U.S. Senator Charles Grassley is holding a Town Hall meeting in Lee County on Tuesday, April 15th. The town hall is being held in the Council Chambers 811 Avenue E. in Ft. Madison from 11:45am – 12:45pm. This is Grassley’s 45th year of holding question and answer sessions in each of Iowa’s 99 counties and Iowans set the agenda. Senator Grassley’s goal is staying in touch with Iowans for better representation in Washington D.C.
High School Track
Columbus, Danville, and Mediapolis will travel to compete in the Eastern Iowa Track and Field Festival today at Iowa City West High School.
The Mt. Pleasant, New London, Danville, Mediapolis, Van Buren County, Winfield-Mt. Union, Fairfield, West Burlington/Notre Dame and Central Lee girls’ teams will participate in the Pen City Relays on Tuesday, April 15th.
The Wapello boys’ team will host their own relays on Tuesday with Danville, Mediapolis, West Burlington/Notre Dame, and Winfield-Mt. Union making the trip.
The New London boys’ team and WACO will compete in the Lisbon Opener on Tuesday.
High School Tennis
The Mt. Pleasant girls’ team had their make-up match against Maharshi last night and narrowly lost 5-4. Zoey Carlsen and Lila Cook dominated their singles matches, allowing a combined one point. The Panthers will host Fairfield on Monday, April 14th.
The Mt. Pleasant boys’ team will square off against Burlington on Thursday, April 17th, on the road.
The Fairfield boys’ team will take on Davis County at home on Tuesday, April 15th.
High School Golf
Mediapolis swept Louisa-Muscatine last night with the girls’ team winning 250-261 and the boys’ team taking their match 170-195. Katelyn Wischmeier led the girls’ team with a round of 57, while the boys’ team had William Worrall card a 41.
The Mediapolis boys’ team will compete in the Golden Hawk Invitational on Tuesday, April 15th, at Kalona Golf Course.
The WACO boys’ team fell to Hillcrest Academy yesterday 166-249. The Warriors will compete against Highland on Monday at home.
Winfield-Mt. Union will tangle with Wapello on Monday, April 14th, on the road.
Danville will host Van Buren County on Monday.
Central Lee will square off against Burlington Notre Dame on Monday at home.
The Holy Trinity Catholic girls’ team will face off against George-Little Rock on Monday on the road.
The next boys’ SEC meet will take place in Keokuk, while the girls’ teams will travel to Fort Madison on Monday.
New London will host Central Lee on Tuesday.
Columbus will head to New London on Wednesday, April 16th, for a tournament with Mediapolis making the trip.
High School Soccer
The Burlington Notre Dame girls’ team was shutout by Fort Madison last night 10-0, while the boys’ team has won their last three games after defeating Solon last night 4-1. The Nike girls’ team will host Quincy Notre Dame on April 22nd at 7 pm and the boys’ team will continue on their road series on Tuesday, April 15th, at 5 pm against Fort Madison.
The Central Lee boys’ team kept their record unblemished last night, smacking Sigourney Keota 6-1 as Mason Sanders tabbed a goal and five assists in the win. The Central Lee girls’ team fell to Washington last night 4-0. The Hawks boys’ team will face off against Danville on Tuesday at 5 pm on the road.
The WACO boys’ team will host Danville on Monday, April 14th, at 4:30 pm.
Mediapolis will take on Wapello at home on Monday with girls playing first at 5 pm.
Mt. Pleasant will square off against Washington on Monday with the boys at home starting at 4:30 pm and the girls on the road at 5 pm.
Fairfield will compete against Fort Madison on Monday with the girls at home and the boys traveling to the Baxter Sports Complex.
The Columbus boys’ team will hit the road on Monday to take on Highland, while the girls’ team will have a road contest against Tipton on Tuesday with both games at 5 pm.
Southeastern Community College
The softball and baseball teams will square off against Iowa Western Community College at home today in a doubleheader with game one at 1 pm.
This Day in Sports History
1877 – With a well-earned fear of foul tips ricocheting off his head, Harvard’s Alexander Tyng wore a converted fencer’s mask for a game, becoming the first-known player to wear a catcher’s mask.
1938 – Stanley Cup Final, Chicago Stadium, Chicago, IL: Chicago Blackhawks beat the Toronto Maple Leafs, 4-1 for a 3-1 series win; one of three teams to win the Cup with a losing regular season record.
1980 – Canadian one-legged distance runner Terry Fox begins his “Marathon of Hope” attempt to cross the country at St. John’s, Newfoundland.
At about 4:45pm this afternoon, The Mt. Pleasant FD, New London FD and Winfield FD were dispatched to Nebraska Avenue at 270th Street Northeast of Mt. Pleasant for mutual aid. A grass fire has gotten out of control and is now affecting CRP acres in that area. A structure located nearby the field was not, at this time on fire.
Michael Allen Westerbeck, 79, of New London, died Thursday, April 10, 2025 at New London Specialty Care. He was born April 5, 1946 in Mt. Pleasant to N.J. “Steve” and Mary Hannah Wellington Westerbeck. He was a 1964 graduate of New London High School.
He married Jean Miller in New London in 1967 and they later divorced. On May 16, 1986 he married Joyce Ann Gill. Mike was a long-time carpenter for Westerbeck Construction and later for Staley Construction, and also had his own handyman business.
He was a member of New London Christian Church where he was actively involved in Promise Keepers; assisted with cabinetry and painting for the new church; and did janitorial work for a short time. Mike was a member of the New London Volunteer Fire Department; served on the city council and the planning and zoning committee; played on men’s league at Deerwood Golf Club; and delivered Meals on Wheels until his health declined. He attended all of his children’s and later grandchildren’s activities. He enjoyed playing cards on Thursday nights; family time and holidays; going to the races where he was part of Steve Watts’ pit crew; and loved taking his grandchildren to the Burlington Bees games. He was a loyal follower of Caitlyn Clark and all the good she has done for Iowa. He and Joyce cherished their Friday night get togethers with several couples in town and Mike especially enjoyed his get-togethers with the “Morning Gang”.
Besides his wife, he is survived by his daughters Melissa Anne (Chris) Anderson and Jennifer Jayne (Damon) Loyd both of New London; step children Sandra Lynn (Kip) Esbaum of Lowden, Iowa, Patricia Jo Gill-Jones of New London, and Travis Eugene (Amy) Gill of Salem; seven grandchildren, Samuel (Alexis) Loyd, Layney (Judah) Cooper, Gaige (Maureen) Gill, Claire Jones, Laettner (Jalen) Esbaum, Elle (Mathew Meline) Esbaum, Pavin Esbaum; two great-grandchildren, Mac and Mara Gill; his brother Mark (Nell) Westerbeck of Georgia; nieces and nephews; and a host of good friends. He was preceded in death by his parents; one sister Joyce Staley; two brothers, Norman and Dickie Westerbeck; and one grandson Logan Michael Esbaum.
Funeral services will be held at 11:00 am, Tuesday, April 15, 2025 at the New London Christian Church with Pastors Rod and Nathan Cooper officiating. Visitation will begin at 1:00 pm, Monday, April 14 at the church with the family receiving friends from 4:00 – 6:00 pm. In lieu of flowers, memorials have been established for the New London Black and Gold Backers and St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital. Online condolences may be left at www.elliottfuneralchapel.com.
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Hubert H. Hamilton, 94, of Pleasant Plain, passed away Thursday, April 10, 2025 at Colonial Manor of Amana following a brief illness.
A graveside service will be held at 1:30 p.m. Monday, April 14, 2025 at Antioch Cemetery, rural Fairfield. Memorials may be made to Wounded Warriors in care of 1012 Sunny Lane, Fairfield, Iowa 52556. Behner Funeral Home in Fairfield is assisting the family.
Hugh was born April 19, 1930 in Fairfield, to Clarence Wayne and Florence (Welch) Hamilton.
He was a veteran of the US Army and served as a medic in the Korean War.
Hugh held several jobs over his 94+ years, including a Tip-Top bakery delivery truck, a manager of a gas station (Omaha), a dump truck
driver (Dallas), and most of his later years as a long-haul truck driver both privately and for local carriers.
In Dallas is where he met his then to be wife, Mary. They shared a 28-year union until her untimely passing in 1988.
He was a lifetime friend to animals of every kind, and particularly had a love of horses, dogs and cats.
Hugh enjoyed trees, especially apple, pear and the somewhat rare persimmon. Asking Hugh to consider cutting down a tree was a task not for the faint of heart.
Hugh was an avid reader and enjoyed many of the Louis L’Amour and Zane Grey westerns and several periodicals.
He is survived by his daughters, Amy (Jim) Johnson, Fairfield; Martha (Marty) Symmonds, North Liberty, Iowa and Nancy Hamilton, Little Rock, Arkansas; as well as grandchildren, Conner (Kethra) Johnson, Cheyten Johnson, Corey, Kira and Alaina Symmonds and two great-grandchildren, Leta and Calvin McCoy.
He was preceded in death by his parents, his wife, Mary (Clements) Hamilton; brothers, Kenneth Hamilton of Omaha and Dale Hamilton of Chicago. Online condolences may be made to Hugh’s family at www.behnerfh.com.
Mt. Pleasant, IA- The stage was set for history to be made: a conference rival, the home crowd at East Lake, and typical Midwest averse spring weather conditions. On a muddy pitch in Mt. Pleasant, the girls’ soccer team blitzed Fairfield to a 5-1 final and a career moment for Panther senior Charice Auwerda.
Auwerda has been a force for the Panther program since her freshman season where she netted 13 goals and assisted on 20 other goals, helping teammate Elly Manning set the career point mark at 180 for the program.
She entered Thursday night’s contest against the Trojans with 176 career points. A milestone that almost went unnoticed by her,
“It’s been really fun. I haven’t really thought about it until Dad told me about it. Like, you know, last week. And I didn’t realize that I was that close to it. And obviously, like, it’s a really good moment. It feels really nice.”
In terms of the matchup, it was the first Southeast Conference showdown of the year, but Fairfield had a bit of an edge, defeating Mediapolis 2-0 while the Panthers tied the Bulldogs at one apiece to open the season. Nevertheless, Mt. Pleasant owned a 12-game win streak over the Trojans.
Moreover, Fairfield had been shutout by the Panthers since 2019.
Through the first ten minutes of the contest, history was playing out before the crowd’s eyes as Tori Wilson and Auwerda each put two goals in the back of the net to give Mt. Pleasant a quick 4 to 0 lead.
An early evening rainstorm added to the mystique of the game, as the waterlogged field slowed down the offense after Fairfield ended the six-year drought when Haleigh Strickland scored a goal before 20 minutes had passed in the game.
The contest then transformed into a stalemate with aggressive plays resulting in yellow cards and frustration, but the Panthers kept their cool.
“We’ve been working a lot about physicality, wanting to play strong, play tough and always play through the ball,” said Panther head coach Chris Davis. “No backing down, just it’s all about mentality. We got to give it our all.”
Despite owning a 4 to 1 lead at halftime, Mt. Pleasant pressed the issue, and all eyes were on Auwerda, who was tied with Manning at 180 points after her two goals. In a flash, Auwerda, positioned in the slot, glided through the air and notched a hat trick with a header: 182 points, the new record.
Immediately, the senior was swarmed by her teammates on the field; unfortunately, as the moments ticked away realization overtook the Panther fans that the proud father, who recorded everything, had missed the shot in a form of irony usually reserved for Shakespeare.
Yet, the moment will be cherished as Auwerda took photos after the game with her teammates and shared an emotional moment with her father, realizing all the hard work that had led to this moment. One big Panther family for the new record holder,
“You know what? Like, I honestly can’t do it without my teammates. They’ve been really nice to me. It’s just really a big family and I really can’t do it without them.”
Coach Davis talked about his captain after the game,
“I’ve known Charice since she was real little playing club ball. It’s been a pleasure having her with us for the program, I couldn’t ask for a better player.”
The Panthers now sit at 3-0-1 for the season after that tie to start the season, while Fairfield dropped to 1-1. The Trojans will attempt to right the ship on Monday, April 14th, at home against Fort Madison.
For Coach Davis, he’s hoping this early season confidence sets the tone for the season,
“We want to keep going with what we’re what we’ve been doing, you know, moving the ball. And just making positive plays and not and not getting down on ourselves. We’ve been lucky enough so far that we haven’t been behind yet this season. When that happens, we got to be able to make sure we’re mentally prepared.”
While Auwerda is hoping to end her career with a winning record, similar to the 2022 season that saw the Panthers advance to the Regional Semifinals,
“You know what? It’s still like very early in the season and we’ve got a couple of wins under our belt. So that’s really good. That’ll pump us up and we’re still progressing. And I think that, you know, the more that we play together, some more practices that we get into, we’re going to connect more and I’m really, really hoping for a really good record this year.”
Mt. Pleasant is back on the road for a conference matchup against Washington on Monday at 5 pm as Auwerda still has 11 regular season games to add on to her career point tally.
