women’s soccer teams will travel to Northeast Community College today with the women playing first at 1 pm.
The men’s basketball team will be traveling to Waukee for the ICCAC Men’s JUCO Jam tomorrow, October 5th. The Blackhawks will take on Lake Region State at 11 am to start their day.
College Football
#14 Iowa State will take on Cincinnati today at 11 am on the road. KILJ 98.5 FM and AM 1130 will be on the call.
Iowa is on a bye week.
This Day in Sports History
1873 – The Toronto Argonauts Football Club (CFL) forms as the Argonaut Rowing Club rugby-football squad; the oldest existing pro sports team in North America still using its original name.
1895 – The first US Open Men’s Golf, Newport Golf Club: Horace Rawlins wins the inaugural event.
1996 – Left wing Mike Donnelly becomes the first player in NHL history to play for all three New York teams (Sabres, Rangers & Islanders) when he suits up for the NY Islanders in a 1-0 loss in Los Angeles.
Local High School Football Scores (Week 6)
8-Player
(4-2) English Valleys 54, (3-3) WACO 52
(2-4) Winfield-Mt. Union 50, (1-5) HLV/TC 34
Class A
(5-1) Wapello 40, (2-4) Columbus 27
Class 2A
(3-3) Mediapolis 16, (2-4) West Liberty 14
(5-1) #8 Mid-Prairie 56, (2-4) Central Lee 0
(4-2) Wilton 36, (3-3) West Burlington/Notre Dame 14
Class 3A
(5-1) Mt. Pleasant 61, (0-6) Fort Madison 0
(3-3) Washington 42, (1-5) Fairfield 30
(6-0) Solon 58, (3-3) Keokuk 6
Class 4A
(5-1) Burlington 49, (0-6) Davenport West 14