Gov. Reynolds proclaims Day of Prayer for Ukraine 

By Theresa Rose · Friday, March 4th, 2022 at 10:23 pm CDT

DES MOINES – Governor Kim Reynolds has signed a proclamation declaring this Sunday, March 6, 2022, as a Day of Prayer for Ukraine in Iowa.

“Iowans, Americans and nations across the globe are watching the events unfolding in Ukraine with disbelief and sadness,” stated Gov. Reynolds. “As soldiers and civilians stand united to protect their homeland, Iowans can unite in our support for the Ukranian people through the power of prayer.”
On Sunday, Iowans are encouraged to join in the Day of Prayer for Ukraine to show solidarity in their fight against Russian forces and to restore peace and civility in their country.  

3 injured in 3 Car Crash Details

By Theresa Rose · Friday, March 4th, 2022 at 3:39 pm CDT

Emergency responders and law enforcement officials were called out at about 1:30 Friday morning to a three car accident on Hwy 34 near Rome. According to the Iowa state Patrol Heather Brown of Fairfield was driving west in the eastbound lane thru a construction zone. Her car struck a pickup head on.  The pickup was driven by Alan Frederick of Ottumwa. The Brown car then made contact with the third vehicle driven by Edward Grade of Ottumwa.  Brown was ejected and taken by air to University Hospitals in Iowa City. Grade was also airlifted to the University and Fredrick was taken by ambulance to Henry County Health. The accident remains under investigation. Mount Pleasant Fire Chief Drew Schumacher said  14 firefighters were on scene for about an hour.  His department sent two engines and one heavy rescue truck to the scene. Henry County Sheriff Rich McNamee anticipates the Iowa State Patrol will issue a press release with more details.

Sports, March 4th

By Nathan Bloechl · Friday, March 4th, 2022 at 12:34 pm CDT

Women’s College Basketball: Wesleyan Earns No. 15 Seed in Naismith Region

The Iowa Wesleyan women’s basketball team has earned the No. 15 seed in the upcoming NAIA National Tournament.

The Tigers will play in the Naismith Region against second-seeded Morningside, with the two teams doing battle in Sioux City.

Iowa Wesleyan, 18-5 on the year, completed a magical about-face in year one under legendary head coach Steve Williamson.

Coming off a two-win season, Williamson and his crew of just seven managed to win the CAC regular season and conference tournament, clinching their spot in the field of 64.

The Tigers have been led all season by the terrific play of Kyla Moore and Brittany West.

Moore was named the CAC Player of the Year, while West was decorated with Newcomer of the Year honors.

Both are averaging 17-plus points per game and will need to be at their best to pull off an upset of the second-seeded Mustangs.

This is the Tigers first NAIA Tournament berth since 2011 and their sixth all-time in school history.

Prep Girls’ Basketball: Three State Finals Set

Three state finals are set for this weekend at Wells Fargo Arena as Classes 3, 4 and 5A played their semifinals yesterday.

Here’s a full look at the scoreboard:

Class 3A 

Estherville Lincoln Central 57, Unity Christian 44

Ballard 56, West Lyon 51

Class 4A

Bishop Heelan 68. Glenwood 51

Cedar Rapids Xavier 55, Dallas Center-Grimes 50 F/3OT

Class 5A 

Johnston 64, Pleasant Valley 44

Waterloo West 58, West Des Moines Valley 48

Men’s College Basketball: Jacobson Earns MVC Coach of the Year

UNI head men’s basketball coach Ben Jacobson has been named the Missouri Valley Conference’s (MVC) Coach of the Year, as announced by the league office on Thursday.

In his 16th season at the helm of the UNI program, Jacobson becomes the first coach in MVC history to earn Coach of the Year honors five times (2009, 2010, 2015, 2020), breaking a tie with Maury John of Drake.

Under Jacobson, the Panthers claimed the program’s fourth regular season championship and third outright in school history this season.

All four regular season titles in UNI history have come under Jacobson’s leadership.

UNI enters the 2022 MVC Tournament as the top-seeded team in the field, seeking a fifth conference tournament championship in the Jacobson era (2009, 2010, 2015, 2016).

The MVC Tournament begins today in St. Louis.

Prep Sports: Iowa Law Now Bans Trans Athletes from Girls’, Women’s Sports

A bill banning transgender athletes from girls’ and women’s sports in Iowa schools, colleges and universities is now law.

The bill passed the Senate yesterday. Governor Kim Reynolds signed it into law Thursday, surrounded by a large crowd of girls, parents and lawmakers.

Reynolds began publicly advocating for this policy last April. Now that the law is in effect, athletes who identify as girls or women, but were identified on their birth certificate as male may be kicked off teams as soon as today.

Iowa is now the 10th state to have adopted similar laws and lawsuits have been filed in four of them to try to block the policies.

Virginia Ann Stover

By Theresa Rose · Thursday, March 3rd, 2022 at 10:04 pm CDT

Virginia Ann Stover, 94, passed away on Wednesday, March 2, 2022 at Klein Center in West Burlington. Memorial Services will be 1:00 p.m. on Saturday, March 5, 2022 at Snyder & Hollenbaugh Funeral & Cremation Services of Mediapolis.  Burial will follow at Kossuth Cemetery.  There will be no visitation.  Memorials have been established for the Mediapolis Public Library and the staff of Klein Center.   Online condolences may be left at www.sandhfuneralservice.com.

Virginia Ann Laubach was born on October 3, 1927 in Okeene, Oklahoma, the daughter of Otto and Lillie (Eberhart) Laubach.  Virginia was a 1945 graduate of Okeene High School and a 1949 graduate of St. Anthony’s School of Nursing in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.  On September 24, 1949, Virginia was united in marriage to Ralph Lee Stover in Okeene.  Virginia was a lifelong nurse, working as supervisor of the Burlington Medical Center Surgical Unit.  Virginia was a member of the Mediapolis Presbyterian Church, T.T.T, the retired nurses association, American Legion Auxiliary and book club at the Mediapolis Library. She was a volunteer for Great River Hospice.   Virginia enjoyed horseback riding, mowing grass, gardening, playing bridge and all sports.  In her retirement years Virginia enjoyed traveling with her husband, Ralph.   Her greatest love and enjoyment was being with her family and especially watching her grandchildren’s sporting activities.

Virginia will be deeply missed by her children, Ronald (Joyce) Stover of Mediapolis, Sherri (Richard) Becker of Wever and Donald (Deb) Stover of Rogersville, Missouri; grandchildren, Justin, Nathan, Stacy, Kaci, Ross, Shawna, Jared, Elizabeth and Emily; 23 great-grandchildren; one brother, David (Connie) Laubach of Arlington, Tennessee, and multiple beloved nieces and nephews.

Virginia was preceded in death by her parents; her husband, Ralph on April 12, 2000 and one brother, Robert Laubach.

School Board Policy Committee Meeting Agenda

By Theresa Rose · Thursday, March 3rd, 2022 at 9:58 pm CDT

Mount Pleasant Community School District School Board POLICY COMMITTEE MEETING

 Mt. Pleasant CSD – Central Office 1010 East Washington Street – Suite 102

 The Mount Pleasant Board of Education POLICY COMMITTEE will meet at 4:10pm on Friday, March 4, 2022 to review/discuss:

  1. Open School Board Policy Series 900 Community Relations
  2. Student Bus Identification System Rollout
  3. Review Pickleball Tournament Fundraiser

March is Problem Gambling Awareness Month

By Theresa Rose · Thursday, March 3rd, 2022 at 4:42 pm CDT

The Iowa Department of Public Health (IDPH), in collaboration with the National Council on Problem Gambling (NCPG), recognizes March as Problem Gambling Awareness Month (PGAM).

Throughout March, a wide range of stakeholders, including public health organizations, prevention and treatment providers, advocacy groups and gambling operators work collaboratively to let people know that hope and help exist for problem gambling. Groups nationwide will hold conferences, air Public Service Announcements, provide counselor training, host health screening days and implement social media campaigns to increase public awareness of problem gambling and the availability of prevention, treatment and recovery services.

The PGAM theme for this year is “Awareness +Action” and participants are encouraged to use the hashtag #PGAM2022 on social media platforms.

Problem gambling is defined as all gambling behavior patterns that compromise, disrupt or damage personal, family or vocational pursuits. Approximately 2 million U.S. adults (1% of the population) are estimated to meet criteria for severe problem gambling. Another 4-6 million (2-3%) meet the criteria for mild or moderate problem gambling.

The Office of Problem Gambling at IDPH raises awareness about the availability of gambling prevention and treatment services offered statewide. “Iowans who are impacted by problem gambling are encouraged to visit Your Life Iowa to learn more or to connect with a qualified professional. Help and hope are only a call, text, or chat away,” said Katie Bee, Project Director of the Office of Problem Gambling at the Iowa Department of Public Health.

If you have questions you’d like answered, support and assistance is available through Live Chat, by calling 1-800-BETS OFF, or by texting (855) 895-8398.

AG Miller urges consumers to act after T-Mobile data breach

By Theresa Rose · Thursday, March 3rd, 2022 at 4:40 pm CDT
Even non-customers may have had personal information compromised
DES MOINES — Attorney General Tom Miller urges all Iowans who believe they were affected by the data breach announced by T-Mobile in August 2021 to take appropriate steps to protect their information from identity theft.

On August 17, T-Mobile reported a massive data breach compromising the sensitive personal information of millions of current, former, and prospective T-Mobile customers. The breach affected more than 53 million individuals, including 134,999 Iowa residents. Among other categories of affected information, millions had their names, dates of birth, Social Security Numbers, and driver’s license information compromised.

Recently, a large subset of the information compromised in the breach was for sale on the dark web — a hidden portion of the Internet where cyber criminals buy, sell, and track personal information. Many individuals have since received alerts through various identity theft protection services informing them that their information was found online in connection with the breach, confirming that affected individuals are at heightened risk for identity theft.

“It has been nearly seven months since T-Mobile’s latest data breach came to light. Affected Iowans are now receiving notice of this breach, even those who are not actual T-Mobile customers,” Miller said. “It is important that every Iowan who receives a notice of this breach take the steps to protect themselves.”

Iowa is participating in a multistate coalition of attorneys general investigating the breach and whether T-Mobile had appropriate safeguards in place to protect personal information.

Attorney General Miller urges anyone who believes they were affected by the T-Mobile breach to take the following steps to protect themselves:

Monitor your credit. Credit monitoring services track your credit report and alert you whenever a change is made, such as a new account or a large purchase. Most services will notify you within 24 hours of any change to your credit report.

Consider placing a free credit freeze on your credit report. Identity thieves will not be able to open a new credit account in your name while the freeze is in place. You can place a credit freeze by contacting each of the three major credit bureaus:

Equifax | +1 (888) 766-0008

Experian | +1 (888) 397-3742

TransUnion | +1 (800) 680-7289

Place a fraud alert on your credit report. A fraud alert tells lenders and creditors to take extra steps to verify your identity before issuing credit. You can place a fraud alert by contacting any one of the three major credit bureaus.

Additional Resources. If you believe you are a victim of identity theft, go to identitytheft.gov for assistance on how to report it and recover from it.

You can also contact the Iowa Attorney General’s office or file a complaint with our Consumer Protection Division. To file a complaint, go here or call 515-281-5926 (in the Des Moines area) or 888-777-4590 (outside the metro area).

Daily Jail County

By Theresa Rose · Thursday, March 3rd, 2022 at 4:35 pm CDT

In the interest of keeping Henry County residents informed, the Henry County Sheriff’s office has requested KILJ post the daily jail count. During the jail referendum campaign it was publicized that the jail would be able to house additional inmates from surrounding counties and this would generate revenue for Henry County.

Henry County Jail

 

Date:   03/03/2022________

 

_23      Henry County Inmates

 

  59_     Out of County Contract Inmates              

 

  82_     TOTAL