Sports, October 20th

By Slaten Swords · Monday, October 20th, 2025 at 6:30 am CDT

Postseason Volleyball

Regional Volleyball for Classes 1A and 2A starts tonight at 7 pm, while Classes 3A, 4A, and 5A will begin tomorrow, October 21st. 

In Class 1A Region 2, #2 Holy Trinity Catholic has the top seed and a bye into the second round. The Crusaders will play the winner between Winfield-Mt. Union and Pekin with the Wolves acting as the host.

Burlington Notre Dame will take on WACO at home tonight. KILJ 105.5 FM, kilj.com, will be on the call with the pregame show at 6:45 pm. The winner will play the winner between Wapello and New London on Wednesday, October 22nd. 

In Class 2A Region 8, Danville will host Cardinal tonight at 7 pm. The winner will advance to play Regina Catholic on Wednesday. Van Buren County will take on West Burlington at home on Wednesday to draw out the top half of the bracket. 

Class 3A Region 2 will feature a Southeast Iowa Super Conference showdown between Mediapolis and Central Lee with the Bulldogs acting as the hosts. 

Fairfield will travel to West Liberty in Class 3A’s Region 7 bracket. 

Lastly, in Class 4A Region 1, Mt. Pleasant will host Keokuk tomorrow at 7 pm. KILJ 105.5 FM, kilj.com, will be on the call with the pregame show at 6:45 pm.

High School Football

Mt. Pleasant travels to Fairfield on Friday, October 24th, at 7:30 pm with a playoff spot on the line. KILJ 105.5 FM, kilj.com, will be on the call with the pregame show at 7:15 pm.

Washington will travel to Keokuk on Friday at 7:30 pm.

Postseason Football

Mediapolis will venture to Centerville on Friday, October 24th, to start their postseason journey.

#6 Mid-Prairie will take on North Fayette Valley on Friday at 7 pm at home.

WACO will travel to #6 Edgewood-Colesburg on Friday for their first round matchup at 7 pm.

#4 Iowa Valley will host Moravia, who got in as a wildcard team, at 7 pm on Friday. 

In Danville’s third consecutive trip to the postseason, the Bears will get a chance to host a playoff game with Maquoketa Valley making the trip on Friday at 7 pm. Bears head coach Cody Thompson talked about what makes this team special,

“I think our team is very physical, very determined. You know that every team puts in work over the summer, but you know, the drive these guys have and the effort they’ve been giving, and they are a very talented bunch. You know as a team we have guys that mesh really well together. You know, I feel like we have some good leaders on our team, and I think we’re going to be a tough out for anybody.”

Wapello will hit the road to face off against Lynnville-Sully at 7 pm on Friday. 

Columbus will attempt to avenge their mid-season loss against North Linn on Friday at 7 pm in their first-round road postseason matchup. 

Pekin will host Earlham at 7 pm on Friday. 

High School Cross Country

The Class 3A boys’ and girls’ state qualifying meets are set to run on Wednesday, October 22nd. Mt. Pleasant, Burlington, Fort Madison, Keokuk, and Washington will travel to Williamsburg, while Fairfield will head to Pella.

The Classes 1A and 2A boys’ and girls’ state qualifying meets are scheduled for Thursday, October 23rd. Pekin will be hosting Danville, Holy Trinity Catholic, New London, WACO, Wapello, and Winfield-Mt. Union, while Van Buren County will travel to Central Decatur for Class 1A. Additionally, Columbus will journey to North Linn.

Mediapolis, Central Lee, and West Burlington/Notre Dame will make the trip to Regina Catholic for Class 2A.

Southeastern Community College

The men’s soccer team scored three second-half goals to knock off Western Iowa Teach 4-3 over the weekend. Louey Franks netted two of the four goals. 

The women’s soccer team lost a tough one to Western Iowa Tech, 1-0. Both teams will travel to North Iowa Area Community College on Wednesday, October 22nd, with the women playing first at 1 pm.

The volleyball team dropped both games of their triangular over the weekend, getting swept by Indian Hills Community College and losing a five-set thriller to Sauk Valley Community College (25-20, 19-25, 25-22, 21-25, 4-15). Aviana West finished the weekend with 21 kills. The Blackhawks will make the trip to Ellsworth Community College tomorrow, October 21st, at 6:30 pm.

College Football

Iowa added salt to Penn State’s wounds over the weekend, handing the Nittany Lions their third straight loss in a tense 25-24 victory. Mark Gronowski led the Hawkeyes on the ground with 130 rushing yards and two scores. The Hawkeyes will compete at home against Minnesota for the Floyd of Rosedale on Saturday, October 25th, at 2:30 pm. KILJ 105.5 FM will be on the call.

Iowa State is back in action on Saturday as they look to upset #11 BYU at home at 3:30 pm. KILJ 98.5 FM and AM 1130 will be on the call.

This Day in Sports History

1963 – Jim Brown sets a then-NFL single-season rushing record: 1,863 yds. 

1996 – MLB Atlanta Braves Andruw Jones is the youngest player to homer in the World Series.

2004 – MLB American League Championship: Boston Red Sox come back from 0-3 deficit to beat the New York Yankees, 4 games to 3. The first team in MLB history to do so.

Several Southeast Iowa High School Bands Shine at State Marching Festival

By Hayden Douglas · Monday, October 20th, 2025 at 5:34 am CDT

Area high school bands celebrated strong performances at the IHSMA State Marching Band Festival, hosted by Davenport Central at Brady Street Stadium.

The Mt. Pleasant High School Panther Marching Band earned its 38th consecutive Division 1 rating, with judges awarding a score of 86.6. The Panther Band has now received a top “1” rating in 58 of the past 59 years the state contest has been held, continuing a remarkable tradition of musical excellence. Pictured here is the Mt. Pleasant Color Guard, an essential part of the band’s performance.

Keokuk CSD Bands also posted an outstanding showing. “The Pride traveled to Davenport Central High School, where they performed at the festival. The band received a Division 1 ‘Superior’ rating for their performance, wrapping up the competitive portion of our season. Congratulations!” the district shared.

Meanwhile, the Central Lee High School Marching Hawks wrapped up their season on Saturday, October 18th, despite rainy conditions. Their performance earned them a Division 1 Superior Rating, marking a successful conclusion to their competition season.

Other area bands that received “1” Ratings: Fort Madison, Wapello, Mediapolis, Muscatine

Tonight, the celebration continues with All Bands Night at the Mount Pleasant Maple Leaf Sports Complex, featuring marching bands from 6th grade through high school. This event gives the community a chance to see students of all ages showcase their talents in one big performance.

Winfield Museum Needs Your Help

By Hayden Douglas · Monday, October 20th, 2025 at 5:02 am CDT

In May of 2021, Dave and Tina Becker donated the old Elliot Building at 108 N.
Locust to the Winfield Historical Society. Built in 1907, this building is one of the
few original brick buildings left on main street. The museum was thrilled to receive
this gift due to our need for more display and storage space. Since then, we have
made repairs and updates as funds became available. We have completed essential
brick tuckpointing, weather proofed the basement windows, repaired damaged
floor joists in the basement, replaced the front windows, and replaced the sidewalk
in front of the building. This gave the front of the building a new fresh look, and it
looks fantastic! We have completed these projects through grants and generous
donations and would like to thank all of those who have helped. You can check out
our progress at our website, www.winfieldhistoricalsociety.com or on our
Facebook page.

We are ready to begin work on the inside of the building. Unfortunately, we need
to raise $200,000 to completely remodel the inside with all new wiring, plumbing,
and HVAC. This would include adding new display areas, a handicapped
accessible restroom, office space, and storage. Our goal for completing the inside
renovations is August 2026.

We are asking alumni of Winfield Mt. Union School, relatives of past graduates,
community members, and friends to step up and help us complete these
renovations. Many of you may have already received a letter and pledge card in the
mail. Donations of any amount will be gratefully accepted. For those of you who
are willing and able, we are asking you to make a commitment of $2500 to this
project. In doing so your name will be listed on the Winfield Museum Honor Wall
in the new building. The pledge card includes four ways to donate; a donation of
any amount, a one-time donation of $2500, two donations of $1250 given in 2025
and 2026, or 4 donations of $625 given in 2025, 2026, 2027, and 2028. You can
give personally, as a business, as a memorial, or in memory of someone special.
All donations are tax deductible as we are a nonprofit 501C Corporation. We are a
completely volunteer organization. If you have not received a pledge card and
would like one, please email us at winfieldiowahistoricalsociety@gmail.com or go
to City Hall to pick one up. The museum is open Monday mornings from 10:00
until 12:00.

As alumni, relatives, friends, and members of the Winfield community we can all
be proud to help preserve our rich history with our new museum for future
generations. Winfield has so much to be proud of including a beautiful golf course
and swimming pool, the Henry County Freedom Rock, a strong school system,
wonderful churches, an excellent care center, and many impressive businesses and
services. Our community is an exceptional group of people who are always willing
to help each other. Restoring this building will be one more opportunity for us to
pull together to help ensure Winfield remains a strong and growing community.

Please help the Winfield Historical Society invest in the future by preserving the
artifacts, stories, and legacies of those who have made and are continuing to make
Winfield such a special place. Thank you! Please help us achieve our goal and
make a pledge today!

Gayle Trede – Pending

By Hayden Douglas · Monday, October 20th, 2025 at 4:57 am CDT

Gayle Trede, 75, of Mt. Pleasant, retired Head Librarian of the Mt. Pleasant Public Library, died Sunday, October 19, 2025 at Bickford Cottage in Burlington, IA.

Funeral arrangements are pending at the Kimzey Funeral Home, 213 North Main Street, Mount Pleasant.

Online condolences may be directed to www.kimzeyfh.com

Laura Lee Ward

By Hayden Douglas · Monday, October 20th, 2025 at 4:51 am CDT

On Thursday, October 16, 2025, Laura Lee Ward, 76, of New London, passed from this earthly life to her real and eternal home with the Lord.  She was born January 14, 1949 in Sigourney, Iowa to Roy and Neta Sarver Snakenberg.  On July 26, 1969 she married William Westfall Ward, Jr. in Deep River, Iowa.

She was a graduate of Tri-County High School, Thornburg, Iowa; attended Faith Bible College in Ankeny for two years; and took a short course in caring for baby pigs at the University of Missouri.  She was a member of Calvary Baptist Church.  Laura was a homemaker and worked as a secretary at Iowa Wesleyan College and as the secretary for the Southeast Iowa Symphony.  She taught children’s Sunday School for more than twenty years and was a member of Gideon’s Auxiliary.

She loved animals, especially horses; music; and going on mission trips; Laura enjoyed sewing clothes for her children and sewed many square dance dresses for Helen’s Variety.  But most of all, she loved time with her family, her children and grandchildren.  Laura had a very sweet and peaceful spirit and showed extreme grace and courage throughout her battle with Alzheimers.

Laura is survived by her husband; daughter Dr. Denise (Roy) Thagard of West Africa; sons William “Bill” (Mindy) W. Ward III of Huxley, Iowa and Steven (Tia) of Nocona, Texas; seven grandchildren; four great-grandchildren; sisters Phyllis Peterson, Loretta (Steve) Pope, and Carol (Donald) Ensor; brothers Lyle (Rose) Snakenberg and Dick (Bev) Snakenberg; and many nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her parents; sisters Margaret George and Rosemary Stevens; and brother Max Snakenberg.

Visitation will begin at noon on Friday, October 24th at Elliott Chapel, New London, with the family receiving friends from 5:00 – 7:00 pm.  The funeral service will be held at 11:00 am, Saturday, October 25, 2025 at Calvary Baptist Church, Mt. Pleasant, with Pastor David Strope officiating.  According to her wishes, her body will be cremated following the service and inurnment will be at a later date.

Memorials have been established for Southeast Iowa Regional Hospice and EveryStep Hospice.  Elliott Chapel, New London, is assisting the family and online condolences may be left at www.elliottfuneralchapel.com.

Laura’s family would like to thank the many people who stayed with Laura Lee, the ones who provided food, those who visited, those who prayed; and thank you to the God who watches over us.  Many thanks to the wonderful care received from Care at Home, EveryStep Hospice, Henry County Health, Des Moines County Health and Southeast Iowa Regional Hospice.

Norma Rodgers

By Patrick Fee · Sunday, October 19th, 2025 at 12:23 pm CDT

Norma Rodgers, 93 years old, passed away on Friday, October 17, 2025, at Park Place, Mount Pleasant Iowa. She was born on June 19, 1932, in rural Henry County, Iowa, on a farm near Swedesburg to Guy and Wilma Eubank. She attended school for seven years at Crawford Country School west of Olds, and graduated from Olds High School in 1950. On September 9, 1951, she married Cleo Rodgers at Finley Chapel. They made their home on the family farm between Olds and Winfield where they raised their children together until Cleo’s death in 1969 when she moved into Olds. Norma kept busy helping to run their dairy farm where she had a large garden. She would can and freeze much of her garden produce. She also made crab apple jelly every year. One of her specialties was making homemade fudge and divinity at Christmas time. She taught Sunday school, led youth group, coached her daughter’s softball teams, and supported her family in the many sports and activities they participated in. She enjoyed traveling with family and friends and did missions work in Louisiana, Oklahoma and Kentucky.

She was a member of Finley Chapel where she belonged to UMW, their women’s group.

Norma was an excellent seamstress, making most of her children’s clothes when they were younger and assisted her nieces in sewing their wedding attire. Most recently, until she was no longer able, she sewed hundreds of school bags for Missions Ingathering. Those bags may still be in use today in another part of the world.

She was a talented artist, mostly doing sketches, but she was also successful when she tried her hand at painting.

She was also a skilled typist assisting her nephews with term papers, typing them on an old standard typewriter. Her typing skills were put to good use following Cleo’s death as she worked as a secretary in the Alumni Office at IWC and later as a transcriptionist at HCHC. Following her retirement, she lived with her sister, Alice Hawbaker in Tucson, Arizona, for a few years before returning to Iowa and living in Swedesburg and more recently Mount Pleasant.

She is survived by her son Dave (Joan) Rodgers rural Mount Pleasant, and daughters Kathy (Randy) Seberg, Mount Pleasant, Carol (Dennis) Hulseberg, Wellman, Robin (Scott) Fisher, New London and Tracy Rodgers, Des Moines. Also, her grandchildren Tyler (Angie) Rodgers, Craig (Jess) Rodgers, Aimee (Greg) Shepherd, Kim Seberg, Nathan (Jenny) Seberg, Emma (Brett) Dwyer, Ada Hulseberg, Andres (Andrea) Alvarez, Normita (Ty) Watson, and Mateo Alvarez and 18 great grandchildren and many nieces and nephews.

Norma was preceded in death by her parents, her husband, grandson Justin Rodgers, great grandson Christian Seberg and her sisters Mary Boal and Alice Hawbaker.

Funeral service will be held 10:30 a.m. Monday, October 20, 2025, at Finley United Methodist Church. Pastor Lindsey Ford will officiate. Burial will be in the Finley Cemetery. Visitation will be held Sunday, October 19, 2025, from 1:00 – 5:00 p.m. at the Olson-Yoder-Funeral Home and Crematory where the family will greet friends from 3:00 – 5:00 p.m. A memorial fund has been established for the Finley Cemetery. Condolences may be made at www.olsonyoderfh.com

October 20, 2025 – October 26, 2025

By Allison Jacobs · Sunday, October 19th, 2025 at 10:43 am CDT
10/20/25
Braya Short
10/20/25
Rik Miller
10/20/25
Steele Jacobsmeier
10/21/25
Easton Martin 10th birthday
10/21/25
Brian & Linda Enearl *Anniversary
10/21/25
Debbie Graber
10/21/25
Anthony Blint
10/21/25
Easton Martin
10/23/25
Nancy Stevens
10/24/25
Mitch & Julie Brown *Anniversary
10/24/25
Irene Norris *100!
10/25/25
Gavin Christner
10/25/25
Lee Davis
10/26/25
Steve Heise

Prep Football: Danville Gets to Host and Other First Round Playoff Matchups

By Slaten Swords · Saturday, October 18th, 2025 at 12:01 pm CDT

Boone, IA- The Iowa High School Athletic Association (IHSAA) has released the first-round postseason matchups for Classes 2A, 1A, A, and Eight-Player and several of our local teams earned a playoff berth. All first round games will take place on Friday, October 24th, at 7 pm.

Class 2A

#6 Mid-Prairie repeated as the District Champion after going undefeated in district play and going 7-1 overall. The Golden Hawks know how to score points, averaging 46 points per game behind Brooks Weber’s 21 passing touchdowns.

Mid-Prairie will get to host (3-5) North Fayette Valley as they look to build upon their quarterfinal run from a season ago. The TigerHawks will lean heavily on a rushing attack averaging 222 yards per game.

(6-2) Wilton, who made it to the UNI-Dome last year, will get a home game against (5-3) Dike-New Hartford. The Beavers’ only loss in district play was a 21-20 final against the Golden Hawks.

Extending their playoff streak to eight consecutive years was (4-4) Mediapolis. After an 0-2 start to the season, the Bulldogs took down Class 3A’s Fairfield and slithered past West Burlington/Notre Dame 28-21. Add in a narrow 16-14 victory over West Liberty and Mediapolis took 3rd place in the district.

Despite returning most of their starters on defense, the Bulldogs surrendered 27 points per game and went 0-3 against opponents with a record better than 0.500. Still, this is a program that has won at least one playoff game over the past three years.

Mediapolis will have to travel to (7-1) #5 Centerville. The Big Reds lost their District Championship contest last night to #2 PCM 58-30 after being outscored 43 to 3 in the second half, including a 29-point fourth quarter.

Centerville averages 42.5 points per game behind a balanced offense led by sophomore quarterback Mack Murdock, who has a touchdown-to-interception ratio of 22 to 1.

Lastly, (3-5) West Liberty will hit the road to square off against #2 PCM.

Class A

District 5 yielded some close contests to end the season, including an upset to shake up how the standings were originally thought to finish as.

Pekin finished the season undefeated after they survived a week 7 scare against Danville that saw two-way star Nolan Glick nab a game-winning pick six to seal a narrow 32-27 victory. The Panther defense allows only 14 points per game, but a relative weak schedule kept them outside the top 10 rankings for the season.

In their third consecutive season punching their ticket to the postseason, the Panthers will get to welcome (4-4) Earlham to town. Pekin will be looking to replicate a 2014 season that saw the squad rack up 11 wins.

In a battle for second place, Danville needed their own comeback to down Wapello last night 33-31, earning the Bears their third trip to the postseason and first-round home matchup.

Senior Byers Nealey, who has led the team in tackles the last three seasons has been really impressed with the physicality of his team. The defense has collected 12 sacks and 38.5 tackles for loss this season to emphasize the point.

Danville head coach Cody Thompson gave his thoughts on why this team is special,

“I think our team is very physical, very determined. You know that every team puts in work over the summer, but you know, the drive these guys have and the effort they’ve been giving, and they are a very talented bunch. You know as a team we have guys that mesh really well together. You know, I feel like we have some good leaders on our team, and I think we’re going to be a tough out for anybody.”

The Bears will need to see a boost in offense that averaged just a tick under 300 total yards per game. For their effort, they will get to host (6-2) Maquoketa Valley. The Wildcats will be no walk in the part with their only losses coming against two ranked opponents. Additionally, they have outscored their last three opponents 159 to 6. Look for a defensive matchup in Danville as the Wildcats allows just one touchdown per game.

A three-way tie for 3rd place in the district and the inability to use head-to-head matchups meant the 17-point tiebreaker had to go into effect and despite not winning a district game since week two against Van Buren County (excluding forfeits), Columbus grabbed 3rd place with a point differential of (+1.50).

This now marks the fourth consecutive season that Columbus has earned a playoff bid. The Wildcats will lean on senior tailbacks Angel Ineichen and Tyson Kaalberg and a defense that has forced 10 takeaways this year.

They will be tasked with a road trip to (7-1) North Linn. The Lynx only loss this season was to #5 Wapsie Valley 42-0 last night to decide the district champion. They also throttled the Wildcats back in week four 54-7, allowing 100 total yards for the night.

How fast a season can flip on its head. Wapello got to engage with that turbulence firsthand when they defeated Columbus 40-27 for their Homecoming match to improve to 5-1 on the season. Then, the defense allowed 78 points over the last two weeks, including a 45-32 loss to Van Buren County.

Those two losses sent Wapello from 2nd place in the district to 4th after their point-differential came out to be (+1) compared to the Warriors’ (-0.67). Nevertheless, their back in the postseason after posting three total wins over the previous two seasons.

Wapello will have to venture to (7-1) Lynnville-Sully. The Hawks are winning games by an average of nearly 27 points as their defense has forced 19 takeaways and scored four touchdowns of their own this season.

Eight-Player

The playoff carousel put (3-5) WACO, (5-3) English Valleys, and (2-5) Winfield-Mt. Union on the same tiebreaker ride laid out above to see who would get that final spot in the playoffs and despite ending the season on a five-game losing streak, WACO will be heading to the postseason with a point differential of (+!) versus English Valleys’ (-1.20) and Winfield-Mt. Union’s (-6.00).

No matter how the Warriors got in, they will be preparing for their fifth straight trip to the postseason and for the second year in a row they will traveling to start off their postseason journey. WACO will be paired against (8-0) #6 Edgewood-Colesburg.

WACO will almost be entirely dependent on their rushing attack, namely Hayden Shelman. The junior has rushed for 1,019 yards and 17 touchdowns, thrown for 468 yards and three touchdowns, and caught a touchdown pass. The defense will have to try and find its form akin to their first three weeks where they allowed just 29 total points.

The Vikings average 60 points per game as their dual threat quarterback Jax Steger has compiled over 2,000 all-purpose yards and 37 touchdowns.

After starting the year 0-3, Belle Plaine went 4-1 over the last five weeks to earn 2nd place in the district. The Plainsmen will travel to (7-1) Easton Valley. The River Hawks one loss came against Edgewood-Colesburg.

#4 Iowa Valley finished the year undefeated, averaging 65 points per game, including four instances of scoring 70 or more points this season. The Tigers have two marquee wins this season: a 49-34 win over Don Bosco and an 83-64 shootout win over Montezuma.

Junior quarterback Nolan Kriegel continues to impress with 43 total touchdowns and no turnovers on the season. The Tigers commit to a ground onslaught with 2,717 team rushing yards this season on 11.1 yards per carry and 54 touchdowns.

IN a similar spot last year, the Tiger fell in the second round of the postseason. In the program’s fourth consecutive trip to postseason and third under Casey Krull, they would like to make the trip north to Cedar Falls.

In their home contest, Iowa Valley will face off against (5-3) Moravia, who was an at-large pick. The Mohawks are back in the playoffs after a layover last year. Kale Moore will lead the offense with a team leading 432 rushing yards complementing his 1,217 passing yards as he has amassed 24 total touchdowns.

Up Next

The IHSAA will release the playoff teams for Classes 3A, 4A, and 5A as soon as all of Friday’s games are turned in with postseason matchups to be released on Saturday, October 25th.