DNR Boating Law Administrator Preaches Safety on the Water

KILJ —State parks and lakes have been busy in the first holidays since things reopened after the pandemic and that is expected to continue once again for the Fourth of July.

DNR boating law administrator, Susan Stocker, says some people will already take off today — and says the campgrounds, parks, and waterways will be full as everyone wants to get out and celebrate.

Stocker says you should do a thorough check of your boat before heading out — including a count to be sure there is a life jacket for everyone.

Stocker says one thing you don’t need if you are driving a boat is alcohol. Operating a boat and alcohol don’t mix. People do not realize and understand that the stressors of the wind, the sun, the glare off the water — all enhance the effects of alcohol. So, the alcohol needs to stay home and make sure everybody is safe,” Stocker says.

Using fireworks is governed by local jurisdictions — but Stocker says one rule is to keep them off the boat.

Stocker says state conservation officers will be out looking for violations and helping keep everyone safer during the holiday.

Prep Baseball: New London Falls for First Time, Mount Pleasant Swept

By: Nathan Bloechl — sports@kilj.com

West Burlington 4, No. 9 (1A) New London 0

Senior pitcher Ty Hill threw a complete game two-hitter as unranked West Burlington blanked No. 9 New London 4-0 yesterday in a Super Conference tilt.

Hill walked just one and struck out two as the Falcon defense shined in the shutout win.

Jace Figueroa paced the West Burlington offense with three hits, scoring two runs.

Josh Catala took the loss for the Tigers, throwing five innings allowing three runs, just one earned and striking out three.

West Burlington improved to 12-9 with the win, while New London saw their perfect season collapse.

The Tigers are now 18-1.

No. 10 (3A) Fort Madison 8, Mount Pleasant 2 

No. 10 (3A) Fort Madison 16, Mount Pleasant 6 

The Mount Pleasant baseball team was swept by No. 10 Fort Madison losing in game one 8-2 and game two 16-6.

Game one’s losing pitcher was Will Edeker who went five innings allowing four runs on seven hits while walking two and striking out one.

Dalton Gardner had a hit and an RBI, while Colten Hutson, Payton Hagans and Edeker all had base knocks.

In game two, Fort Madison brought out the thunder sticks — as they buzz sawed Mount Pleasant for 12 runs in the 2nd inning to break the game wide open.

Jacob Ensminger lasted only 1.1 innings allowing 12 runs — 7 earned — while walking eight.

Zerek Venghaus had a three hit night, Chase Williamson had two hits as well.

He drove in two.

Mount Pleasant fell to 5-17 with the pair of losses.

Fort Madison improved to 21-4.

Other finals last night:

Mediapolis 2, Pekin 1 

Wapello 7, Lone Tree 6 

Prep Softball: Anderson’s No-No Leads WMU, Mount Pleasant Swept

By: Nathan Bloechl —sports@kilj.com 

No. 13 (1A) Winfield-Mount Union 3, Lone Tree 0 

Madie Anderson fired her first no-hitter of the season as Winfield-Mount Union earned a 3-0 win over Lone Tree last night.

Anderson struck out 20 of 21 hitters over seven innings to earn the win, in one of the most dominating individual performances the state has ever seen.

Anna Anderson had two hits, including a double, and a run batted in.

Winfield-Mount Union improved to 16-5, Lone Tree slipped to 9-15.

Keokuk 14, Mount Pleasant 0 

Keokuk 12, Mount Pleasant 0 

The Mount Pleasant softball team was swept yesterday by Keokuk, losing 14-0 in game one and 12-0 in game two.

Madison Helling took the loss in game one.

Grace Kelley and Jersey Beachy each had hits.

In game two Grace Kelley was the losing pitcher.

The Panthers fell to 1-30.

Other prep finals:

Holy Trinity 13, Hillcrest Academy 3

Highland 11, Holy Trinity 0

Louisa-Muscatine 5, Wapello 1

Pekin 10, Mediapolis 0

Central Lee 6, Centerville 2 

Central Lee 14, Centerville 4,

Men’s College Basketball: UNI’s Jacobson Agrees to Contract Extension

By: Nathan Bloechl — sports@kilj.com

Cedar Falls — UNI head men’s basketball coach Ben Jacobson has signed a contract extension that locks up the four-time Missouri Valley Conference Coach of the Year through the end of the 2028-29 season.

Jacobson is the winningest coach in UNI history with 301 victories and a .605 winning percentage.

Under his guidance, the Panthers have earned three regular-season MVC titles, including the 2019-2020 season and four Arch Madness championships.

During Jacobson’s tenure, two Panthers, Adam Koch and A. J. Green were named the MVC Scholar-Athlete of the Year and Koch also earned the prestigious NCAA Post Graduate Scholarship.

UNI men’s basketball ended the spring 2021 semester with a 3.10 team GPA.

Major League Baseball: Perez, Arenado Headline Regional Players Selected to MLB All-Star Game

By: Nathan Bloechl — sports@kilj.com 

KILJ — Kansas City’s Salvador Perez and St. Louis’s Nolan Arenado headline the list of names of regional players starting in this year’s Major League Baseball All-Star Game.

Perez is the American League’s starting catcher, while Arenado will man the hot corner for the National League.

Other starters include:

AMERICAN LEAGUE 

C: Salvador Perez, Kansas City

1B: Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Toronto

2B: Marcus Semien, Toronto

SS: Xander Bogaerts, Boston

3B: Rafael Devers, Boston

OF: Mike Trout, Los Angeles Angels

OF: Aaron Judge, New York Yankees

OF: Teoscar Hernandez, Toronto

DH: Shohei Ohtani, Los Angeles Angels

NATIONAL LEAGUE 

C: Buster Posey, San Francisco

1B: Freddie Freeman, Atlanta

2B: Adam Frazier, Pittsburgh

SS: Fernando Tatis Jr., San Diego

3B: Nolan Arenado, St. Louis

OF: Ronald Acuna Jr., Atlanta

OF: Nick Castellanos, Cincinnati

OF: Jesse Winker, Cincinnati

Sports, Friday, July 2nd

By: Nathan Bloechl — sports@kilj.com 

Prep Baseball: New London Falls for First Time, Mount Pleasant Swept:

West Burlington 4, No. 9 (1A) New London 0

Senior pitcher Ty Hill threw a complete game two-hitter as unranked West Burlington blanked No. 9 New London 4-0 yesterday in a Super Conference tilt.

Hill walked just one and struck out two as the Falcon defense shined in the shutout win.

Jace Figueroa paced the West Burlington offense with three hits, scoring two runs.

Josh Catala took the loss for the Tigers, throwing five innings allowing three runs, just one earned and striking out three.

West Burlington improved to 12-9 with the win, while New London saw their perfect season collapse.

The Tigers are now 18-1.

No. 10 (3A) Fort Madison 8, Mount Pleasant 2 

No. 10 (3A) Fort Madison 16, Mount Pleasant 6 

The Mount Pleasant baseball team was swept by No. 10 Fort Madison losing in game one 8-2 and game two 16-6.

Game one’s losing pitcher was Will Edeker who went five innings allowing four runs on seven hits while walking two and striking out one.

Dalton Gardner had a hit and an RBI, while Colten Hutson, Payton Hagans and Edeker all had base knocks.

In game two, Fort Madison brought out the thunder sticks — as they buzz sawed Mount Pleasant for 12 runs in the 2nd inning to break the game wide open.

Jacob Ensminger lasted only 1.1 innings allowing 12 runs — 7 earned — while walking eight.

Zerek Venghaus had a three hit night, Chase Williamson had two hits as well.

He drove in two.

Mount Pleasant fell to 5-17 with the pair of losses.

Fort Madison improved to 21-4.

Other finals last night:

Mediapolis 2, Pekin 1 

Wapello 7, Lone Tree 6 

Prep Softball: Anderson’s No-No Leads WMU, Mount Pleasant Swept:

No. 13 (1A) Winfield-Mount Union 3, Lone Tree 0 

Madie Anderson fired her first no-hitter of the season as Winfield-Mount Union earned a 3-0 win over Lone Tree last night.

Anderson struck out 20 of 21 hitters over seven innings to earn the win, in one of the most dominating individual performances the state has ever seen.

Anna Anderson had two hits, including a double, and a run batted in.

Winfield-Mount Union improved to 16-5, Lone Tree slipped to 9-15.

Keokuk 14, Mount Pleasant 0 

Keokuk 12, Mount Pleasant 0 

The Mount Pleasant softball team was swept yesterday by Keokuk, losing 14-0 in game one and 12-0 in game two.

Madison Helling took the loss in game one.

Grace Kelley and Jersey Beachy each had hits.

In game two Grace Kelley was the losing pitcher.

The Panthers fell to 1-30.

Other prep finals:

Holy Trinity 13, Hillcrest Academy 3

Highland 11, Holy Trinity 0

Louisa-Muscatine 5, Wapello 1

Pekin 10, Mediapolis 0

Central Lee 6, Centerville 2 

Central Lee 14, Centerville 4,

Men’s College Basketball: UNI’s Jacobson Agrees to Contract Extension:

UNI head men’s basketball coach Ben Jacobson has signed a contract extension that locks up the four-time Missouri Valley Conference Coach of the Year through the end of the 2028-29 season.

Jacobson is the winningest coach in UNI history with 301 victories and a .605 winning percentage.

Under his guidance, the Panthers have earned three regular-season MVC titles, including the 2019-2020 season and four Arch Madness championships.

During Jacobson’s tenure, two Panthers, Adam Koch and A. J. Green were named the MVC Scholar-Athlete of the Year and Koch also earned the prestigious NCAA Post Graduate Scholarship.

UNI men’s basketball ended the spring 2021 semester with a 3.10 team GPA.

Major League Baseball: Perez, Arenado Headline Regional Players Selected to MLB All-Star Game:

Kansas City’s Salvador Perez and St. Louis’s Nolan Arenado headline the list of names of regional players starting in this year’s Major League Baseball All-Star Game.

Perez is the American League’s starting catcher, while Arenado will man the hot corner for the National League.

Other starters include:

AMERICAN LEAGUE 

C: Salvador Perez, Kansas City

1B: Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Toronto

2B: Marcus Semien, Toronto

SS: Xander Bogaerts, Boston

3B: Rafael Devers, Boston

OF: Mike Trout, Los Angeles Angels

OF: Aaron Judge, New York Yankees

OF: Teoscar Hernandez, Toronto

DH: Shohei Ohtani, Los Angeles Angels

NATIONAL LEAGUE 

C: Buster Posey, San Francisco

1B: Freddie Freeman, Atlanta

2B: Adam Frazier, Pittsburgh

SS: Fernando Tatis Jr., San Diego

3B: Nolan Arenado, St. Louis

OF: Ronald Acuna Jr., Atlanta

OF: Nick Castellanos, Cincinnati

OF: Jesse Winker, Cincinnati

NWS Pleasantly Surprised with Quiet Severe Weather Season

By: Nathan Bloechl — sports@kilj.com 

KILJ — Yesterday was the last day of June and it marked what ends the peak season for tornadoes in Iowa.

National Weather Service meteorologist Kenny Podrazik says April, May and June were relatively quiet months for severe storms.

In fact, it’s been a fairly quiet year.

This year there has only been six confirmed tornadoes in the state — normally, Podrazik said — there are an average of 34 to 35 tornadoes by this time.

Podrazik did say that there is a bit of secondary season into July and the state is expected to get some storms in August.

Last year, Iowa saw 28 tornadoes touch down with zero reports of injuries or deaths due to the twisters.

Domestic Violence Intervention Program Closing Offices in SE Iowa

By: Nathan Bloechl — sports@kilj.com

KILJ — The Domestic Violence Intervention Program will be closing three offices in Southeast Iowa due to a lack of funding; the organization has announced.

The program will see offices closing in Mount Pleasant, Burlington and Keokuk but the program will be continued online and over the phone.

Officials indicated that said the decision was necessary to preserve staff and services in these areas and that they are still committed to providing service to all community members.

All services and advocates are available anytime and can be reached by calling 1-800-373-1043.