Chamber Announces 2025 Small Business of the Year Finalists

By Hayden Douglas · Friday, April 11th, 2025 at 12:29 pm CDT

Every year since 1963, the President of the United States has issued a proclamation announcing National Small Business Week, which recognizes the critical contributions of America’s entrepreneurs and small business owners. More than half of Americans either own or work for a small business, and they create about two out of every three new jobs in the U.S. each year.

To showcase small business, the Mount Pleasant Area Chamber Alliance is pleased to announce that Small Business Week will be celebrated May 5-9. In conjunction, we are pleased to announce the five finalists for the 2025 Small Business of the Year award.

Congratulations to American Hair Academy, Capstone Pharmacy, CrossFit Teo, Family Medicine of Mount Pleasant P.C. and Quality Equipment Inc.

The 2025 Small Business of the Year will be announced at the Small Business Breakfast on May 9.

Gov. Reynolds Announces She Will Not Seek a Third Term

By Hayden Douglas · Friday, April 11th, 2025 at 11:15 am CDT

Gov. Reynolds says:

“Serving as your governor has been the greatest honor of my life—an opportunity that, not so long ago, I never could have imagined. 

When I first entered public service in the Clarke County treasurer’s office, I never expected that one day I would have the privilege of leading this great state. 

And I never would have imagined the things we would accomplish together. 

But Iowa is a place where anything is possible, and I am forever grateful for the trust you have placed in me.

Today, I want to share a personal decision with you; one that was not made lightly, but comes with a full heart and a deep sense of gratitude. 

After a lot of thought, prayer, and conversations with my family, I have decided that I will not seek re-election in 2026. 

This wasn’t an easy decision, because I love this state and I love serving you. But, when my term ends, I will have had the privilege of serving as your governor for almost 10 years. And before that, as lieutenant governor and state senator. 

This public service has been an incredible journey—one I wouldn’t trade for anything, but as Iowans know family is everything.

Through the years, my parents and my husband Kevin, our daughters, and our grandchildren have stood by my side, supporting me through every challenge and every victory. 

Now, it’s time for me to be there for them. To help them through the next stage of life. To watch every track meet and basketball game; to see them grow before they’re all grown.

That doesn’t mean I’m slowing down just yet. I’ll be working hard for you every single day until my term ends.

We have important work ahead—keeping our economy strong, supporting our families and farmers, defending our freedoms, and ensuring every Iowan has the opportunity to succeed. 

I’m more energized than ever to finish what we started and to leave Iowa in the strongest possible position for the future.

And speaking of the future, I have no doubt that Iowa and our Republican Party will remain in great hands.

Together, we have built a foundation of strong conservative leadership that will continue to serve this state well. I’ve seen firsthand the passion and dedication of so many leaders, and I am confident that the next generation will continue to build on our success.

Iowa is a special place and it’s because of our people and values. The hard work, resilience, and the sense of community that define us—that is what makes Iowa exceptional.

To all of you who have supported me, pushed me, and worked alongside me— a heartfelt thank you. 

I could not have done this without you. Iowans have placed their trust in me, and I have done my best to honor that trust every day.

The road ahead is bright, and I will always be cheering for this state and its people. 

Thank you, Iowa. God bless you, and God bless the great state of Iowa.”

Brien Kelly

By Hayden Douglas · Friday, April 11th, 2025 at 10:39 am CDT

Brien Kelly, age 71, of Washington, Iowa, died Tuesday, December 10, 2024, at the University of Iowa Hospital.

A graveside service will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, April 19, 2025, at Pleasant Grove Cemetery, 3079 Henry Des Moines Avenue, Danville, Iowa, with Pastor Joseph Brown officiating.

Online condolences may be sent for O. Brien’s family at www.jonesfh.com.

Larry M. McDaniel

By Hayden Douglas · Friday, April 11th, 2025 at 9:22 am CDT

Larry M. McDaniel, 81, of Farmington, Iowa, passed away at 7:20 a.m. Thursday, April 3, 2025, at the Clark County Nursing Home in Kahoka.

He was born on June 9, 1943, in Davis City, Iowa, the son of Jehu Franklin and Dorothy Mae (Still) McDaniel.

He is survived by several cousins.

He was preceded in death by his parents and cat: Fuzz Butt.

Larry was a bronze star recipient while he served in the United States Army during the Vietnam War. He earned his bachelor’s degree and worked for the Iowa Department of Corrections. He also owned and operated Black Hawk Antiques. Larry enjoyed antiquing, shooting, collecting military and Native American items.

Per his wishes, his body has been entrusted to the crematory of Schmitz Funeral Home for cremation.

A celebration of life will be held at a later date.

A memorial has been established in his memory and can be mailed to the family at: Schmitz Funeral Home, P.O. Box 56, Donnellson, Iowa 52625.

Schmitz Funeral Home of Farmington is assisting the family with arrangements. Online condolences may be made to the family at www.schmitzfuneralhomes.com.

Jack L. Whitten

By Hayden Douglas · Friday, April 11th, 2025 at 9:08 am CDT

Jack L. Whitten, 88, a resident of Fairfield, passed away, Wednesday, April 9, 2025 at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics in Iowa City due to complications with diabetes.

Graveside services celebrating his life will be held at 10:30 a.m. Monday, April 14, 2025 at Evergreen Cemetery in Fairfield with Pastor Frosty Van Voorst officiating. Memorials may be made to the family in care of 1708-C Linden Dr. Fairfield, Iowa 52556. Behner Funeral Home in Fairfield is assisting the family.

Jack was born March 18, 1937 in Packwood, the son of Marion and Mabel (Nordeen) Whitten. He graduated from Packwood High School in 1954. Jack married Patricia McGuire, April 4, 1959 at Sacred Heart Church in Ottumwa. They recently celebrated their 66th anniversary.

Jack worked for the Iowa D.O.T. from 1954-1964 and then owned and operated Jack’s market in Packwood from 1964-1967. He then worked for Jefferson County as an assistant engineer until his retirement in 1999. Jack and Pat were foster parents for 33 years.

Those left to honor his memory include his beloved wife of 66 years, Pat Whitten; daughter, Lynn (Dan) Kane of Fairfield; grandchildren, Travis (Reesa) Starr of Fairfield, Taylor (Amber) Starr of Riverside, Iowa, and Dalton (Jess) Kane of Coralville; great-grandchildren, Axl and Corbin Starr, Bentley and Winston Starr, and Baby Girl Kane on the way; step-grandchildren, Kadie (Mike) Archer of Griffin, Georgia, and David (Alex) Kane of Libertyville; and step-great-grandchildren, Alizabeth and Jaycie Archer.

Jack was preceded in death by his parents; daughter, Laura Starr; son, Timothy Whitten; brothers, Chick, Bob, Ev, and Gib Whitten; and sisters, Dorothy Hahn and Alberta Condon.

Online condolences may be made to Jack’s family by viewing his obituary at www.behnerfh.com.

Ruth Ebersole – pending

By Hayden Douglas · Friday, April 11th, 2025 at 8:48 am CDT

Murphy Funeral Home

Box 347

Mt. Pleasant, Iowa 52641

 

Ruth Ebersole, 95, of Mount Pleasant passed away on Thursday, April 10, 2025, at Park Place in Mount Pleasant.

Cremation has been entrusted to the care of Murphy Funeral Home of Mount Pleasant.  Graveside Services will be held at a later date.

Murphy Funeral Home of Mount Pleasant is caring for Ruth and her family.

Sports, April 11th

By Slaten Swords · Friday, April 11th, 2025 at 6:30 am CDT

High School Track

Mt. Pleasant, WACO, Fairfield, and Wapello competed in the Demon Relays last night and here’s some of the highlights. On the girls’ side, Washington won the meet with 151 points over Mt. Pleasant’s 121.3, as the two teams jockey for the conference crown. For the Panthers, Alex Scott won the 100-meter dash with a time of 12.67 seconds and the 200-meter dash with a mark of 26.45 seconds. For the relays, the Panthers took the 4×100, 4×200, and the sprint medley.

WACO’s Carlee Lunsford won the 800-meter run with a time of 2 minutes and 31 seconds; the Warriors also nabbed the distance medley crown. Lilly Bergren of Fairfield took the 100-meter hurdles with a time of 16.42 seconds. Wapello’s Natalee Marks finished in 9th place in discus with a throw of 77 feet and 9 inches.

On the boys’ side, Washington also took home the crown with 98 points as Fairfield finished in 4th place with 70 points. WACO took 7th place with 55 points followed by Mt. Pleasant with 48 points. 

Fairfield’s lone win of the day occurred in the long jump with Eli Zillman leaping 19 feet and 10 inches, but the Trojans finished in 2nd place in four events.

WACO’s Hayden Shelman sprinted to a time of 23.47 seconds to win the 200-meter dash, while Jude Dykstra paced the 1600-meter run with a time of 4 minutes and 43 seconds.

Mt. Pleasant’s Avin Truong led the pack with a gold medal time of 15.47 seconds in the 110-meter hurdles, which helped the Panthers nab the win in the shuttle hurdle relay.

Wapello’s Kolton Small finished in 3rd place in the discus with a heave of 147 feet and 5 inches. 

The Co-Ed Falcon Relays ran yesterday and the Mediapolis boys’ team took the title with 159 points, while the Mediapolis girls’ team shared the crown with Louisa-Muscatine with 140 points apiece. 

On the boys’ side, Mediapolis showed off the speed, winning the 4×100 and 4×400 meter relays, along with the endurance, taking the distance medley relay. Gannon Gun hopped his way to the gold in the 110-meter hurdles. In the field events, Henry Luttenegger leapt 19 feet and 8.75 inches for the win in the long jump and Lathan Keller took the high jump with a height of 6 feet and 2 inches.

Winfield-Mt. Union collected 119 points to finish in 2nd place as a team with Kohlby Newsom taking 1st place in the 400-meter dash with a time of 51.19 seconds and the 1600-meter run with a time of 4 minutes and 37 seconds. The Wolves won the sprint medley and shuttle hurdle relays. Lastly, Cooper Buffington won the discus with a throw of 126 feet and 3 inches. 

West Burlington/Notre Dame finished in 3rd place as a team and helping the Falcons fly was Landry Haberichter’s 1st place time in the 100-meter dash of 11.27 seconds. The Falcons also won the 4×200 meter relay, while Logan Hamma grabbed the win in the 400-meter hurdles with a sub-one minute time.

New London’s Gavin Strawhacker won the 200-meter dash with a time of 23.81 seconds. Nick Powell grabbed 1st place in the 800-meter run for Danville, which led to the victory in the 4×800 meter relay.

On the girls’ side, Mediapolis was led by Kira Messer’s 1st place time of 13.39 seconds in the 100-meter dash. Avery Crear leapt 4 feet and 10 inches in the high jump for the victory. The Bulldogs won the 4×100 and finished in 2nd place in 10 total events.

Danville finished in 3rd place with 105 points. Alaina Gourley won the 400-meter dash for the Bears with a sub-one minute time. The Bears won the 4×200 and sprint medley relays.

Winfield-Mt. Union had Kynlee Buffington take the 200-meter dash and long jump with a leap of 16 feet and 5.5 inches. Josie Nelson won the 100-meter hurdles. West Burlington/Notre Dame grabbed 1st place in the distance medley and shuttle hurdle relays, while Kaitlyn Kipp paced her way to the gold in the 3000-meter run. New London’s Megan Lee had the best finish for the Tigers, launching the shot put 28 feet and 4.25 inches for 2nd place.

Columbus, Danville, and Mediapolis will travel to compete in the Eastern Iowa Track and Field Festival tomorrow, April 12th, 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 weather postponed yesterday’s matchups.

The Mt. Pleasant girls’ team 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

Winfield-Mt. Union dueled Columbus yesterday, splitting their matchup. The Wolves boys’ team won 167-211 as Justin Knipfer led the way with a 9-hole score of 40 (+4). Ryan Coil carded a 44 for the Wildcats. On the girls’ side, Columbus won via forfeit as Kinlee Brown shot a 53 for the Wildcats. Winfield-Mt. Union had Kellee Milks finish the day with a 52. 

Winfield-Mt. Union will tangle with Wapello on Monday, April 14th, on the road. 

Columbus will head to Danville on Thursday, April 17th. 

Danville was swept by Burlington Notre Dame yesterday with the girls’ team losing 216-245 and the boys’ team falling 172-208. Marley Garland led the girls’ team for the Bears, carding a 56, while Alex Holtkamp led the boys’ team with a 47 through nine holes. 

Danville will host Van Buren County on Monday.

Central Lee took on Holy Trinity Catholic yesterday and the girls’ teams ended the night in a draw, shooting 241-apiece, while the Hawks boys’ team defeated the Crusaders 162-192. On the girls’ side, Holy Trinity Catholic’s Elizabeth Griffin paced the field with a 48 followed by Central Lee’s Marie Young’s 57. Carter Jones carded a 38 for the Central Lee boys’ team.

The Holy Trinity Catholic boys’ team will host the Lee County Golf Classic today with Central Lee in attendance. 

The Central Lee girls’ team 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 boys’ SEC meet took place in Fort Madison yesterday and Washington took the meet with a team score of 163 as Rajan Roth led the way for the Demons, shooting a 36. Fairfield finished in 2nd place with a 168, while Mt. Pleasant took 4th place with a 176. 

The next boys’ SEC meet will take place in Keokuk, while the girls’ teams will travel to Fort Madison on Monday. 

Mediapolis will square off against Louisa-Muscatine today at home.

WACO will travel to Hillcrest Academy today.

New London will host Central Lee on Tuesday, April 15th. 

High School Soccer

The WACO boys’ team lost to Hillcrest Academy last night 6-2. The Warriors will host Danville on Monday, April 14th, at 4:30 pm.

The Mediapolis girls’ team fell to Tipton last night 2-1, while the boys’ team handled business against Danville, smacking the Bears 6-1. The Bulldogs will take on Wapello at home on Monday with girls playing first at 5 pm.

The Wapello boys’ team was steamrolled by Highland last night 10-0. 

Mt. Pleasant executed a conference sweep of Fairfield last night with the boys’ team winning a tight contest 3-2 and the girls’ team taking their contest 5-1. Ian Richards scored both goals for the Trojans in the boys’ game. Charice Auwerda added on to her historic career for the Panthers, breaking the program’s career point mark as she netted a hat trick and currently sits at 182 points. Auwerda was quick to give the credit to her teammates,

“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.”

Girls head coach Chris Davis was pleased with how his team navigated a physical conference showdown,

“We’ve been working a lot on physicality, wanting to play strong, play tough and always play through the ball. No backing down, just it’s all about mentality. We got to give it our all.”

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 girls’ team was unable to clip Mid-Prairie, falling 4-1 last night. Janelle Jimenez scored the lone goal for the Wildcats. The 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, April 15th, with both games at 5 pm.

The Burlington Notre Dame girls’ team could not stop Monmouth-Roseville last night, losing 6-1. Lexi Korschgen scored a goal off a Kyleigh Kniffen assist. The girls’ team will face off against Fort Madison tonight on the road at 5 pm, while the boys’ team will travel to Solon tonight at 5:30 pm.

Central Lee will be back in action tonight at 5 pm with the girls’ team facing off against Washington at home and the boys’ team competing against Sigourney Keota on the road. 

Southeastern Community College                                                     

The softball team will square off against Iowa Western Community College at home tomorrow, April 12th, in a doubleheader with game one at 1 pm.

The baseball team had their 14-game win streak snapped last night by Des Moines Area Community College, losing 8-0. The Blackhawks are back in action tomorrow for a home doubleheader against Iowa Western Community College with game one at 1 pm.

This Day in Sports History

1921 – KDKA in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania broadcasts the first radio sporting event, a boxing match between lightweights Johnny Ray and Johnny Dundee.

1966 – 30th US Masters Tournament, Augusta National GC: Jack Nicklaus becomes the first back-to-back Masters champion winning an 18-hole Monday playoff against Tommy Jacobs and Gay Brewer.

1989 – First playoff goal scored by a goalie, Ron Hextall of the visiting Philadelphia Flyers shoots into the Washington Capitals empty net while his team is short handed in a 8-5 win.