From Soup to Country: Iowa State Hires Jimmy Rogers to Lead the Football Program

By Slaten Swords · Saturday, December 6th, 2025 at 1:01 am CDT

Ames, IA- Cyclone fans might be singing Waiting For a Train after last night’s news, or maybe they will be yodeling In the Jailhouse Now. In case the residents of Ames are confused, the songs listed above are Jimmie Rogers songs, which the new Iowa State football coach shares a name with, though the spelling is different.

The Cyclones wasted no time inking a deal with their new head coach after it was announced that Penn State signed Matt Campbell to a deal, pending approval on Monday by the compensation committee of the school’s board of trustees, of eight years.

In his 10-year tenure with Iowa State, Campbell was named Big 12 Coach of the Year and led the Cyclones to eight winning seasons, including a Fiesta Bowl victory over Oregon in 2020 for the schools’ first top-10 finish.

Campbell collected a 72-55 record with the Cyclones, becoming the winningest coach in school history and managed to accumulate a 35-15 record at Toledo.

For Rogers, he was plucked from Washington State as he led the Cougars to six wins this season and a bowl-game berth in his first year at the helm. He made a name for himself in his 12-year career at the helm of Football Championship Subdivision’s South Dakota State, which resulted in an FCS championship in 2023 and a trip to the semifinals the next season.

“My family and I are excited to be joining the Iowa State University community and the Cyclone football program,” Rogers said. “Iowa State has been one of the nation’s top programs for the last decade and we look forward to building upon its upward trajectory. I’m extremely grateful for the opportunity that Jamie Pollard has given me to lead the Cyclones. From the administration, to the alumni and current student-athletes, this University has everything needed to compete at the highest level in college football,” he added. “I am honored to be given this opportunity and responsibility and cannot wait to get started.”

Rogers owns a 33-9 record in his three-year head coach record as he earned the Eddie Robinson Award in 2023 as the nation’s top FCS coach.

Prep Basketball: Burlington Sweeps Mt. Pleasant in SEC Opener

By Slaten Swords · Saturday, December 6th, 2025 at 12:28 am CDT

Burlington, IA- In the first Southeast Conference (SEC) showdown of the season, Mt. Pleasant was looking to kennel the Burlington Grayhounds; instead, the Panthers spent the night in the doghouse, getting swept 71-56 in the girls’ game and 59-42 in the boys’ game.

Girls’ Game

#11 Burlington had won the previous four matchups against Mt. Pleasant with the last two having the Grayhounds jump out to instant double-digit leads. That was not the case in last night’s action as a lack of offense from the hosts saw the Panthers trail by only six at the end of the first quarter, 13 to 7.

Burlington got out to a fast start in the second quarter, increasing their lead to eight, 16 to 8, before Mt. Pleasant roared back with a 10 to 3 run to only trail 19 to 17. This is where the game slipped away from the Maroon and Gold as the Grayhounds saw Mylee Stiefel and Vanessa Woodsmall combine for five of the team’s six three-pointers in the second quarter.

A two-point deficit turned into a 17-point deficit at the half and the Panthers were never able to keep up with the hot hands of Burlington. The Grayhounds were led by their big three of Daphne Brown, who led the way with 26 points, Stiefel, and Woodsmall, as the trio scored 66 of the team’s 71 points.

For Mt. Pleasant, there is reason to be confident in the team’s performance. Their 56 points are the most the squad has put up in a game since the 2023 season. Additionally, seven of the eight players that saw time on the floor put up at least three points, including a team-high 12 points from Abigail Shelangoski.

The biggest positive was Elodie Rawson being one of the eight in the rotation. Originally, the freshman was not slated to see the court until January. Nevertheless, the young guard saw action and played some solid minutes.

Mt. Pleasant will attempt to get their first win of the season on Monday, December 8th, at 7:30 pm in their home opener.

Boys’ Game

Another game, a similar story for Mt. Pleasant. The Panthers were held under 10 points in a quarter 30% of the time last season, while allowing 20 or more points 20% of the time. So far this season, it is 25% and 37.5%, respectively.

Burlington, in their first game of the season, strutted out almost a completely new starting squad from a year ago. The starting lineup included a sophomore named Jett Morris. If you did not know his name before the game, you do now.

The sophomore exploded onto the scene, scoring 28 points as Burlington outscored the Panthers 34 to 18 in the middle frames. One of the problems for Mt. Pleasant was a lack of three-point shooting. As a team that buried over 150 threes last season, the Panthers managed to knock down just one in the contest.

Overall, it was a night that lacked offense. Moreover, it is the fourth consecutive game for the Panthers going back to the end of last season that they failed to eclipse the 50-point plateau. Still, there’s reason to be excited about Mt. Pleasant.

Isaiah Lange, a sophomore, netted 16 points in the effort, while Carter Gehling, another sophomore, knocked down the only three-pointer. Additionally, the Panthers are without the services of Noah Lange and Ryan Helling, two of their starters from a season ago.

If the three-point can start falling, then the Panthers could be looking at a fun season. However, they will be tasked with traveling to Burlington Notre Dame on Tuesday, December 9th, at 7:30 pm.

Both Burlington teams will play Muscatine on the road with the boys’ team playing today and the girls’ team facing off on Monday.

Other Conference Games

The Keokuk girls’ team will be looking to reclaim the conference crown, and they got off to a good start by beating Washington last night 49-41, while the Fort Madison girls’ team knocked down Fairfield 47-30.

On the boys’ side, Keokuk demolished Washington 78-42 and Fairfield snuck past Fort Madison 47-44.

Snowplow Safety

By Slaten Swords · Friday, December 5th, 2025 at 3:02 pm CDT

The Iowa DOT emphasizes motorist safety around snowplows especially as the state is anticipating snowfall this weekend.   Drivers are urged to be extra cautious when coming up on a snowplow clearing the roads.  Slow down, stay back several car lengths, have headlights on and avoid distractions. Remember that plows move slowly, kick up blinding snow clouds, and have hidden wing blades.  They often operate with flashing blue lights to signal their presence and essential, often dangerous, work to clear roads. Key safety tips include never passing on the right, giving them room to maneuver, and understanding that the road behind a plow is safer to drive on, all while checking 511ia.org for road conditions.

MP Recycling Schedules Available & HC 4H Beef Weigh-Ins Saturday, 12/06/25

By Slaten Swords · Friday, December 5th, 2025 at 12:55 pm CDT

The City of Mt. Pleasant has recycling scheduled available for 2026.  Recycling days in Mt. Pleasant are Tuesdays and Thursdays. Pick up a copy at Mt. Pleasant City Hall, 307 E. Monroe Street or download it directly from the City of Mt. Pleasant website: https://cityofmountpleasantiowa.org/announcements/.

 

The Henry County ISU Extension and Outreach office in Mt. Pleasant reminds 4-H members that Beef Weigh-In is tomorrow, Saturday, 12/06/25 at 8am.  4-H members must be enrolled in 4H for weigh-ins and Market Beef must be entered online by February 1st.  Please contact the extension office with questions at 385-8126.

 

HC Public Health: Are You Protected?

By Slaten Swords · Friday, December 5th, 2025 at 12:52 pm CDT

Henry County Public Health in Mt. Pleasant says, “Respiratory Illness Season is Here – Are you protected?”  As we spend more time in close proximity to others, Henry County’s Public Health Community Outreach Department reminds people that the best way to protect yourself is by getting the vaccines that are recommended for you.  Public Health holds walk-in immunization clinics on Tuesdays 9a-11a, Wednesday and Thursdays 1p-4p and the 1st and 3rd Thursdays of the month, until 6pm.  Most insurance is accepted; however the vaccines for flu, COVID, RSV, and Pneumonia are also available at no cost for uninsured individuals through government-funded programs.

Strategies to help reduce your chances of getting sick or infecting others include: staying home when you are sick, wear a mask, and social distancing.  You can also follow good hygiene practices such as washing hands frequently, cover coughs and sneezes, and clean frequently touched surfaces like tables and doorknobs.  Henry County Public Health is located at 106 N. Jackson Street in Mt. Pleasant, 319-385-0779 or HealthyHenryCounty.org.

Scholarships Available for Area Students

By Slaten Swords · Friday, December 5th, 2025 at 12:04 pm CDT

The Alliant Energy Foundation is offering scholarships to young community leaders with up to 25 $1,000 scholarships available.  The scholarships will be awarded in the fall of 2026. Applicants write an essay that identifies a challenge in their community and presents their own innovative solution using science, technology, engineering and math. Scholarship recipients will be selected based on essay content, participation in leadership roles, volunteer work, community service, activities and grade-point average. Applicants must be enrolled in their first full-time program at an undergraduate school be under 25 years of age and either a dependent of a current Alliant Energy customer or a customer themselves.

Applications are being accepted through February 3rd, 2026.

https://scholarshipamerica.org/scholarship/alliantenergyinnovation/

 

Sports, December 5th

By Slaten Swords · Friday, December 5th, 2025 at 6:30 am CDT

High School Basketball

The Columbus girls’ team was unable to close out North Cedar last night, falling 52-43. The Wildcats will square off against Hillcrest Academy at home tonight with game one at 6 pm. 

Mt. Pleasant will start conference play in a road showdown in Burlington tonight with the girls playing first at 6 pm. KILJ 105.5 FM, kilj.com, will be on the call with the pregame show at 5:45 pm. Panther girls’ head coach Curt Watson talked about what makes this year’s team special,

“I think right now it’s team chemistry. They’re coming to practice. They’re having fun. They work hard at practice. So it’s been really fun to come to practice as a coaching staff and talking to the girls and they’ve been getting after it and I think we’re trying to get maybe the culture change a little bit with them and they accepted it and they want the culture to be better, like helping girls up when they’re on the floor, getting louder at practice, we’ve been really hounding. Sometimes it’s kind of like a morgue there, you know, it’s we don’t. Nobody’s yelling. Nobody’s talking to each other. And we said we got to pick that up and they really took that to heart.”

Winfield-Mt. Union will remain at home tonight with a matchup against Lone Tree with the girls’ teams starting the night at 6 pm.

West Burlington will travel to Mediapolis tonight with the night tipping off at 6 pm. 

Wapello and Louisa-Muscatine will tangle tonight at 6 pm.

WACO will face off against Pekin tonight in a doubleheader with game one at 6 pm.

Central Lee will host Burlington Notre Dame tonight with game one at 6 pm.

Holy Trinity Catholic will make the trip to Danville tonight with game time at 6 pm for the girls’ contest. 

Van Buren County will face off against New London tonight in their home opener with the boys’ game following the girls’ contest at 7:30 pm.

Fairfield will start conference play tonight with a road matchup against Fort Madison with the doubleheader beginning at 6 pm.

High School Bowling

Mt. Pleasant split their showdown with Washington yesterday with the girls’ team winning as they bowled 2,178 as a team, while the boys’ team lost 2,754-2,371. Shyann Smith led the girls’ team with 359 total pins. The Panthers will host Keokuk on Thursday, December 11th. 

Fairfield will hit the road to take on Burlington today.

High School Wrestling

The Columbus/Winfield-Mt. Union boys’ team snuck out with a 40-36 dual victory over Mt. Pleasant last night. Picking up victories by fall for the Panthers was Landon Yocum, Ramzy Davis, Juan Lopez, and Levis Evans, as Kolbein Ostby and Keegan Birdsell escaped with narrow decision victories. The Wildcats saw Bowen Thomson, Angel Ineichen, Kason Dopler, Fritz Figaro, Dante Orozco, and Justin Knipfer collect victories last night.

The Wapello, WACO, and Mt. Pleasant boys’ and girls’ teams and Mediapolis and Columbus/Winfield-Mt. Union boys’ teams will participate in the Willard Howell Tournament tomorrow, December 6th. 

Fairfield hosted a triangular last night and the boys’ team defeated Centerville, 42-36, and Davis County, 54-26, while the girls’ team split their matchup, beating Centerville 30-23 and losing to Davis County 42-30.  

On the boys’ side, Noah Patel, Jasper Carpenter, Aiden Holthus, Dain Burkhart, and Sebastian Ftwi each went undefeated for the night. The trio of Aislinn Wise, Samantha Lyons, and Kendra Allison each finished the night 2-0. 

The Van Buren County boys’ and girls’ teams and Fairfield girls’ team will compete in the Bill Rex Invitational tonight.

The Fairfield boys’ team will travel to the Bob Murphy Invitational tomorrow.

The Burlington Notre Dame boys’ team will wrestle at the Cliff Keen Independence Invitational tonight. 

The New London boys’ team will start their season when they host the Jeremy Fulk Classic tomorrow. 

Southeastern Community College

The women’s basketball team will face off against Northeast Community College tomorrow, December 6th, at home at 1 pm.

The men’s basketball team will host Kankakee Community College tomorrow at 3 pm.

The men’s and women’s wrestling teams will participate in the Buena Vista Open with the women’s team wrestling today and the men’s team starting tomorrow. 

College Football

Iowa and Iowa State will await their bowl destination, which will be announced on Sunday, December 7th.

College Basketball

The #12 Iowa women’s team will make the trip to Rutgers tomorrow, December 6th, at 5 pm for their first Big Ten matchup. 

The Iowa men’s team will face off against Maryland tomorrow at 3 pm at home.

The #10 Iowa State women’s team will take on Northern Illinois on Sunday, December 7th, at 1 pm at home.

The #10 Iowa State men’s team will travel to #1 Purdue tomorrow with tip-off at 11 am.

This Day in Sports History

1968 – Future Hockey Hall of Fame center Phil Esposito of the Boston Bruins scores two goals in his goaltender brother Tony’s (also HOF) NHL debut for the Montreal Canadiens in a 2-2 tie.

1973 – Chicago Cubs Ron Santo becomes the first baseball player to invoke the 10-and-5 rule and veto his trade.

1992 – The first SEC Championship Game: #2 Alabama beats #12 Florida, 28-21.

School Improvement Advisory Committee Reviews Student Data, District Goals at First Meeting

By Shelbi Swinscoe · Thursday, December 4th, 2025 at 1:39 pm CDT

The Mount Pleasant Community School District’s School Improvement Advisory Committee (SIAC) met Wednesday evening in the high school media center, bringing together students, teachers, principals, school board members, parents, and staff — including the school resource officer — for the first session of the school year.

Superintendent John Hendrickson opened the meeting by noting that this initial session would differ from past years. Rather than functioning as a roundtable discussion, the focus would be on gathering information to help guide future recommendations to the school board. Under Iowa Code, SIAC committees advise local boards on major educational goals, student performance, bullying and harassment prevention, and other improvement areas.

Dr. Angie Butler, Director of Instruction, led much of the evening’s presentation. She outlined how the district’s Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) operate, emphasizing three core ideas: a focus on learning, a collaborative culture, and a results-oriented approach. Butler also reviewed the Multi-Tiered System of Support (MTSS), which details how the district responds when students need additional academic or behavioral assistance.

Focusing on the first pillar, focus on learning, the committee examined data from the Iowa School Performance Profiles, including student demographics, attendance, academic growth, graduation rates, post-secondary readiness, and building-specific results for Van Allen, Salem, the Middle School, and the High School. Butler highlighted several areas of progress, including a significant drop in chronic absenteeism — down to 11.2% in 2025 from 27.5% the previous year — and an increase in science proficiency, rising to 67.8 points from 58.3 in 2024.

Members also revisited the “Portrait of a Panther,” a framework developed last year to strengthen students’ soft skills. The model outlines six core competencies, each broken into three skills, adapted to be developmentally appropriate for all grade levels.

Under the second pillar, collaborative culture, Butler described how teacher teams operate and the questions they use to evaluate instruction and student learning. After each presentation segment, table groups discussed what they noticed in the data and what questions they still had.

Finally, the committee reviewed action plans related to attendance, graduation rate, academic performance, skills for learning, and professional practice under the third pillar, results-oriented approach. Each goal includes specific action steps, staff responsibilities, and scheduled check-ins three times before the end of the school year. The current graduation rate baseline stands at 80.3%, reflecting the typical one-year reporting delay.

John Hendrickson closed out the meeting by sharing updates about the Facilities Ad Hoc Committee. He outlined what the committee has accomplished in recent meetings, the information they have gathered for assessment, and the list of committee members, which includes a mix of community members, parents, and teachers. All details are available on the district’s website, you can click here to view the information.

The SIAC will reconvene for its next meeting on February 18 and will continue monitoring student progress and guiding district priorities throughout the year.